The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-28
IlyD OF SOLONON'S MINES.
IN TDeyhaustibIe Supply Of Gold in
South Africa.

Nr,,roher of earS-MashonaAano ana
wa+abeleland Healthy and Labor
Chaan-Constant Discoveries of
v-ssb Mineral wealth-Living Cheap
ard the Natives Amiahle.
From the New York Times.
,,7.;,e the advocates of bimetallism are
ING not a little Of their support from
.s..nscious argument that the gold sup
Us If the world must naturally, in the
80 of time. be exhausted and that
oIrsadv an appreciate diminution of out
ant &c apparent, it is but just and advis-
pS, - state a few facts in connection
-, the cold mines of South Africa, and
-arricuIarlv of the most recently devel-
Iua5 mart of it, the vast country stretch
W. for an indefinite distance north and
--s Of the South African republic, the
land of Ophir and the region of King Sol
omon's miles, prosaically known as Mas
without exaggeration itmay be averred
that when the gold mines of California
~ Australia. Russia and New Guinea
have given up their last pennyweight and
tbeir richness shall be remote and un-
needed tradition, there will still be found
IN South Africa supply of precious
r,etal which may be worked under healthy
s,d economical conditions capable of sup
rIyin, all the demands of civilization for
a. incslculabIe number of years.
Afri,a's claim to be considered as a
roId.nrOducing country has until recently
been based chiefly on the possession of
the gold fields of Barberton and johann
resiIprg Both are situated in the terri
tory of the South African Republic, and
II may he safely Concluded thatif the ex-
istance of these fields had been matter
ofcommon knowledge at the period when
ENGLAND was squabbling with the Beers
aver the possession of what was at that
lime despised as a comparatively savage
and worthless tract of territory, portion
nj tine map which is now. colored yellow
would be stained with the deeper English
red But. while the two gold fields were
discovered within few years of each
other. and only a few hundred miles
apart, their formations are widely differ
enr and their subsequent development
has not been attended with an equal
measure of success.
At Barberton the scarcity of water and
the almost inaccessible position of the
reef on a rugged mountain side has COM
bned to renuer the process of gold ex-
traction costly and laborious. Johannes
burg. on the other hand, has sprung into
existence like city of the old enchanters
TWAS a bare, bleak plain one day, and
the next it swarmed with rough mining
population who lived in tents and shanties
and drank a great deal more than was
good for them. Now it is the greatest
city in South Africa, with big hotels, the
electric light, and all the modern appli-
ances Of Civilization. 1t has a population
of over 10000 whites and quite twice that
number of coored people, which include
representatives of almost every nation
Katrs Hottentots, Arabs, Hindoos and
Chinese ..-.'
The main reef has been proved to ex-
tend 10 q distance of fully thirty miles on
each side of johannesburg, which is thus
centrally situa Ell on the richest and best
developed gold field in South Africa. In
the near neighborhood of the town there
are at least thirty mines working at full
pressure and presenting such a noisy
scene OF activity and hustle as to quite
scare the patriarchal old Beers as they
listen 10 the whir of machinery breaking
the silence Of their quiet primitive home
steads, -......
some idea of the pitch to which active
and intelligent mining operations has been
brought IN South Africa may be gathered
IRON the fact that the output of gold for
the month of November in the last year
was I6OOO ounces from johannesburg
alone, and the total value of the gold ex-
raeted from the umain reef during the
year log3 may be approximately estimated
al not far short of SIC, 900 900.
before thls year is out the monthly out
put WILL with scarce a doubt, stand at
ZVV'UVJ ounces It may be added that the
GepIn Of the reef has been tested at 1000
leet below the surface. At that depth the
feel was found 10 fully maintain its sur
ldCe breadth and showed free gold in
sreal abundance. Consequently deep-level
plopeFtes are favorite investment for
fa p9tI az with long purses, Yho are con-
seuI 10 wait Tor their money. These are
!alIs which should make any advocate of
sic OlileJal nc theory hesitate At least,
y1su ssI} Jne gold scarcity argument for
- -utAe and taIlaciOus. johannesburg
, "tGIe n Is capable Of supplying the world
WIN all The gold it will REQUIRE for an in
c SenlilSe number of years. The main reef,
Louoluereu IN Its great extent iLs uounu-
~ ~ uepIn and uniform breadth, the tract
r rSi9 udIure OF its ore and its unvarying
c clues throughout, may certainly be
yr -c,sGSu dS Ihe greatest gold field in the
du'lU' VI It's wealth, until the exact
uepln 10 which the reef de sends has been
s9 ei famed, 1t is impossible to give even
Goo ppiuAlmate estimate For all prac-
"G1EOIe purposes it is illimitable
frari sIedIeSt incentive to discovery of
crIiars SUI AeIds has always been the pc
Ia Ia nature and iidiosyncrasies of those
siTe I 1ono| the fascinating though illu-
nnGe Ia, Ia IN all its turns and indications
nect Cr Yae surface of the earth. Pros
dent race @i0 an 4l e4trayagant ana improvi-
anleWd speculator who inspects Their,
pl?perles and offers them casb on The
r Vol. lash to a prospector is like car
i've oouHKey, Its irresistibly attract
se5. Frooably the offer does not renre-
5 vsI twentieth part of the mines vsine
in the ~ ~ gspector IS content. 1t is bird
cbina.tul dHu' he knows the cost of ma
items If s uuu 5anor and miscellaneous
his nrons 90 peuulLure, SO he hands over
out IT, ~, pockets his cash, and clears
be does Tlo+ 70 tne traditions of his class,
GOES info l tS. Jake the field at once He
and drinI, CoMn' puts up at the swell hotel,
is ali gora Iut MS money. In month it
are slinnir'.o uv Wllle the last sovereigns
shrew5 60 through his fingers he is
not helm bI ;yIlg1 70 reflect that if he does
BUYS tb,a alllselI nobody else will So he
loads fbe0, Ut Tour pack donkeys and
dynami' ~ ~. WIN provisions, tools and
the wilds e'arls out once more into
iudivi5SS.yIn 9; at johannesburg when the
Of the MAJ ilsEers had been crowded out
and wide oIo. Neet' They dispersed far
berley. so1,a e. t1e country, some to Kim
Rest 9GHe 70 Barber.on and Pilprirn.s
80 dpd a few tho ,a:.I - az TIM .