davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

The American colony in Johannesburg num-
bers about 800. An effort is being made by
them To secure the establishment OF United
states consulate there In order TO facilitate
the transportation OF American machinery Tor
use ID the mines There 10 Dut little clannish
celebrate the Fourth Of July and Thapksgiy-
ing Pay ana the English eel citrate tho Queen
birthday. but for tho rest OF the year they
nrlnE brandy and soda ithe fayorite tippIe OF
South africa together in the Rann NluD. ana
never allow themselves to he distmrbed by
thoughts OF nat iona differences uThefe are
great many Americans in the Wanderers
Cluh. an athletic organ cation. In which
cricket Is Il o most favored game.
. n railroad now runs from Johannesburg 10
Canetown. over which ono through passenger
train starts from each end every hay. inc
Journey takes two ard one-hhli DAYS as Inc
Train stops nearly every ten min There
Is q sleeping car on this train. but after the
lrst night tho passengers usually slt up ana
drink brandy and soda in preference TO In
Vit!nG another night 81 torture
No better account of tho climate OF Johannes
burg. ana OF the vegetation that ioufishes In
II. could be given than the, following when has
Just appeared IN GaIdHG" CWoHHH'
After absence from this town OF Just three years
some Impressions OF the gardens. plantations. and
fora OF the golden city may be OF interest porubAl
ofthe weather notes annexed Will give fair idea OF
what our climate 10 ike We are nearly In tho same
latitude as Delagoa Bay ana the south ern point OF
Madagascar NotwithstandinR the past cold winter
vegetation has suffered but little In some loT'iying
wet situations young eucaypt have been Killed TO the
ground BY the frost, but now growing away from
suckers as well as ever
have seen all the principal gardenA tree plants.
tion', and nurseries near th!s town. and ain able
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

was organized. Every mining company was
compelled to report each month the number
OF tons OF ore taken out and the amount Of gold
extracted. For nearly four years the towns
ambition was to see the monthly output reach
100000 ounces. When this was realized. n
for a day and tho event was celebvlted with
rousing enthusiasm. The whole town. as.
peeially 10 the neigh borhood of the Exchange.
building. Speeches wero made. thousands OF
corks popped in honor o! the event. and in the
evening there was u grand illumination and
fireworks display. In the year that has passed
since thrn the monthly outEut has never
100000 the town will celebrate again.
But before this enormous output was reache ed
there was n season of panic in Johannesburg.
1t was the reaction following the first burst
OF enthusiasm. Instead OF attending to the
working OF the mines. instead OF constructing
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

passed and the Leg isature Is opposed to IL
the President threatens to resign. That al
Ways brings TIP LegislatnEe around; 1T has
the present magistrate. has threaten cd to re-
sign Ave times at single meeting. aud that
after each threat his bill was passed
At any rate. this Government. on July Ia
1885,. proclaimed and threw open nine farms,
the names OF which are rather interesting in
themselves. They are Langlnagte. Driefon-
tein. liantieslaaGte. Doom fonte!n. VoGelstruis-
iontein. Paardeplaats. Turirontein, Elands-
fontein. and lioodepoort. The Government
agreed TO recognize the claims that, lad
STIMULATING, however. that those who worked
them Paid tho prescribed tax and observed
the rules and regulations fixed by tho Govern
ment The action 81 the, Government at
tracted large crowds Of people to the spot, and
soon a big mining camp sprang into existence.
Then followed "a condition Of Affairs similar in
many rcspects to that which prevailed In Cali
foTnla in ~.
bay after dry an interminable stream Of
wagons poured into the town from every di-
recton. bringing whole families. with house,
hold utensils and MERCHANDISE OF all descrip-
tons. tnglishmen Beers. nutchmen. Ameri:
cans. kailirs. Iulus. and Hottentots jOstled
one another in tie rude streets OF the camp.
Some Of the" tuil' waffle and dauh huts as il
they intended to remain in one spot Others
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18
THIS SNAKE WOULDN'T TURN
They Had Him In Lathe and Were GoIux
TO Use Him for Shafiing.

