St. Paul daily globe., 1895-10-20

frequent, and the riches of Ophir were
always believed in by adventurous
prospectors, whose bones are now
bleaching on the desert plains of an
almost unexplored region.
In 1856, however, South Africa was
treated to wonderful stories of gold
discoveries in the Witwaterstrand dis
trict, near Pretonia, the capital of
Transvaal. and about 300 miles north of
Kimberly. Stories wilder than those
characterizing the first California dis
coveries were accepted, literally. and
the Kimberly diamond miners went
crazy over them, Houses of caravans
poured over the Veldt in search Of the
promised land. Scores We're forced to
return heartbroken, footsore and
weary but the multitude. with. the
mad persistence, which comes. upon
man to grasp fortune when she is
seemingly lavish in her promises,
raced through a country which had
before been unable to afford more than
miserable subsistence to few Beers
and blacks, and staked out claims by
the hundred.
Nine out of every ten of the eager
prospectors found to their amaze
ment, that they had been forestalled.
Rhodes and Barnato had, with con-
summate shrewdness, pounced down
on the gold-bearing reef, which ex-
tended about forty miles from east to
west, and had picked out the very
heart of the rich lodges. Their claims
occupied about two miles of the CEN
ter, and every subterfuge possible un-
der the extremely lax laws of the
Transvaal was resorted to in order to
make his claim legal. 1t is said that |
BaInato'S blood relatives out to the
tenth degree and back lineally for four
generations, were represented as the |
owners of some of the claims, but be
that as 1t may, their titles We're Sc
cured /
"hat has since become known as
the Barnato Circle then began to eX-
cerclse the wonderful control that has
made South Africa a very TOW in its
hands, Barnato and Rhode gave the |
conndlng public a-.chance to become
owners in some of the mines which
they had boldly usurped. The innate
genius of Rhodes, aided by the in
he1ted shrewdness of Barnato. was re-
Vealed when they began organizing
company after company, with capitals
ranging from 100000 to $4,000. COO. and
noating the stocks in European can
itals
AS high as three companies under
IaIE Ine Ibarnato regime We're fioated in one
week, and wealth rolled into the COT
Iers OF the projectors of the inuIfifar RI
Jus scnemeS faster than ever. Everv
1901 OF ground lying out of doors
nerailrG Derab yer1table Golconda-on pa
PerIWhen manipulated by the Circle.
allu the gullible public bought and
pought raster than the shares co11Id
"e issued from the printing presses.
VILE bnG madoest speculative whirl of
| Mic Mnlcn any record is known set in
Inc circle ran things with a high
nahd. 1t was Black Friday over again
1 10 the majority, but worthless shares
,o1e Us as II py magic from an intrinsic
l. value of not over % cents to 81 and
| theh by bounds, mea sured actually Inv
| secollus and minutes, to $40, $50 S100
ana ana even $500. Amazing as it sounds
Gn CLe snares OF the Griqualand, West
| copper, Asbestos and other mines ad
| vanceu IN one day from few dollars
| 70 the highest figure mentioned. and
mel Ine lever was not spent at this tre-
P PPemuous increase. All the time the
Barnato Circle, which was receiving
6O ana ~ per cent of the capital of the
companies for property rights. kent
unloading stock until it seemed thai
hne, btle inost nlSatlable greed must have
| Deen Sausfed many times over
oucn was not the case. Money was
10 20 pe had Tor the mere picking up in
ifansVaal during that memorable per
| q
gold district, was second San Fran
CISCO, ana Affords the only instance
WHeFe tne wonderful history of the rise
OF Plthole, Pa, has been re-enacted.
| rom rude Kaffir settlement it grew
to be town of 59,60O. peeple-an Amer
ican frontier town transferred to
AIIlca. But under disadvantages which
fe9G me[e nun hHhdTeds red Of times harder to con
building of Pithole, Johannesbere.
grew. 1t was 300 miles from the near
| eSt railroad, and it is said that every
suck 81 =, OF timber, every nail, every. pane
| VI glass and every article of civilized
| manufacture had: ito DE hauled aeross
4T 4rlo prair1es by means of OK wagons.
Inc, Inc doliar-a-pounnd -four stories of
y eaaly CaIIornia We're true with re-
sPect TO this latter-day reincarnation
OF the American gold camp, but Jo-
/ nanheSberg never stopped a day in its
growth: Inside of one year it had the
ateIs; and ch4rches: magnificent buildings
| ana the Barnato circle was seeing 10
II that 1t was to have more American
| pralhS came into play here. for it was
tanTougn anne,.iaa the aid of firm OF which an
prime mover, that the Barnato circle
obta1ned government concessions for
Ihe construction of street railways in
aaar 11naannesberg: were granted rights for
| electrlc lighting and secured wafer
privileges for the whole mining dis
| dollars. VI
] iHey uiu not stop at that. The
iransvaal authorities were like chill
6ren IN the hands of these men. They
iCiced the president of the republic to
pulld a railroad several hundred miles
1Pong, from the Cape Colony frontier to
| Pretoria, and they went further and
| treated with the government like kings.
| thodes, IN fact, Is the government
| MIN self, There will be trouble some
| oay IN the Transvaal, and there is no
telllng where the Whirligig of fortune
may not put him.
| But to return to the circle Tn five
! years Its members had reached the ton
| OIL the ladder, and then the boom
| burst Banks in South Afrida, failed
ana the crash swept thousands into alb
solute bankruptcy.
| Inc Circle had manipulated so wisely
| though, that it retained it's wealth
| ana und;smayed by one crash devils
| eo a Yet bolder scheme. Mashona,
! land and Matabeland were it's obiec
1--WE points. and having first obtained
| a royal charter for the British South
ALrlca company, it melted the Mata-
| belle war, which is recent enough to he
remembered. The company promised
rich gifts to its followers, and the con-
| quest was soon complete Poor blum
dering King Lobengula was brushed
away like a troublesome fly, and the
EngllSh government turned the prov
lnce over to the company, which had
assumed the cost of the campaign.
The English boast that this was the
only war the empire ever waged with
out cost. The indominitable members
OF the circle were soon at work again
They had gotten out of London nearly
as much as they thought the city could