The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-29
A 100000 FLYING WEDGE.
BARBARIAN" ROW GETS HEAVT
DAMAGES IN T~RdNST18L.

otherwise II. H.. Brown, an American, hns JUS
received nm award Of damages amounting Z
nearly cUn.OuOfrom the Transvaal Government
Ii Is the sequel Of the widest Rold-farm rus
OF South Africa. in which Brown pursued tn.
tnctics Of the football field. and had himse,
driven through an immense mob Of lawles
rushcrs by IA flying wedge of 300 armed men
II was an exploit of n football captain an,
frontier American.
Barbarian Brown came to South Afric;
with a reputation for nerve gained in the IA
nous Ccur dAlGnc strikes, where he took thu
part of the mine owners aud never roccdct
from his stand, though daily threatened witt
death. He even edited n paper enunciating his
opinions. called the Bnr6dridn, This fur
nished the sobrIauet which chung to him whcr
he reached johannesburg
Once here Brown secured n place with one 81
the most important mining companies on the
Rand. He was an expert consulting engineer
and soon made himself valuable TO the COM
pany by gobbling w the very richest claims
on the Murchison Range. 1t was rs thcii
representative also that Brown planned
and carried out the mighty football rush.
Twelve thousand miners. the very toughest
men in the gold fields. made up from nearly
every nation on the globe. took part in this
rush. which occurred on a level stretch o;
ground in September. 1895. and the goal was n
6N'N''iiH''' l'h 9ldh'S' 81 i''N HIhhl'' i'i'i
stood a Government Mining Commissioner
whose business it was to sell licenses for claims
on the Witfontein farm.
This farm lay directly on the gold reef and
belonged TO the Government. 1t was one nj
the last Of the rich farms wherein the old
Beers had for years been raising their crops Of
mealies. all unconscious of the hidden wealth.
The exodus began ten days before the opening.
Tho Rand was in an uproar. Every mining
company there prepared for the occasion. 1t
was well known that the Witfontein lay along
the richest part of the reef. and that a claim
there would yield fortunes.
The Pretorian Government knew this. too.
but had not counted on any such demonstra-
ton "a followed, or the claims would have been
a addptsd! 4 The by I95itSFy; thS tnp l1 the at PrrtariS
press gave permission to any one to prospect
the farm 50 that all buyers had an opportunity
must obtain a license at the little iron shanty
three miles from the farm. Consequently,
or bought to transport men TO the spot.
The road from, Johannesburg to, klerksdorr.
route Of an army transportation. Tents, cook
ing outfits. cases Of whiskey and roulette tables
estimated that on the day OF the opening H.
600 men occupied the camp. in addition to
Transvaal to witness the scene.
John Hays Hammond was then consulting
engineer for the Consolidated Gold Fields Com
I''''ps u'A AN hDpbiiNi hlA'S'lVh- ONtI ltuIy
1000 men, who, were expected to tear a
hole right through the mass and smash every
Every man carried at least one revolver and
expected to use it, for it was a fight for big
to its men. There was practically no danger
81 arrest however f9r the Zarps. or Boer no
The plans OF each company to effect the coup
were much the same. Barney Barnato. j. b.
Robinson Belt, the Joels and every one inter
or small. took a vital interest in the struggle
and put forth every effort to gain the prize.
the window, first. purchase the License, hand it
to an armed rider and hurry it Off to the farm.
to jump in and stake OF the Richest claims.
SIX firms even went so far as to sink strong
be pulled away, But these precautions awaited
nothing. Tor when the struggle began sharp
Personally. Brown was not ,orm / fbH%o with
But those who had seen him glance down the
IN eyelid knew him, as absolutely fearless.
a Bir nmn was asd On h sn nfiiJdSg terms with the rough
wedge, which at that period had just been de-
veloped by the American football teams.
+b 70 get all these men under one flag he hired
Nanny an G ar fo %biu {af R %ifs6 Sac jack NknHIRiRIdG Sy::
would fight at the drop Of a hat, and cut your
throat and take chances on escaping punish
for highway robbery, was a good looking man.
well edmcated, and quite g~entlcmanly when
the States. He had red hail, and a red mus.
tache. was very handsome and massively built.
Brown selected him for his captain and gave
brought his particular friends, and Brown
IP% romis Smib them rs S25 a day and good bonus il
ment Of toughs made its first appearance in
the little town Of Klerksdorp the citizens fed
the camp many firms, immediateiEy" made OVER
lures to the men and tried to win them over
cans started for John HAYS HaInmond's HmHrr-
but Alec Love stood in front with n drawn re-
y9lycr and threatened to shoot tho first man
Brown found that the only way to hold his
men was TO keep them drunk; so for five days
horts with bad liGGor. On the day Of the ih"sr rush. sR.
about the flying wedge, which had been. thor
oughly explained and illustrated. At the
until o o'clock, Lilies were formed. and
in a vicious FREQ light: Men emerged with ears ar
bitten OF. eyes blackened. noses broken and
n eI 70 lo tSe NED AS soon as Z company got its
either passed BACK overhead or nearly tram
pea tbo sb TO dbs mt r w Ma ny n ogeiGfeeded IN 5e9chlng
mere long. Tor he was soon borne down by
anu rs llcIiCillIlbl, III Lne mGunIlmD.
leld their position, on the outskirts. It was
lot until half an hour before tho time APP
to open the window that he began 10
,orm his wedge Probably 5000 men were
nassed between him and the goal at that mo-
nent. but, this never feazed the indomitable
ankee. with thongs Of rawhide he dashed
limsslf to Alec Love and Jim Maloney. and.
With his feet barely touching the earth, gave
At the first impact with the human wall there ,
vas q terrific howl OF pain. followed by i'm
'r"cationS, and u man staggered out Of the
Towd with the blood squirting from his leg.
laioney had run his knife into him several
nches. In n few minutes these cries echoed !
N all sides and the attention. ofthe mob be.
anne divided, some turning to face the wedge.
ihich hung together without n break and
9emcd to gain, velocity as it neared the goal. !
laloney and Love, with heads down, darted !
lt9 every opening, ana where there was none, !
lade il with the jah of a knife. Brown was :
lStled along. breathlnss aud bleeding, until '
ihin Il dozen rods Of the window. 9
Here several hundred Cornishmen, grcat !
ulkinE fellows, with, plenty OF strength and !
RI, made a stand that badn fair to spoil the q
lsh., They smashed the apex and were NOW ;
lG down the pugilists when the rest Of the :
broke through and cleared the way, Q
rown, though. badly bruised. continued 10