davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08


But let us go to the surface and walk
through this mighty gold factory. The
mines of the Transvaal have machinery
equal to the finest used in America, and
the Simmer and Jack has 800 stamps.
which work away day and night. crush
ing the ore for the mercury plates and
cyanide watts.
AS the rock comes to the surface 1t is
in Jumps of all sizes from that of my fist
to a half bushel measure or larger. 1t is
of a blush color, and II looks much like
the limestone we use for fixing the turn
pixies. There is not a CLINT of gold to be
seen anywhere, and when crushed the rock
looks Just like the dust on the roads.
The rock is first sorted by machinery,
that the larger pieces may be broken
before they go into the crushers. They
are then ground up after the same fash
lon that our grandmothers ground coffee,
save that these crushing mills will chew
to pieces rocks the size Of a peck meas
ure.
When the ore Is comparatively fine it
is dropped down into the stamps and
pounded by them to dust. These stamps
are great bars of steel. which are always
dropping upon the gold-bearing rock.
There are 800 Of them and as they fall
they make a noise like that OF Victoria
Falls or the rushing of Niagara. The din
is so great that the workmen have to stop
their ears with cotton to keep from losing
their hearing. Indeed, l found myself
putting my hands to the sides Of my head
to shut out the sound.
When the rock comes from the stamps
II is a fine flour OF gold ore. 1t must be
fine enough to go through a wire mesh
with holes not much larger than the point
of a needle. 1t is now carried by water
over the tables covered with mercury,
which catches the gold and allows the
sand to go on. After this the refuse Is
treated to a bath Of cyanide Of potassium
and water, which takes up such gold as
is left. The processes are about the same
as those used in our great mines of the
west and as a result practically all of the
gold is saved.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
Sees the Real Thing.

Before leaving / mentioned to the as
sayer that I had spent a whole day In the
Simmer and Jack and had been told again
and again of the millions Of dollars worth
OF gold 1t was producing. 1 said that 1
had seen thousands of tons OF ore alleged
to be loaded with gold. but had yet 10
observe the first CLINT of yellow or any
sign Of the pure golden thing.
III you have any doubts as to the reality
Of the gold here" said the scientist, IT
can dispel them by showing you some
bricks, made here within the last few
weeks, which we are about to ship to
London"
With that he took me into the back
room OF his tin-roofed assay office and
by the twist Of his wrist unlocked a vault
in the wall. He then touched an electric
button, swung a combination lock around
five times, and threw open a safe, out OF
which he pulled a great brick of pure gold.
He dropped It on the counter and asked
me 10 lift It. / tried 10 do so. but failed,
although / might have succeeded had the
brick been lying on the floor instead Of
at the height Of my waist. II was a solid
lump of bright yellow metal, shaped like
a paving brick and perhaps two inches
thicker. He put II on the scales and
showed me that 1t weighed over seventy
pounds. He said that its value was $4,000.
In the same vault / was shown otter bricks
which ran up 10 more than $1,000, 900.
During my conversation with the assayeT
l asked him how the gold was sent TO
London. He replied:
1T all goes on the cars from here to
Cape Town and thence by the mail steam
ers to Southampton. The shipments are
made every Monday in order that the
trains may reach the cape for the ship
sailing Wednesday. Each brick is put up
in a separate wooden box. which is bound
around with strap Iron and Gealed. The
banks do the shipping and the railways
are responsible for the gold from here TO
Cape Town. On certain Mondays OF the
month the shipments amount to SA,OOo,OO
including about twenty-five OF these big
golden bricks"
FRANK g. CARPENTER
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08

profit is not more than 81 cents on every
ton handled. 1t has the best Of mining ma
chinery and II works between 5000 and
5000 men day and night, Sunday and week
days, all the year through. It. has more
than 1900 Chinese, 1000 black natives and
the hundreds Of whites who act as skilled
laborers and as overseers and managers.
Gold Sandwich.
The Simmer and Jack begins at the sur
face and its gold bearing rock mi dow
at an angle Of 4S degrees to no one knows
how deep. The gold is In a great sandwich
Of rock more thar a mile wide and on the
slant four-fifths Of a mile long. Already
tens Of thousands Of tons of the gold bear
ing conglomerate have been taken out and
1000 tons are now being raised every
month. The sandwich starts in a great
plaiE. 1t leans, as 1 have said, at a broad
angle, and one can look down between the
walls out of which 1t has been cut, and by
hanging onto ropes can slide down inside
them for hundreds of feet.
The manager Of the underground work.
$3.50 worth OF gold to the ton, and the
ings in the Simmer and Jack is an Amerl-
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08

