The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-07
THE RICH TRANSVAAL
RAPID GROWTH OF THE ELDORADO,
WITH A LITTLE OF ITS HISTORY.
Years, Owing to the GOld-Mining
Industry-Three Benefcinries.

The history and rare natural resources of
| the Transvaal are set forth by the Earl OF
Dunmore and published IN the current num-
Der of William Waldorf Astor's Pail Mall
Magazine.
We learn from 1t that the 10th of last July
| Will ever be a red-letter day in the calendar
of the Transvaal, for that date marks a
new era in the history of 1.-THE Golden
| City" AS the clocks of johannesburg
| struck the hour of u the chairman of the
| Stock Exchange mounted his rostrum and
made the extraordinary announcement that
the output of gold for the month Of June,
| 1895, had reached the hitherto unprecedent-
ed amount Of 200,9n ounces representing
in money a sum equivalent to f775,0OO.
| This announcement, be It clearly under
stood, had reference only to the output of
| those mines on the Witwatersrand gold
fields commonly known as 1.-The Rand
Mines''), the main reef Of which runs prac-
tically through the city Of johannesburg.
| Needless to say, this satisfactory an
nouncement was received with hearty
cheers by the members, and one of the
evening journals of that date thus describes
the latter part OF the scene:
Several Of the leading firms having sent
| In cases of champagne In honor of the oc-
| casion, the market between II o'clock and
| / p. m. was particularly vigorous"
| Johannesburg, Lord Dunmore tells US, is
| an English city, overlooking with sturdy
Britons who have not forgotten 1880 and
| lose sight OF the fact that the Transvaal,
| a country rich beyond the dreams of avar-
| Ice, was once the property of our Queen
| Empress until Radical government, with
| senselesS haste and reckless pusillanimity,
| gave 1t over into the hands of dts present
owners. However, let us try and obliterate
.nriou hot ctov, lad
| and make the best OF the flag which floats
| over the new Eldorado,' and let US skip
those five int ses years and bring the ne
| ago, and try and imagine ourselves stand
ing on the Rand, with an annual value OF
close on ten millions worth of undiscovered
| was in those DAYS nothing more nor less
than bare veldt dixie an American prairie)
| Beers farm or two in sight. Could any
| one have foreseen, or have in any way
| realized that during an incredible short
| space Of time. on that stretch of bare veldt
| there would spring up a large, prosperous
| city. teeming with workers of different in
dustries-a city Of fine broad streets and
wealth Of their occupants)-a city of electric
lights and tramways. OF hotels clubs, res,
| taurants, theaters, music halls, cricket and
polo grounds and two race courses-a city
with population of sixty thousand souls
three. daily and. three. weekly newspapers.
| only fcrty-nine hours from Cape Town and
only $50 hours from London.
johannesburg increases not only every
year and every month. but actually every
her consignment of passengers at Cape
Town, many OF them bound for the Rand
thirst Of for the precos metal wbc
cynical old English writer has characterized
as the FOOLS curtain; which hides all his
! defects from the world
"As the main reef Of the Witwatersrand
| gold field runs east and west and dips to
the south. the city Of Johannesburg is
1.,sr& H. -
daily north. east and west the south being
| entirely taken up with mining plant steam
engines, tall iron chimneys and the hun
| dred-and-one accessories Of the gold min
| ing industry being visible east and west
| as far as the eye can reach while the dull
roar Of the stamp mills ceases not day or
HIGH-PRIcED GROUND.
I'm the city itself land fetches about as
much per foot as it does in London, and
outside the commercial quarter. round
about the pleasant :. wooded suburbs Of
Doornfontein. aBraarnfontein. Jeppestown,
Bopueseus and Hospital Hill stands of
fifty feet frontage by a hundred feet in
depth fetch from ESQ up to ZOO each. ac-
cording to locality. and the proba blity is
that in twelve months time these prices
| will double themselves.
"Such is Johannesburg, only young
child of nine years of age, and yet it is
|
pinafores to become the golden queen of the
| Southern Hemisphere and the commercial
| and financial center of Southern Africa.
| And all this has come to pass owing TO the
| energy. determination and enterprise of a
| handful of pioneers, whose skill and per-
tinacity were concentrated upon the ex-
| picration. exploitation and development Of
| the greatest gold fields in the whole world.
In corroboration OF this statement | may
Which for brevy will in future cali the
| Rand mines-produces IS per cent per an
mum Of all the gold that is found In the
! State, and yields to the world over 25 per
cent. of It's total gold supply. Although
comparisons said to be odious, it Is
| still necessary sometimes to make them,
| and in this case 7 would call attention to
| the relative values OF these South African
| gold fields and those of West Australia
The total OUTPUT Of the ne at for the year
whereas two months output from the
Rand mines is 15scoo ounces in excess OF
| these figures
| ''It was in the month of May 1887 that
the first output was registered on the Rand,
and this was the result Of the Wemmer
| crushing with FIVE stamps 100 tons of ore.
For June and July the Wemmer was still
the only mine having stamps at work, but
in August IL was joined by the Crown Reef
ard Knights. and by the month of October
By he Meyer and Charlton, the Ferreira,
tle George Goch. the Jubilee. the Jumpers,
month e the output reached loss ounces
Since then the output has increased almost
continuously until 1t has reached its present
|
'In December, 1890, the fifty-thousand-
| ounce figure was first reached. the output
for that month being 50.352 ounces. In June.
1892 the output was Just double-viZ., 100 252,
and last month that figure again
doubled 50 in four years and half the
output from these mines has been quad
rupled Up to 1890 the output was made
uD entirely of geld from the mill and from
alluvial washings; after that the Macarthur
Forrest cyanide, and other chemical pro-
cesses for treating tailings, came into opera
ton on small scale, and now the amount
of gold recovered in this way amounts to
considerably over 10000 ounces a month. In
1894 the mining operations in the Transvaal
had surpassed the expectations OF the most
sanguine the confidence destroyed by
former reckless spectators had been en-
tirely restored, and new foreign markets
were opened to the Transvaal
ION Dec. 81, 1Se4-the date up TO which
the government official mining report had
been made-upward OF hundred and forty
different mining companies that were in
full work sent in official statements. and
there were probably other mining companies
whose works were not in a sufficiently for
word state to warrant their giving figures.
However, the nominal capital or those mines
who did send in statements amounted to
f2t. 100 SIS, the issued capital amounted TO
f22 321. he working TO f7,SS9.Sl1, or 81 1-3
per cent Of the issued capital The total
amount OF dividends paid out by the afore-
mentioned mining companies. from their
a sum equivalent TO 20 per cent. CT the value
OF the gold productions.
1.-The dividends paid out from Dec. y,
1893, to Dec. 81. 1884,. amounted to Il e41. GoS.
or sum equal 10 20.5 per cent. of the
gross value of the gold produced during the