from me CINCINNATI 7TibbmS.
In the fall OF 1895 ! was sent from an East
orn Arm to Colorado to superintend the cree
tion Of sawmill to replace an old one which
N was 19stro ib BY IRE EverytniinG went
about two weeks with the exception OF a
counter shaft to run the planer and, hatcher.
would take not less than two weeks and we
came to the conclusion TO cut piece of the
old line shalt and turn it W ourselves. as we
had an old lathe standing next to the boiler
and engine,
but at S @ hat day ESS arX Kc AMY
snow storm set in and the thermometer dropped
to t zero. The next W9rnng we sent our engi:.
found them covered with snow and Ice. At last
he Fec" in ETtns h"d Of Piece abSa.
and ta""r% at on, s"a We nseaoa Spl s, ys
ana OF, ncw tho thin Part. ! told the tie
Hn nis kind Of iron ron would not do
this in zero weather, it soon would be all right
4 il came int The lathe next 70 the boiler. lie
same. and from there to, tho lathe. put the
steady rest IN position, and tried to turn 1t 10
the a Gh ss na al in a he As said
place. the ice had melted during the time and
the shaft got softer and softer, and the tool
At this, momont the proprietor Of the place
at6s m " mn sSHnT ms man running The
nm tryns to turn W sha e Mas ono upinE DO
nevor saw piece OF IRON like this. First It
was MS hard as glass. but as soon as It got
the time" The Proprietor took u step for.
ward !ust In time TO SEQ tho two ends drop
9rt OF the centres, but held in tho mid
different colors, The proprietor was an
old man and had for many years lived in
that his engineer had taken frozen rattle.
snake for piece OF iron, cut OF the tail and
for counter shaft. The snake was n OF hang.
Ing on the rest longer than minute when it
commenced to whirl around to free itself All
somebody killed Il with a club We looked Tor
tho tail, which by this time had also thawed and
found niteen rattles on same. Tho engineer
swore he never would look for another piece of
iron on day like this in Colorado
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

lent, sluggish nature. fmpassive and unasser-
two. excepting on one subject They hate the
forcigner--the uhiand,y. ms they call him.
Curiously enough, though it is not so curious
when you stop to think OF tho feelings OF
Americans toward En2lshmen IN past years,
they hate tho IIollanders. from whom they are
descended. most Of NIL
So it happened that after Marais had been
packed on TO Holland. nothing more was heard
uf gold in tho Hand until late in 1884. Mr.;
lrcd Struhcn returned to England and told
TINT he hnd discovered gold in the Rand
My attention" he said, was first drawn to
there in December. 1888. At that timo con-
sidcrcd u to he anrifrrous. In January. 1894.
| started prospecting Witwatersrand. and com
mcnccd on farm nnmod Sterkfontein. at the
west end OF the range here On tho very Sec
ond day found II reef showing gold which as
nifty feet had improved SO that somo OF it
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

Of bustling lifo and activity noisy with its
machinery. rich. Independent and hourishng.
The power which caused this transformation
was gold. No other incentive to human ambi-
lion or greed could have worked such u mir
ncle Geld was discovered in tho weld. veins
ofgold that seemed boundless and men llocked
to tho spot from tho four quarters Of tho globe.
OF course. during the first few years Of the
gold fever the place was nothing moro than an
immense mining camp. To-day it is a beauti-
full city, lighted by electricity. its streets
straight and well paved. its buildings OF stone.
and its water supply equal to that OF any town
OF It's size In the world. 1t contains churches
and banks. and hospitals. and theatres. a
Stock Exchange. andiclub houses. and u race
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18
NATADS OF THE FREE BATHS.
GRACEFUL FORMS HdLF HID In
CALICO AND BINGHAM
Where the Women OF the Tcnements Take
Their Coo'ine Pinn Q Sights Ono Might
Sec Thrre DAYS WIN In the untterY Bnth.

where the Women OF the Tcncments Take
Their Cooling rinr Q Sights Ono Might
Sec These Days with In the battery Hath.
The naiads OF tho tcncmcnts who trooped
down TO the FREQ bath ut the Battery Friday
were not arrayed. when they plunged into the
water. in costumes that bore any rescm blance
10 the gay attire Of their spoiled patrician sis
ters. who spend tho season posing on the
oceans frothy brlm. There were few fright.
beribboned suits. but the multitude wore
diarhanous bingham and calico that chung to
dripping forms like mere drarery.
All the feminine world. from the standpoint
OF tho student. or even the casual observer of
the human form. becomes equal in n bathing
suit. provided tho suit is really used TO bathe
In The frils and furbclows cannot disguise
angularties. knock knees. or bow legs when
the suit Is wringing wet The 400 big AMI
little girls who fearlessly Owed into tn Q cool
ness OF the bathing bath from daylight until
an hour after dark Friday. to tho artist VINO
surrcptitiously observed them. seemed TO have
better figures than the girls usually sccn
ut seaside resorts. Maybe. ms tho artist
modestly limited. tho scarcity OF bathing
suit Is an advantage even to imrcr-
feet forms. Never did tho caressing
brine kiss moro defiant or redder lips than
those OF the joyful swiplmors-for they arc all
swimm ers-who FLASHED in the bath. The
fairest girl in embroidered fnery could not
dive more gracefully and stay under longer
than they. The reason is most Of themhave
been attending the baths since they were able
only to toddle. and the natatorial instinct is 30
strong that many OF them play truant on
ladies day" just to take dip In the river.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

