davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29
THE GOLDEN TRANSYAAL.
Continued from fifth pa &c.

ana chemically treated IN order 10 ex'
tract from SO to $40 worth of gold.
Think Of that-in whole ton of rock
only oHe ounce OF gold
But there are profits enormous
enough The reports from the London
Stock Exchange Year Book show that
in 1898 the mines of the Rand paid to
English shareholders the enormous
sum of 24450,00O in dividends.
Where does the rest Of it go? Well
some of 1t goes for labor (the Kaffir
miners get 80 cents day.. some of it
comes to the United States in ex-
change for mining machinery. some Of
1t is added to the reserve funds of the
big mining corporations. and a little
slice, about S5.000000 annually. is
paid to the Beers in taxes.
There are about 60 leading mining
companies in the Transvaal The
lowest dividend paid is 10 per cent.
The highest. paid by the rich Jo-
hannesburg Pioneer mine. is 675 per
cent.
steady stream of gold flows from
johannesburg and Pretoria across the
ocean to England. That S24, 450, 900 is
each year distributed among the big
and little shareholders scattered all
over the United Kingdom. Every mail
steamer leaving South African ports
for England carries on an average
$5OO,OO0 worth of Transvaal gold most
of which is coined into shining guneas.
The wonderful gold bearing deposits
of the Rand form a single reef about
80 miles in length, narrow strip only
a few feet wide, but running down into
the earth slantwise for miles apparent
ly. On the very edge Of this reef is sit
uated the city of Johannesburg, and
along it are scattered more than GO
mines, owned by different companies,
representing British capital chiefly.
Naturally the choicest locations for
the mines are directly upon the out
cropping edge of the great reef. Other
properties are located at short dis
tances from the reefs edge. but In the
The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29

direction Of its slant. so that vertical
pits may strike the ore body fartha,
along after passing through barren sur
face strata
The reef goes down at a tilt. you see,
like one side of the pent roof of a
house. Some of the holes thus exca-
waited in pursuit of yellow wealth are
among the deepest ever dug in the
crust Of this old planet. and one of
them, the Victoria. has penetrated over
half mile into the bowels of the
earth
The Witwatersrand Is veritable
field of gold, or, more exactly, basin
whereof the sides are furnished with a
series of beds of gold Imagine a book
with leaves very broad, but compare
lively thin, ranging from s inches to 10
feet Bury these leaves. formed Of au-
riferous conglomerate. in the ground
SO that their upper edge may be at the
level of the soil. Suppose that, after
penetrating the earth at a varying angle
to depth Of about $500 feet. some Of
the leaves curve up so that the edge
buried first reappears at the surface.
You would thus create sort of basin
with both sides very uneven, but col
tinuous, and you have the gold bearing
beds of Witwatersrand. In place
Isolated rocks. Of alluvial deposits
sown with grains of gold-discovere
by chance and leaving. when exhaust
ed, to the gold hunters nothing but
the hope Of another lucky find-in the
Rand there Is a series of concentr,c
beds more or less near to the surface.
according to the part of the basin
where the miner works, and without
faults or breaks.
The mines of the Witwatersrand en-
ploy today somewhat more than 10000
aborers. Enormous sums of money
have been expended in the purchase
and installation of costly machinery,
which includes about 6,OOO stamps for
crushing the ore. or blanket" as it Is
called.
Blanket Is the Dutch word for nut
cake, and the ore is thus termed be-
cause of its resemblance to that favor.
lite product of the Boer housewives
Kitchen biologists call Ii q conglom-
crate, which signifies that it is a hard
ened mixture of sand and pebbles
They say that the reef was once sea-
beach, millions of years ago, and tho
sand of the beach contained minute
specks of geld brought down from the
land by streams.
Today. solidified into rock, it still
holds the precious metal. though the
ore is of such low grade that all the
deposits OF the Rand would not he
worth cent If 1t were not for the
cyanide process. which makes 1t pos
sible to extract the yellow stuff at
cost Of only So per ton of conglomerate
handled.
But the available supply OF banket
Is unlimited. 1t is Of an even richness
throughout, no matter from what part
The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29

