Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1900-08-04
eMloRANrs WARNED.
Julian Ralph ADVISES fostuae Hunters Il
Avoid South Africa.

Julian Ralph ADVISES fertuue Hunters 10
Avoid South Airlea.
Julian Ralph contributes to the Lon.
don Daily Mail some warnings to those
who intend to emigrate to Couth AT.
RIGA. He says:
fear that most Of these men will re.
greet having ever asked even the barest
living OF South Africa. Although the
most popular sayings about that unat.
tractive region are such as to deter
Imagination. the idea that fortunes are
to be made there by men without cap.
ital remains firmly rooted in many
minds.
Where the land yields best It Is main.
~ used for the breeding Of sheep,
horses and goats and ostriches. 1t is
only where water Is abundant that we
see crops being raised, and they are
grown in small plots. for water in
South Africa has been termed "a
curiO."
To be strictly just. there Is a reason.
ably rich region In that part Of Cape
Colony which Is called the Hex River
country. Wheat and fruit and the vine
flourish In that section. and pasturage
IL good. genuine farming Is carried on
there. and the people are prosperous.
But the region offers no chance for
immigrants. The land is all taken up
and held at n very high price, and
those who own It, especially the domi.
nant Dutch. will not sell. Instead,
they want more acres, even though
they cannot til what they have; for the
Boer Is a land-loving. land.proud NOR.
tai. who estimates his social position
and his degree of content by the mum.
Der of his acres.
There Is a good grain-prOduclng soil
In the eastern part of the Orange Xiv.
er Colony. and the ravages Of the war
may send few-a very few-of those
farms into the market. but the price
will be beyond the purses of the aver.
age fortune seekers. There Is not, and
will not be. any Of this land to be
picked up on what Ii called settlers
claim. g.. free to whatsoever will
build on II and work.
In the Transvaal likewise there ore
good belts and desert belts. and there
Ii plenty Of unwOrked land, I believe,
In the dry and hllly upper half Of that
country. But the soil. which Is produc.
tive. even In the way Of pasturage. 10
not In the market.
II any man thinks 70 find new gold
or diamond mines he may as well b.
told that the chances Of that are pre-.
cisely equal to his chances Of having
at his disposal the time. money and
expert knowledge which the great
mining corporations have utilized In
studying the entire country and In tax.
Ing liens pr paying yearly premiums
for the hrst right e work such soils
when they need Or desire to DO 80.
,Ths nsareH thlpg to q gold mine
that remains open 10 newcomers In the
greater part Of these colonies Is the os.
trich; at least, SO was Informed by q
great many shrewd and successful men
who live In Natal. the Orange River
Colony and the Transvaal. But breed.
Ing ostriches requires money-for the
land and the birds--to start with. And
one must know or learn the methods
by which profit IL to be had In that
industry. You cannot raise ostrlchel
as you take snapshot photograph
by pressing a button and letting nature
dQ the rest:
In the ARMY found 40 many young
men, especially among the Australians
and Canadians, who talked of remain.
Ing In South Africa. that made II my
business while was In Cape Town
Kimberley and Bloemfontein to ask the
leading men for their knowledge and
opinions as to the inducements the
country offers to immigrants. 1t may
have merely happened 80, but I did
not meet man who favored the com
Ing Of a large number Of new settlers
All who We're Of British blood wished
for more men of their own race there
In numbers sufficient to outvote the
Dutch-but they could not promise
the newcomers living.
1t Ia a. true as when Mr.. Bryce wrote
It that South Africa Is q "vast soil
tude with few Gases of populate ,
and that this Ia due to Ito scanty means
Of sustaining life and its few openings
for Industry unaided by capital.