CHAPTER XXI

THE SOUTH AFRICAN DIAMOND FIELDS

Many of the great treasure fields of the world have been discovered by

chance rather than careful search.

The diamonds of the Deccan, India, were trodden under foot for ages

before they were recognized as diamonds. In Brazil the gold placer

miners threw away the glassy pebbles as worthless and the black slaves

used them as counters in their card games. A visitor who was acquainted

with the diamond fields of India happened one day to notice the shining

stones which two men were using in a card game at a public-house. The

brilliancy of the pebbles piqued his curiosity. Having secured some, he

tested them and found them to be diamonds of the first water. Yet so

great was the prejudice against the Brazilian diamonds at first that for

years many were secretly shipped to India and thence sent to the diamond

market as Indian diamonds.

A trivial circumstance often leads to a marvellous change in the

conditions of men, communities, and nations. The playful act of a Boer

lad picking up a shining pebble on the banks of the Orange River served

as a beacon to lure persons to search for the most precious and hardest

of gems, the diamond, and thereby transformed South Africa.

It was the beginning of an industry that has already added more than

four hundred million dollars' worth of wealth to the world and which now

yields annually twenty million dollars' worth of diamonds. The history

of the South African diamond mines is a fascinating story from start to

finish.

A Boer farmer named Jacobs had made his home on the banks of the Orange

River not far from Hopetown. Here, living in a squalid hovel, he eked

out a precarious existence by hunting and grazing. His chief income was

from the flocks of sheep and goats that grazed on the scanty herbage of

the veld. Black servants were the shepherds, and the children, having no

work to employ their time, were free to roam over karoo, and veld, and

along the river.

What children are not attracted by pebbly streams? Wading in the water

and skating flat stones on its surface was a joyous pastime for them.

The banks of the river were strewn with stones of various colors and

sizes such as would naturally attract the eyes of children.

There were rich red garnets, variegated jaspers, chalcedonies and agates

of many hues mingled with rock-crystals. The children would fill their

pockets with these colored pebbles and carry them home to use in play.

One day the farmer's wife noticed an unusually brilliant pebble among

the other stones that were being tossed about by the children. Soon

after she told one of her neighbors that the children had found a

curious glassy stone that sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight. On his

expressing a desire to see the stone, it was brought to him covered with

dirt. He was attracted by its brilliance and, probably surmising that it

was more valuable than common quartz crystal, offered to purchase it.

The good-wife scorned the idea of taking money for a smooth stone, and

told him laughingly that he was welcome to it.

The stone was sent by post to Grahamtown to ascertain whether or not it

was of value. To the astonishment of all concerned it was pronounced a

genuine diamond and was sold for twenty-five hundred dollars. A search

was forthwith made in the locality for other stones, but none was found.

Ten months later a second diamond was found thirty miles away on the

bank of the same river. Then quite a number of fine diamonds were found

by prospectors along the Vaal River.

In 1869 a black shepherd boy found a magnificent white diamond which was

purchased for five hundred sheep, ten oxen, and a horse. The purchaser

sold the gem for fifty-five thousand dollars, and it was subsequently

resold for one hundred thousand dollars. This superb gem became famous

as the star of South Africa.

Although a few skeptics said these stones might have been brought from

the far interior in the crops of ostriches, yet this last great find

served to attract public notice, and soon thousands of prospectors came

to seek the coveted gems. Even the stolid Boer caught the excitement,

and trekked long distances with wife and children to reach the

captivating fields.

It was a motley throng, like a mighty stream, which poured into the

valley of the Vaal. Men came hurrying in all sorts of ways, afoot, on

horseback, and in heavy, creaking ox-wagons. For miles and miles men

were quickly at work sinking holes into the ground; camp-fires were

flaming; teamsters were inspanning and outspanning their oxen, and

wagons were creaking. These, with raucous voices shouting in a babel of

languages, made a pandemonium exciting enough for the most adventurous.

As far as the eye could reach along the banks of the Vaal were seen

hives of busy, hopeful men who believed that untold riches were almost

within their grasp. The hardest of work was but a pastime, for if they

did not find diamonds to-day, would they not to-morrow? Did not their

neighbors find them? The next shovelful of earth might contain a

precious gem. They could hardly afford time to eat or sleep. Flashing

eyes and elastic steps marked the success of some, while others

repressed their feelings and kept their own counsel regarding the extent

of their finds.

So great did the crowd become that it was necessary to limit claims, and

at an informal meeting of the prospectors, a digging committee was

formed to make regulations controlling the working of the digging.

Thirty feet square was thought to be a reasonable claim for one person.

Some sought the river's banks to prospect, others the kopjes or hills.

Some pinned their faith to light-colored ground, others to dark. Fancy

rather than reason dictated the choice.

The manner of working a claim was simple. The earth was thrown into a

cradle having a bottom of perforated zinc or of wire mesh. The cradle

was then rapidly rocked to and fro as water was poured in upon the

earth. The finer part was washed through the mesh and the worthless

stones were thrown out by hand. The residue was then removed to a

suitable place and carefully examined.

Each person most vigilantly scrutinized his hoard, fearing that in an

unguarded moment a fortune might slip through his hands and be lost.

Even the stranger passing along was hardly given a glance, so eager was

each individual in searching for the precious pebble.

There is an entrancing interest in diamond mining far exceeding that of

gold, for at any moment one is likely to come across a princely fortune.

The miner is ever hopeful. Communing with himself, he says: "To-morrow I

may be made independent by a lucky find." And for a time it was merely

luck, for so irregularly distributed were the diamonds that no knowledge

was gained as to where they were most likely to be found.

While miners were strenuously working along the rivers, far more

wonderful diamond regions were soon to be unfolded; regions rich beyond

the loftiest nights of the imagination and equal to the fabled valley of

Sindbad the Sailor.

A thrifty Dutch vrau owned a farm, on a volcanic plateau extending for

miles into the rocky kopjes. Her overseer, learning that garnets are

often found associated with diamonds, and noticing some garnets in one

of the small streams that coursed through the valley, concluded to do a

little prospecting on his own account. Sinking a hole a few feet in

depth and sifting the sand and gravel through a common sieve, he came

across a diamond weighing fifty carats--nearly half an ounce.

This find caused a rush to the farm to secure claims, and the widow,

with an eye to business, charged a monthly license of ten dollars. Soon

this discovery was eclipsed by a more remarkable one at Dutoitspan[4] in

1870. Although a fair supply of diamonds was found near the surface,

these diggings seemed to give out as they reached hard limestone.

