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Johannesburg , South Afrlca.-Dotha ,
the famous Doer guerUln. general , n.
British prowier and feted in London ;
the Transvaal , after three years of
warfare and five of military rule , once
more a self.governlng colony under
Boer control-how strangely events
, .everse themseh'es ! And yet Jo.
'bannesburg , which created the Trans.
: vaal and is nlne.tenths of It , goes on
serenely , pouring forth gold In n. can.
tinuous stream , unmindful of polltlcat
change , nd witl continue , doubtless ,
to do so , till the last paying partlclo
of. the auriferous metal has been ex-
tracted. Then the mines wUl close
down forever , the houses tumble to
decay , and the myrIads of migrating :
springbole ; wUl once more wmder over
the slto of the great mining city.
Dumped down in the mlddlo of a
vast , rOlling sea of barren uplands ,
crowned with strong granite hills ,
olned to the southern coasts , over a'
. thousand miles away , by only two
slender rallwny lines , Johannesburg
Is emphatically dependent for its existence -
istence on the gold output. Just one-
nnd.twenty years ago n. IJarty of prospectors -
pectors made a. discovery' of gold
"lIpon the farm of an Ignorant Doer
Damed Johann , who resided far from
, civilization in a desolate region where
U-had been stated officially that gold
.could not possibly be found. They
'offered him a price which seemed
-enormous for the 51110 of this property.
'The old man pocketed the money ,
paclted his wife , children and house.
: bold utensils Inside his ponderous
wagon , Inspanned his oxen and
trekked away northward into the wll.
-derness. To-dar : his farm is valued In
billions ; and now , where once the
veld was blackened with antelope
berds , stalked by the lion and leopard
and a few adventurous frontiersmen ,
there stands a city of 160,000 souls ,
white , blacle , : rfillow and brown , lmown
as Johannesburg.
T.he City To. Day.
It Is n. long , Irregular , strung-out
succession of mining vUlages , amalgamating -
mating Into a fine town toward the
center of their length , and stretching
away for , about 30 miles along the
- course of the famous reef-a series
of tall chlmne's , mltlers'- huts , groups
of stores , negro .and Chlneso com.
pounds , huddled beneath the shadow
of the great whepls which crown the
headgear at the entrance to the shafts.
From miles away , when everything is
hidden un er the noon haze , or floats
n dancing mirage , between earth and
sky , . mny be seen the , Immense heaps
of "tailings , " which Is the name given
to that refuse that remains after the
gold has been extracted by cyanide of
mercury from the pulverized ore , and
shines , whiter than snow , in lmmense
mounds along the whole course of the
outcrop. So vast are these' heaps
that when , during the exciting days
of revolution and the Jameson raid ,
Boer officials suspected that maxim
guns and rifles were hidden therein ,
.they were searched systomatlcally for
days without their contents being dls.
covered.
There Is probably no city In the
world which has seen so many eventful -
ful days or held such an assorted pop-
ulation. The fame which Johannes-
'burg attained on the discovery there
of the richest gold fields In the world ,
sustained by her constant prominence
In tho. eternal Anglo-Dutch feud in
South Africa , attracted thither adven.
turers and fortune.hunters from all
corners of the earth. Hero wo may
see the Englishman , recently arrived
and superflclall ) ' scornful of colonials'
the miner from 'Vales , spealclng n
tongue but Welsh , drawn thither by
high wages ; the Yankee , supreme In
enterprise and slowly outing all his
competitors from uslness : the French
Investor , the German brewer and , of
course the Scotch banle clerk , IndlaI\
coolies , Afghans with horses , Persians' .
In round , embroidered caps : Syrians
IJeddling anU hawlclng , Greeks and
Italians pushing great ban'ows laden
with fruits and luscious grapes from
. . .t. . . 'i' " the Cap orchar's : ; : lIl.lay IfCrtUen with
" , rc. . ular , oval featuras , carrying upon
tholr backs enormous bundles of washIng -
Ing : Doers with wagons and oxen ,
craclclng' their long whips round the
marleet square ; half-castes and natives
from every tribe between the Zambesl
and Table mountain , pass and repass ,
Intent upon their business. There Is
the sturdy farmer from the bacle veld ,
maldng his fi st vi lt "to town , " with
his round frlngo , veld schoen of un.
tanned antelope hide and nautical
trousers buttoning at the sides , and
the Hebrew , predominant in every.
thing , In the saloon trade , the factories -
tories , the general stores.
