Morning journal and courier., 1893-09-04
No. 2lI
4 Woman In the African Dizrtnx..

CFrom the September Csutury1
The advent of q woman marked an
epoch in the history of Pilgrims Rest leo
called bscause of the rest 1t suggested
when the almost urcoronersble taGk of
reaching IL had betn Eccon pliEhedD, and
there were Among the 6segsrs men who,
long unRccustoned 20 the sight Of Eueh q
phenomenon, could not oTercome their
sslf-consciousnsss sufficiently TO approach
within speaking distance: and yet, con-
sumed with curiosity, they made OBJ
serTRtions from the shelter Of friendly
rocks, snvyipg more fortunate comrades
who found presence of mind TO face the
unfamiliar spectacle. The privAtiuns and
mutual dependence which are part and
parcel of the digger's life call into action
the best phase Of human character, and
the genial interchange Of kindly aid con-
duess TO frank social relations that are IN
deniAbly charming.
The most cordial assistance Was ren-
dered my sister In every detail: her tent
was pitched II a quiet, secluded spot; Ehe
was advised in the oelection Of a claim;
initiated into the fCrmRlities Of pegssng-
out and registration; and thus found many
anticipated difficulties considerably aneH-
GRATED. The caespness Of native labor
lesssned in great degree the hAudships Of
living at these gold. fields. The AmBton-
gas, a very intelligent tribe on the east
coast, came In freely TO work, Offering
their services at the rate Of one pound per
month, with the usual rAtions of mealie
meal; and having paid the digser's tax
of five shIllings for the month, and hired
several of these natives, my sister found
herself settled down to the life of q dig
ger. She superiniended the work OF hsr
claim hd-azfE anH n fha of
washing the disintegrsted soil she Per
eonAlly took part.
Ny Eister lived for two yeArs in her
little canvas tent on the creek, which
she had IN the meantime inclosed by
means of fence of laced boughs and
planted about with vegetables. She found
gold for the most part steadily, but only
in smsN quantities of few ouncss st a
time. Ii existed very indefinitely. and
there were no indications that proved OF
the slightest value in searching for it
At one time Ehe hit upon the sTpedi-
ent of meeting her expenses by making
ginger beer and pastry, a difficult tssE
where Kitchens are not, and with cook
ing utensils Of the most primitive kind.
The eight Cf snch delicscies raised the
liveliest emotions in ihe dissers, whose
life condemned them 10 8 monotonous and
sorry fare, and the kAar who became the
itinerAnt veader on tbese occasions grew
ir fisted with the importance IL conferred
on him. he Ess hailed in all directions,
and when he conld no longer meet the de-
mhnds Of imporiu1ste customers he would
toss the basket into the sir with q smile OF
ironicsl pity In the meantime several
clsims hsd passed through my Eisfer'E
hands, and The last Of these realized some
of the expectations the hope Of whsch
gives q favor of excitement 90 the mono
tony of gold iygi1g. This claim con
tanned = Tica lead, from which some vsTy
fine nuggets of almost pare gold wer'
taken, solid Jumps of metal averaging IL
weight from eight ounces TO four pounds
| She was now in possession of modersti
| competency, and her Encoess wAs III
theme of considerable comment through
out the entire press Of South Africa