Don't confuse" said John Ellis, the
well known apostle Of the unemployed, the
other day in Washington, don't confuse
the hobo, the tramp and the bum. for these
men are very different one from another.
THE hobo" Mr.. Elis went on, works
and wanders. The tramp dreams and wan
ders. The bum drinks and wander
'"This man, for instance. would not be a
hobo.
HE rang the bell of a suburban house
and when the master appeared he said
earnestly:
'Could you. sir, for the love OF heaven.
give a Woodworking but unfortunate man
some employment
The householder laid his hand cordially
o the others ragged shoulder.
Here's work for you right on the spot.
he said. I've got out in my back yard
a great pile OF wood that
Thank you, sir said the man as ne
shook the hand from his shoulder gently.
Ill let my friend know at once. It's not
for myself I'm hunting q job. but for a
friend a little way up the road "-wash-
ington Star.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08

can. He is a California engineer named
seagraves, who has been In Africa for
some years. Upon my telling him that l
wanted to go into the mine he said there
were sixty miles Of tunnels and under
ground passages, and / therefore asked him
to show me as much as he could in one
day. Before descending we put on miners
clothing. We then entered a great skip or
bucket which had just brought up two tons
of ore. Then a signal from the engineer
dropped us down into the darkness and an
other signal stopped us at a tunnel 900 feet
from the surface. Here we left the skip
and walked through tunnel after me
cut out Of the sandwich. now and then
stopping to look down the incline.
Imagine a mighty cave just high enough
for a man to stand upright within it and
running down at an angle OF forty degrees
for hundreds of feet, making a flat, slant
ing hall covering acres. There are rock
walls above and rock floors below and
away down thesslant hundreds of feet
distant are scores Of yellow Chinese
pounding the drills to make holes for the
blasting. The Chinese are bare to the
waist and they sing as they work. Each
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08

has a candle, and the light from this gives
linn a weird appearance as he slaves,
away down there in the darkness. h
Chinese are paid at the rate of l cent for
each inch Of hole drilled. and an ordinary
man drills fifty inches OF more IN q day.
They are gouging out the holes for the
dynamite candles. At certain hours the
oh arges are put in n several scores Of
blasts are set off at once, After this the
ore, which has been blown out, is show
eled down into the cars In the tunnels be-
low. It Is then carried to the shaft, up
which it flies in great iron skips and onto
the stamps which crush the gold out.
Look at the Ore.
As l went through the mine Mr.. Sea-
graves showed me the gold bearing pud-
ding. 1t lies here and there in streaks or
streams in the rock, now widening and
now narrowing. 1t is a blue conglomerate
filled with pebbles of white quartz en-
beddcd in a cement which is i~mpregnated
with iron and gold. The gold is in crys-
tails and flakes so small as to be invisible
to the eye. 1 could see no yellow metal
whatever, and the rock looked more like
limestone than anything else. The min
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08

@ uled Tor the coming year Un-
8&s der pressure Of public opinion
- against the locomotive smoke
nuisance on the lake front of Chicago, the
directors OF the Illinois Central have In
structed the company's engineers to pre-
pare plans for changing the motive power
on the Chicago terminal. On the Canadian
Pacific the management intends placing
electric locomotives on about 700 miles Of
the line in the western mountain ranges,
particularly where many unnels exist and
where power will be generated from noun
tain streams. A similar change on the Cas-
cade division of the Great Northern road
in the state of Washington. 1t is we'll
understood the Central Pacific will utilize
the abundant water power Of the Sierras
when the projected Strengthening of the
line is finished and the necessary tunnels
are bored in Nevada and California. This
work involves the abolition Of snow sheds
and greatly reduced grades. and may re-
Quire two years to complete. Around New
York City next year will witness a
large increase in electric power on the
railroad terminals. The Pennsylvania line
tunnels under Manhattan Island and into
Long Island will be completed, and cleo.
trio power used exclusively. On the New
Haven road the electric uower new en-
ployed within the city limits is to be ex-
tended so as to cover its suburban service
as far as Stamford, Conn.
The action of the Illinois Contra direc-
tory is considered the first decisive step
toward the Punishment of steam locomo-
tives from the railroad terminals of Chi
cago. There are many roads in the city
which are not in as good a position to cleo
trify as the Illinois Central and, these fear
the spread OF the movement. Several of
the roads insist that compulsory electrifi-
cation would spell financial ruin at this
time. 1t is understood that a conference
of railway presidents will soon be called
with a view to a thorough discussion of
the question and in the hope OF securing
uniform action with reference to ~electri-
~fication.
A few years ago Senator Depew predicted
that in ten years the steam locomotive will
disappear from view, relegated to the
scrap heap or the museum. and electric
power take its place on all railroads. This
prediction was oversanguine at the time,
as 1t is now, but the progress being made
in spots justify confidence in the early
retirement Of belching locomotives from the
cities, and the substitution OF the clean
and noiseless electric motors.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
what He Could Do.

