The Coolidge examiner., 1934-03-09
Iss~r-afssg ~ sastarai CeasrAeAtr #sristT.
washlnssaa. - CIV NJ ssvrtes


4 rTER - years search. the
- Trunsvnal. South Africa. has
- Elveu up what Is believed 20
d. tie other haif' of the famous
Cuuluan diamond. the iarges, dis.
uloud ever found. The ~oiher half
vas picked 10 in two parts. one
go carat diamond - good quality.
and the other 10 carat stone
which - fawiess
The TransvnAl rightly has been
called the treasure house province
% South Africa. II has earned the
right. as Weii. 20 be called = famoas
treasure region OF the world. for
oui of Its Hills and plains have
come billions of dollars worth ~
gold and diamonds. not 10 mention
other valuable minerals
The TransyAal Il youns IA his
tory Us oldest town. PoichsfSiToon.
now an important South African
educational center. wlll not round
oct It's first century until ia5a
one has but 20 glance al Johan-
ueshurE. the PROVINCES capital. 70
get the spirit OF the Transyaal.
Strangely impressive. as one ap-
proarhes the city. are miles of mine
dumps surrounding the wltWater-
srand. the mountainous backbone
of the province. Across the vas,
plain they stretch like avenues OF
mammoth monuments. as II prosnls-
INK a climax Of prehistoric gran.
deurs
Yes. grandcurs-hui Of what
land1 For sometimes they align
themselves in a great wall. recall
Ing China'S or. again. yon catch
in their outHung vista resemblance
20 ESypts pyramids or 10 Mesopo-
tamla's rlEgurata oh. yet agaln.
their sloplnE. sand.hued uasslfs
suggest military fortifcaiions on n
scaie tie world has never known
The colossal picture tempts ones
fancy. II the Rand's gold mines
erumbled 10 unthlngncsx. leaving
only the dumps. some writer a mil.
lennlnin hence might concelvably
describe them as those mighty
works. reared perhaps as defenscs
or patriotic monuments by the an
clients - the Twentieth century"
n you ask local stailxilcian TO
give you some approximate idea of
the dumps tonnage. he may ask ln
turn would you prefer Il IN ocean
greyhonnds or In Egyptian pyra-
midst Twenty thousand Aiaure.
ianias would about equal and 1900
I.ryla,hans would somewhat exceed
the dumps tonnage. or. shifting
the comparison. that tonnage would
be Appropriated by allsnIug across
the Rand i0e repllcas of The great
pyramid
Stumbled on Ten Billions-
Stnbblns ones toe against ten
bslli0n-dollar gold reef Is an expert
ence reserved 10 the few. II was In
1856 that George Walker. out for n
stroll. accidentally kicked into n
gold bearing outcrop OF what proved
10 be the main reef of the wltwa.
tersrand. Here. shaped like a vast
howl lmbedded face upward. was a
To-mlie stretch OF gold-lmpregnaied
rock that. II you believe In klsmei.
had awaited George Walkers In.
trusive toe over since early geologic
times.
And now upon that treeless. un-
inhabited no mans land there ap-
peared a tawdry mining village OF
tents and covered wagons. Tele-
graph wires hummed and the viii
lase became a raw. tin-Shack town
~ 1900 people The prevailing
crude process lost half the gold
worked. Yet who cared. since the
reef seemed inexhaustlblel Sup
plies were teamed from 800 miles
away. Yet who minded fancy
pricesf And. as 10 the water short
age. "An right; lets bring in cham
pagne -
Thus began the babyhood OF Jo-
hannesbnrg. which today. though a
mere youth In years. is a giant In
achievement. The largest African
town south OF Cairo aud chief com
mercial plexus OF the Unions hlnter-
land. "Jo'burg" has a municipal
area Of nearly 81 square miles and
some 10000 people.
In the Deep Mines
The witwaiersrand mines. wheth.
er at work or play. present unique
sight. Here one is In work hours
descending by -skip" tllfD into the
Interior of the earth at the speed
of an express elevator.
.Iuhann,-shurger dig holes aS
grandioSeiy as Americans rear sky.
S.rapers-uure grandiDsely. In fact.
Tor your alighting point proves {"
be one and one-third miles below the
earth's surface. Your impression Of
this subierranean electrIc-lit town.
with Its avenues and crOss-streets.
where thousands OF men are drilling