When nearly all of the prospectors had left the field, having become

discouraged, one more sanguine than the others determined to find out

what was beneath this limestone covering. Sinking a shaft, he found that

the limestone grew so soft and friable that it could be easily dug out

with a pick. When he had penetrated the limestone covering he came in

contact with a hard layer somewhat of the nature of clay. This he

proceeded to break up and sift. During the sifting process he observed

many sparkling gems. The problem had been partly solved at least.

Diamonds were to be found in greater abundance below than above the

limestone covering. On learning of the changed condition of affairs the

deserting miners hastened back to the diggings in double-quick time.

Early in 1871 diamonds were found at Bultfontein[5] and on the De Beers

farm, two miles from Dutoitspan. Five months later another bed of

diamonds was found on the same farm, lying on a sloping kopje, one mile

from the first location. This kopje, named Colesberg Kopje, became

afterward the famous Kimberley mine. The district was immediately

divided into claims and taken by prospectors.

The climate of this section is exceedingly trying. A blazing sun, clouds

of suffocating dust, and a scanty supply of muddy water are the

conditions of the region; it therefore required remarkable physical

endurance and an indomitable will to achieve results. Sometimes terrific

thunder-storms with torrents of rain would sweep through the valley. At

other times great hail-storms would drive both man and beast to the

nearest shelter. Wind-storms frequently drove blinding clouds of dust

that penetrated everything.

Very quickly a city of tents sprang up at Kimberley to be superseded

later by substantial buildings of wood, of brick and iron, and

well-constructed streets. Water was pumped from the Vaal River through a

main sixteen miles in length. It was then raised in three lifts by

powerful engines to a large reservoir five hundred feet above the river.

The introduction of an abundant supply of good water wrought a wonderful

transformation. Outside the business section the desert was made to

blossom with flowers in gardens surrounding the hitherto bleak homes.

Lawns were laid out and vines and trees planted about the houses, making

the dusty, wind-swept expanse a thing of beauty and comfort.

At length prospectors learned that the diamond-bearing earth was

confined chiefly to several oval-shaped funnels, ranging in area from

ten to twenty acres, and that outside these few diamonds were to be

found.

Now these huge funnels, or pipes, are nothing more or less than extinct

volcanic craters. The walls, or casings, of these pipes are chiefly of

shale and basalt filled with hard earth, yellow near the surface and

bluish deeper down. The latter is called "blue-stuff" and is very

prolific in diamonds. The diamonds found outside the rim wall must have

been washed out of the craters or perhaps were thrown out by the

eruption.

At first it was customary to pulverize the blue-stuff at once, but

experience showed that a more satisfactory way to work it was to expose

it for several months to the action of the weather. By this process it

readily crumbled.

Various devices were used by the different miners to raise the earth out

of their claims. Some used windlasses; others carried the earth up in

buckets and tubs, some even by climbing ladders. Surrounding the funnels

were carts, wheelbarrows, etc., for carrying away the material to the

depositing grounds, where it was dried, pulverized, and sifted.

Many of the miners found it desirable to employ the native Kafirs to

work in the pits, since neither the scorching sun nor clouds of dust

seemed to trouble them.

The deeper the pits were sunk the greater the difficulty became in

raising the blue-stuff. To add to the difficulties the rim wall of shale

and basalt began to fall in, and the rain made the claims muddy and

slippery or filled them with water. At a still greater depth water began

to seep through the shale wall, and great masses of the rim occasionally

fell in endangering life and almost precluding further mining unless

concerted action were taken. So, in order to effect more economical

methods of working, a consolidation of claims began to take place.

At the Kimberley mine a double platform with staging was built around

the pit, and a series of wires running from the different claims served

as trackways on which buckets of the blue-stuff were drawn up by means

of ropes and windlasses located on these platforms.

When still greater depth had been reached and much of the rim wall had

been precipitated into the pit and rain and seepage water had made the

pits mud holes, two remarkable persons who were interested in the mines

took a leading part in solving the difficulties. These persons were

Cecil John Rhodes and Barnett Isaacs, better known as "Barney Barnato."

Rhodes owned stock in the De Beers and Barnato in the Kimberley mine. At

first they were sharp rivals in gaining control, but later they got

together and consolidated interests.

Cecil Rhodes was an English college student. He had lost his health and

had come to South Africa at the invitation of his brother, who was

interested in the diamond mines. Roughly dressed, his clothes covered

with dust, this shy, pale student, week in and week out, might be seen

looking after the Kafirs who worked his brother's claim.

Barney Barnato, a young Hebrew of keen foresight, likewise had a brother

in South Africa. The latter, who was engaged in diamond buying, urged

Barney to come at once to this famous region, setting forth the

wonderful opportunities offered for business. Barnato forthwith packed

his few belongings and took the next steamer for Cape Town. He was only

twenty years old and was bubbling over with good-natured energy; but he

was quick to perceive and quick to act.

Although he had but a few dollars with which to start in business, yet

by indomitable energy and shrewd management he soon acquired sufficient

money to buy a few small claims in the famous Kimberley mine. To these

claims he constantly added others until he became one of the leading

stockholders in the mine.

When the rival mines began to undersell each other and diamonds were

being sold for but little more than the cost of production, Rhodes

conceived the plan of consolidating all the mines, thereby forming a

monopoly to keep up the prices. By masterly skill he brought this

about, purchasing some shares outright, and giving shares in the new

company as payment for others. To make the purchases he negotiated a

loan of several million dollars through the Rothschilds, the famous

bankers of London.

[Illustration: Open workings of the diamond mine, Kimberley]

Thus, after many years of struggle through difficulties that were

seemingly superhuman, the four great mines, the De Beers, Kimberley,

Dutoitspan, and Bultfontein, were merged into one great corporation.

Afterward some others were added, but all bear the name De Beers

Consolidated Mines, Limited, a corporation which to-day controls the

diamond market of the world. During the eleven years ending 1899 they

yielded nearly six tons of diamonds.

Both Rhodes and Barnato acquired immense wealth by their investments,

but it is doubtful if either gained much happiness from his

acquisitions. Poor Barnato! He had gained riches and stood among the

foremost financiers of the world, but at how fearful a cost! His

overtaxed brain began to give way, and on his way back to England he

suddenly leaped overboard and was drowned.

Cecil Rhodes was instrumental in enlarging British influence and

territory in South Africa, and to him England owes a deep debt of

gratitude. He died in 1902 leaving a portion of his immense fortune for

scholarships in Oxford, England's great university. Rhodes earnestly

advocated the building of a railroad from Cape Town to Cairo. Already

this line has been constructed northward from Cape Town several hundred

miles beyond Victoria Falls, directly below which it crosses the Zambezi

River.

