The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-19
WONDERS OF COOL GARD|E,
Special Agent Smart on the Re-
markable Gold Discov.
cries.
The Queer Water "SoakS or Natural
BowlS-Australian Meat and
Butter Trade.

J. NJ. Smart, United States special agent
of the Department of Agriculture, Wash
ington, who has been on tour of Aus
tralia to obtain information concerning
the beef, mutton, butter and cheese pro-
ducts and exports, is at the Palace.
Agent Smart spent six months at the
Antipodes. He visited the famous Cool
gardle gold mines and remained some
time. His account OF the information
gathered for the department. as we'll as
what he saw at Coolgardie, is full of in
terest.
"The camp of Coolgardie. where I re-
manned most of the time for two months,
is remarkable place." said Mr.. Smart.
II do not think there is the equal of it on
the earth. 1t now has from 10000 to so, 600
people, and it has grown to this size en-
tirely in eighteen months. The people are
largely English speaking. There are many
Californians there as well as mining men
from other parts of the coast.
"As for the mines they are developing
enormously. The output now is about
100000 a year, and in the last twelve
months investments have been made there
and elsewhere in West Australia TO the
amount OF Sic, 000,0 900.
"Coolgardie is the most unattractiye
place on the globe. All around it is a com
plete sand desert. II looks worse than the
Mojave desert. There is very little
water about there, and what they get is
from 'soaks' or great natural basins in the
rocks. These basins have been filed hy
the wind with sand. You dig down in
them anywhere from one to FIVE feet and
you get water. the trouble is to find these
ocIr ~
is the same and you may dig for weeks
and not find anything. The basins are in
size all the way from an acre to two or
three miles across. Were it not for these
'soaks' which are provided by nature no
living thing could exist there.
New discoveries are being made all the
time at Coolgardie. AS for floating stock
companies, we don't know anything about
it here. The stocks are hign, too, and GO
ing up every day. The Bailey's Reward,
which was the first mine at Coolgardie, has
4S0, 900 shares, the shares now being worth
So each. The Londonderry has been
toated by Colonel North, the nitrate king,
for $5, 100000. In single pocket was found
gold of the value of $3.50 COO. From this
pocket was taken the Great Ben nugget,
bigger than bucket and worth over $780,
coo. Another large strike has recently
been made in the Londonderry.
DIR. Simms, the great French author on
gold, is now there and buying property
right and left. His syndlcates are French
and German. He is the greatest investor
in gold mines On the face of the earth.
II visited not only Coolgardie proper
but Koolgorlie, Siberia, Ninety mile, Han
nahs and other camps of the district. They
are little places of about 1000 people each.
1t is at Hannahs that the great Boulder
mine is situated, the stock of which is sell
ing at a rate that would make the property
worth SIT SOC, 900.
During the last three or four months
some very fair hotels have been built at
CooIgardie, where man can stay Mt from
S. to 81 day. They are forming water
trust now at Coolgardie. with So 600 600
capital, to get water for the town. I don't
know where they will get it, unless from
the Swan River, 800 miles away, or from