Gilpin observer., 1907-12-05
NEWS FROM THE MINES AND MILLS
Gold Of Africa and Australia.


To understand the marvellous regn-
iarity Of the worlds gold supply you
must go to that wonderful "mush-
room" city in the high African veldt-
Johannesburg. Leaving a smiling
world behind you, you seem to have
landed ON some other dreary planet,
and in the midst Of 1t loom the pala-
tial skyscrapers of Eloff street; the
princely ONCE buildings Of Market
Square, with their express elevators,
telephones, electric lights, and all the
pomp and circumstance of Wall street.
Here nearly 300 mines are boring the
wondrous mile-deep reef, which the
ablest living mining engineers are
agreed could produce $150,000.0O0
worth Of gold every year for genera
tion more. And yet it seems but the
other day that the site of Johannes
burg was a mere handful OF tin-roofed
shanties on the wind-swept veldt, raw
and ugly, dusty and forlorn. You meet
men who trampled heedlessly on the
$4,000, 100000 worth of gold which John
Hays Hammond estimated years ago
lay In that 130-mile reef.
a 1t Is a tragic fact that the Golden
City" Is also a land of disappointment.
The truth is, South Africa produces
gold and diamonds-and nothing else.
There is not another single industry to
support the country. The result is
grimly expressed by one of the Roths-
child engineers: Millions OF pounds
worth of gold flow out of this city
and our people are following the gold"
1t is the old question of labor. After
the war there was great rush to Jo'
hannesburg. Business houses trebled
in number. Structures worth 100000
600 were put up with feverish haste.
Then came the reaction, and an amaz-
ing exodus of white men from the City
of Gold. Insolvencies quadrupled IN
number and criminal statistics told a
dismal tale. In the past three years
the mines have spent over $1,000.000
recruiting laborers In central Africa,
with the poorest results. Only 1900
shivering negroes were secured; and
as these came from a tropic climate,
they could not stand the cold winter
months of the high veldt. The result
was death rate SO extraordinary that
the British government would no
longer allow similar recruiting In irop-
ical Africa. For this reason an army
of Chinese, nearly $4,000 strong. was
imported. and this raised grave po-
litical question in the British House OF
Commons.
Yet, Notwithstanding all drawbacks.
II Is certain the Rand's output will De
maintained and the worlds gold sup
ply will surely increase instead of fall
ing on. Every year sees new fields
tapped. Those Of Australia are as yet
barely scratched. because of the diff
ficulty of travel in the waterless in
terror. The Importation of thousands
of Indian cameis. however. has male
big difference in this respect. AS Ia
Australia, she has already produced
over $4,000. 100000 worth of gold and
yet her vast surface is barely touched
New South Wales alone has 10000
square miles of gold country which in
great part has never known a miners
pick.
After all 1t is western Australia that
is the real land OF gold; though Its
rainless interior makes prospecting a
fearful risk. And yet today an army
10000 strong is fighting the wilder
ness: and the government has spent
$Go.000.000 on plant designed to
pump water to the gold fields. nearly
400 miles in the burning interior
Gradually Australia's gold mining is De
coming like that of the Rand-a mere
question of mighty machinery. In
Bendigo today there are golden shafts
three-quarters Of mile deep. And from
Tasmania in the South to New Guinea
in the north; from Mount Morgan in
the east to Kalgurli in the west-a
straight line of 2.400 miles each way
the Australians are raising gold in
vast quantities. The stamps of Kal
Eurli's Golden Mile" have already
pounded out $160.00O,OOO. The great
problems here are fuel and water. II
costs $25 to haul cord of miserable
sage brush over the seas of sand to
the batteries. And there are sava &c
natives to be reckoned with, too-be
feathered cannibals. notoriously treach
erous and hostile to the white man.
w. G. Fitzgerald In Van Norden's
Magazine.