The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1923-04-19
BARBARIAN" BROWN
THE STORY OF A NAME
CONTINUED from Page H.

few years ago. The basis Of his claim
against the British government is toll,
below by the correspondent of tn,
Journal Press:
An international Controversy.
ION the 9th of next July. at TIL,
Hague, the British American pecuni.
airy claims arbitration board will as.
semble for the purpose Of taking VI
the consideration of claims of the
United States against Great Britain
and Great Britain against the United
States. One of the most important OF
these cases arises out of the Boer wal
lof 20 years ago. 1t is the case OF
Barbarian Brown, formerly of Spo-
kane, Wash, and it is this claim
which is regarded as the casus belli
of the Boer war. Brown, whose full
name was Robert e. Lee Brown. was
mining engineer and had been sue
cessful in the northwest. In 1898 he
emigrated to South Africa, and in 1895
drifted into the district of Potchef-
stroom. The Boer government was
about to throw open for location and
development the area known as Farm
/ Wilfontein. 1t was presumed that the
main lode of the now famous Witwat-
ersrand vein transversed the property.
but before any one could file a claim
he had to obtain a miners license for
each claim filed. 1t was officially pro-
claimed that the clerks office would
be opened for the issuance of licenses
at DOornkoop at $3.50 a. m. on the
morning of July 10, 1895. This office
was 20 miles from the farm. There
was stampede, but partners were
left on the farm ready to stake on re-
ceipt of news that licenses had been
granted. Brown was a wise prospect
or. He had been there before He
had picked out 1900 locations and had
his men camped on them. He didn't
know at the time that 700 choice
claims had already been located by
relatives of Paul Kruger. then the
dominant force in South African poll
ties. Brown did not depend on horses,
and there We're no automobiles in
those days, but he secretly installed a
photographic apparatus to flash sig
nails to his partners Immediately on
the granting of licenses
when Brown approached the office
on the morning of July 10, the day
fixed for the granting of licenses he
found that the office had been sur /
rounded by a compact crowd of Beers /
who were evidently determined to /
keep the Americans and British out. |
But Brown called a meeting. He sell !
ected a dozen American mining men
who had been football players and he
formed a flying wedge and finally I,
reached the clerks Office about $3.50
md demanded 1900 licenses. The clerk
iemurred He would consult his su-
)eriOrs; and then he announced that
he opening hour had been postponed
until 1890. Brown insisted that the d
money which he offered should be ac-
epted, but the Boer refused and fin
lily slammed the door in his face This
reated a near riot among the British
nd Americans, but Brown anticipat-
ng something of the kind. had OBJ 7
aimed legal advice. and after making
he tender ran to his Photograph y
there he signalled to his associates to =
o ahead with the stalking The Boer
overnment refused to acknowledge
he legality of the stalking and later
5sued grants to Beers on a lottery =
asis.
Brown carried his claim to the high T
Ourts OF South Africa, and when the f,
ldges of those courts rendered deci- y
ons in his favor, Dom Paul promptly NJ
isplaced all the judges and refused to n
low the court order to he executed. n,
This is where John Bull. who is a hi
reat believer in the inviolability of fe
'ntract stepped in. The treatment b,
corded by the South African gov in
nment to the American engineer ps
rived as an additional reason for the ii,
ritish punitive expedition against co
e Beers. sa
Brown had evidence to show con- oh
lsively that he had an offer of $500 ca
r each of his 1900 claims. the money tic
be paid the instant he could show co
lie, and in view of the fact that the in
tcome of the Boer war was the so
lnsfer of the sovereignty of the on
er authorities in South Africa to no
2 British, the estate of Barbarian col
own claims that where the sover- san
nty of one country is transferred to be
,onqueror as the outcome of hostil- tuI
IS the conquerer becomes RESPONSE by
for any outstanding obligations of
conquered 10 neutral third pars l
The claim aggregates $780, O00 att