Defore the war there existed in
Johannesburg a syndicate , well organIzed -
Ized , with wldo' ramlflcatlons , controlled -
trolled by half a dozen millionaires ,
which sold liquor Ulegally to the natives -
tives at an enormous profit. The penalty -
alty for conviction of engaging in this
traffic has now been made lIfo imprisonment -
prisonment , and the stringency of the
la.w . has mended matters , but not
ended them. Illegal whlslccy and
smuggled opium are now the desperate -
ate enterprise of a few smaller men ,
who stalco their liberties against the
1,000 per cent. profits which can be
made by them.
Illegal Liquor Sellers.
In the old , days when Johannesburg
was sUll a mining camp , when beer
and champagn were both retailed at
$6 the bottle , In the corrupt and palmy
days of the Kruger oligarchy , the
liquor dealers had n. monthly turnover
of millions , the natives were de.
bauched by Cape gin , and all work
upon the mines had to be suspended
between Saturday and Tuesday , until
they had recovered from their In-
toxication. Vile alcohol , manufactured
from potatoes at a cost of about two
cents a gallon , was colored , bottled
and retailed at 12 cents a drlnle. Usually -
ually the manager of the nearest mine
received a salary from the syndlcato
tl : ! . close his eyes to the affair ; and t1 e
majority of the detective force lIkewise -
wise received a salary from two different -
ent and , theoretically , opposing pow-
ers. Th bars In which the liquor
was sold were simple rooms , adjoining
some store , access being obtainable
only through a single door. The
liquors stood upon a disappearing
sideboard , which , when a spring was
pressed , sank through a trap door In
the floor. Spies stood at every corner -
ner In the vicinity to keep watch
against the approach of strangers of
n. suspicious nature : and should such
draw neal' , an electric signal bell rang
out Its warning , so that the detective ,
rushing Into the store , pistol In hand ,
would find nothIng more exhilarating
than a party of Kaffirs bargaining
over a blanket , unless ono of these
same bargainers happened to be a
confederate of the raiding party , and
had retained the alcoholic beverage In
his mouth through the medium of a
small sponge , and had thus kept the
evidence which was to send the she.
beener down to Capt Town for a number -
ber of y ars , to help In construction
work on the breakwater.
Few to Enact Role of Spy. . .
Dut the vengeance of the liquor
sYl1lllcato was no less far.reachlng
than that of the illicit diamond brole-
ers at 1\lmberley : , and thus It occurred
that the role of Noah ClaYPole was
never a popular one.
TO.day the tralJlc Is chlofly in opium.
The Importation of 50,000 coolies from
China , accustomed to smoking it , has
led to an Insatiable demand for the
product. Upon the Rand , the name
given to the districts along the gold
reef , there oxlsts a yellow' population
of Indentured servants-virtually serfs
-equal In number to all the whites In
Johannesburg. Lodged In overcrowded
comllounds , where they are confined
IIltO animals , liable to bl ) flogged for
any Infraction of discipline by their
white overseers , who have learned the
summary ways of the Doers with na.
tlves , from time to time some of this
seething horde overwhelms Its guards ,
breales out , and takes to a life or pillage -
lage and murder along the outlying
districts. ,
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South Aft'lca Is not nn ( 'sleclnlly
law-abiding countn' , nml the punishment -
ment of the opium smuggler Is usttall ) '
summar ) ' . He Is orrered the cholco
between a flogging nud n period of
Imprisonment. nml , of course , chooses
the former. Thereullon ho Is strapped
tlghtty to n wagon wheel and receives
50 Inshes from n whlll of hippopotamus
hhle , wielded by half.castes. These
men , dell htCll.at taltlng their revenge
upon ono of the while race , do nol
Slmre the victim. His bac ! . Is literally
cut to pieces , and , at the end , half.
dead and streaming with lood , ho Is
flung out of the compoUtul.
The Marl < et Square.