and observed the rules aud regulations
framed by them. This proclamation at
tracted large crowds to the field and
soon big camp sprang into existence.
1t was then that the adage that AL
roads lead to Rome should have been
changed to "all roads lead to Johannes
burg" for from every district in the
south and even from every other land
and cline an interminable stream
nocked into the golden city.
Englishmen, Beers. Dutchmen, Amer
leans. Kaffirs. Zulus and Hottentots jos
tied one another in the rude streets of
the camp. Some OF them built reed and
daub huts, others put up tin shanties,
the material nothing more than Eng
lish kerosene tins hattened out. and
others crawled under wagons until
some better place of rest could be OBJ
tanned. All had come to stay.
The air was filed with the shouts of
busting men. the cracking of the long
hide whips-in the hands of Katfirs and
Beers driving their oxen teams through
the streets-the sudden yell of a cab
driver, enveloped in cloud of dust, on
finding his plunging horse about to ride
you down. and the rumbling of heavy
wagons and the sounds of hammer and
AK.
The camp was the scene of constant
turmoil. Every man was filled with
feverish excitement and animated by
the widest hopes. Scenes Of violence
were hardly noticed. Indeed there was
no time for SUCH The excitement of
murder died away in an hour. All sen
timent, all order, all decency. was lost
in the wild, tumultuous. all absorbing
race for gold.
But soon the tumult of camp life
subsidized, the wild scramble settled in
to steady, organized persistence, and
a change came over the scene. and
the cause of the change was gold
more gold. Capitalists from England,
from Paris and even from Australia
1ocked to Johannesburg. bought up
claims, organized companies, hired Ia
Dor and issued stock Some were sue.
cessful and made fortunes. Others
failed and lost their all. Still the num-
Der of companies increased with be-
wildering rapidity till at length, in
1890, there were 40 gold concerns.
with capital of $55,000,000. In time
the mining properties were consolidat.
ed as they are today.
Johannesburg is, for all practical
purposes, an English settlement. The
first to flock thither when the gold
fields were proclaimed were English
men, mostly from Kimberley. Natal
and Cape Colony. English is the gen.
The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29

ed with it will admit that it is extreme
ly unsatisfactory.
Gradually these various mining prob
lens are being solved, and nowadays
there is very little gold left in the ore
after the tailings are dumped out Of
the back doors of the big mills.
A view of the Transvaal mining d.
trict Is impressive. In all directions
and In apparently the greatest co..
fusion one sees nothing but the SANE
scene repeated-the tall, black stack,
with Its own arrangement of colorcd
bands like the funnel of a Cunarder;
the headgear. with its scaffolding.
wheels and cables; the corrugated iron
engine houses and machine shops; the
The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29

duced 10 a powder about as fine as
cornmeal
This powder is then run over copper
plates covered with mercury. which
has strong affinity for gold, causing
it to adhere to it's surface, from which
1t is removed from time to time.
The waste matter is then treated
with cyanide of potassium in large
watts, and much of the gold that would
otherwise be wasted is recovered in
this manner.
But the newer process is called chic
rination. While the cyanide process is
undoubtedly useful. every one connect
The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29

NOT INFERNO; ONLY GOLD NINE
eral language of the place. The Beers
have learned it and many of the
Kaffirs too.
America is represented by about
1000 Of Uncle Sans citizens. Most
of them came from the western mining
districts They took with them to the
Transvaal practical knowledge Of the
mining of low grade ores, and it prov
ed invaluable to them. Many Ameri-
can mining engineers have made big
fortunes there. John Hays Hammond
is an example.
The Johannesburg of today is a
splendid, substantial city of brick and
stone which has been built there on
the veldt practically by Englishmen.
1t is the counting room of the mines.
The Beers take no pride in it.
= But gold mines are not the only rich
es in the Transvaal. There are vast
coal deposits, stretching from Pretoria
clear to Delagoa bay. There are also
deposits Of silver, copper and lead. A
bed of magnetic iron ore. from 20 to
40 feet wide and yielding 10 per cent
OF metal. extends for several miles
alongside of the coal seams.
None Of these mines has the Beers
developed. When the English work
them, the Beers discourage the indus
try by imposing heavy taxes.
So you see that the barren plateau
which the Beers settled upon half a
century ago has turned out to be a
veritable Golconda. The riches of
their land have brought them much
The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29

