Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-28
OMAHA NAN IN SOUTH AFRICA
William j. Reeves Observations in the
Transvaal,
SCENES AND INCIDENTS IN JOHANNESBURG
Wonderful Gold Production-Amer-
lean Machinery In Ucmnnd-LiveIy
Mining stock ENchnngc-Cus-
toms of the kniiirs.

Among the half-civilized countries under
going The process OF civilization and devei-
opment, into which the wealth offered by
natural resources has led men, some travel
ers arc inclined to rank the Trareyaal OF
south Africa as the first One of these Is
William J. Reeves of Chicago, formerly OF
Omaha, who has Just returned to this coun-
try from Johannesburg and who has been in
town the past week
More gold will come out OF that country
this year" said Mr. Reevee than out Of
California and the Klondlke put together
In January OF last year they took out OF
the Simmer and Jack, the largest mine there,
$4,000 tons OF crushed gold ore. which yielded
246OO ounces Of metallic gold. This mine
employs $500 KafHrs and 1000 white men.
+. l.. Webster, an old omaha man, who built
the water works at Florence, is the mechan-
tcal engineer for this mlne
Inc chicago wheat pit is tame place
Tor excitement compared to the Johannls-
burg stock exchange when the KafHr stocks
the gold mine stocks, are going up The
place where all their dealings in stocks are
carried on is section OF the street that runs
along In front of the exchange building cut
of from through traffic at either end by
chains. Between the chains Is the common
see scenes Of the widest excitement here.
Millions of pounds sterling we're lost and
won here in January and February of this
year. when they had that famous boom in
kafiir stocks. They have their own system
OF conducting business, entirely unlike that
used in Chicago or New York. and IL is hard
for stranger to learn. man who does not
know 1t thoroughly is likely to get the worst
OF the dealing, too, and had better keep out
or Between the chains
The mines prefer American machinery to
that made In any other country, on account
OF the fact that it Is turned out faster to
order and is better finished, more attractive
and has finer work on it. Nearly all the
large machine manufacturing houses of this
country are represented there. And there is
another department CT American industry
which has already gained a foothold, or
more than a foothold, in Johannesburg
There 1t lots OF American beer sold there,
besides the German and English beers.
Johannesburg and Vicinity.
The country, although politically a re-
public and nominally in the hands of the
Dutch colonists, the Beers, is almost run by
the English. There are also great many
Americans and Germans in Johannesburg.
The Kaffirs. the original inhabitants of the
country, were conquered by the Beers and
have no rights at all. They are not even
allowed to walk on the sidewalks in Jo-
Harrisburg, but must take the middle of
the street. They are not allowed to live in
the town at all
THE city has about 10000 or As 900 in
habitants. The different nationalities-tha
Is. the Germans, English and Americans
do not divide up but mingle together They
have two clubs there and a considerable
society of the better class. The English
man has no show there, unless he is an
extra fine mechanic. in which case he can
command wages of u shillings, or S.. .25, per
day. They will have nothing to do in the
mines with any but the best mechanics
But living costs there about three times
as much as in America.
THE Reef as it is called, is the place
where all the mines are located. Here is
where most of the Kafiirs are. The different
mines have compounds a hollow square
made of four lines of huts, in which the
Katfirs live. 1t is amusing to see a Kafiir
on a Sunday afternoon parading up and
down here with war club and an umbrella
in his hands, nothing but breech cloth
on and his body made shiny with oil. The
Kaffirs and the Zulus, who are also COM
monty called Kaftirs, though there is a
difference, are very fine physical specimens
These Kaflirs live on 'mealies and
'mealie' mush. which is simply our corn
meal A Kaffr when he travels carries with
him sack of corn, some salt and Dutch
oven, which he calls a 'mealie' pot, and
he is ready to go to housekeeping any
where he happens to be. Those who live
on the 'veldt,' or plain, and own some
cattle travel In wagon that has house on
the front end OF It, With this he comes
to town with what he raises. The Kafir
comes to the mines, works about six months
and then goes back to where his people
are and buys a wife. He first puts the
money he has saved into cattle.
In a Kaffirs estimation cattle are the real
wealth of the world. With cattle he can
get wife; six or seven oxen are paid for
wife. II he wants another wife he goes back
to the mines and works again. When he has
five or six wives, he quits working, goes
back to the country and begins to accumulate
cattle. Girls are welcomed into the family
much more heartily than boys, for the, boys
bring nothing, while the girls are each worth
many cattle.
Dutch is the language of Johannesburg, |
but the Katfrs have language of their own
which they reinforce with clicks made with
the tongue. There is the tongue click the
roof click and the throat click man not
Kaffir does not understand what they mean
except that they are used instead OF modula- |
tions of the voice. Kafiir never raises his |
voice. Instead, when he is angry or in a
hurry he adds some clicks to what he says. |
President Dom Paul.
"Oom Paul the president, breaches every |
Sunday in a little Dutch church across the !
street from his residence. You read once in |
a while stories of how much Dom Paul can !
drink at a sitting. Dom Paul never took a !
drink in his life He has the giving of con- !
cessions to new enterprises in his hands and
he encourages every kind of manufacture |
and public enterprise, provided it does not
work against the interests of the Beers, and |
also provided the promoter has an article of
real merit to manufacture, But anything |
that the Beers produce or anything that |