Jennie Sullivans m other came to the bath
In the m ing with q strap. hunting for Jen.
ME She described Jennie to the matron and
asked her not to let Jennie go in bathing as
she was playing truant from school. jennie
turned up with her bathing suit and. with an
appearance Of great caudor. declared that shs
had seen her mother since the matron had.
and that her mother had forgiven her and al
believe Jennie, but she let her in.
Jimmie Donovan. whose craving for water
cannot be satisfied by three protracted
with his little sister Kate. rugged out
resist the masculi ne inclination to dive and
pinch tho ankles OF the girls Sometimes he
upset them He was having great fun and
Washington street spied hi m and yelled across
5hG 9 n path diso an: dere,s Chimmie Donovan "
end OF the bath; But one Of the matrons saw
him. and. shaking her rattan at him said:
You, boy, como out OF there"
Say. lady amt no boy. II you don't think
so ask me sister Katie Donovan"
fcs. lady, he's me sister," Loyalty answered
Katie. unconscously giving her brother away.
Then there was rush for Jimmy by the md,
irons and the two male attendants. but Jimmy
was an arttful .dodger; and he cluded his pur.
nobody cared to catch him.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

Mr.. J. 6. Cnrtis. the eldest son Of decrre Tick.
that these reefs were n othing less than the side
Of an immense basin, which began along the
Witwatersrand. dipped to the south and came
boon discovered. And. what is more. he held
that the din OF the reefs did not continue
gradually that by boring from 800 to 1000
ieet in the ground the gold could be mined as
far as two miles to the Routh OF the outcrop.
This theory was nfrm ed soon afterward by
Mr.. Hamilton Smith. an engineer from Ken,
the Rothschilds
To those who had followed tho progress OF
johannesburg this theory was as much OF .
the Doors. Hundreds OF claims were pegRed
out to the south Of the outcrop claims and
was demonstrated to be true, Hundreds OF
new companies were organized; and the re-
sources OF the Rand were suddenly doubled.
nay, quadrupled. To-day shafts are being
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

glomerate beds or drifts in tho neiGhhorhood
which Eossity mITht carry geld as in other
closely Es the the end Of April had sueeeeded
finding no gold in them, /. for some time. gave
them no further attention. as | was too
6rsy Mssdn WIKI 0n0r npo Work turn us
my attention to. them. This time, was more
successful and found great number. some Of
my brother that had made the discovery Of u
new formation which IN South Africa was not
thing ike payahle gold there was room and
work for hundreds OF mills ana thousands Of
miners. ! showed these congomerate beds to
was we'll laughed at Tor my trouble. some
friends vent so far as to advise us to leave tho
congIom crates. and they give very poor ro.
suits. In March Of that same year we crushed
Of q dWs to the 'ne'
To-day this indefatigable crusher OF con-
glomerntes ranks among the thousand richest
Such was the, beginning OF the gold fever
which during the next three years infected
followed Mr.. StruIen's EXAMPLE. and Tor many
months tho Rand was overrun by enthusiastic.
dSe en ~ Ptenniisss gold hunters; The
Within the range OF the eye in every direction
from the centre Of tho present town. there
1t was occupied by Boer named BcZuden-
mt H%d he not been Beer he would have
sofa all his lnnl Tor 80. ana WOulf nave been
delighted with the bargain As 1t was. his
hatred Of foreigners was far stronger pas
sion than his love Of gold.
j., At this rime tho De kaap gold fields were In
the zenith OF their popularity, and hundreds
OF gold hunters passed. by the Rand on their
way to Barberton and Komati never dreaming
that theyFere passing gold field which in q
few months would eclipse every othe " old field
on the continent. Many OF tho Beers who
owned farms along the Rand yielded to the
persistent elamors; demands. entreaties. and
The Boer Government took no action con-
corning tho now gold fields until July l8, 1886.
If over there existed In this world Govern
mont that combined oil tho essentials OF a
comic opera. excepting the music, it is
republic; When the President gets an idea
into his head helrs fire cant get II out" is an
expression that every visitor to Johannesburg
has heard. When the President wants a bill
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

