The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-31
THE STRANGE STORY
OF The GOLDEN ROCK"
BY WALTER BRUCE.
Copyright. 1875. BY Walter Bruce
Author Legend. of the veldt The wage. of SIM Etc


seeing"
The year 1855 was a notable one in
South African history Not since the
rush" to the banks OF the broad. slug
gfsh. yellow Vaal. on the news Of the dis
covery OF diamonds in 1863, had there been
such excitement in the land. Gold had
been discovered in the Transvaal years
before. but there had been no genuine
gold fever" such as began its course
about the middle Of IS. The "auri sacra
flames" affected all classes. more or less,
as in the early days of Australian and
Californian digging. and multitudes OF all
sorts and conditions and colors hurried
10 the new Land OF Promise. The cry Of
gold in the Transvaal was soon loud
enough. too. TO reach the uttermost parts
of this sublunary sphere Many English
men had for years been located in diff
ferent parts of the country. and some Of
them quickly posted their acquaintance
in the homeland with the tidings.
Amongst those who heard the cry was
john Mayne. and. after due consideration
he decided to exchange a prosaie and not
very profitable ccupation in a Leeds ware
house for what Dame Fortune might have
in store for him at the prospective new
FL Dorado. Queer preparation for the
quest for gold you may think. But hun
dreds and thousands now successfully
engaged in the industry were once at
quite as dissimilar pursuits.
Toward the end Of the year John reached
Durham, and soon. amongst a very mixed
crowd of disbanded mounted police, run
away sailors. army deserters, and many
other types-some good fellows as ever
breathed. others rowdies Of the worst de-
scription-he was on the road to the De
Kaap Gold Fields. 1t presented a wonder
full sight-that road. There were all sorts
OF vehicles, from the slow and not always
sure OK wagon to the American spider"
which too often came completely to grief
amid the boulders and the ruts of the
apology for a road There was rough
work, too Many a tragedy was enacted
may a devilish deed, the fun record of
which will never appear until the graves
give up their dead.
In due course nevertheless, John and
his travelling companions, two Cornish
miners, reached Barberton, which was
Just poisoning into a typical mining cen
ter. The Cornishmen were soon IN re-
quest; but John found it difficult to get
any sort of start He experienced re
peated disappointments and underwent
some privations, but he did not croak
He soon realized. like many others, that
the idler with an instinct for gambling.
often met with under the title of a spec
ulator, generally fares best in the early
days Of gold fields. He saw that at Barber
ton a man might as likely meet Misfor-
tune as Fortune; that the race was no. TO
the swift nor success to the busy-as II
ought to be according to the book He wit
messed many incongruous and strange
sights.
The former sub-editor of an English
daily paper was engaged making green"
bricks. That he must either have made
many of them. and made them well, or
sold them prohtaby was proved by the
fact that he realized money at the biz"
and returned to England a richer and
more experienced man. And he was per
Initted to see a creature in male attire
who dug and delved, and was only dis
covered to be a woman when she had
wreaked terrible vengeance upon one
against whom she had a dreadful grudge,
and had tracked in her uncooth disguise.
He had opportunity of seeing a bull dance
at the "hotel' of Cockney Liz, one of the
few women on the fields. and he witnessed
more of drink and dehrium in a month
than he had even conjectured in the
whole course of his mortal life. When
ones lot is cast among fools it is some
times necessary and profitable to study
folly 1t was a society where all were
treated as they really We're, but as they
wished to be considered. But John was
getting nearly penniless, and everything
seemed to justify the admonition, Get
thee hence"
He was not long in deciding where
Feebleness and lack Of forecast might
have landed him with a big crowd who
Mcawberised until their stomachs were
empty. their pockets cashless. and their
feet shoeless. John had the aptitude which
IN a new land is often more serviceable
than ability. He could see how in young
country things are constantly occurring
TO induce person to lay aside his es-
tablished practices, and perhaps some of
his opinions and to remodel them ac-
cording to the change of circumst ances.
So he decided to make an excursion
among the Beers in the hope that as a
general handy man. which in the Trans
vaal means a Jack of all trades" he
should be able to obtain the means of liv-
ing and to gain experience. How curious
1t is to trace the thread of a human life
how a trivial occurrence may lead to the
great event of existence, bringing in their
train Joy or grief, veal or woe. John found
his talents as a carpenter, builder, etc, in
request, and he soon became favorably
known among the country Beers. who are
still primitive somewhat curious but
withal worthy people. The Beers of the
English newspapers and platform, he
found, as have many others, has no ex-
istence in time or space.
They treated him justly and fairly, and
when he had mastered the "landstaal,"
and could converse with them on their
own level, he realized that the Beers of
the Transvaal has beneath his impassive
exterior qualities of which any race may
well be proud. Observant, intelligent, ambi-
tious to make money as the shrewder
kind of Yorkshiremen are abroad, John
carefully exploited, sometimes candes-
timely. all the farms he visited, and thus
gained a good deal OF information regard
ing the auriferous formation Of the coun-
try. He found many encouraging indica-
tons in spots far distant from the then
known gold region, and he gathered that
there was plenty of the precious metal
in other places besides wild but gloriously
picturesque georges and hills of De Kaap.
He had many strange and interesting ex-
periences among the Beers, and It is to
one Of them that this short narrative Will
chiefly refer
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