John ]. Hayes. the Marathon hero, at a
dinner in New York concluded a toast
with a story.
Truly" he said, I'VE must work. We
must not rest on our laurels. As the
president told us, it would be a pity to
see an Olympic winner twenty years
hence a tramp.
Yet such things have happened. A
cousin of mine, the foreman Of a Chicago
iron mill, once employed a tramp who
had been a Yale base ball champion.
Their acquaintance began In a way that
showed the tramp still to be game and
CHEEKY.
1T was a cold autumn dawn, and the
tramp had slept in front of a furnace on
a warm stone.
MY cousin, being short of laborers. on
his morning our of inspection, spied the
fellow and thought he would give him a
job.
my man. he said, can you do any
thing with a shower
The tramp smiled.
"'Well, l can fry a piece of ham on
t.'"-Philadelphia Record.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
UNDERGROUND IN A RAND GOLD MINE.

terial of which is as fine as that you use
for securing your floors. Let II rise right
out of the green hills and extend on for
forty odd miles, and you have some IDEA
OF these enormous piles of refuse which
have come from the reef. Remember, as
you look at it. that every grain of that
sand was once part of a rock containing
gold, and that hundreds of millions of
dollars worth of gold has come from It.
II you continue your ride you will find a
fence of iron smokestacks along the
whole forty miles, and you Will never be
outside of the din of the stamps which are
crushing the rocks to get out the gold.
In q BiR south African Mine.
1t is only one Of these mires that we
shall visit today. 1t is the m and
jack within a half hours ride by train
from johannesburg, covering an enormous
territory sprInkled with gold. This mine
has produced mere than S,00o,000 worth Of
gold during the last year, and 1t yielded
about $500, 600 worth of gold last month. It
il a great gold factory. devoted to taking
the rock out Of the earth and reducing Il
to bullion. The ore contains only about
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08

mother had explained what she thought
was wrong, questions were directed TO the
little lady herself. In contrast with her
usual display of volubllity, Claire became
extremely noncommittal.
Does your head ache, little .one?'
"No-o."
as the pain here7" asked the Doctor,
softly, pointing to the patients stomach"
NO" very emphatic,
Are you cold?" and the professional
hand sought the pulse.
No answer, simply a tolerance of con-
ditions that gave him the right to touch
her.
Nov, please tell me just where you
don't feel quite right" coaxed the doctor.
Dead silence.
Precious, tell the doctor where you
feel sick" cooed the mother.
IT don't feel sick anywhere-not now"
The man of medicine gave directions,
wrote prescriptions and went his way.
why, Claire!' the mother reproache ed.
you've acted very badly. Mother never
knew her little girl to be so rude. The
doctor came to help you get strong-so
you can run and play. Aren't you sorry
to displease mother? You always told DR..
Regain how you felt"
Mother, I'm sorry, but not much, It's
this way: DR.. Regain always comes in his
carriage and his horse stands at the door.
This doctor'-with a note of contempt
Just sneaNs in with a little black bag
and all the other children will think we've
got just a Common doctor."-New York
Times.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
Cause and Erect.

A theological student was sent one sun
day to supply a vacant pulpit in a Con-
necticut valley town. A few days after
ward he received a copy OF the weekly
paper OF that place, with the following
item marked; Rev. - OF the senior
class at Yale seminary supplied the pulpit
at the Congregational church last Sum
day, and the church will b closed for
three weeks for repaiEA"
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
Something Just as Good.

