The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-07-14
One Little District Produces More
Than the United States,
BILLIONS NOW In SIGHT
MANY MEN HAVE MADE VAST
FORTUNES.
An Ex-Circus Jugglcr il Worth
$4,000. 0OO-Sights and Scenes in
the Land of the Hottentots.

! New York, July Is, 1898.
For now almost year London, and
for that matter, all England, have
been growing more and more excited
over the gold mines of South Africa.
/ Within a year mining shares that were
issued at d pound per share, and often
sold for only a portion of that, have
sold up as high as f33 per share, and
there are plenty of people in England
who believe that these same shares
will go to f100 France, too, has
caught the excitement and is pour
ing its money into South African in
vestments, and it is not impossible that
mining shares of the South African
properties viii be listed on the New
York stock exchange within the year.
Proposals to that effect have already
been made.
1t is rather strange that this coun-
try. which has so keen an interest in
booms of every sort should have thus
far paid so little attention to the rise
Of South Africa. The latter incident
comprises the most remarkable COM
mercial romance of the century In
exactly ten years a state, then wild,
appropriated, UNEMPLOYED almost from
producing no gold at all. has risen
TO the first gold producing country
in the world The single little district
known as the Witwatersrand. in the
Transvaal or South African republic,
will yield this year upwards of $40, 000,-
600 of gold, or more than the product
Of all Australia or of the entire United
States. This little district is, so far
as it's productive area is concerned,
not over fifteen miles wide and about
sixty miles long, and ten years ago it
was laid out in stock farms that were
selling for few pounds per acre.
Today the mines located upon this
narrow strip, have a market value Of
between $50 and 200 millions of dollars
And just as happened in the days of
the California gold fever, men, who
few years ago hardly possessed
dollar, are today worth uncounted mill
lions. There are a dozen or more
financial princes now dazzling London
with their eXtravagant expenditures,
who shipped to South Africa a. few
years ago as colonists, and many of
whom were practically bankrupt.
Man Who Has Made His
$5O,OOO,OOO.
Perhaps the most remarkable pro-
duct of the gold fields is B. L. Barnato
known from Capetown to London as
Barney BaSnato, and the jolliest
fellow in the world. Barnato is still
young man. He comes of a good
English family, turned out to be a
wild youngster, who shipped off to
Cape Colony, knocked about there as
best he could, was, it is said. at one
time d member of circus company
as juggler, found himself stranded
with a half crown in his pocket; went
into the diamond business at Kimberly,
made money hand over fist, nobody
knows just how; was soon ranked as
one of the diamond magnateS, and
when the Kimberly diamond mines
We're consolidated, turned up at the
top of the heap worth millions. Later
Barnato followed the movement to the
Witwatersrand, became leading pro-
moter of gold mining enterprises there,
and a year ago was quoted at f95,0O0,
000
Within the last year it is currently
given out in London that he has made
perhaps 100000 900 in the sale of min
ing shares and in promoting mining
enterprises.
Probably he himself does not know
just how rich he is. And should his
fortune go on increasing at the rate
it has sprung up. in another ten years
this ex-circus juggler will be the rich
est man in the world.
Barnato is now a member of the
Cape Colony parliament, and the other
day when he was about to sail for
South Africa a dinner was gwen him
in London, that was presided over by
the lord mayor, and attended by many
of the most notable financial men of
England. He scatters his money like
a plunger, and is always followed by
a hungry horde, eager to divert por-
ton of the Pactolian stream. He is
exceedingly fond of the theatre, and
of gay people generally, and no end of
curious stories are told of his princely
gifts and odd performances If. for
e.y 10 ha rr-:cI hoe. - A.
party he thinks very little of charter
ing the whole theatre, or at least such
a portion of it as he may desire for
the exclusive use of his guests. Bar
nato is no miser, and works hard to
enjoy his money. He has a brother
who became associated with him
in the diamond business at Kimberly.
and later in the gold mines. and
who. while he is not as rich as
Barney" and doesn't make any
such tremendous splurges. lives in
London in princely style and is worth
several million pounds.
A Bonanza Statesman in South At
RIGA.
Oddly enough, it was through the
diamond mines and the gold mines
that Cecil Rhodes came to be premier
Of the Cape Colony and practically
dictator of South Africa. His political
power has been gained very much in
the same way that Senator Leland !
Stanford first made a, great deal of |
money in California and later came to
be governor and then senator. Rhodes |
was a young man in i'll health and |
likely to die when he went Ito South
Africa and followed his brother into
the diamond mines. There, he not |
only recovered his health, but showed |
remarkable business talent and soon
became the head of the movement |
to consolidate the Kimberly mines, |
which were then held by spme 1000 |
small holders, into one vast concern.
The De Beers Consolidated mines, |
limited, valued today at seventy or
eighty million dollars, is practically
his handiwork. Later Rhodes became |
interested with other diamond mag
mates in the Transvaal gold mines,
and is now quoted at something like |
f5, 600, 600. His friend and associate, /
Alfred Belt, of the firm of Wehrner,
Belt & Co, is worth perhaps f12,00O.
900. and !. r. Robinson, 81 the |
famous Robinson mine, upwards of |
81 900, goo. Henry Nourse is quoted at |
f2. SOC, 600, F. A. English at 100000, |
and Pet Mara at f2.O00.000.