Diamonds of various colors are found in the African mines--brown,

yellow, pale blue, clear, and black. The black diamonds, called bort,

are used mainly for arming diamond drills and for polishing other

diamonds. Green, pink, and mauve diamonds are found occasionally.

The De Beers mines have produced some notable stones. From the Premier

mine a diamond weighing more than three thousand carats--one and

thirty-seven hundredths pounds avoirdupois--was obtained. This stone,

more than twice the size of any heretofore found and estimated to be

worth five million dollars, was insured for two million five hundred

thousand dollars. It was named the Cullinan, from one Tom Cullinan, who

purchased the farm on which the Premier mine is located.

Captain Wells, the manager of the Premier, one evening, after a burning

hot day, when work had been suspended, strolled over to the mine, and,

while partly walking and partly sliding down into the pit, noticed a

gleam from a stone half-embedded in the earth. In a moment he had the

stone in his hand and his practised eye told him this was the greatest

diamond the world ever saw.

At first the possession of it seemed more like a dream than a reality,

and he began to doubt his own sanity. When held up to the blazing

Southern Cross, it sparkled like the purest crystal, and he knew that

its value must be reckoned in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

He immediately took the priceless treasure to the company's office where

it was critically examined. It was then sent for safe-keeping to the

Standard Bank at Johannesburg, and afterward was forwarded to London.

For some time it was deposited in a London bank, the name of which was

kept secret for fear that its great value might tempt criminals. Two

years after its discovery it was purchased by the Transvaal Government,

at the suggestion of General Botha, and presented to King Edward VII as

a crown jewel.

The De Beers Company employs upward of eleven thousand African

natives--Kafirs, they are called--working above and below ground. They

come not only from the surrounding districts but from regions hundreds

of miles away. All native laborers are kept in large walled enclosures,

or compounds, which are covered with wire netting to prevent the

laborers from throwing diamonds over the walls to confederates outside.

Twelve such enclosures are owned by the De Beers Company, the largest of

which occupies four acres and contains ample space for housing three

thousand natives.

On entering the service of the company each applicant must sign a

contract to live in the compound and work faithfully at least three

months. At the expiration of his contract he may leave or make another

contract, as he wills.

Constant vigilance is maintained in order to prevent stealing diamonds,

and yet, notwithstanding this watchfulness, it is estimated that

hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of diamonds are stolen each

year.

Everything necessary for the sustenance and comfort of the men is

brought into the compounds, and no one is permitted to leave until the

expiration of his contract except by permission of the overseer, which

is seldom given. The men go out of the compounds to their work through

tunnels and return the same way.

Besides the native Kafirs already mentioned, about two thousand white

laborers are employed, the greater number being engaged in the offices

and workshops and on the depositing floors.

Electric lights are used throughout the mines, and underground work is

carried on both day and night by three shifts. Every known scientific

device is pressed into service. In all of the deep mines the laborers

are taken up and down the shafts in cages.

The method of mining and working the diamond-bearing earth at present

employed is far more economical than in former years. After the blue

material has been brought up it is carried to the depositing floors

where it is allowed to remain several months. In the meanwhile it is

harrowed several times to break the lumps. The part that resists this

treatment is carried to a mill to be crushed. The disintegrated and

pulverized material is then carried to the washing machines.

The coarser fragments of the concentrates from the washing machines are

picked out by hand; the finer are sent to the pulsators. Each

shaking-table of the pulsators is made of corrugated iron plates in

several sections with a drop of about an inch from one division to

another.

A sufficient quantity of thick grease is spread over the plates to cover

them to the top of the corrugations. The concentrates are continuously

spread over the upper portion of the table automatically while running

water washes them down.

Strange as it may seem, the diamonds stick fast to the grease; the other

material is washed away. It has been found by trial that grease will

cling to the precious stones but to nothing else. After a few hours the

grease with the diamonds is scraped off the tables and steamed in

perforated vessels to separate them.

[Illustration: Sorting gravel for diamonds in the Kimberley mine]

One of the De Beers mines has been worked to a depth of about two

thousand feet with no diminution in the quantity or quality of the

diamonds. The "pipe" or plug of blue-stuff shows no signs of giving out.

Nature, in her underground laboratory, works in a mysterious way,

baffling the astutest students of science to find the process by which

she is able to manufacture such beautiful gems as the diamond. Many

theories have been propounded to explain the genesis of the diamond, the

most plausible one being that the crystallization of the carbon is due

to a very high temperature and tremendous pressure acting on the carbon

in a liquid form deep down beneath the earth's surface. The crystals,

intermingled with much foreign matter, are afterward projected upward,

filling these great volcanic pipes.

In order to produce the most beautiful effect, diamonds are usually cut

into one or another of three different forms, namely, rose, table, and

brilliant, the shape and size of the stone determining which form is

best. The double-cut brilliant is the most common form at the present

day. The general form of rough, crystallized diamonds is that of two

square pyramids joined at their bases. The crystals are oftenest found

octahedral and dodecahedral--that is, eight and twelve sided, and the

diamond-cutter takes advantage of these forms in shaping the diamond.

The modern lapidary must have a perfect knowledge of optics and be a

skilful stone-cutter. The numerous planes or faces which he cuts on the

surface of the diamond are called facets. In the treatment three

distinct processes are utilized--cleaving, cutting, and polishing. The

lapidary must study the individual character of each stone and determine

whether to cleave or grind off the superfluous matter so as to correct

flaws and imperfections. All this calls for the judgment which comes

only with long experience, for if the cutter errs he may ruin a

priceless gem.

The grinding and polishing are done by diamond dust mixed with oil

spread on the upper surface of a grooved flat steel wheel revolving

horizontally. The diamond, having been set in fusible solder, is firmly

pressed against the surface of the wheel by a small projecting arm and

clamp. When one facet has been finished, the diamond is removed from the

solder and reset for grinding another facet. Thus the workman continues

until the grinding and polishing are completed. Infinite patience and

steadiness of nerve, as well as steadiness of hand, are required for

such delicate and exact work. Sometimes two uncut stones are cemented

into the ends of two sticks. Then the operator, using these sticks as

handles, presses the stones against each other with a rubbing motion,

the surface of the stones being coated over with diamond dust and oil to

accelerate the process.

The last cutting of the celebrated Kohinoor diamond cost forty thousand

dollars. One may understand, therefore, that the expense of cutting a

large diamond adds materially to its cost. The diamond-cutting industry

is confined chiefly to Amsterdam, where the work employs several

thousand persons, mostly Hebrews, the craft having been handed down from

father to son through several generations. Much fine cutting is now done

in New York also.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 4: The term pan is a name applied to a basin or pool in which

water collects during the rainy season.]

