Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-07-11

~
v-.,y,iSht. ieos by Frank c. carpen-
N.Y. ter.
AMROo CREEK, Portuguese
East Africa, June 1O,--Away ou'
n here in the jungle, in the MAS
- matte lowlands back of the ~"
Nan ocean, about 1000 miles nortneas'
!, cine Town. in the heart Of Portu-
,ese Africa find an American n'""
,cins a cotton plantation He Is e''
slowed by the Rhodesla company ~
- has set out q tract of about oVV
,cres along the line OF the rai'foa"'
sbich runs from Bera to buiaNnsV'
Mis- work Is entirely experimental lhe
company owns three miles on eae'
hide its tracks, and II hopes 10 deNe.op
4 great cotton industry IN 'ne
suese possessions. .t ia
The cotton is now two months olo
md n is already knee high. Inc plants
look thrifty. and the helds are as
slean as a garden. They are Watcheu
say and night to Keep out me rnltlocet-
ases and hippopotaml anu turing tne
rainy season one mas 10 ue careiul nov
ae wades through the rows Tor rear "1
nsiup n leo To a hungry crocodile.
= hive had n long talk With the man
,car Iis name is Stillson and he
nor,es from Meridian Miss. He tells me
NAT one of the chief dangers is from
HE Wild beasts. The country has many
lions and his men killed young
leonard with their hoes the other day.
T'he leopard was asleep and they
,neaked up on him and sunk their mat
Jocks into his brain. Mr. Stllsan says
HAT the tracks the hippopotami make
are each as big around as dinner
plate, and that IL they get into the
teld they ruin the plants.
COTTON IN SOUTH AFRICA.
talked with this man as to the pros
poets of raising cotton in this part of
the world. He tells me that there is
vast deal of available land. both in
this region and farther south. Some
cotton has been grown on the Maputo
river, not far from Lorenzo Marques.
and experiments are being made In
other parts OF Portuguese East Africa.
The cotton raised here at Bamboo
Creek has longer fiber than that from
the same seed when grown in America.
Mr.. Stillson is experimenting with our
cotton and with Egyptian cotton, He
uses steam pillow 10 break up the
ground, and then runs American cult
Nator5 over 1t. The cotton that is now
grown here was planted last December.
and the first picking took place in
May. The plants ripen at different
times and the Egyptian cotton later
than the American cotton. The picking
season continues throughout the sum
mer.
! understand that the Mozambique
company, which controls this great ter
i1tory, has sold 5000 acres of land to
syndicate in the province of Mozam-
bique, and that this syndicate intends
to raise cotton upon II. The land is
10 be irrigated and tramways are al
ready being built on the plantation.
steam and motor plows are to be inn
ported and the estate will have the
most up-to-date of labor saving APP
plianoes.
AN OLD CONTRACT LABOR sYS-
TEN.
During my talk with Mr.. Stillson. r
asked him some questions as to the
men who work his plantation. Said
he:
I'VE use the negroes. and hire them
through the Mozambique company.
rms company has control OF the ma
yves and they are forced to do as II
says. we are now paying about $3.50
per month FOR a good man. We Hand
ms over to the company. and II AL
lows the man SO and takes the 30 cents
as It's commission That is the way ALI
labor Is furnished here. We have nov
4SV men In the fields and we get them