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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 1899)
O7SIA11A ] * EE. OctolK'f i > , IS' ) ! ) . Outlanders' Side of the Transvaal Question Much linn been said on I lie side of the Doers regarding the present dlfllc.nltlct ) In tlio Trnnsvniil and tliu dcslro IH therefoic tin : greater to hnvo sonio authentic Htntc- itiunt on thu part of thu Oiitlandurn. This Is given In nn acpntuit by 1C. J. Knorrfitrnem , : i Swede , who has lately ar rived In ( H-nnnny after an eighteen years' Miijoiirti In South Africa. II to experiences while there and the conditions which ho studied fiioo to face nrc detailed below : Ills account of the unreasonable rcgula- tldiitt paused by the Moor Parliament will account for much of thu trouble which has urlHcn. "Tlio Parliament , " ho Bays , "was con- puny , with Cecil Rhodes IIH president. The Hours who had lived In thla suction before thu gold period , gold their land to the com pany ut what wore really enormous prices , tu nil UK' It over to what they call the 'Ood- liim1 settlers.VhUo political questions in which wo had no volcu did not bother us much , we could not hut feel Indignant at the heavy taxon and unreasonable regula tions passed by thu 1'arllamcnt. There Is no doubt that these harsh mensurm against thu Outlanders are Intended to make out- ciiHtH of them , and Dr. Jameson's rnld had no mnall warrant , though the Iloera linvo not been one jot fairer to the Outlanders slnco It tnok place. Thu development of this part of the country Is nlmoot entirely due to the chartered company. SUM ( irriitcr TIIX.-M. "In 1891 the twenty-four Uuor lawmaltors throw a bomb Into the gold fluid by Increas ing thu taxes there , The gold diggers were Incensed , not merely nt the Increase in the tax , but because tlirno pcasantx who had never put their feet Into a mine , should sit In Pretoria and tell UH how we should wash and weigh our ere , how our props nnd pits should bo constructed nnd how thu factories ho erected. All of this aroused angry feel ings and called down many n curse on thu gray hendH of the lawmakers. Many n claim was given up nt the 'Knap' and when the iigcnt of the Parliament en mo on a trip of Inspection through the goldllelds ho trav eled with an escort of twenty ' ( runtles' and wns glad to escape with a whole skin Dad us It wan to know the millions wo paid every year fur the privilege of working BO hard wont where our oppresflers wished nnd that wo had no volcu In the distribution , It wns Htlll worse to have these Iloers who used the wealth that wo despised Outlanders earned for them tell UH how wo wore to do what they did not understand. "Horo IB n copy of the llccneo Issued to us later by the Iloer nuthorltlcfl when wo were at work In the Transvaal. From It It will ho soon that wo were tnxcd almost ten ponndH Kturling for each month besides one-third of nil the products of tbo mine. Merc IB the license : IjletMiM' fore , 11(1. ( " 'The Swedish subject , E. J. Kerrstroom , In the district of the Sheha Gold Washing Stock ci nipany , block No. l.OM , tUrctchlng along the Wlnterfalls river f > 00 meters long nnd ten meters bread from point A-12 on the north to the south , to bo worked ; which discovery , which produces gold quartz nnd l known ns 'Hudson's Claim , ' Is to bo divided Into ten claims , for which the own- orn are to pay a tax of one-third of the entire yield and 0 lOfl sterling per month A HOUR OUTPOST -Showing character of faces and method of handling the great Hour carts when they pause for real. tlnually pnsulng Htlll moro oppressive laws against thu Outlandurs , to whom , although they own the largest gold flelda , all polit ical rights wcru denied. "Only after an uninterrupted residence of llfteen years In thu Transvaal can n man claim citizenship , but thu taxes and duties are more , rather than IOSH , on that account. In 1S9I were dlwcovored the now guldllulds now owned by thu llrltlsh Chartered coiu- Into the treasury of the company from and after this Mate. " 'llnrberton , April. "For thu Sheha Stock Co. , " 'I ) . IIO1EVE , 'C. CRUSTON. " They Unto I lie "So KOOII ns 1 had an opportunity to make thu nciunlntnnco | of the liners I found that