[Footnote 5: Fontein is a word of Dutch origin meaning fountain or

spring. In this hot and semi-arid country a pan or fontein was a

necessity to the Boer farmer, whose chief dependence was on his sheep

and cattle. Hence he was wont to settle near where water could be easily

obtained.]

PART II

OCEANIA

CHAPTER XXII

THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

Not until four hundred years ago did the body of water now named the

Pacific Ocean become known to the people of Europe.

A vague knowledge of a sea that washed the eastern shores of Cathay, or

China, was gained from the reports of the famous Venetian traveller,

Marco Polo. After spending several years in the Orient, Polo returned

home in 1295, giving such marvellous accounts of the countries visited

and things seen that his stories were but half believed.

In 1531, Balboa, a Spanish explorer stationed at Darien, now Colon,

hearing rumors that a great ocean lay to the opposite side, determined

to test the truth of the report. Taking with him about three hundred

men, he laboriously worked his way through the jungles of the isthmus;

and on reaching the top of the divide beheld for the first time the

Pacific Ocean. He then hastened forward, and as he reached the shore he

waded into the water and took possession of it in the name of his

sovereign. He named it the South Sea.

But the vast extent of this sheet of water did not become well known

until fifty years later, when brave Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigated

the globe. Two and one-half centuries more elapsed before the memorable

voyages and discoveries of Captain Cook disclosed the fact that the new

ocean world was studded with countless islands, and that most of them

were densely inhabited by savages.

Just how or when all these islands became inhabited is not definitely

known. Since the Polynesian languages in general are similar, it is

conjectured that the inhabitants of the islands have a common origin and

that many of the more northerly groups were peopled by emigrants from

the south.

In a general way the name Oceania is applied to all of the islands in

the Pacific, but in a more limited sense only to those lying between the

American continent and Australasia.

The chief divisions of Oceania are Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia,

and Polynesia. Australia, the largest body of land, is usually regarded

as a continent. Nearly all the smaller islands are of coral or of

volcanic origin; in many instances both agencies have contributed to

their formation. The coral and volcanic islands seem to be the tops of

mountain ranges that, little by little, have sunk, until only their

higher summits are now above sea level.

The central part of the Pacific Ocean is pre-eminently the home of the

reef-building coral. Countless islands and reefs, wholly or partly built

up by these tiny creatures, are found widely scattered over an immense

area limited to one thousand eight hundred miles on each side of the

equator. All these formations are composed of the compact limestone

remains of coral polyps.

These polyps have the power of extracting carbonate of lime from the

sea-water and building it into massive formations which, for the most

part, are nearly or completely submerged.

The reef-building coral differs very materially in form and appearance

from the precious or red coral; the former is confined to comparatively

shallow water, while the latter is found most commonly at a depth of

six hundred feet or more, and it occurs chiefly in the Mediterranean

Sea. The common or reef-building coral has but little use except as a

source of lime, and no intrinsic value except as an object of curiosity.

Coral reefs may be arranged under three classes; namely, fringing reefs,

barrier reefs, and atolls. The first class embraces the shallow-water

reefs found close to land, either surrounding islands or skirting the

shores of continents. The reefs of the second class likewise skirt

islands or continents, but at such distances as to leave a deep channel

between them and the shore. The third class are called atolls; each is

irregularly ring-shaped and almost entirely encloses a sheet of water,

called a lagoon.

The ring-shaped reef, or atoll, is broken in one or more places,

generally on the leeward side, and built up higher on the windward side.

The reason for such omissions and buildings is obvious when we remember

that the coral animal cannot move from its fixed position to seek food,

but must depend upon the waves to bring it within reach. The water

dashing up against the reef on the windward side brings an abundance of

food, while the slight movement of the waves on the leeward side brings

but little food.

After many years the dead coral is broken off and piled up on the reef.

In this condition it is cemented by the lime in the sea-water, thereby

forming a nucleus for land. Then, perchance, a cocoanut drifts upon the

formation and, finding sufficient nutriment, sends down a root and

begins its growth. Other cocoanuts are drifted to the newly

disintegrated coral soil until the tropical vegetation becomes capable

of sustaining animal life. Or, perhaps, a portion of the ocean bed in

that particular region is uplifted by the volcanic forces, thus greatly

enlarging the land area. Attracted by the new land, people from near-by

islands emigrate and take possession of the unoccupied area. Thus the

upbuilding of islands and their occupancy goes on through the centuries.

From the fact that these formations exist at a depth of several thousand

feet, while coral polyps themselves can live only near the surface, it

is thought that either the sea bottom must have been sinking for a long

period of time or else that the cinder cones around which the reefs are

built must have shrunk away until their tops are below sea level. At all

events they seem to be due to volcanic movement.

[Illustration: A Malay girl]

Differences in environment produce marked differences on people in

various parts of the continental world. Likewise, differences in the

geological structure of the islands of the Pacific have produced a

marked influence on the inhabitants of the islands of the Pacific. Those

living on large and mountainous islands, where the productions are

varied and abundant, are greatly superior mentally and physically to

those inhabiting the small low-lying coral islands.

In the small islands, where there are few objects of interest and the

circle of life is necessarily circumscribed and food and building

material scanty, the inhabitants are dwarfed in intellect and their

languages limited in vocabulary. The inhabitants of the extensive

Paumoto group of islands give a striking example of the dreary monotony

of life on small coral islands. Indeed, coral atolls are lacking in

pretty nearly all the features that are necessary for a high degree of

civilization; nature, therefore, reacts, with the result that the human

life of this region is in a condition of savagery. Many of the natives

are cannibals.

The natives of Australia are a race that seems to be separate and

distinct in itself. Wherever they are found their speech and customs are

so nearly alike that little or no doubt of their common origin exists.

They are so small in stature that by some scholars they are classed with

pygmy peoples. They are repulsive in appearance in their native state,

but when the children are trained by English families they become

attractive. They are regarded as a very low type of intellect; yet at

the missionary schools the children seem to learn about as quickly as do

European children. The children learn to figure readily, but the older

natives have no names for numbers greater than three or four.

In New Guinea and the adjacent islands is found a race of black peoples

usually called Negritos, or Negroids. They are black and, like the

African negroes, have black, kinky hair. They are far superior to the

native Australians. Many of the tribes are good farmers, and cultivate

crops of sago, maize, and tobacco. On the coasts there are good

boat-builders and sailors. The greater part of the Melanesian tribes is

hostile and blood-thirsty; head-hunting is a common practice. In many

tribes the people live in communal houses like those of the Pueblo

Indians of America.