and animated By the widest honos. Scenes OF
violence were hardly noticed. The excitement
OF n murder died away in an hour All senti-
ment, all order, all decency was lost in tho
wild. tumultuous. all-absorbing race Tor gold
On tho 10th OF September 1886. the Goyern-
ment decided to mark OF a township. Ihey
advertised the plan. called the. new town
dis mining commissioner. The first sale OF
building sites took place on Dec. \, 1851 Inc
prices ranged from few shillings to goo Tor
n stand" or lot OF 1OON5O feet The Govern
mcnt realized Gl3. 900 by this sale. In Janu-
airy. 1891 as tho number OF arrivals to the
land still continued. another sale took place.
at which Gln.92l was realized. In April. 1887.
allied. In that way the city Of Johannesburg
sprang into existence.
But soon the tumult Of camp life subsidized.
the wild scramble settled into steady. organ
lied PERSISTENCE. and II change came over the
scene. And the cause OF the change was gold
moro gold Capitalists from London. from
Paris and from the kimh erly district OF Africa
ganiZed companies. hired labor, and issued
stock. 1t was another instance OF gold attract
ing gold. From every quarter OF the Rlohe
capital poured into Johannesburg and big
mining companies were organized. some
were successful and made fortunes Others
failed and lost fortunes Stil the numher OF
companies increased with bewildering rapid
ity. Nothing will convey SO torcihlc an idea OF
the state OF affairs as these figures:
In November. 1887. there were siXty-eght
gold mining companies. with capital OF E3.-
U63 600.
In January. 1890. there wore 40 gold min
ing com pnnies with capital OF Gl 100000.
Herr Nlnuch was right. Tho country was
full Of gold. In 1883 the Chamber OF Mines
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

There Is no democracy even in FREQ bath.
The girls Of Irish and German rarentass
form sets. and vigorously eNrtFde from them
well-dressod German girl applied for admis-
sion TO tho nnth The matrpn suggested tina,
me girl could afford t. 90 Ioa less crowded
indignant. she said her father was taxpayer
-meaning that he WAS an owner of houses
and that rs he hclped to maintain tho fire."
baths, she intended to use ihcm. Shs
went in. ut she didn't enjoy herself. as SD"
exclusive German American aud irish Am"r.
lean sets. she caught slim and slippery lltt.@
girls trying TO dive between her log: : i" hal
frequently upset by uischiovous diver WHO
buttcd her Just ~ they reached tho surface.
The free hath graduate hundreds Il glrl
swimmers, every season. The big girls who
acquired the art in other years teach the L1ts
girls this year.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

and half south OF the outcrop.
Mr.. Hamilton Smith, in his report to tho
Rothschi!ds. wrote:
Under the laws under which mines are hold in the
S by o bua res Win s.oh p Sa
'G wo sisa fT s Ts ii hs .
OF his boundary but he has no rSGi, or privileges TO
is ne a. n Ss a s 2aE @
Spanish law H. the Americas IN the United states an
so Tss WIN
oss s SnG on ahs ss.
experience IN the United States has show that has
dnsaity dsSnins he icas. and satisfied ,hsi
zen had he %
that The beds were son,inuSus and on moiera,e in;
ss .o Oh Gs .sG %nt
than nr mile below tho chief prodncnS mine, These
posed y snSs % n , ,Ss u,
as nm ordinary british coiiiery Is worked Already
nqm9s sys y os5Tap
II nna . deep eT s Of
and show hiatt ,heor,o. have attempted to develop
are correct then many more shafts VII be sunk ami
e fd .,e until for nts zoe
hs t a a s %. is
unit, The product from this oomparnt ssy small dis
Of rom
pr"pauy ntNl anu thtH hur'Ihiih Inc Ranl
Tor 1892 will rank fourth. and believe the chances
arc that is product three or four yenrs from this
will TO over EO 600 900 nd continue that
ioE Roo1 many years to come. This probable great
increase in the worlds supply OF metallic currency 10
~ tue greatest interest not only to econ omsts but
also (" the common business man In fact 1t IL OF i'm
portance TO every member OF all civilized nations
In spite OF the success OF the mines and the
enthusiasm of the crowds that focked thther,
Johannesburg was hardly more than an or
Eani2ed camp until we'll on toward 1890
The carly settlers were too busiy occupied in
searching for gold to give much heed to the
mt n n th.Na tncf lAr xpnlt In 70 fl.tr
sanitary surroundings, The buildings that
wore then put up were mostly OF galvanized
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18