they were hospitable to a stranger whu i understands their language and custoniH , but an Englishman la seldom welcome on their 'platz' or farm. The English know this anil therefore call thoniHclvefl Welsh men , for the Ignorant Iloers do not know that Wales belongs to Great Britain. The Doers hold to ancient methods and cUHtoms with the greatest conservatism. They want no Industries but farming and cattle rais ing , nnd miners and mining are regarded mlHtriiHtfiilly , as Indeed Is any one who does not support himself no the forefathers of the Hoers did , by raising cattle. All other productlvu employment lies In the hands of thu Outlamler , nnd this causes no little unrest among the conservativeIloers. . "On the farm where 1 had found employ ment after the excessive taxation had driven mo out of the mining business , great meetings were held In a barn which served as n 'meeting house. ' I have counted ns many OH fifty ox-wagons and as many 'Cape carts' laden with lioer families. My em ployer did a good business then , selling them his produce. Although I proclaimed my self a Swede I could not gain their conll- donco for they bad never heard of Sweden and believed that I wns English. " \Vlillo here 1 Haw how the Hocrs come courting. The girl was the daughter of my employer. The young man dashed up In the house on horjoback , wearing new clothes with an ostrich feather In his hat. Ho madu his line horse prance and caper before the notice ere he descended. The'i he. gave thu lines to one of the Hottentots standing near , and walked up nnd down In front of the windows of the house , well knowing that the eyes of his Hweetheart were peeping through the blinds nt him. Then ho strutted into the house nnd lirsl shook hands \\llh 'Unite , ' the mother , ami said 'Gtiten tag' ( Good day ) . The same lie did with 'oom , ' the father , and then nt last spoku to the girl and her sitters and hi others. A ItiM'i * Con rl.Nli li. "Oom said only 'Sitxe' ( take a beat ) , and then tburo won compluto silence , which lasted until thu bowl of eotfeu was brought in. Tliun each in turn spoke a few \\ords. Oem naked how evorythlng was at the 'hula' ( home ) , and then we heard all about the health of each one in the family , how the cattle nnd the crops were doing , etc. All llio tlmuo were drinking coffee. At last the suitor lose and handed hl chosen bride the 'Inchergoot' ( confectionery ) , which she , hluhhing and laughing , accepted. "This was the critical moment , for If she had refused the gift that would have ended the courtship. Now there was gayer talk , until all but the t\\o left the room , for it was the right of thu suitor to remain in the front room alone with her of his choice. Hut HO that ho should not stay too long 'tnnto , ' according to ciiHtom , stepped up to thu wax candle and made a mark on it with a needle , saying that the visit might lant until the candle burnt thus far. This was a command that the most lovenlck swain dare not disregard. "Tho Hour with whom I lived had two farmhouses , one of stone on the 'hoch-veldt , ' that Is on the table land , whore ho lived with his herds in summer. The other , smaller but well bulk , on the low land \\us inhab ited from May to September , the winter in this country. Thu furniture was simple , of yellow wood , without any carvings or ornamentation. Thu sofas and chairs had Heats of leather thongH and goatskins , the hair Hide up , served as carpets. "Thoro were no outbuildings for tlio cat tle , only stalls for the horses , the cattle yaid , or 'kraal , ' was merely surrounded by a stone wall. "I was now again seized with the gold fever , and in company with two brat hern INTERIOR OK THE FIRST CMIAMHER OF THE \NSV\AL VOLKSH\\D. by the name of Hudson , started for thu gold fields of the TraiiHvaal , thu news of the gient IImis there Inllamtng the whole coun try , all but the Iloers. "One-fourth of the entire territory of tlio Transvaal contains gold. The llrst dis covery of the precious metal hero only dates' ' back to 1SSO , when Karl Mauch , a German traveler , fcund n rich vein In tbo northern part. Many were disappointed on following thla announcement , but In 1SS7 a now dis covery in that richest of all fields , Wlt- \\ateiKrand , was announced and the fever raged high. An Australian gold hunter had found a brook with golden sands and Inter Imd traced veins in I'1 wblte quartz. One IN THE COLD MINES \\IHCH THE HOURS THREATEN TO BLOW UP. company after the other was formed for exploring , nnd all failed. Thu crash came and millions wore lost. Expert engineers at last came and the fever fell , now fleldtfc , being found from day to day. The amount ! of gold produced by thu 'Rand' is at least } ! 