A large part of the population of Oceania is of Malay origin. As a rule

the Malaysians are intelligent and take readily to western civilization.

They are confined chiefly to the larger islands south and west of the

Asian continent. In such parts of Malaysia as have become European

possessions, they are farm laborers, and in this employment they have no

superiors.

[Illustration: A Malay boy]

Of all the native peoples of Oceania, the Polynesians are perhaps the

most interesting. In physical appearance they are tall, well-formed,

dark of complexion, and black-haired. In the northern island

groups--Tonga, Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, and others--which are colonized by

European and American peoples, the natives have gradually acquired

western civilization. The number of natives has decreased, however, and

only about one-third of the population of fifty years ago remains

to-day.

The animal and vegetable life is peculiar. That of Australia resembles

the life forms of a geological age long since past; that of the islands

near tropical Asia is Asian in character. Now there are many large

islands at a considerable distance from the continent in which many of

the life forms on the slopes facing Australia are Australian, while on

the northerly and westerly slopes they are Asian. One cannot be certain,

however, that these islands were ever a part of the Australian

continent, or that they were ever joined to Asia. On the contrary it is

more probable that the life in question was carried by winds and

currents of the sea.

The life forms of the coral atolls are very few in number. So far as

vegetation is concerned, the cocoa-palm and breadfruit are about the

only kinds of plant life of importance. A few species of fish and

migratory birds are the only animals that may be used as food.

The names given to the various divisions of Oceania are more or less

fanciful. Australasia means Southern Asia; Malaysia, Malayan Asia;

Melanesia, the islands of the blacks; Micronesia, small islands; and

Polynesia, many islands.

During the latter half of the nineteenth century practically all of

Oceania has been divided among European powers. Australia, Tasmania, and

New Zealand are peopled by colonists from England; but they possess the

character of a great nation rather than that of colonies. A few of the

larger islands have become producers of sugar, cotton, and fruit. The

long distance from the markets for their products is offset by the low

cost of native labor. The coral islands are almost valueless for

commercial products; but a few of them are used as coaling stations,

telegraphic cable stations, or as positions of naval advantage.

CHAPTER XXIII

AUSTRALIA

Early in the sixteenth century the island of Australia became known to

the Portuguese; later the Dutch, who had valuable possessions in the

East Indies, sent exploring expeditions to spy out the new land, and

named it New Holland. But not until after Captain Cook, of the English

navy, had explored the eastern part did any one think the country to be

more than a barren waste sparsely inhabited by savages. Indeed, various

European nations who were even then seeking lands for colonization

thought it too worthless to claim.

In April, 1770, Captain Cook made his first landing on the east coast

and, finding at one place a profusion of beautiful flowers, named the

indentation Botany Bay. He spent a considerable time in exploring the

eastern coast and also the Great Barrier Reef. In going through one of

the passages across the Barrier Reef his vessel ran aground, and in

order to lighten it he was obliged to throw overboard six of his

heaviest cannon. In late years efforts have been made to secure these

cannon as souvenirs, but the search for them has proved unavailing. One

may easily imagine that they have been long since entombed in thick

growths of coral.

On his return home, Cook gave such a glowing account of the great island

that the English Government forthwith sent out a body of soldiers to

take possession of the country and to make settlements. Because it is

well watered, the southeastern part was selected as best adapted for

colonization. For a long time this part of Australia was utilized

chiefly as a penal colony, but the fruitful land and salubrious climate

quickly attracted free emigrants from England. Then gold was discovered,

and thousands of people rushed to the new Eldorado, not only from Great

Britain but from all parts of the world. Almost in a twinkling it

changed from "our remotest colony" to a great country producing annually

millions of wealth.

So far as its surface features are concerned, one may regard Australia

as a continent not quite so large as the United States. The eastern part

is diversified by low ranges of mountains fantastically scored and

carved by rivers which are swift and impassable torrents during the

season of rains, and trickling streams, or dry washes, the rest of the

year. This is the region that has produced a wealth of gold and wool and

a stock of hardy people that for intelligence and strength of character

can scarcely be matched elsewhere.

The central part of the continent is a dish-shaped table-land. Its

surface is sandy here, stony there, but intensely hot and desolate

everywhere--desolate of everything that adds to the comfort of man, but

full of about everything that contributes to his misery. The "bush"

which covers so much of this region is chiefly acacia, and the acacia is

chiefly thorns. The rivers that flow into the interior from the coast

highlands seem at first sight to be formidable streams so far as

appearance goes. One, the Murray, is more than a thousand miles in

length. But even the Murray will match the description which an English

traveller gave to Platte River--"A mile wide, an inch deep, and bottom

on top!"

The few lakes of the interior are great "sinks," or marshes, much like

Humboldt Sink, in Nevada. They are shallow, reed-grown, and briny, and

they are bordered by mud flats and quicksands between which there is

little to choose. An unfortunate victim will sink in the one quite as

quickly as in the other. But even the lakes are gradually going the way

of all lakes. In this case, however, their disappearance is due largely

to the dust storms that little by little are burying them.

Only a very small part of the central region can be reclaimed; for where

there is so little rain there can be but little either of surface or of

ground waters. During the intensely hot summer season the smaller

streams disappear entirely and the larger ones become a succession of

stagnant pools along the dry washes.

[Illustration: A giant fig-tree, 140 feet in circumference]

The eastern part of the continent, on account of its greater extent of

coast, is far richer in resources than the central section. It contains

not only a greater proportion of land fit for grazing and cultivation,

but also very rich mines. Perhaps these have not a greater wealth of

minerals than the mines of the central section, but they are so situated

that they can be more easily worked.

The great island of Tasmania ought also to be included in the Australian

continent; for it is separated from it by a narrow and not very deep

strait. In its general features Tasmania resembles eastern Australia;

and, indeed, it is one of the most productive and delightful parts of

the world.

Of the whole Australian continent scarcely one part in fourteen is fit

for human habitation, not because the soil is lacking in elements of

fertility but because there is not enough rainfall. As a matter of fact,

the rain-bearing winds bring rain only to the eastern and southeastern

part of the continent. Any map will show that nearly all the cities,

towns, herding-grounds, and settlements are in that part of the

continent, and they are there because the rainfall is there.

The rest of Australia is like the Sahara in one respect; it is a desert.

Beyond that fact the resemblance between the two ceases; indeed, they

could scarcely be more unlike; for, while the Sahara is much like any

other desert, Australia is unlike any other part of the world.

