The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-05-02
British Guiana'S Capital a Funny City,
Where SO den in 100 Are BAG helOrs.
THEY WILL NOT SURRENDER
That is Sure to 5e England's Atti-
tude- he Reason Why-otrange
and Interesting Amusements
of the Teople

ing the Venezuelan boundary. is ius
or unjust, IL can be settled for a GER
talnty that not an inch of the land will
she give up without a struggle, and Z
hafd struggle. The reason is very sim
pie; the life, the bone and sinew o.
British Guiana is the gold interest, anc
the richest gold fields are in the terri.
tory most directly in the dispute-that
on the coast just south of the OrinocC
river. To understand why this is SC
one needs to know the geographical
conditions of the country.
British Guiana was made by the con-
tinual denudation of a heavy rain of a
hundred to $50 inches annually, caus-
ing floods which rise to from 20 to 80
feet above the level of the dry season,
and these floods washed down the land
from the high ground and formed the
coast which now stretches for 20 miles
inland. Sand reefs far back i'm the in
/ tellor prove this conclusively There
are miles and miles OF this sand which
formed the ocean beach of years ago.
back beyond the new forest The sand
is of dazzling whiteness and so hot is
1t, being wholly unprotected by vegeta-
ton, that even the Indians who never
wear shoes, have to bind pieces of bark
about their feet before crossing one of
these deserts
Crowded out of planting the young
Englishmen have had TO look about foI
something else; the gold fever devel-
oped and gold is what has taken the
place Of sugar plantations Gold there
is in abundance, the only difficulty be-
ing in getting it out. An American
colonel here told me he has travelled
In every country and has been in the
bush" here for three years Almost
everyone in the place has an interest
in the gold fields, even including one
man who Is i'm way connected with
the United States government. so. not
even from the American residents, ex-
cepting the American consul. can un-
preJudiced information about the place
be had. Many Of the Englishmen in
the "diggins" are very well connected
at home and are using all their pull to
make the British government hold
hard to their mines.
As far as being able to defend them
selves against an attack from Venez-
uela, il is a most absurd idea, though
it is one with which the British gov
eminent is imbued. Georgetown could
be captured easily by a few hundred
Nenezuelans before the British war
vessels in the West Indies could know
what had happened; and while one
cruiser could as easily retake it, the
damage would have been done-the city .
burned. And the Venezuelans might F.
merity to defy England IL the United 1
States should be unable to settle the
matter for them. one of Crespo's gen /
erals is in Georgetown sizing up its /
Military strength at this writing. | met
him aboard the steamer coming here.
and finding that ! was an American.
he disclosed himself to me. He is a
very well educated man. speaking
French. German, Spanish and English
al 1, 4
very definite idea Of the sentiment
which is now growing i'm Venezuela
We are but waiting" he said to me.
III the United States is able TO con-
truct situation in favor Of my presi-
lent, 1t is well: if not, also it is we'll
We NeneZuelans fear not we shall fight
or ourselves We can send a gun boat
nd three schooners secretly and burn
he city and we can rush across our
,order and with the machete put all
o death who work now i'm our terri
ory, taking the gold of President
'respo."
Both of these things would be easy,
or the only defender Georgetown has
! little fort covering half an acre Of
round on the point where the Dam
r'ara river and the ocean Join. II there
'ere good guns there il would be fit
nough, but the only useful weapons in
ave been imported within the last four J
lonths There are no troops here and J
ne militia and the police of the colony ]
)mbined amount to less than a thou !
md men. In the disputed territory c
lere are practically only a handful OF Z
liners and they are unarmed E
1t is claimed by the British govern 1
ent that, exclusive of government in a
there are over SC, 600 subjects n
the queen in Essequeto county a
one. In reality IL line were drawn Il
nth from the Marooca river. il would q
round there are not more than = 600 y
'tual settlers between that and the a
'homburghk line, perhaps not more b
an a thousand q
From this it will be seen that the n
ritish claim about the homes of her k
bjects in the disputed territory is o
Try weak, and would hold very little o
alter before an arbitration commits
)n. And because of the uncertainty u
their claim the people here are de- e:
iedly against arbitration, except re- ! Il
riding that part Of the land which is W
{ producing gold. They are now and Il
II keep on using every influence they al
n bring 10 bear upon the home gov CO
nment 10 block arbitration. for with c
I a doubt the giving OF the land to ST
'nezuela would cause a terrible d,
5 TO almost every person in the col 81
y. OF
I seems to be the British policy dur m
Z the trouble over the Venezuelan pl
undary question to cry down this Do
lntry. saying; NJ
What is the use Of all the trouble st
er a mud hole reeking with fever in
sudden death? IL Is ours and only tr
,ause IL il do We insist upon the Il,
i'm" ~
came here from New York with the 90
a that / should find a place that W
resented the best works Of the devil. br
erted by Cod came with the feel al,
that should ! survive for six davs L.
would be by the merest accident a
a miracle in fact. ] think that Trini-
Is the dirtiest and above all the an
test hole in the arth. Vet I was told I IA