Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-08-27

country WhGre millions OF acres might pro-
duce millions OF quarters of grain only
comparatively a few hundreds of thousands
OF acres produce Indian corn.
Two years at the least will probably
elapse before Johannesburg, town whose
life and growth depends on the corstruc-
ton of railways, Is proper connection with
the sea coast, with otter South American
towns, or even wit all of its one adjoin-
ing coal field. Millions of tons of ma
chlnery, of coal, of provisions, of all the
necessarles of life have had to be Dragged
over hundreds of miles of ground, in
groaning and oyerladen wagons by ex-
haCsted and half starved oxen. In such a
condition of things one might have
thought that the most simple and mex
per1enced government could at least have
maintained decent highway communica-
ton. Ga the contrary, the tracks are the
worst IN the world, in many places almost
impossible in the best period of he year.
totally impossible in the wet season. A
comparatively small expenditure would
suffice to render traffic possible and even
easy.
1t is, | believe, fact that repeated ap-
! pllcatlons have been made to the president
! tor money 10 be spent on improving or 1e-
pairing the roads, but all such appIica-
tons are in vain. The president replies
that he has no money to spend on such
| things as roads; that the tracks which are
IN existence were made by and were good
enough for the forefathers of the Beers,
and are, therefore, more than good enough
for the present day. The perverse sim
pllclty OF these Beers In inconceiVable,
but so it there attaches a still darker stain
corruption. 1t is openly and publicly
asserted In the press. in public speeches
and IN society, and sways violently and
Indignantly government circles.
The vicious system of concessions
abounds. Dynamite, an article of prime
necessity in mining country, has been
made the subject of monopoly and grant
ed to an individual who, for considera.
| lions unknown, is entitled to exclude all
other dynamite from the country but his
own, and receives a royalty of rs. ed. a
ton on all his own dynamite which is
consumed. To such pitch has the policy
of concession been carried that am in
formed that quite recently an individual
applied TO the government for a concession
to grant concessions, and that the propo-
sition was graveIy and seriously consider
ed, but has not yet been accepted
the English or Americans it would prob
ably now be peopled by some millions of
Europeans, would be giving forth every
variety in inexhaustlble quantities of veg
etable, animal and mineral produce; inter
sected by railways and canals-in a word
1t might be the most wealthy and
prosperous spot upon the face of the
earth.
have spoken of silver mines. These
are situated some forty miles to the east of
Johannesburg, and are of very recent dis
covery. The history Of them is somewhat
remarkable. A company was formed to
work them with, believe, capital of
about quarter of a million. The affair
was probably fraud, the money was
mostly wasted; little was found and moth
ing was done and the silver mines of the
Transvaal fell into disrepute and disfavor.
Some person or persons, however, discov-
cred On the property specimens of ore of
singular richness. These being brought
TO gentlemen possessing experience and
capital, were pronounced by them to be
good silver ore. A small syndicate was
soon formed, shares of the old company
were quickly bought up, new capital was
expended, the reef has been opened up and
developed and ascertained to be of great
extent md fair richness. The average
yield of the ore has been estimated by
assay TO be about thirty ounces of silver to
the ton. In some places, however, it
reaches the high average of from two
hundred to three hundred ounces to the
ton. 1t contains about thirty per cent. of
lead
| am Informed by experts that the geo.
logical formation of these ore deposit is
peculiar, the presence in abundance OF
carbonate of iron and almost total absence
of zinc and of any excess of silver render
ing smelling very easy. At present some
difficulty in working this ore at a profit
may arise from the necessity of having to
use for smelling imported coke at the cost
of some Els per ton. In the immediate
neighborhood coal mines are being work
ed, but it is doubtful weather this coal can
be manufactured into coke sufficiently
good for smelling purposes. It is known,
however, that there exist hard by beds of
superior coal, and great hopes are enter
tanned that sufficiently good coke may be
produced upon the spot. Silver reefs ap-
pear to abound on the properties adjoining
that of the Transvaal silver mines COM
pany. One or two syndicates have been
formed to acquire and develop these prop
critics, and it is quite possible that the
silver mines of the TransvaaI may become
a larger, more i'm portant and a more
valuable industry than even the gold mines
of the Randi
| made, in company with some friends,
a very interesting and pleasant expedition
to these silver mines, and the incidents of
the Journey led me to offer few remarks
upon the presence of game and the pros
poets of sport in the Transvaal My
friend and |, who were naturally not COM
petent to form any practical judgment on
mining values, took with us our guns and
dogs in order to while away the time dur
ing which the engineer experts would be
at work.
Not many years ago these wide and
grassy plains abounded with game Of al
mos; every description. Persons whose
word can be implicitly relied upon have
informed me that within the last fifteen
years they can remember these plains be-
Ing covered as far as the eye could reach
with countless thousands of wild beasts,
blessbok, and springbok and other varle-
ties OF the deer and antelope tribe. So
desolate and llfeless is the appearance of
these plains now that it is difficult to
credit the assertion. 1t happens, how
ever, unfortunately for the sportsman that
not long ago the demand for hides was
considerable, and the wise. prudent and
intelligent Boer Immediately let to work
and slaughtered without discrimination
every wild four-footed animal. So reck-
less and ruthless was the slaughter that
these Boer sportsmen never cared to carry
home the animals they had slain. Form
ing themselves into large shooting parties,