The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-11-28

Engineer William Hammond Hall re-
Gently returned here from a prolonged
professional visit to the Transvaal and,
believing that his impressions of South
Africa would be interesting to the
readers of the Sunday Chronicle, he
was interviewed on the subject. In
South Africa" said Mr.. Hall, most of
my time was given to professional
work in the Witwatersrand gold fields,
in the Transvaal, about johannesburg,
| under engagement for which l went
! out to that country from London.
About a month was spent in Cape Col
ony in consultation service for the CO.
lonial government, and somewhat less
! time in trip to Buluwayo, Rhodesia,
/ for similar service to Cecil Rhodes.
Il have seen about all the notable
parts of South Africa, except Natal,
on the east coast. Some parts l have
seen thoroughly, as, for instance, the
! WitWatersrand gold fields and some
! other portions of the Transvaal and
some parts of Cape Colony, and l have
seen, in d general way, while travelling,
a very great area in the Transvaal,
the Orange Free State, Cape Colony,
/ Bechuanaland, the Protectorate, and
Rhodesia.
My impressions are certainly very
I favorable to South Africa as whole,
! and, of course, to certain parts of it in
particular. 1t is wonderful and most
interesting part of the world, much
misunderstood, L believe, by the Amer
lean public. There are vast areas Of
/ waste country OF course, but there is
much that is good. Tie proportion Of
| waste is doubtless greater than in the
United States; but, taking the Trans
Vaal Orange Free State, Cape Colony,
the strip of Bechuanaiand which l saw,
and that part of RhCdesia which l
visited. 1 doubt whether the proportion
of waste is as great as the proportion
which we have in the western two
thirds of the area Of the United
States.
The gold and diamond mining devel-
opments are simply immense and very
impressive; and we must remember
that the country is very new in gold
DEVELOPMENT at least as compared to
our own When we reflect that after
more than half century of develop
nlent under favorable conditions, Cali
fornia seems 5ltst lOM entering upon
a most prosperous era Of gold produc-
ton. based largely on new mine dis
coveries, it stands ito reason that South
Africa. with its Z years only knOWl-
edge of sold. and with ats most favor
able conditions for extending that
knowledee, must, as these conditions are
ameliorated, show vastly greater avail
able mineral resources.
! speak OF the TIansvaal and Rho
desia principally IN this connection. 1t
is only L or - years since gold was
first worked in the Tran5Vaal, and five
or six years in Rhodesia. Vast areas
of the Transvaal and Rhodesla and
other parts of South Africa are known
to be mineralized in the same general
way as THIS state is, and the develop
I neut of the mineral belt there is very
likely TO pass through the same eX-
perience as our own. There are about
/ IS dividend-paying mines on the Jo-
hannesburg Rand. but there are proba-
bly, four times ID which could be made
to pay dividends if the political and so
! ci2l conditions We're on par with those
OF the United States, and If Transports
ton facilities were made as favorable
as they might well be. The god out
put Of the Rand is not falling off, but
> on the contrary, is steadily increasing
although many mine properties have
been closed down, because of genuine
: disappointment in the result of devel
opment and because of the oppressive
and hampering conditions affecting
= mining there.
THE GROWTH OF JOHANNES
BURG.
: Johannesburg is growing and i'm
: proving despite very onerous burden:
! which the supporting mining industry il
l bearing. Of course, there is poverty
2 there; so there is everywhere after
=, boom. OF course many mine prospect!
have turned out badly. But even SO
: there is a city of rich working mines
T one adjoining another, Is miles long
[ and suburbs of mines, as it were
less closely filed in, ten to Is mile
each way from the extreme to the cen
/, trail group, and this vast mine city, S,
{ to speak is widening out as the deep
e er levels are developed. Then, along
side the central part of this city o
mines, is Johannesburg city of shop
and residences.
Il went there under engagement t.
: study the water supply for the centra
part of the great city of mines-fo
mining purposes and domestic use. 1
a is an interesting problem. The suppl
! is probably short for ultimate use-a
l period of full possible development. TIL
quality of local water is bad. Man
small reservoirs have been built, we
mines were forced to close down las
: year for want of water. Then the rain
: came, and five or six reservoir EN-
: bankments burst damage was done
q and shortage of supply ensued fror
!, that cause.
q My engagement was With comb
! nation of interests which represente
II the control of about two-thirds of tn
c outcrop of producing mines of the cen
a trail or important 10 mines of the Rant
r and seven-eighths of the deep-level O
developing properties within the Etm
; region. besides very much other min
4 ing property outside of this center c
operations. and l had to take up tn
whole matter of water supply for tn
region. 1 am not at liberty to stat
any results of the work, and am re
l, turning to London and Africa in De
Z cember or January under n renewe
engagement to cary forward the work:
5 There are several large dams to build
!, pumping stations to erect and distrih
uting works to lay in, and I am plan