Of CO\1l'SO In .Toh.nnesburg ) there Is
the great marltt' . square , feature
common to all South African cities ,
which are built about them. When
ono of the frequent tornndoes comes
along It becomes a reservoir of dust ,
which Invades evorT- corner of the
town , compelllng the housowlfe to on.
gage In an athlltloml "spring clean.
Ing. " 1iJvery mcunlng : the square Is
filled with great , ponderous ox wagons ,
somethIng lIleo the old prairie schooner
of the trpe : which has been 'tsed In
South Africa fOl' the past centurr ,
nnd has protected many a little setUe- .
ment from massacre.Vhen , during I
ono of the continuous native risings ,
n hostile army of tribesmen mennces
a town , the inhabitants at once go
into "laager , " forming an encampment
behind a bulwarle of wagons fastened
together , the duesselboom , or- cantor
IJol of each , against which the oxen
are fastened In pairs , being locked
Into the hind wheels of tile wagon adjacent -
jacent ; and the spaces between the
wheels bolng piled high with sacles of
maize. Seldom or never has such a
barrIcade been overwhelmed. It was
in such wise thnt , early in the last
century , the Doers overcame the
hordes of the treacherous Dingaan , the :
Zulu Idng , the mon firing from behind 1
these defenses with their elephant
guns , whllo the women , in the inside
of U10 squaro. londed and passed up
the rifles. These wagons are moro
111m caravans. The produce is staclced
upon the front portion , behind which
there Is a silting room , covered with a
white , waterproo canvns , stretohed
upon hoops , beneath which is the
kartel , or family beds toad , n. wooden
frame interlaced with strips of hippo-
potnmus hide , on which the entire
family sleep In their clothes ,
At Night In the Square.
The farmer , arriving at Johannesburg -
burg abopt midnight , after a long day's
trele , "outspnns" In the great marlcct
square , nnd goes to sleep beside his
wagon , while the native "boys , " havIng -
Ing fed and watered the animals , kindle -
dlo a fire in the square , Tound which
they crouch in their blanleets until
the morning , chanting and twanging
upon their one.stringed lyres , or playIng - -
Ing some cheap Swiss accordion. At
breale of day corree Is made , and breakfast -
fast repared-tho latter a haphazard
mlxturo of hare , stelmbole and
partridge , or whatever else may have
fallen to the farmer's rifle during his
journey , stewed in the ubiquitous pot
and eaten with a coarse porridge made
from ground maize. Soon the square
will be filled with a chattering crowd I
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I A ; ZlZCCT .lZ4W .230Y
-farmers with vegetables and sacles
of produce , anxious to dispose of them
awl to return ; auctioneers holding
forth with the Ingenious pattm' of their
tribe the world over , tryJng to dls.
pose of secondhand furniture or worn.
out "horses , " which they vainly guarantee -
anteo to be "salted"-that Is , Immune
against horse sickness. There are
Syrian women , with shnwls across
their faces , offering laces to the Inspection -
spection of the yoluble vrouws who
have accompanied their husbands up.
on their journey , to talw charge of
the receipts\ . fear that Hnns , or Jan ,
or Paulus may happen to fall In with
jolly companions : and , } Jasslng deftly
among thes ! : , are the native attend.
ants , leading horses to water , or herd.
Ing oxen.
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The Rlckcshaw "Boy. "
'One of the most picturesque sights
In Johannesburg Is the Zulu 'rlcl < shaw
"boy , " one of whom Is shown in the
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nccomp n1o g llIustmtlo. . ThoM
"bo's"-Sl'own lIlen , In tncL-have
h'ampell hundreds of miles northwa
from 'l11eh' Itrnnls on Lho southelUlt
coast of the conllnent to soele work 11\
t\lo \ City ot Gold. Yet , BO flrmly bound
are they to their tribal chlofs that
1\ call to arms , as In the recent Zulu
rebellion , , , ' 111 send them hurrying In
hot hn8te homewafll to enroll In their
regiments. It is lll lclllt to Identify
In their smiling fl\cos the desce1lllnntil
or the flerco " , arrfors who mmlo Lhe I
Zulu name nlghtmaro Ulroughou'
South Afrlcl\ for nenrh' 1cenLury. . I
The ) ' hire their 'rlcl < sI1l\8 trom the'
owners , paying I\t the rnto of about
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three shillings , or 75 cenls , a dny ,
and receiving all their earnings. ' 1'ho
'rlcleshaw is In general request iv. Jo ,
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hannesburg , bolng ohenl ) , comfortnbll
and just adaptl\blo to two persons sitting -
ting rather closely together. Hence
It pln's leading part In bringing
about flirtations , anll is reqltlsltloned
in dOHens on moonllt nights In winter ,
when the band Is scheduled to play at
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the Wandorors' club grounds , and the
sllfilng heat and the dust storms arG
nullified by a brlsle cantor through the
eml1ty strets. ! The Zulu 'rIckshaw
boy would consider himself dishonored
In the O'es of his brcthron if ho did
not attlro hhnsolf In garments of nn
esthellc'aluo. . 'l'he sllcclmen shown
In the illustration al1pears to have
combined the horns of the Evil Ono
with Lho wings of the seraphim. It
Is l1robablo , however , that this com.
