The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-09-12
MILES OF TIN STREETS.
Peculiar Architecture of kaffir Quarter
 of Johannesburg.

From Correspondence of London Ex-
 press.
 After struggling for half an hour thro- ugh pungent brickfields of arid clay, crack ed by the heat of the sun Into a thousand Assures, lodging shunting trains and snorting engines on mazy goods siding the inquisltve visitor to Johannesburg finds himself on the outskirts of "Tin Town"
 Geographically, the the district isYve- dedorp: technically. 1t Is the "expropria- ton area" actually, 1t is the Kaffir quar- CT of the Golden City" Here the black man foregathers with wife and family, and here the fiery cross of revolt Is be- ing raised; with what results only the fu- ture can show. "The Town is more than a mile in length and three-quarters of mile in breadth. It is laid out with great regularity on the American block system The streets are unpaved and the at tempts at the construction of sidewalks are pitful in their primitiveness. The roadway of red earth-dotted with crawl Kaffir babies~are marred by unpleasant undulations and hollows filled with stag nant rain water, near which myriads of pugnacions mosquitoes are forever buzz ing
 The crowning featupe of Tin Town" Is
 
 more strangely built nor the weird struct- , ures of mightmareland more accurately realized.
 The principal materials from which this great living area has ben constructed. are petroleum tins, the tin or zinc Things of imported packing cases and large quantities of the lead used In the tea trade. From these limited means. with battens of wood for use as framework, are con e.tr x.T. eli, ta that made by Peter aPn and his youthful crew for the protection of Wendy. Every man is his own architect and builder and the work of erecting these twelve or fourteen feet high stiles is sim- plicity itself First the ground Is marked out. generally exactly square, and at each of the four corners sturdy stake. some ten feet In height is driven in. These are strengthened and supported by cross pieces, Then the architect. his wife and eldest children wander abroad in search of tin.
 In the colonley ,ne seldom sees petro- leum in cask. It is generally sold in two, four or six-gallon tins. The con sumer purchases a specially manufactured pump and draws of the oil as he needs it. As the tins are not returnable, they are pressed into all sorts of strange services Filled with earth they are used for build ing walls; painted green they are used for flower boxes; they are in common use as pails, drinking troughs for cattle, boilers, cooking utensils besides thousand and one other familiar objects. Yet despite this accommodativeness many find their way to the rubbish heaps and are eager iy bounced upon by "homing Kaffr.
 The tins are cut open. hammered flat and nailed to the upright battens. In couple of hours-giyen sufficient sup ply of materlal-the citadel walls are com plete. and this sound box of a house only requires the corrugated iron roof and tin chimney-or, rather, smoke outlet to finish it. The luxury of fire grates Is unknown. The fire may be lighted any where and the dense volumes of smoke are expected to ascend skyward in the manner provided.
 Those of the S0.000 Kafirs in "Jo burg who do not dwell in mining compounds reside in one of the several miles of "Tfn Town" streets. Seen from a dis tance in the strong glare of the African sun the bizarre collection of human dwell ings looks like some enchanted dream city The tin walls of silver. and even the dull roofs of corrugated iron are transmitted into something mystic won derfui' by the philosophers stone of the sun At close quarters the scales fall from the eyes. and the awakening is rude indeed.
 The Kaffr multiplies prolifcally, and these unsavory roads are always filled with their naked. copper-skinned off, spring. They crawl about the ant-infest- ed roadway and paddle or founder in the hollows of foul-smelling water with evi- dent enjoyment. They are plump little