Not very much is known about the interior because but few explorers have

been able to penetrate the continent. Many have tried to explore its

fastnesses, it is true, and many bones are bleaching in its furnace-like

desert. Even a century after the eastern part had become dotted with

settlements the interior was so little known that the government of

South Australia offered a reward of ten thousand pounds to any one who

would start from Adelaide and cross the island due north. Now, ten

thousand pounds, or fifty thousand dollars, is a large sum of money,

and there were many efforts to obtain it.

In 1860 an explorer named Stuart, whose name is remembered in a high

peak which he discovered, traversed more than half the distance. It was

a record trip, but illness forced Stuart to turn back. Another

expedition, headed by four plucky men, Burke, Wills, Grery, and King,

were more lucky on their outward trip. They reached tide-water near the

head of the Gulf of Carpenteria, thereby accomplishing the task. The

return trip was tragic. When they had reached the relief depot at which

they had planned to have supplies awaiting them, they found nothing.

They wandered about until all but King died from exposure and

starvation. A year or two later Stuart made a third attempt and found

what is now an "overland route," for a telegraph line has been built

along it from Adelaide to the north coast, and this connects with an

ocean cable to London.

[Illustration: A mother kangaroo with a young kangaroo in her pocket]

The plant and animal life of Australia forms one of its most remarkable

features. Both plants and animals are of the kind that lived many ages

ago. One of the curiosities of forest life is the "gum," or eucalyptus,

a belt of which almost surrounds the continent. In its native home the

blue gum is a most beautiful tree that sometimes grows to a height of

three hundred feet. When the tree begins its growth the stem is nearly

square in shape and the leaves are almost circular. After a short time,

however, the branches and trunk become circular and the leaves long and

lance-shaped. They hang with their edges instead of their flat surfaces

to the light, which also is true of many other Australian trees. The

eucalyptus sheds--not its leaves every year, but its bark instead.

Many plants which in other continents are small shrubs in Australia are

trees. The tulip, the fern, the honeysuckle, and the lily are examples.

They all grow in tree form and are of considerable size. There is no

turf grass except that which is cultivated. The wild grasses are of the

"bunch" or clump species, and some of these have blades so sharp that

they cut cruelly. One species, the porcupine grass, bears a name that

does not belie its character. Much of the coast lands are covered with a

growth of thorny "scrub" that has made cultivation both difficult and

costly. The interior is the "bush" region.

The animal life of the continent is even more singular than the plant

life. Most of the animals resemble the opossum of North American fauna

in one respect, the mother carries her young in a pouch or fold of the

skin under her body. But the opossum itself is not confined to North

America alone; there are several species in Australia and Tasmania. The

kangaroos are among the most remarkable animals, not only because of the

great length and strength of their hind legs, but also because of the

variety in the sizes of the different species. Some of the smaller

species are no larger than a small rat; the large-sized species are six

feet tall when sitting on their haunches.

There are no monkeys and no animals that chew the cud, but there is a

wonderful variety of birds. Among them is the emeu, a kind of ostrich

that practically is wingless. Another, the platypus, or duck-bill, has

the bill and webbed feet of a duck and the body and tail of a beaver.

Stranger still, the female duck-bill lays eggs, but nurses her young

after the eggs are hatched! The duck-bill carries a hinged spur on the

hind legs, which also is a sting that injects a violent poison into

whatever it strikes. Ordinarily the spur is folded against the leg of

the animal, but when used as a weapon it stands out like the gaff of a

fighting cock. The duck-bill may well boast of its sting, because the

honey-bee of Australia has none.

[Illustration: An Australian emeu]

The dingo, or wild dog, may not be an especially interesting animal to

the student of natural history, but it is a very interesting one to the

herdsman. For of all animals in Australia the dingo is the most

intolerable nuisance on account of its fondness for mutton. Hunting the

coyote on the plains of the United States is a pastime, but hunting the

Australian dingo is a serious and monotonous business. Indeed, the sheep

and the dingo cannot both remain in Australia unless the former has been

eaten by the latter. In a single night a dingo will kill a score of

sheep, and a pack of them will make way with several hundred. In one

instance two of these pests killed and maimed more than four hundred

sheep before retribution overtook them.

In addition to the troubles of native origin, three very serious pests

have been imported. One of these, the species of cactus known as the

prickly pear, the Queenslander has pretty nearly all to himself. Just

how the prickly pear was introduced into Australia seems to be a matter

of uncertainty. But it is there and it is spreading rapidly. Each plant

produces scores of pears and each pear contains not far from one hundred

seeds. When the fruit ripens the seeds are quickly sent broadcast.

Perhaps the wind is the chief agent in scattering them, but wild birds,

especially the emeu and the turkey, are a good second. Queenslanders

fear that this pernicious plant will spread not only over the great

interior desert sections, but to the valuable land elsewhere, since it

is tenacious of life and thrives on arid land amidst a burning heat

where other plants wither up and perish.

In clearing the land of the cactus three methods are utilized, viz.,

burning, pitting, and poisoning. Where wood is near at hand, the first

method is the preferable one. A platform is made by rolling logs

together, and after the plants have been uprooted and hacked to pieces

they are hauled in drays to the platforms. There they are stacked up

high, sometimes a hundred tons being piled on a single platform, and the

platforms are set afire. Pitting is done by digging large, deep pits,

filling them full of the chopped plants, and covering them with dirt.

Destruction by poisoning is accomplished by inoculating the thick leaves

with arsenic or bluestone, which is sprayed upon them after the plants

have been hacked so that the poison may be absorbed by the sap, which

distributes the deadly substance.

Years ago some of the colonists thought that it would be desirable to

have English rabbits in Australia and sent to England for a few pairs.

When the rabbits arrived a great feast was held, and amidst speeches and

mutual congratulations the timid creatures were let loose. In a short

time rabbits seemed quite plentiful and the hunters had rare sport; but

ere long the animals began to eat up the vegetables in the gardens.

Now, rabbits are very prolific, and within a very few years they had

spread so extensively that the sheepmen began to complain of their

serious inroads on herbage and grass where the sheep fed. At this stage

of affairs legislation was invoked in behalf of the suffering farmers.

Laws were passed and means taken to reduce the number of rabbits.

Poisoned grain and other food was used, but still the rabbits greatly

increased. The dingo was tamed and used for hunting them, and then the

mongoose was imported from India to kill them off.