There is an evangelist in Boston who is
so devout that, so his friends say, he
scarcely ever permits himself a secular
thought or his tongue. a worldly word. II
appears that this evangelist has a very
bright daughter, aged 5. Not long since
she answered the doorbell and found there
the icemaD with a bill.
Father is not home,' she said, but II
you will come In, you poor, perishing soul,
perhaps mamma will pray for you"
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
DC Wasn't . Friend.

The editors private stenographer was
pretty and 1t became an advertised fact
around the office that reporters and others
had more business during her service with
the editor than under the regimes OF
former photographers in that office.
One day last week the assistant city ed
itor went into the editors room to see the
editor. Outside the window was a painter,
who, in order to get in a more advantage
Gus position. hung by his hands to the top
OF the window frame. and was in this posi-
ton when the assistant city editor entered
the room.
The assistant city editor looked up at the
suspended figure and said. laughingly;
Friend Of yours, Miss BlankT'
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
Brightness Ahead.

A man who died recently in the north OF
England and had been living a dishonest
life under the cloak Of religion. wishing
to pose as a good man to the last, said to
thCs Sc around him:
Gan is bright before me-"
Aye" said one OF those present, whom
he had swindled out of a sum OF money,
'an' in about ten minutes thee'l be near
enc ugh to see the blaze!'
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
From the Story Teller's Pack

upon as the shrewdest politician In the
presidents cabinet. he Is the objective
point for newspaper correspondents on
cabinet days.
Last week as Mr.. Meyer emerged from
the White House q newspaper man asked:
Mr.. Postmaster General. can't you sive
us some news about the cabinet meeting 90
There is really nothing to say" replied
the cabinet officer. I'VE discussed moth
ing Of especial Importance"
do you mean to say you did not dis
cuss politics2" the newspaper man queried.
The postmaster general burst into laugh
ter. When he recovered his usual serenity
he said;
D you suppose we were all -
Washington Times.
Doubtful Powder
One day after listening to a story par
tieularly offensive with age Lincoln Nc
Connell, the Georgia evangelist, told this:
An old darkey went into a store down
in Georgia and asked;
Say, boss, you got any gun powdah
heahY''
Yes, we have gun powder"
'Lemm see some of that theah gun
powdah,"
The dealer showed him some.
Pore a little Of that powdah in my
hand"
The old darkey took the powder near the
light, ran his forefinger around and around
in it, looked at it critically, and then
smelled 1t two or three times.
And you say this heah is powdah?"
Yes" answered the dealer sharply, that
is powder. What is the matter with it?"
Dunno, boss"-the darkey shook his
head doubtfully-"but hit smells to me like
it's done been shot off befoah."-Judge.
Sailing on Soup.
Captain Charles Gerolomich, the million
aire skipper Of the Martha Washington,
said one night in the steamers saloon, as
he ate some very rich and fragrant turtle
soup:
This soup reminds me Of something that
happened to my old friend, Captain Jere-
mlah Gotschalk of the brig seud.
Captain Gotschalk and his first mate
were doing London. On q fine summer
morning they walked in the Row and saw
the f~ashionables horsebacking; they strolled
in Piccadilly, where all the great clubs
arei they looked over the guns and mems
things In Bond street; and lastly they got
hungry.
For lunch they entered a smart looking
Vestaurhnt, a maid IN a white cap took
their order. The things In the little res
taurant were rather cheaper than they
had expected. Still, that was all the bet
ter, provided the quality was good.
I'm a few minute the maid put two
plates Of thin, transparent fluid with a
somewhat salty taste before Captain Cots
chalk and his mate.
"rhe mate tasted it and coughed.
Put a name to this, cap'n, will yer
said he.
Captain Gotschalk tried a spoonful and
then beckoned the waitress to him.
What might We call this here, my lass?'
says he, lifting up a spoonful and letting
II fall back into the plate.
Soup, sir says the waitress.
"'Soopr cried Captain Gotschalk.
Yes, ignorance the waitress answered,
flushing up.
The captain turned TO the mate.
"'Soop! he cried. 'soopi BY tar, Bill,
just think o. that! Here's you and me
been sailin' on soop all our lives and never
knowed It till now philadelphia Ledger.
He WAsn'f a Friend.
The editors private stenographer was
pretty and 1t became an advertised fact
around the office that reporters and others
kaA ua.-. hp.K,... f- -.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
A Sure sign.