blnatlon possesses some weird , secret
symbolism of its own , known only to
the wearer. As he files swiftly along
the rand toward his destination , utterIng -
Ing an occasional whoop or salutation. .
to a passing comrade , or a ahout of
warning to pedestrians , his chocolate
skin gllsten with } Jorsl1lrntlon anll the
cOPllerbnnglets round his Imees and
ankles gUtter in the moonlight. lIe
does not stop-usually-until ho 'hl\s
deposited hb fare , tilted down the
vehicle and assisted the lady to alight ;
then , mopping his brow , be holds out
his right hand for his legal fare , and
his left-Jnstincllvo hackman thaL he
is-for his extra "bosella. "
Zulu as Serving Maid.
The Zulu Is one of the mainstays of
the housewife In South Africa. The
maid of the up.country Doer womn.n
is usunlly a yellow Hottentot girl ; but
the Zulu takes In the towns , the place
filled In Northom countries by the
serving maid. He Is the housemaid ,
nursemaid , errand boy , n. good coole
, and a , fair coaclunan. To tal < o care of
the baby is , however , the chief pleasure -
ure of his existence. When he reaches
this acme of confidence _ his 1IfQ is ana
series of capacious smiles. It Is an
amusing sight to see small children
In Joubert l1arle , carefully trlclecd out
in whlto sunbonnets and finery , attended -
tended by some stalwart Zulu of six
teet and more , who , almost uncouth in
the clothes , or rather , half.clothes of
civilization , stalks proudly along , almost -
most overcome by a sense of his 1m.
} Iortance , wheeling the go.cart. or hold.
Ing the tiny hand In his enormous ,
ebony fist.
Revel In Drunken Conflict.
From Saturday afternoon tUl Tues.
day morning worle is Ptactically at a
standstill upon the Rand. It Is a
common proceeding for the Zulus o'
the city to send a formal challenge to
the Dasutos , or for the natives of , say
the Robinson mine , to challenge these
of the Drlefonteln to combat on the
succeeding Sunday. All Saturday
night the rival warriors soak them.
selves with rum , until the vile potato
alcohol has reduced them to a state
bOl'dering on Insanity. In the morn.
lng , half dazed and Infuriated , they
talto their knobkerrles-n pecles of
shillelagh-and aSBegals , and sally
out to the battle. The opposing party
Is equally l:1toxlcated , and a furIous
combat ensues , several death and
scores of casualties constantly oc.
currlng. The' white overseers , lcnow.
IlIg that In the condition of their em.
plo'es their own lives would be prac.
tlcall ) ' valueless should they Interfere ,
remain spectators of the fight until
both sides I\re exhausted ; then up
como the police and separate the com.
bntants.-Daltlmore American.
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R.l'V1J.vING - .ANlJ 0 o. 0 0 '
I OON V. . I .
A knowledge of the coming wenthor
enters so Intimately Into every con.
tompln.tod humnn action that the Question -
tion Is often aslted : Whl\t are the
prospects for further Impro\'emont in
the accuracy of weather forecasts , nnd
can the seasons over bo foretold ? The
anawor Is that , , , 'hilo the government
has 1\ corps of forecasters who are
now applying all of the lcnowledge of
the atm08phero that has been 1'0'
vealed , little b01)e for matorlal 1m-
l1rovement In their worle cnn be held
out until a substantlnl addition is
made to the pure science of the } Irob.
lem. This can only como through ox.