STAMP BATTERY, WHERE ORE is CRUSHED
white walls of the compound; the
huge, regular heap of gray waste rock
and the enormous watts where the tail.
ings are cyanided.
1t looks jumbled throughout. but If
one could obtain a birdseye view of
the. Witwatersrand one could trace the
tourse of the outcrop by the chimney.
stacks of the mines as regularly and
as easily as it can be followed by the
red line on the maps hanging on the
walls in the offices of the Consolidated
Goldfields company.
The conditions of mining In the
Transvaal are strikingly different from
those which obtain in California.
Roughly speaking, the Witwatersrand
reef is a vast plane of gold bearing
rock. dipping to the southwark at an
average angle Of 45 degrees.
According to the mining laws of the
Transvaal. the claim holder has not
the right of the lateral pursuit of his
reef In depth. He has only the right
The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29

trouble, as they shrewdly foresaw vears
ago They have been brought face to
face with a difficult problem. Should
they suffer the hated uitlander to re-.
main and obtain control of their gov.
ernment' should they abandon their
homes and trek again. or should thew
nght the great empire which has chas-
ed them from pillar to post in South
Africa?
With stubborn courage which com.
peis our admiration the Beers have
determined to fight. not for the possas.
sion OF the gold mines. but for their
republic and their independence.
The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29

of extracting such gold as can be
found directly beneath the boundaries
of his claims Vertical rights" is the
technical expression. For instance.
the prospector has discovered the out
crop of the Northumberland it is reef,
not vein-and pegs out his claim, a
parallelogram of 100 cape feet in the
direction of the strike by 400 in the
The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29

of the reef it is taken. About 10000
600 tons were crushed in 1895
The ore Is mined by drilling and
blasting and is then raised to the sur
face in steel elevators. when it is put
through the crushers, which reduce it
to the size Of hens eggs. 1t is then
put through the stamps and, with wa
ter constantly running over il, is re-
The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-03-29
N 4
CA II

In all it |
should be |
Ely's CI
cleanses,s so |
the diseas
1t catI
away a COL
quickly.
Cream Il
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ELY BRd|
The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-09-24

| TO the Editor of tile Journal and Courier:
AS school methods are being criti-
cised and discussed by those competent
as we'll as incompetent, will sugges-
! ton be kindly received from one whose
school days are pleasantly remembered
AS an all-round source of rapid i'm
provement, none seems to the writer
equal to the diary. In the long ago
! school, after the Bible reading, we were
required to write each day record of
the day before. First, the date, next,
| the direction of the wind, weather
probabilities (no signal flags assisted
us in or observations), next cloud
| lore, with the various combinations,
cumulus, stratus. cirrus, nimbus. We
gave descriptions of social calls, games
and other amusements Every item,
from an eclipse to q sun-shower was
fully described
Our studies were temized as flowers
analysed, consultations traced, prob
lens solved translations completed,
etc Each red-letter day, as Thanks
giving, Christmas, New Years day,
Washington's birthday, Independence
day and all days of lesser fame were
emphasize by historic essays. We re-
ferred to Encyclopedias for accuracy,
as our diaries were required to be
correct. Penmanship grammatical con-
struction, photography were severely
criticised by the teacher.
Monday mornings diary was a
lengthy one. We were required to give
name of church attended, name of min
lister, text and a schedule of sermon
which sermons were longer than those
of to-day We must give our own YER
sion of the elocution, music, etc.
We We're also expected to write an
account of vacation days and recre-
alton hours We gave names of books
perused, commented on authors and
style. Fancy work wrought and do
nestle duties performed We're also de-
scribed We were required to be up to
date in newspaper lore, current events,
as elections, fires, floods, cyclones, ship
wrecks and deaths of noted persons,
were to be commented upon.
Practical knowledge was acquired in
pleasant way, emulation was melted,
and each one was DESTROYS of reading
a finished production.
One business man says of pupils en-
ployed from public schools, many are
deficient in the common needs of prac |
tical work. S. e. ROESSLER.
The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-09-24
THE MILITARY ACADEMY.