When an old maid makes a goose of
chicken
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08

pledge before they enter the mine that no
action will be taken against the company
in case they are injured during the jour
ney. The mines are not timbered, as the
rock is solid, but nevertheless the blast
ing frequently cracks the walls and
masses fall down into the tunnels upon
those who pass through. There are also
cars whizzing along. the ore rolls down
the planes and rocks weighing tons fly
this way and that.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
Then You,I Xemembar M.

George w. Coleman, s%ociologist, discussed,
during the recent sociological conference
at Sycamore Beach, tips and tipping.
Il have a friend" Mr.. Coleman said.
who belongs to an anti-tlpping association.
MY friend in obeying the rules of his
society has many quaint experiences.
He went travelling in the west in the
spring. He dined one night in a fashionable
western restaurant, and after paying his
Dill he gathered W the change that had
been brought upon a silver plate and drop
ped 1t into his " ~listcoat pocket.
"As he arose 10 depart the waiter said
IN a low, appealing voice:
Surely you won't forget me, STRIP
No no. said my friend; TN write to
YOU"
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
TranSvaaI's Golden Flood.

N"N sNhNN "GNNl tfpig ulOnlls
T~rnDsvaaI's Golden Flood.
In al history there has been no such
golden food 40 that which is .now pour
me forth from the Trlnsvaal. The mines
Of India. of Crocsus and of Solomon were
as nothing beside 1t, The treasures of
Mexico end Peru in the times of Cortez
and P.zarro dwindle in comparison, and
Australia, Alaska and California have had
nothing like unto this. The mines of the
Rand are now producing more than one
fourth of all the new gold in the world.
They were discovered only a little more
than twenty years ago and they nave al
ready turned out more than $1,000, CO0, 900
worth Of bullion. This is equal to one
twelfth of all the gold from all the mines
of all the world since Columbus discovered
America. In weight it Is just about 1900
tons. or so much that II you loaded 1t on
two-horse wagons at a ton to the wagon
1t would take a line of teams twelve or
fifteen miles long to carry It all.
More than this, these mines promise TO
continue pouring out gold for generations
to come. They could produce twice as
much today If they had the labor and
they could treble that amount ard keeI
the mines going for years. The gold reefs
in which the precious metal lies have been
proved for a length of more than sixty
miles and experts say that they can be
worked to a depth Of COCO feet. II they
were worked to 1000 the amount so far
taken out would be Just about 8 per cent
Of the whole. and at that rate there is
from $1,000, 900, 90 to 49, 600, 10000 worth OF
the precious bullion left.
The production has been increasing by
leaps and bounds ever since gold was
discovered here. In 1884 the output was
about S5O,0Oo and ten years later it had
jumped to $3s,0O0,OOO per annum 1t
steadily increased to about S0.00O,eO0. which
was the annual product at the beginning
Of the Boer war. II then fell to almost
nothing for q year or so, but in 1904 II
was again $500 900. In 1906 it reached 500,
cocoon, In 1906 1t was more than $40, 0C0, 900
and in 1907 the vast sum of $136, $4,000. These
amounts are ineonceivable, but they are
about what the mines are producing today
The aggregate dividends last year Were
sS5. 600, 600, and the mines which paid them
are capitalized at over $40, 10000. l have
before me a newspaper which gives the
products Of a dozen of the leading mining
companies during the last month. None
OF them has paid less than $500 for every
day OF that month, and some have run as
high as $4,000 per day for the thirty days
Talk about gold. Where will you find II
Elsewhere as here?
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
Aloud Am TSeY piseas.ed.

Postmaster General Meyer is OF a serious
turn Of mind. but he has a bit Of humor
In hia makeup, nevertheless. BEING looked
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
Copyright, 1908, by Frank C. Carp

!, 1903, by Frank G. Carpenter).
JOHANNESBURG. Especial Cor
respondence Of The Bee.)-Take
out your watch, hold It to your
q and listen to the ticks. For
every one Of them "a worth of
elbow gold Is now coming out
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
Current Power on Railroads.

EVERAL notable strides in sub
shutting electricity for steam
power on railroads r sched-
uled for the coming year. I'm
der pressure of public opinion
against the locomotive smoke
Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
In a Mig south African Mine.
A ChiId's

4 Child's Etiquette.
,HORTLY after the removal to
the suburbs of the household
in which Claire, aged A, Is tho
controlling spirit, she was
taken i'll, The nearest physi-
clan was called in. After her