1)0,000 ) pounds ( weight ) of gold a year. Little of thu gold of Africa IK washed out as In California , Australia and the Klondike , but Is chiefly taken from quart/ , which must bu crushed. The large companion have called science to their aid , bore the stone witli diamond ilrlllti and extract the gold chem ically. In the best fields a ton of ore will UITLANDERS AND DIAMOND MINE ONVNERS WHO HAVE UEEN INSISTING ON A RIGHT TO VOTE. produce about two pounds of gold at an ex IP- pense of ona and one-quarter pjimds. leaving n profit of three-quartoiK of a pound per ton of ore. "Occasionally the veins are purer and soniotlmcH nuggets , 'miff , ' of pure gold are .found. The private Individual sets his lupus on this kind of finds , but they are few nnd fnr between in the Transvaal. Still If ho does IIml one it may make him n millionaire in n minute. Tlio TrimsMiiit ColiI Kii > l < lN. "On our jouiney we rode right over the place In which the Englishman George found n rich vein of gold a year or so later. Arrived at the fields we found that we could either work for 13 shl'ilugs ' a day for one of the companies or sell them our ore it wo found any. We had as equipments ouo mule to carry the pack , one negro ns ( helper , a sn all tent , a bottle of nitric add , 'a wooden mortar with an Iron bottom , two spades , ono chisel , ono drill with Its mallet , one metal water bowl and a revolver. This was tbo requirement for each man. We had gone to the 'Kap' ns moHt promising , a table land of several ( fifty ) square miles , Wo blow elf what seemed some promising bits of qunrtz , pulverized them in the mortar , and then washed away the dlit to see If tlio gold lay there. In vain was our pros pecting for many days. All that we found was tlio nest of an cslrich from which we secured two fresh eggs , which served for breakfast for our party for two days. Here were gold mine clubs without number where the lucky men might gamble away their hard corned 'dust , ' but the revolver did not play so largo a part In the proceedings on account of tlio excellent order preserved by the English authorities. Disgusted , we. wore easily fooled by a man known ns 'Mac , ' who promised for n sovereign each to show UH good diggings. He upcnt the money on whisky and always 'forgot. ' " \\'o had been wandeilng about making 'tests' for several dayis un lor his guardian ship , but In vain. Onu night he slipped away , and when we went to our heartbreak ing woik of breaking ami digging It was on ground where the qunit-z was rather dark with bhlnliiK specKs in It. The usual pro cess of pulverizing was gene tliiuugh with , and I was about to thr , w out the dirt as woithlras when I saw toineililng shining in the bright sunlight. Yes. there In the bet tom of the pan lay s'ine grains of gold ! The grains were hardly as large as a pin head , but It wn - gold at last. I hurried to the camp to report to my parineis. I called Hudfcon nsldo ami showed him the grains of hold that I had found , ami with true Eng lish phlegm ho drnwkd out 'Hotter make a thorough Imestlgation before the nlggcra KOI It all around.'e ti > nt the nlggera off on an errand , and then tested the grains * * with the nitric acid finding that they were u per cent pine. and woith 4 I an ounce. Ujxin further Investigation It was seen that the vein c.f gold must run near the brook , bo wu > decided to secure a license for an entire block of ten claims ah ng the bank of the brook. The tax on the claim would bo 10 a month , but we decided to pay It , taking out the license In thu name of the Iludtoiiri and myself and calling the place 'Hudson's Claim. ' The claim was entered on the great chart of the company and ten days later wo received the license copied before. "