The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-28

eolo ana ivory and precious things in
Wnlch she traded with the man of many
wives.
People laugh now at fabulous stories
II Il Wh'ch they placed such implicit conf
uehse at that time OF excitement. Still
all the rumors and reports which the
chartered company so sedulously fostered
ana set afoot had the desired effect: pros
pecIors, orlmful of confidence, poured in
IN thousands with their pack donkeysand
ramShackie wagons. Hundreds tramped
the whole distance on foot. CARRYING
IneIr scanty food and their tools ia adj
dltlon to their rifles and ammunition on
their backs. And besides the individual
prospectors, syndicates of capitalists
from the Cape and johannesburg sent nm
well equipped expeditions and gold ex-
perts to test the value of the reefs aud
10 report generally on the county as A
held for agricultural and industrial enter
prises.
At first it was difficult to get to work
owing to the lateness of the season and
the consequent high grass, the absence of
batteries and other mining implements
and appliance, and to political troubles
Wnlcn made u necessary for the admins
traitor to call in the prospectors for mill
tary service, it was not until july. 1891
that regular workings were commenced.
Since that time prospecting has been car
RED on Systematically and efficiently, re-
sultlng IN the discovery of several cold
1elds which have since been actively de-
veloped.
The principal gold discoveries have
been made in this districts of Manica,
Harley Hills, Mazoe, Lomoghunda's and
Victoria. The latter is the most recent
und perhaps the richest gold field discov-
cred IN the country. New claims are
being pegged and registered every dav-
and 1t is no exageration to describe the
country as one vast gold field. The gold
bearing formation in these districts.
winch have been thoroughly proved and
prospected is approximately estimated to
cover total are a $50 miles long by $50
miles broad. The general formation of
the reefs is hard, white quartz, more
rarely red, with frequent often showing
visible gold freely. The districts of Man
lea and Mazoe are particularly distin-
guished by the abundant evidences of the
so-called native workings.
The present native inhabitants declare
that they have no knowledge or traditions
OF the ancient goldworkers in Mashona-
land, and 1t is a curious fact, although
the visible gold is staring in their faces,
they show not the slightest inclination to
work it. AT the same time they extract
the iron ore and smelt it, and put it to a
number of useful and ornamental pur-
poses. For the gold they care nothing.
This curious state of things has let to the
superstition that the ancient gold workers
of Mashonaland were Arab slavemasters,
who, making their way coastwise from
the Persian Gulf, employed the feeble in
habitants to work the gold for their ben
eft.
The method of gold mining employed by
the anc1entS is not so primitive or inef-
fectual as has been supposed. The coun-
try abOunds with reef formations which
have the popularity of 'pinching OUT a
short distance below the surface. Ere
quently the outcrops viii give indications
of great richness. 1t is these reefs prin-
cipally which have been worked by the
natives. They have picked the eyes out
of the land, and, after sinking 20 or 80
feet, it seems as if they had grudged the
labor and expense and thrown up the
work in disgust. 1t is obvious from this
method of working that the supply of
gold easily obtainable was vastly in ex-
cess of their requirements. The presence
of the ancient workings in the country
has also had the excellent effect of at
tracing the attention of prospectors to
valuable reefs which, if undistin-
guished by previous attention, might
have been passed by unnoticed
or disregarded as worthless
Many of the richest reefs at present be-
ing worked by white men in Mashonaland
have been previously worked by the
ancients to an insignificant depth and
then abandoned, in spite of the feet that
deep sinking has shown no diminution of
the breadth or richness of the reef, and
that it has in many instances been con-
sidered sufficiently promising for CAPT
talists to import expensive and elaborate
the exploitation of the property.
In Mashonaland prospecting is the regu-
lar industry of the inhabitants, and it is
fully recognized by the Chartered Com
pany that the value of the vast territory
it has so recently acquired must ulti-
mately be judged by the richness of the
gold deposits. Apart from gold,
Mashonaland is not so valuable or
so convenient as an outlet for sur
plus population as the Cape Colony,
the Orange Free State and the South
African Republic. By gold it must stand
or fall and any one who has personal
acquaintance with the country will read
lily accept the test. Its mineral wealth is
undoupted, and fresh discoveries are re-
ported day after day. At the same time
the life of a prospector in MashOnaland is
far from being luxurious. The long grass
impedes his observations and has to be
burned his Katfir servant and man-of-all-
work will clear out for no eXplaina BILE
reason and leave him hundred miles
from anywhere, and the lions will make
things lively at night and probably bag
one of his bony and detected donkeys,
while tiger will eat his dog and white
ants destroy his clio hing. And yet the
life is not all hardships. 1t has its COM
peDsations.
A prospector is a cheerful wight, who
loves rather to look on the bright side of
h dman existence. He is certainly the
most hopeful creature in the world. A
respondent prospector has never been
heard Of The climate is splendid, and
wood and water are plentiful all over the
country. Any one who can hold gun
straight need never starve, and if the
lions become too pressing in their atten-
tions to allow the wary prospector to en-
loy his nights rest undlsturbed, he
climbs tree and INDUCES in a little tar
get shooting from its branches. 1t is I'M
doubtedly a rough and adventurous life,
but there are good things to be picked up.
Every prospector and miner IS full OF
hope and that in itself speaks volumes
for the hidden wealth contained IN the
country. Labor is cheap and plentiful,
and the natives are amiable and readily
exchange their produce for few beads
or a scrap of calico. 1t is quite possible
TO live very cheaply in Mashoneland.
The rec ent hostilities with the Mata-
beles have thrown back the mining indus
try and stopped all work, but still every
body has EXPERIENCED a feeling of relief
that the period of suspense is at an end.
=. -. - ov;dant fact that sooner or