IJorhnent , study nnd resenrch. With
200 statlonll engngell In applying the
science , It Is n wise economy to de-
\'ote at leaat ono of them to the work
of adding to the Imowledgo that Is
now costing us nearly a million and a
hnlf or dallal's mmually to applY. Ac.
cordlngly , those In charge have en. .
deavored to layout a plan of sLudy :
and research leading to an hlcl'ease In
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our Imowledgo of the laws govornlng
the atmosphere such as should ovent. I
ually enable our succe sors , If not our.
selves , to ndd to the accuracy of
weather forecasts nnd to mnleo then
for a longer perloll In advanco.
In order tlmt this countr ) ' may do
its share toward the advnncement ot
meteorology nlong the lines that
specially l'elato to conditions In AmerIca -
Ica , It Is Imperative that the weather
bureau should establish nn observatory -
tory for Its own spoclal rel earch worle.
A piece of lanl1 has therefore been secured - .
cured und worle has been Inaugurated
Ilt an establishment that Is Intended
to respond to the prcsent and prospective -
tive needs of meteorology. This establishment -
tablishment is called the MounL
Weather Research observatory , and la
orgnnlzed on a broad and elastic basis.
In rder to prosecute the researcheR
contemplated at 1\Iount 'Venthor , a
plant has been established there especially -
cially adapted to the Investigation ot
the physical condition of the atmosphere -
phoro at great elevations nbove the
lurface at the earth. Hitherto our
knowledge of the conditions at temperature -
perature , pressure , humidity and wind
velocity Dd direction has been based
upon observations made at or near
the Burface of the earth or upon
mountain peaks. Current COnCelJtlons
of the laws of storms and of tltu gun-
eral circulation of the atmosphere are
based upon such observations almost
entirely. Records obtained in recent
years by means of balloons have demonstrated -
onstrated the existence of hitherto un.
suspected vttrlatlons and contrasts In
temperature at very great elevations ,
and have shown that observations on
mountain tops' and at equal elovatlons
In the free all' var ) ' widely.
The necessity for a better knowl.
edge of temperature conditions at
great olGvations has directed the
minds of many meteorologists to the
.tudy of the best methods for lifting
self-recording Instruments high above
the earth's surfaco. The result huft
been the Invention in recent years of
Ingenious forma of kites and of SlJe.
clally designed balloons for this pur.
pose. The kite has again become an
Instrument for sclentlflc research , and
now enables us to bring down records
of atmospherlo conditions at eleva.
tlons of two nnd three miles , and even
of four miles , as was recently dem.
onstrated at the German aoronautlcal
observatory near Llndenher , Dy
means of small rubber balloons , marvelouslY -
velouslY light self.recordlng Instru.
ments have been carried up to the reo
markable heights of ten to 15 miles ,
bringing back records of low temperatures -
tures and high velocities which have
been a revolatlon to meteorologlsts-
records which are cOn1pelllng ; a recon.
structlon of existing Ideas concornlng
the dynamics of the atmosphere.
Pioneer work atong these lines was
begun sarno years agQ by means of
kites , both at weather bureau stations
and , under the direction of Mr. A. L.
Retch , at the DIue Hill observatory ,
near Doston. Dr , experiments begun
at St. Louis at the time of the world's
fall' In the summer of 1904 , Mr. Retch
also Initiated the practice in this country -
try of sending up small rubber bal-
loons.
The observatory at Mount Weather
II now well equipped with the necessary -
sary plant for carrying on this new
and promising work of aerial re-
aearch , and has for nearly a year been
cooperating with European Instltu.
tlons and with the DIue IIIll obsorva.
tor " In 6el1iling UII , on prearranged
daYB , kites or calltlvo balloons. These
kites mar be raised in winds vnrylng
from ten miles per hour to 36 or 40
miles at the - , surface. . - . With - winds of
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H..ttRG J : ; " " N 1 < .V1Nbox' : X.1'1d - _
less than ten miles per llour it Is
necessary to mploy cnUvo balloons.