| REPRESENTATIVE Character of Cadets
| Shown by Parents Avoeations.
The military academy at West Point
| the alma mater of the larger portion
| Of the commissioned officers of the Uni
| ted States army-has Of late years be-
came a much more representative DEM
ocratic institution than in times past
| In -belum days the corps of cadets
| was in large part made UP OF the sons
| of the government officials, prominent
army and navy officers, and members
| of congress, and it was rare that a
youth of other family than one of high
social standing became q student In the
| art of war there Since those days,
however, the doors have been opened
wider and the result is NOW seen in as
representative a body as can be found
anywhere in the world.
A recent examination of the records
of the nearly four hundred cadets for
| the past ten years shows that outside
the sons of army officers, of which
there We're sixty-fiye, 149 were sons Of
farmers, lis sons of merchants, 100
manufacturers, thirty-two sons OF me-
chanics, twenty sons of insurance
agents, nineteen sons of real estate
agents, fourteen sons of clergymen,
thirteen each of editors. bankers and
ookkeepers, ten Of druggists, nine of
drummers, eight of school teachers, and
six Of dentists. Among the others al
most every known calling is represent
ed by the fathers of one or more-the
aborers with five and policemen, hotel
men, band leaders, fishermen dairy
men, BARRIERS, brewers, undertakers and
university presidents among them,
There are several causes for the
change which has been wrought in the
corps of cadets. Among them may be
mentioned the decay Of nepotism and
the rank favoritism shown years ago,
when those who had the appointment
to bestow if they had no son of their
own would select some relative or the
scion of some influential family. To
large extent the custom has grown to
award the appointments to pupils of
the schools who shall pass COMPETE
tive examination, and In not a few of
the congressional districts these places
are donated as prizes to be competed
for by the public school pupils That
many from the humble walks of life
have passed through the schools and
won the opportunity to become an off,
Ger of the army and place their names
high in the pages of history, not only
is credltable to the graduates but
speaks volumes for the progress made
in popular education. No longer is the
want of distinguished ancestory. of
high social or political influence a COM
plete bar to a military education; the
main question being the qualifications
Of the candidate as he presents himself,
Washington Star.
The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-09-24
NOTICE.
Controllers Office, Room Is, City Hail.

Controllers Office, Room Is, City Hall.
New Haven, Conn, Sept; list, 1000.
Sealed proposals will be received at this
office until o'clock p. m. Monday, October
LIST, 1900, (at which time they will he
opened) for the purchasing of the whole
or any part thereof of the following bonds:
$1s5,0U0 Bridge Bonds Of denomination
of $1,000 each. bearing interest at the rate
annually. Bonds will be dated October
1st,, 1900, and mature October LIST, 1920.
These bonds were authorized by the
General Assembly by Act approved March
9th 1897 Especial Acts, 1897 page 79o).
100000 Street Pavement Bonds of de-
nomination of $1,000 EACH bearing interest
at the rate of 31a per cent. per annum,
payable semannually. Bonds will be
dated October LIST, 1900, and payable
100000 October list, 1905.
$40, GOO October LIST, 1910.
$4,000 October LIST, 1915,
100000 October 1st 1920
These bonds were authorized by the
General Assembly by Act approve ,;uly
list, 1895 Especial Acts, 1893, page $3.50.
S4S0,0o0 Funding and High School Bonds
of a denomination of $1,000 each, bearing
interest at the rate of 312 per cent. per an
mum, payable semi annually. Bonds will
be dated October LIST, 1900. and payable
ceedng year, until paid. These bonds
were authorized hv the General Assembly
by Act approved March 23d, 1897, Especial
Acts, 1897, page 1907
Inc principal ana interest on all bonds
payable at the office of the City Treasurer
In lawful money of the United States. The
bonds will be coupon or registered, as de-
sired by the purchaser.
Bids should be marked ''Proposals for
Bonds" and addressed to Jonathan n,
Rowe, Controller, Room 10, City Hall.
New Haven, Conn, and be accompanied
by the deposit of a certified check, payable
to the order of said Controller, for the sum
of $5, 900, as a guarantee Of good faith upon
the part of the bidder. Said check shall
be deemed forfeited upon the failure of the
time after the notice of the acceptance Of
his proposal. If the bids are not eccept.
ed, the checks will be returned at once.
The right to reject any and all bids is
reserved.
For further information, address:
JONATHAN N. ROWE,
s22 3t Controller.
The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-09-24
Committee on Railroads and
Bridges.