But the rabbits seemed to have increased a thousand-fold. In despair,

rabbit commissioners were appointed in each colony to enforce the

building of high rabbit-proof wire fences, and now thousands of miles of

wire fences have been built so as to enclose ranges and farms. By means

of the fences and by the use of various methods of destroying the pests,

they are now kept in check after causing millions of dollars of damage,

and at an enormous annual expense to the colonists. In the meantime it

was discovered that the flesh of the rabbit was excellent food, and the

slaughter of millions to be preserved has been a noticeable check to

their increase.

Unlike the American Indians, the aboriginal peoples of Australia were

never troublesome to the European settlers, and although apt to be

thievish they were not inclined to warlike acts when the European

settlements were new. The "bushrangers," as they are called, somewhat

resemble the negro peoples, and are thought to be a part of the black

race that is found in the island near New Guinea. They are classed as

Negroids, or Negritos, and they bear a considerable resemblance to the

African pygmies, with whom at least one authority classes them. They are

materially larger and taller than the pygmies, however, though below the

average stature of Europeans. At all events they are among the lowest

type of human beings.

The bushrangers have no fixed habitation; they do not build houses nor

live in villages; they have no domestic animals except the dingo, and

they do not cultivate the soil. They live nominally by hunting and

fishing, but their food consists of about anything that requires no

weapons beyond the fish-net and the boomerang. They rarely molest larger

game, though some of the tribes employ a net in which to entrap the

kangaroo.

Of all the weapons used by savage tribes the boomerang is the most

interesting. In shape it is a flat strip of hardwood having an angle, or

else slightly curved in the middle. The interesting feature about it is

the fact that when skilfully thrown it will return to the thrower unless

intercepted. A bushranger may be skilful enough to throw the boomerang

ahead of him so that in its return it will kill a small animal back of

him.

The bushrangers were only too ready to adopt the vices of Europeans, but

they have not been able to withstand the changes wrought by

civilization. Their numbers have steadily diminished. In 1880 they were

thought to be about eighty thousand in number, but at the close of the

century there were scarcely one-fourth as many. Those who remain are for

the greater part herdsmen and farm laborers.

[Illustration: Homestead and station in Young district, Australia]

One may not be very far from right in saying that the climate of the

habitable part of the continent is the foremost asset of Australia.

Certain it is that for healthfulness and the stimulation that creates

activity, the climate of Australia is unsurpassed elsewhere in the

world. And because of its life-growing and invigorating character it has

placed the Australian high in the rank of the world's foremost people.

Climate and soil, too, have made Australia one of the foremost

wool-producing countries of the world. Not far from one hundred million

dollars' worth of wool and mutton are exported yearly, and much of the

wool clip is a fine grade of merino. Gold is another product of

Australia. At the close of the century the mines had produced a total of

more than one billion dollars' worth of the metal. In round figures, the

great Thirst Land, with a population of about four millions, scattered

along the edge of a great desert continent, produces enough wealth to

sell yearly about three hundred millions of dollars' worth of its

products!

The foregoing picture of Australia presents, perhaps, the unpleasant

side of Australian life. But this great Thirst Land, so far from being

an inhospitable desert, is one of the world's greatest storehouses of

wealth.

CHAPTER XXIV

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

Within the tropical parts of the great South Sea are submarine gardens

that in the beauty of their floral forms and their richness of coloring

rival the most elaborate flowerbeds made by man; in color and variety

they are fairy regions of exquisite living animal flowers. One of the

greatest and most attractive of these sea gardens lies off the coast of

Australia.

Of all the wonderful animal structures in the world the Great Barrier

Reef of Australia is the most remarkable. It consists of a chain of

coral islands and reefs parallel to the east coast of Queensland. This

great reef is about twelve hundred miles long, and the distance from the

mainland to its outer border is from ten to more than one hundred miles.

It is far enough off the coast to leave a wide channel between the reef

and the shore.

Since it is well charted this channel is the route taken by many

vessels. It is admirably furnished with lighthouses and light-ships, and

is protected from the huge rolling billows of the ocean by the reef

itself. There are several breaks in the reef through which vessels can

pass out into the open ocean.

This mighty barrier, the work of coral polyps, is of special interest

not only on account of the curious shapes and varied kinds of sea life

it presents, but because of the commercial value of its products. The

beche-de-mer, pearl, oyster, and sponge fisheries yield an annual

revenue of upward of half a million dollars, and when all of the

resources of the reef are properly exploited the returns will be more

than doubled.

The habitat of the reef-building coral is in clear tropical waters. The

polyps thrive best near the surface; they cannot live at a depth

exceeding one hundred and twenty-five feet. The reef-building coral must

not be confounded with the precious, or red, coral, which flourishes in

a muddy sea-bottom and is found chiefly in the Mediterranean Sea.

When alive and in the water, coral polyps present a variety of beautiful

forms and colors. Living polyps are composed of limestone skeletons

covering and permeating a soft gelatinous substance which corresponds to

the flesh of animals. When the polyps are removed from the water this

soon decomposes and disappears; in certain species a part of it flows

off as a thick liquid.

Fish fantastically striped and of brilliantly variegated colors are seen

swimming among the coral. In tropical waters many of them have

fascinating colors and patterns. By simulating the colors of the coral

polyps they escape the species that prey upon them.

The different kinds of coral are generally designated by common names

according to the different objects which they resemble. Thus, by

similarity of form we have _brain_ coral, _organ-pipe_ coral, _mushroom_

coral, _staghorn_ coral, etc.

Some of the islands and reefs are the homes of sea fowl and at the

nesting season are literally covered with their eggs. These fishers of

the sea have marvellously well-developed faculties for location, since

each bird goes directly to her nest when returning to the islands. As

night approaches, when all the birds seek the land, their wild cries are

deafening.

Some of the islands are turned to profitable account by the export of

guano. On Raine Island, so extensive are the deposits of guano that a

railroad has been built to facilitate handling the product.

Beche-de-mer, or trepang, is a name applied to the flesh of certain sea

slugs or sea worms found in the Indian seas. Of this substance great

quantities are gathered annually. In the water the animals resemble huge

cucumbers, and they are therefore sometimes called "sea-cucumbers." They

are found clinging to the rocks below low-water mark, and are from one

to four feet in length. Their food consists of microscopic shell-fish

which live upon the coral rocks.

[Illustration: The Great Barrier Reef of Australia, the most remarkable

animal structure in the world]

The trepang exported from this section requires considerable care in

preparation. After being gathered from the rocks they are cleaned,

boiled, and partly dried in the air; then they are smoked with mangrove

wood until dry and hard. The best class of trepang is packed in tin

cases to keep it perfectly dry, as moisture ruins it. The product is

marketed chiefly at Hongkong, where it is used in making the gelatinous

soups for which the Chinese are so famous.

