The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-03-11
FROM FAR-0FF AFRICA
An Interesting Letter Telling Of Clpa
Colony.
lT'sNOT SUCH A BAD PLACE
The People Who Love Wine Should
Read This story OF How the
Luscious stuff Is Made In
the Red Hot South.

which is of especial interest at this time
on account OF the fact that small parties
| OF miners are leaving Butte nearly every
week for the South African gold fields.
| Mr.. Wells says:
"A brief outline of my impressions of
Cape Colony, gathered from six months
| travel through the interior of the country,
| may be of interest to tho STANDARDS
readers. Cape Colony dates its first set
Element by Europeans back TO about tho
same time as the United States, and con-
sidering its splendid climate and the fact
of its being only IS days distant from
Great Britain by steamer, one would ex-
pect to see IL very much more thickly pop
ulated and in n much more advanced
| state of development than it really is. In
comparison with the United Sta es il is
far behind in social, political and relig-
ious progress. This is mainly due to the
conservative, non-prosressive type of set
tiers that first held possession OF the coun-
try, for had it been first settled by the
mother OF oil modern coioniZng coun-
tries, Great Britain, Cape Colony woul d
doubtless be a century in advance of her
present position. Tho Dutch, however,
| held sway IN the country from 1862 to 1906,
when the English took possession, and
from that date the Cape entered upon a
4 ItW era. ucU ltlGTC were OILY ABOUT o.
OOJ people of European descent, hut the
negro population was countless. To-day
| tho total population Is about 10000
1 Dutch, English, Germans and their de-
| scendants and about n million negroes.
| In Cape Town and, in fact, throughout
the colony, Dutch is the prevailing lam
guage, but English IL rapidly gaining
ground and possibly in 80 years from now
| little or no Dutch will be spoken. | have
found 1t exceedingly difficult in some of
| the inland towns to make myself UNDER
| stood, but with the aid of few Dutch eN-
presslons and a little pantomimlc per-
| Torrance, have generally managed to
get through all right.
| Cape Town, the capital of the colony, is
an old fashioned town of 100000 popula-
| lation, one-thrd black, one-thrd white
and the other thir! a happy medium.
| Along Adderly street, the main business
| turoughfare, all grades of coloring from
Gear white To- ebony black can he seen.
Then there are about 5000 natives of
| Ccylon and Southern India in Cape Town
and these again have been more or less
crossed with the negroes and the hall
breed Dutch, so that II requires very
little stretch of the Imagination 10 picture
| tho medley of colors and shades OF skin.
The English, however, in their character
lstic style, stand aloof in their exclusive
ness and keep their strain of blood unim-
paired. the town is regularly laid out,
all the streets being at right angles aud
tho main busin street running from
| Table bay upwards to the base of tho
great Table mount, which rises TO n height
| of about 900 feet above sea level and
towers in ma estic grandeur over the city.
/ shall not soon forget my first impression
| when sailing into Table bay the morning
| arrived at the cape. The pretty round
bay, shut off from the ocean by q strange,
grewsome island called Robben island.
inhabited by 800 lepers and about 100
lunatIcs and prisoners; then on the strip
of land from the waters edge, sloping up
wards for "A mile or two to the base of the
mountain, stretch the low, square, white
houses of the town and its mountain SUI
burbs, and just dipping down over the
long level of the mountains was mag
niiicent white cloud which is often seen
in the early morning and about o'clock
in the afternoon, andls locally known as
the "tablecloth." The top of the noun
tain is perfectly level like a great plain of
solid rock, about three miles long by a
milo in width, and is very appropriately
called Table Mount. The country towns
are very oldfashioned as to the style of
houses and the people belong TO the last
century IN their mode of doing business,
but with that they are very well
to do and seem happy and
content. The towns of StIllenboseh,
DE paarl and Worcester, the three prin-
opal country towns in the western part
of Cape Colony, are fairly thriving and
prosperous places, with populations OF
about 5000 to 5000. The people are |
mainly Dutch and the cntcrpri ses are of !
tho awfully slow kind that wants good |
deal of waking up. Wine is ono of the !
chef products of this district and to |
show the RIP Van WInklc state of the |
colonist, they still have the old-fashoned |
way of trcading out the juice of tho grape |
10y naked feet as did Noah aud his chill !
dTcn when they came out of the ark. IL. is |
n sulcndid argument for tcetotalcrs 10 |
Il. al,s,h 10
have seen il. 4 few black negroes arc |
clothed IN sunshine and a piece of coffee |
sack and put in with bare feet and leg |
TO tread tho juice from tic luscious |
grapes. The sight should have very
wholesome effect on tho " inc bibber, but |
IL doesn't. y great deal of the wine Is \
exported TO Great Britain, and, IN fact. /
Cape wines rank pretty high in London /
ana other markets. Fruits of all kinds /
are abundant. Grapes, pears, peaches,
oranges, apr.cots, Strawberries and other ]
fruits are So plentiful that they are al (
lowed 10 20 to waste in immense quan. |
titles.
The colony is at present not in a very |
thriving condition, owing to the too great /
influx of unskillcd artisans, clerks aud |
other workmen. Many of them find their /
way up to johannesburg. the gold mining |
town III the South African republic, which /
lies just l,OJO miles northeast OF Cape l
Town. Unless man is practical miner /
he would better stay away from Johannes !
burg. as the gold there Is all taken from /
quartz reefs. Placer diggings are un- l
known. All Of the claims are in tho |
hands of powerful English companies,
and there is little or no chance of a man /
making fortune unless TIC is a smooth |
man IN the business of company promot-
ing,
Johannesburg is wonderful city, only
eight years old, with population of 90
90, made up mainly of EnglIshmen and |
European>.So arbitrary and eNactinc and |
non-progressive Is the Dutch government,
under its Dutch president, Pau. Kruger,
that revolution Is looked for. and II may
break out any moment. There Is said to
be E-ONul.OO invested in various
enterprises IN the country around Johan-
nesburs. principally hy English capital-
lists. and vet no foreigners, or ''wiciau-
dersn As they are called. have a vote in
the government Of the country. The gov
ernmnnt is run hN nltch hnrrs fnr thn |