The Committee on Railroads and Bridges
will meet In Rooms 10 and IL, City Hall,
Tuesday, September %, 1900, at 8 p. m,
when the followingWatters will be consid-
Communications of His Honor the Mayor,
the Director of Public Works and Burton
Mansfield, de GAINESVILLE bridge over Mill
river ut Grand avenue.
Communication Of His Honor the Mayor
and the Director of Public Works de con-
struction Of new bridge In place of the
present westerly spans Of Tomlinson
bridge.
Resolution of Alderman Baldwin for the
abolition of the first bridge over the small
arm of West river on Kimberly avenue and
the filling In Of the causeway.
Resolution Of Alderman Walsh de ap-
prevail of plans, specifications and con-
tract for the Kimberly avenue bridge by
the Court of Common Council.
All parties Interested In the foregoing are
notified to attend and be heard theron
without further notice. Per order,
NICHOLAS 7. CORCORAN, Chairman.
Attest: JAMES b. MARTIN
s24 1t Assistant City Clerk.
The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-09-24

HOW TO AVOID SEA SICKNESS.
Before man feels sea-sick, he looks
sea-sick You can see it in his face
you can see it in his hands The blood
has left the surface, and has accumula-
ted somewhere or other in the interior
Force the blood back to it's normal dis
tribution and sea-sickness will disap-
pear. This is readily done by the fol-
lowing process: Initiate the lungs to
their fullest extent by deep yawning
inhalation; then, standing on your feet
(and keeping the lungs thus fully inf1a-
ted), bend forward and, without bend
ing the knees, try to touch your toes
with your fingers. Do this two or three
times and you will find yourself getting
redder and redder in the face, and the
sea-sickness will be stopped. or (what
Is better) it will be prevented-Le
in the Pail Mall Gazette.
The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-09-24
GOLDEN WEDDING.

OF Mr.. and Mrs George w. Leete, of
This Citv-Resided Once in Guilfor1's
Old Stone House.
Mr.. and Mrs. George Leete, of Green
street, celebrated the fiftieth anniversa-
ny of their wedding last Saturday
They We're married in Guilford in 1850
and went to live in the notable "Old
Stone House" in Guilford, portions of
which are still standing.
Mr.. Leete is a lineal descendant of
William Leete, who was born in Eng
land and emigrated to America in the
sixteenth century, and was an early
settler In New Haven, Conn, and one
of the founders of the town of Guilford
William Leete was governor of the
state for many years and died in Hart
ford in 1888
Some of those in attendance yester-
day were present at Mr.. Leetes we'd
The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-09-24

ding in 1850. Guests We're present from
Branford and Danbury. Among those
present from New Haven were Rev.
William Leete, D. D., of the Dwight
Place church, they being members of
his congregation, Several valuable to-
kens of regard were left in the form of
gold coins of various denominations.
An original poem was written for the
occasion by Mrs. Douglass, of Green
wich, Mass. The house was handsome
ly decorated with flowers and it was
altogether a very elite affair