The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-06-13
NO. 81.
PRETORIA LIKE ASHEVlLLE.
bocr Capital Said to Look Like the
North Carolina Resort.

hoer capital Said to Look Like tn,
North Carolina Resort
: reached Pretoria after dark, write,
correspondent In the New York
evening Post. A door IN the room tI
"hlch was assigned at the hotel open,
upon broad veranda ON tho hote
iroht' On the morning after nv arri.
val 1 turned out oi very com Portable
oeu to open That door and to observe
my surroundings. AS the fresh morn.
ing air drove in | made mental com.
ment that the stun smelled exceeding
~ IKE the air OF the North Carolinu
mountslns-their September smell. IL
was clear and fresh-not exactly cool,
ouI carrying suggestion OF cool in IL
some may think that air Ia air wher.
ever it Is found. There is AS much dif.
terence in the smell OF air rs there ~
IN the taste of water. The Blue Ridge
variety is OF the finest quality, and that
OF Pretoria brings it strongly to NV
nina In theory there should be u
marked difference. The hills and
mountains Of Western Carolina ara
Iensely wooded to their worry summits.
The hills around Pretoria are as d.s-
tltute of trees rs is the BROOKLYN
bridge.
lmprlmls, then, my nose suggested
Western Carolina. My eyes corrobor-
ated my nose. 1t Is to that section
that | am going for my comparison
with this country and its people. NV
hrst sight OF Pretoria at once suggest
ed Asheville, as my first smell had sup-
gested It's vicinity. A red soil, ragged
car kles, farmer looking men OF horse
back, canvas covered OK carts, and the
general look OF u place which has
grown from village to small city
wlthln dozen years or so. That Is
Asheville, n. c., and that is Pretoria,
S. "A. H.
Pretoria at 4,4.i feet has twice the
latitude OF .Ashev!lle. 1t lies in shall
low bowl OF surrounding bills, which
overtop 1t from 100 to perhaps 500 feet.
The diameter OF the valley may be
from live TO seven miles. Not far from
the very center Of the bowl there
stands q church. 1t is the city's cen
ter as well. IT occupies the center Of
the large pubic square. Behind it, on
the west Is the postOlllce. In front OF
1t are the banks, three or four OF them.
Upon the south stand the imposing
government buildings, and upon the
north are the buildings Of the law
courts, structure which would be q
credit to any city OF 100, 900 inhabitants.
Pretoria has about 1900. There is rO
sign OF oarbarism, no lack OF sign of
civilization in the center Of the ad-
mlnistrative and legal center of Trans
vatl life. With the exception OF the
southeastern corner, the ground plan
OF Pretoria Is that OF a parallelogram,
surveyed into blocks and crossed by
streets running at right angles. The
roadways are macademized, and are
generally in fair condition, though not
as we'll kept as those of the cities of
EnRland's colonies in the East. They
are not as good as the streets OF the
cltles OF Japan, but they are really
rather better than those Of the average
OF small American cities.
The darkey OF South African cities
Is about the most homelike thing |
have seen since left home. He ia not
the darkey OF the North, but the dark
OF the South, lazy, ragged and jovial.
saw couple this moment. gray
aud woolly haired old uncle drove n
pair of bony little mules, with their
wreck OF harness tied with bits OF
rope, hltched to ramshackle old
vehicle which threatened wreck at
every JOLT On the seat behind him
sat lat old aunty, with handker-
chief tied around her Hoolly pate. NV
lips puckerered instinctively into IL
whistle OF "Old Virginny Nebbcr
Tire" They were the real thing, and
might walk The streets OF Richmond or.
Charleston without attracting any
more attention than they did here.
But 1t Is two to one that they spoke
Dutch, and it is any odds that uncle
never heard OF Il mint julnp, and that
aunty know no more about beaten pis-
cult than she did about electrolysis.
The darky OF the country Is more of
the original bird. a very small piece
Gi cloth will make him full suit. But
The town darky, so FAR rs appearances
goes, might as well be anywhere be.
tween Washington and New Orleans as
in Pretoria.
My Blue Ridge mountain suggestion
is still further omphasH Cd by the gen
eral appearance OF many OF the citi-
IONS, and | believe that also and a
in the type. No peo-
pie can be accurately measured by
their city representatives The real
HE OF nation is Its country life. The
real people OF the nation are the coun-
try people. The Boer is emphatically
countryman. Pretoria is but the
capital city OF country people. 1t is
a mistake TO regard them rs barbarous
simply because they are not we'll
dressed. The clothes OF Reuben Hay
seed, OF HillvilIe, may look like the
deuce, yet Reuben may be q very de-
cent and clever old chap. Reuben and
his Transvaal counterpart, will be
quite certain to treat strange yisito.
or u friend in his own home with the
utmost OF his possible hospitality.
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