The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1896-01-25

Yes, from river TO river" he replied
meaning iron the vnal TO the I,isnpopo.
Bot t,e traveller had not been home long
when pcsutIdenly iell III and died. So
tho matter dropped and talk Of gold
in the Rand was not heard neain until
1856.
In that year Dutchman. hunting for
gold In the republic. unearthed rich
patch oil the yellow" The Boerr. who
up 10 that time were unaware Of the
presence oil gold in the nciehborhood.
gave the fortunate man large sum for
his discovery, and sent him back TO the
colony. The Transyaal sons are essen
tinlly an agricultural people, and. like
all such, resent the intrusion OF civiliza-
ton. They ARE unlettercd people. dense
lly ignorant and obstinate beyond all
belief. Theirs is an incident. sluggish
nature, impassive and unassertive,
excepting on one subject. They hate tho
foreigner trs;stssudsT, sss they cali
him. Cautiously enough, too, they hate
the HoIlanders, from whom they are
descended, most OF all.
| So il happened that nothing more was
heard OF gold 10 the Rand until the end
OF 1884. In that year Mr.. Wemmer and
Others discovered portions OF the reel
which today enjoys widespread renown.
Then followed rush OF prospectors and
for time the field was overrun by EN-.
thusiastic, determined, pcnniless gold
hunters. The Rand at that time was
but sparseIy settled. Within the range
OF the eve in every direction from the
center oil the present town there was
then but that one mud house referred 20
above. II was occupied by a Boer
named Johannes Beznidenhout, who is
now one Of the richest men in the coun-
try. Had he not been Boer he would
have sold all his land for trne md
would have been delighted with the bar
gain. As it was, his hatred Of the foreign
els was far stronger passion than his
love OF gold.
Gradually the Beers, owning farms all
along the Rand. yielded to the persistent
clamors, entrcnties. and threats az the
invaders, and granted claims. 1t WIS
then that the Bocr Government agreed
10 recognize the claims allotted by the
owners Of farms. stipulatiue. however,
that those who worked them paid the
prescribed tax and observed the r,Ilcs
and regulations framed by thor This
proclamation attracted large crpstls TO
the field, and soon big mining camp
sprang into existence.
II was then that the adage "all roads
lead TO Rome should have been cl snged
TO call roads lead to johannesburg" for
from every district in the south, and
even from every other land and chime,
an interminablc stream flocked into the
golden city. Englshmen, Beers, Dutch
men, Americans. Kaffirs, Zulus. and
Hottentots iostled one another in the
rude streets OF the camp. Some OF them
built reed and daub huts; others put up
tin shanties 1.-THE material nothing more
than English Kerosene tins. iiattenetl
OUT, and Others crawled under wagons
till some better place Of rest could he
obtained all had come TO stay.
! The air was filed with the shouts OF
bustling men, the cracking Of the long
hide whips--in the hands OF kaffrs and
Beers, driving their oxen teams through
the strects-the sudden yell OF n cab
driver, cnveloped in cloud OF dust, ON
finding his plungiug horse about 10 ride
you down, and the rumblng OF heavy
wagons aud tho sounds Of hammer and
axe. The camp was scene OF constant
turmoil. Every man WAS filed with
ieverish excitement and animated by the
widest hopes. Scenes OF violence wero
hardly noticed; indeed, there was no
time for such. The excitement OF MUIR
der died away In an hour. All scnti-
ment, all order, all deccncy, were lost in
the wild, tumultuous, all-absorbing race
for gold.
But soon the tumult OF camp life sub
sided, the wild scramble settled into
steady, organized persistence, and "A
~NttAfNf ttAihA tfNh at@ cNtifTs anu lflt
causo OF the change was gold--more gold.
Capitalists from England, from Paris,
and even from Australia flocked TO
Johannesburg, bought up claims, organ
lied companies, hired labor. and issued
stock. Some were successful and made
fortunes Others failed and lost their
all. Still, the number OF companies in
creased with bcwildering rnpidity, till at
length, in 1890, there were 100 gold con-
Germs with a capital Of S55. 100000
But when the building fever broke
loose in Johannesburg IL was amazing 10
see the rapidity with which IL spread.
And the fires o, how the insurance com
panies must have suffered But nothing
was ever heard OF the origin OF the blaze.
Ia every case where the agent could
possibly absent himself from his quest
for gold the investigation would result
the same-"Cause OF fire uuknown.' The