the owners and superintcndents OF the mines
change. Mining shares were run UP to ridicu-
lonss ligures.. While tho mines were standing
and bounds Then came the inevitable
crash. Bubbles, bursted and Spectators
were, ruined. European shareholders re-
wore unduIy discreditcd. tho stocks in the
London market went down. and tho people Of
salvation. stock gambling then ceased for II
while; and the companies set to work buying
tho mines Began to pay Honest divid d u"''
There is nothing so difficult to II layman rs
to describe technical subject for the perusal
full growth and prosperity OF Johannesburg.
and to form an idea OF its probable future, iii
necessary to know something about tho ma
The gold that was first discovered on til o
Rand cropped out Of the ground in series OF
th!ckness from rom 2 SNIFF e., nais to three and
In all. and the distance from the southernmost
70 tho northern reef averaged $50 feet When
tho land was proclaimed by the Government
many outcrop ella inns as thcy had the facilities
for working. Johannesburg: it must be re-
csso IS rs and fS n os as days
brouGht from tho British colonies " near
tho Government the only limit to the
number OF claims man could peg out was his
ability to work them. He had to begin pros
gecting at once, and pay the Government
rs. ia. q month for a prospector's license for
each claim. AS soon AZ he began to take out
gold ne had to have digger's license which
claims are 400 by 1870 feet. the latter dimen-
sion. east and west. along tho reefs; the for
NOR. north and south, so as to take in all the
1.-Two oucrops.
Now may no told the point upon which tho
future OF johannesburg depends.
This first prospectors In the Hand had very
little idea as TO the true formation Of the gold
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

track. 1t lies midway betwcen Zululand and
Bechuanaland. The output OF gold from its
mnes In one month. December. 1892. was
1l7.74S ounces. Tho total output OF gold in
ounces for ench OF the last five years has been
rs follows: 1855 23O,lS9: 1889. 3G9 55l !:
1890. 49i.s1o: 1891. 72o, 233: 1892 .ol0.s65
This is tho history OF tho Golden City. In
Tho first place. tho town is situated on the
southern slope OF the range OF hills known as
tho Witwatersrand white Water RidGeD
which forms the dividing watershed between
the Atlantic and tho Indian oceans.
The collaborating district is known through
out Africa rs tho Rand" the words Wit
Waters being commonly omitted The fact
that tho Hand contained gold was known as
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

showed . ounces. On this farm and surround
ing country | prospcctod for some seven
months. During that timo ! was also pros
On sept IL. 1854, struck a eneiss vein somo
four feet thick showing very rich, and, in some
rock. visible gold. Some OF tina rock assayed
very high indeed On finding this my brot her
and decided on erecting ive-stanp mill to
give the reef and this part OF the country q
good trial. which we did. erecting the mill
about December. 1885.
Early In April 1894. 7 first camo across
some wnter-worn pebbles on the very highest
parts Of the range. This thought strange
and felt certain tho whole country must
have been Mt one time submerged. This nat
uraIly led me to think that there must be con-
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18

my as nature had left 1t. with nothing but tho
hut and the phlegmatc Bocr to indicate that
man had ever set foot upon 1t.
A lonely spot in Africa! Could anything be
further from the worlds beaten track hut
ard n Boer-could anything ho drcaricr than
that? Yet see what has happened
That Boer. that dull. unmaginative Boer. Is
to-day u millionaire. with an enormous for
tune at his command: and in tho midst Of
that weld whore eight years ago nature
reiEned supreme. stands to-day Johannes
burg the Golden City. the home OF 10000
busy souls, the queen OF half a continent. full
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-18
sAFRICA'S GOLDEN CITY
JoHASSEsEURG ~ EIGUT FEARS MAS
GROHN 10 10000 POPULATION.

Before TINT Prrios ns site Wa. the Lonely
Holding of u Bocr-ItS wonderfui gold
Reefs Brouaht II People mud Prosperity
-ProspeetinE md hining Camp Boom
In south Arricn-Bcnuty OF the Town, its
social Life, and tho Promise Of its Future.
In tho Fummer Of 1885 solitary Boer sat
In front OF rude hut In the midst OF one Of
tho drcarlcst YIELDS Of tho South African ro-
public. wilder or more lonely SPOT the
Imagination coald never picture. Tho land