The daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1892-1897, 1897-02-04
FROM AFRICA's
SOUTHERN PLAINS.
Mr.. Moya Talks INTERESTINGLY of
the Diamond Country.

brownsville, having come hither t
see after some lands in this section
in which he is interested. Mr.. Mo
ya's parents at one time resided il
Brownsville, and he has a numbe
of relatives in this coun.y. He wa
bern, hewever, some years after thu
removal Of his parents from. here
and has never visited this section
until now. Having grown ul
amongst an English speaking people
he is ignorant of his parents native
tongue and so is unable to converse
with many Of his relatives who
speak only Spanish. Mr. Moya has
resided number of years in South
Africa at Kimberly, where he was
engaged in business, being also in
terested in one of the great diamond
mining concerns there He con-
verses in very entertaining manner
about the far off land from which
he comes. Thinking the subject
would interest HERALD readers, the
editor made a record of some of his
replies to inquiries concerning South
Africa. On asking if times were any
better in the famous diamond land
than in this country, Mr.. Moya re-
piled:
81 arrived in Africa several years
ago, when times were better than
they are now. During the past four
years emigrants hare poured into
the country in such numbers that,
at the present time, the cities of the
country are face to face with an
unemployed question that bids fair
to rival in its consequences the
troubIous times in Australia in 1890.
In johannesburg last August there
were 5000 men out of work.
"But can these men not find work
on the farms"
Farming as you understand it is
unknown in that country. a great
part of Cape Colony is an arid waste,
broken by ranges Of lew hills, the
soil red sand mixed with gravel
and covered with stones. This de-
scription we'll also apply to Griqua-
land, British Bechuanaland and
most of the country north to the
"This region cannot be very thick
ly populated them" interposed the
scribe.
"No," was the reply, at is, on the
contrary, thinly populated over its
entire extent by the Beers who own
vast tracts of land. They lead more
Or less wandering, nomadic life and
are engaged to some extent in rails |
ing cattle, sheep and goats, their
stock feeding..en the weld bush, as
most Of this country Is devoid of |
grass"
'sThe Beers are of Dutch descent
ire they not?"
descent is the right word. Their
orefathers were the early Dutch
settlers. Taking the Boer (farmer)
Is a class, he is tell and well built,
With high cheek bones. and a low
legree of intelligence. He is beard
ID like the pard.' He is the best
life shot up 10 200 yards in the
world. He is the ''Voor-trekker,' the
penetrating the continent
o beyond the Limpopo he has kill
d his thousands Of war like natives,
Iefying such formidable foes as
"chtlka, and being more than once
Yearly exterminated for his pains.
lie hates the English and all "Uit
he hates the negro, and
esents the encroachments of civili-
alton He loves only the wild, free
life of the weld. In these vast SOL
tudes he grazes his cattle over
niles of unfenced land and leads
ife Of idleness and tattered ease. II I
ignorance is bliss, he should be hap I
y. Their language is Dutch but so
80 distorted, that the Hol- t
and can make nothing of it. With !
heir nationality a tradition, and 6
ho1e &c fbn-so,,<I :, \ .aa.~ -