Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-09-19

There is no doubt but that there is a
vast amount of gold in Rhodesia. This
country, which is almost as big as the
Mississippi valley, mas minerals of one
kind or another scattered here and
there over it. The gold"iieds already
discovered cover more than 5000 square
miles and there are now more than
800 companies and syndicates working
them. Considerable copper and gold
have been taken out and something like
5000 tons of chrome iron. Rhodesia has
diamond mines. which have already
produced about 800 carats of precious
stones and coal mines, from which
100000 tons OF black diamonds have
been taken The chief mineral value of
the country, so far, has come from its
low-gradc gold propositions, which are
mined at small cost. The British South
Africa company Is doing what it can
to help the small miners, and by the
present laws the first license is issued
for ! shilling and nine others at 50 y
claim. A single miner can reg out 10
claims. $50 feet wide and GOO feet long
each, for little more than the cost of
the licenses. No royalty is paid to the
company until the miners have been
compensated for their labor and have
had some profits on their work. There
are a number of mines here which are
being operated at a cost Of $4,000 per
mine, but as Il rule few of the mines
pay enormous profits, and the quick
fortunes which are so often made in
our mineral regions are not to be had.
THE MOUNTED POLICE
The British, government has the prac-
teal control OF the natives OF this part
of Africa. The country is owned by
the South Africa company, and it is
| governed by an executive council an
| pointed by that company with the ar
nlOttl1 m tbn q Of
| Great Britain. There is also a egisla-
| tive council and courts appointed by
| the government OF Great Britain. on
| the nomination of the company The
| head of the whole government Is the
| high commissioner, and there is a Mill
taly police appointed by the crown
| which is under his control
| II is a wonder to me how the Brit
| iSh keep in subsection these hundreds
| OF thousands of natives with compar-
| atively few soldiers, The total police
| force consists of 500 whites and 800
| natives The whites are mounted, and
! they patrol the country Just as do the
| mounted police of western Canada.
1 There are white settlers living here
away off in the wilds, and are never
theless. comparatively safe l met the
other day Capt Mcqueen of the
mounted police of Mashonaland He
has a territory as. large as Illinois,
4 which he keeps IN order With 20 men,
i who ride on horseback from farmer to
I,farmer and bring back reports as to
the condition of the territory Every
| European settler must be visited at
4 least once a month. and the police
i man has to get from each written re-
| port as to the condition Of the country
about him. Said Capt. Mcqueen:
Il believe Rhodesia is almost as safe
as England. and if 1t We're not for tho
lions and leopards a man might 81
over it without u gun The natives are
| quiet. and our white settlers are
great deal better off than those OF tn,
ordinary frontier. The conditions vii
grow better than they now are as tn,
country settles as / believe 1t vii
rapidly do
4 AFRICA POSTOFFICE.
Speaking of the government, tht
British postal system has now beer
| carried into every part of Southern
Rhodesia and the postal runners are
taking mail as far north as the frontier
of the Congo Free State. More than
| two million letters were sent last yeat
in and out OF southern Rhodesia. and
there are now. something like 35 post
offices in the British territories above
the Zambesi river
During my stay at the end of the
| Cape to Cairo railroad. took a pho
tograph of the Broken Fill postofiice.
| which is now the mail station farthest
north. 1t is more than 1000 miles
| above the Cape of Good Hope The
postonicc consists Of galvanized iron
shed about Is feet wide and 80 feet
long. The postmaster sleeps in it, and
he distributes the mails on the arrival
of the trains About 20 bags of mail
come every week. After this has been
sorted it is carried by natives to all
parts Of the country. SiXtyfour rum
ners left during the day | visited the
office. Fourteen Of them went to the