To nltaln great helghLs small tree rubber -
ber balloons of two or three cublo
yards capacity , called pilot baleens ,
are employed. The InaLrument CIU'-J
r1 d by the Idtes and balloons vary ,
In weight from ono nnd one.half to
three or four pounds and record varia-
tionn In Lhe temperature , the pressure ,
the humIdity of tho' nil' , and the wind
voloelty.
The balloons arc filled with hydrogen -
gen gas In 'order to secure the greatest -
est lifting llower. This necessltatos'
the use or special apparatus for the
'manufndturo of hYdrogen. At the
Mount Weather H.eseal'ch observatory
a strong electric current Is passed
Lhrough water , brealdng up the liquid
into Hs constltuont elements of hydro'
gen and Ox'gen. These gases are then
collected und stored In appropriate
tanks for future I\se as occasion may
requlro. . ,
As the small 11110t balloons curry up
thel instruments to heights of many .
miles , where the } ) rovalllng tempera.
tures are at all times very low ( some.
times exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit -
heit below zero ) , It Is necessary to
test Lho accuracy of the thermograps
at those low points. For this purpose
the obaervntory Is equlplled with a
111ant for the manufacture of liquid air ,
by means of whloh the Instrument
may be tested to the lowest Iolnts
1I1eely to bo reached at great cleva.
tlons.
In the near future these small rub.
ber llilot balloons , carrying with them
to olevatlons of 30,000 to CiOOOO feet
the light self.recordlng Instruments
referred to , wll bo lIberateq slmulta.
neous at 20 to 30 weather bureau' sta-
tlona urroundlng typical storm cen-
ters. Observatloll8 oblnlnell In this
manner at various elJ\'ations ( when
compared with the records made at
the same time at the surface of the
earth will doubtless throw much "OW
light upon the mechanism of storms , ,
cold wnves , etc. , and glvo to meteorolo.
gists a better understanding of the
general circulation of Lhe atmosphere.
So Important to the study of the sun
Is a continuous record of the magnetic
variations that one of tbe first steps
In the establishment of the observatory -
tory was the Installation of a magnotle
plant consisting of the best modern
Instruments for the direct observnUon
and tor the continuous registration of
the variations In the magnetism of the
earth. The standard observatory In.
strumenta , both for continuous r gls-
tl'l\tlon and direct measurement , are of
the type devised by Wild for the model
magnotlc observatory at Pavlovsk ,
Hussla. 'rheso are supplemented by n.
set of Eschenhagen mngnetogra hs ,
the extreme sensitiveness of which
pecul arly fits them for recording
mlnuto fluctuatlona of the earth's magnetic -
netic force.
The principal application at the results -
sults of the obsormtlons wlll bo to
supplement the direct observations of
' 1he : sun , and thus to carryon the record -
ord of the solnr activity continuously
da } ' and night in all conditions of
woather. Researches will also bo car.
rled on to determlno the exlstenco and
moaaure the extent of probable direct
relations between moteorologlcal dls.
turbances and manetlc ! variations.
The magnetic records wlll nlso bo spe.
clallY studied In conjunction with the
results of observations of the radioactivity -
tivity and the electrical condition of
the air. .
The physical laboratory Is not yet
completed , nnd consequently It has not
been possible to undertake Investlga.
tlons here In experimental physics.
However , through the Idndnells of the
authorities of the Unlvorslty of Virginia -
ginia . good deal of spectroscopic worle
bas been done at that Institution.
Some ot the rcaults have been p -
IIshed In the Astrophysical Journal ,
, and there are many data yet on hand
to be worked up at the earliest oppor-
tunity. An Investigation , by the aid of
a large telescope , of the causes and
meteorological relations of the scintillation -
lation of stars Is III progress at the
University of Virginia nlong lines suggested -
gested by one of the Mount Weather
officials. A special photometer has
been devised for the purpose of meas.
uring the relative densities of clouds ,
particularly when the entire sley Is
covered. As soon as the laboratory Is
completed and equipped Investigations
wlII bo begun on atmospheric electricIty -
Ity , Its origin , distribution , and laws ,
the causes nnd nllture of precipitation ,
heat and light nbsorptlon , and other
physical Ilhenomena of Importancn to
the meteorologist.
WII.LIS L. MOORE ,
_ _ Chld Wvlilluu.relty ! _ W Itment.
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