The pearl-shell fisheries yield products of considerable value. The

average depth from which the mother-of-pearl shell is gathered is seven

or eight fathoms. Twenty fathoms represents the greatest depth in which

divers, even in their diving suits, can work, so great is the pressure

of the water upon them.

The fishery is carried on chiefly for securing the shells, the finding

of pearls being of secondary importance, since only about one shell in a

thousand contains a pearl of much value. The shells themselves bring in

the market from three hundred to eight hundred dollars per ton according

to quality and size, and are used chiefly for making buttons and small

ornaments.

The Cairn Cross Islands, a little coral group midway between Cape

Grenville and Cape York, are especially interesting as the home and

nesting-place of the Torres Strait pigeons. These large white pigeons

are highly esteemed for the table. They gather at the islands during the

month of October and remain until the end of March. The nests are

usually built in the forked branches of the mangrove trees that form

extensive thickets along the coast. Each nest contains two white eggs.

The Australian jungle-fowl or scrub-hen also frequents these islands as

well as the mainland. The nests of these birds are large and unique.

They consist of huge mounds of dead leaves, grass, sticks, and soft

earth piled together by the adult birds in shaded and sequestered

places. The mounds are about twenty feet in diameter and from ten to

fifteen feet high. Several pairs of birds generally unite in their

construction.

When the mounds are completed the birds burrow holes in the centre and

deposit their eggs, which are left to be hatched by the moist heat

engendered by the decaying vegetation. Forty or fifty brick-red colored

eggs as large as those of a turkey are sometimes found in a single nest.

Both the eggs and the parent birds are excellent eating.

The Australian bee-eater, a bird of attractive plumage, is found all

over the northern islets of the Barrier Reef. It has a long, sharp

curved bill and two long, narrow feathers in its tail. Its beautiful

green plumage, varied with rich brown and black, and vivid blue on the

throat, makes it an attractive bird.

The sea-anemones of the Great Barrier Reef are remarkable for both

beauty of color and structure; some of them measure four or five inches

across the expanded disk. In Torres Strait are seen brilliant

sea-anemones around the border of whose disks are jewel-like clusters.

These beautiful sea animals present the appearance of delicately tinted

flowers adorned with the most exquisite gems.

Starfish and sea-urchins of all descriptions are found in immense

numbers. The five-rayed varieties of starfish are universally condemned

as insatiable foes of the oyster family, and the oyster cultivators

destroy all they can find. To dismember the body of the starfish by

pulling off the finger-like rays does not kill the animal, for not only

does each fish produce new rays but each ray will produce a new

starfish. The predatory starfish fastens itself to both valves of the

oyster, forces them open, and consumes the fleshy part. It is

destructive not only to oysters but to clams, mussels, barnacles,

snails, worms, and small crustacea as well.

The variety of sea life about the great reef is legion. Among the

bivalves the most remarkable for the size and weight of the shells are

the tridachna and hippopus. In some localities they are so numerous that

their shells have been burned to make lime. A pair of tridachna valves

often weighs several hundred pounds.

To the naturalist the Great Barrier Reef is an object of special

attraction.

CHAPTER XXV

THE GOLD FIELDS OF AUSTRALIA

The name Australia, like that of California, conjures up in the mind

visions of gold; and the story of the gold excitement in both is very

similar. January 24, 1848, was the red-letter day in California's

history, and the news that transpired that day electrified the world.

While constructing a saw-mill at Coloma Creek, a branch of the American

River, John Marshall picked up a handful of gold nuggets in the

mill-race. At once the gold fever seized all far and near. During the

ensuing year fifty thousand persons came by sea and by land from the

States east of the Rocky Mountains, and forty thousand more from other

parts of the world; all bent upon digging for gold in the new El Dorado.

From far-off Australia came vessels crowded with passengers. Among these

was Edward H. Hargraves, who had lived for twenty years in New South

Wales, where fortune had not smiled on him. Hargraves was a keen

observer and something of a geologist as well. He diligently scoured the

gullies and canyons in the gold regions of California, and when he quit

he possessed a good sum of money as a return for his labor. During his

stay in California he became convinced that gold existed in Australia,

since many of the formations and strata were similar to those of the

gold-bearing fields of California.

After working for nearly two years, he planned to return to his old

home, implicitly believing that he could win riches and fame by

discoveries of the precious metal in New South Wales; and as soon as he

had landed at Sydney he made ready to test his theories. When he

explained to his friends what he purposed to do and his reasons they

considered him half crazy. Moreover, rumors that convict shepherds had

sold gold nuggets to traders in Sydney strengthened his belief that gold

in paying quantities could be obtained by seeking for it. There were

rumors also that a gold nugget had been picked up on Fish River.

Procuring a team he set forth on his journey for the Blue Mountains

lying back of Sydney. On the fourth day out, stopping at an inn kept by

a widow, he confided to her his mission and enlisted her co-operation.

He requested a black boy for a guide; but instead she sent her son, who

was well acquainted with every inch of the region for miles around.

Taking horses, Hargraves and the young man started out from the inn. It

was a crisp autumn morning succeeding a dry summer. A careful search was

made up and down canyons and gulches. At length, during the latter part

of the day, they reached the bank of a dry creek which disclosed strata

similar to the auriferous gravels of California.

Looking about, Hargraves found a spot in the bed of the creek from

which, after scooping off the top, he scraped from the bedrock a panful

of earth. Hastening to the water hole with the loaded pan, he proceeded

to wash away the soil and lo, in the bottom of the pan were

bright-yellow particles!

"I shall be made a baronet and both of us will be rich," exclaimed the

excited Hargraves. He seemed to be walking upon air and could scarcely

believe his own senses. Nevertheless, he prudently kept his own counsel

until he had taken out sixty thousand dollars. Then he hastened to

Sydney to lay the matter before the government. The government gave him

a reward of fifty thousand dollars for his discoveries and made him

commissioner of the gold fields.

Hargraves's unexpected find stimulated other persons to search elsewhere

for the attractive metal, and soon other and far richer fields were

found. From one locality alone seven tons of gold were obtained in a

single month.

The whole country now went gold mad. Doctors left their patients,

lawyers their offices, bakers and butchers their shops, clerks the

stores, and sailors deserted their ships as soon as they touched the

wharves--everybody hastened to the diggings eager to get rich.

When confirmation of the wonderful gold deposits in Australia reached

the outside world, a grand rush, like that to California, took place.

New towns and cities sprang up as by magic, and from the increase of

business the older places rapidly became more populous. Since the time

of Hargraves's discovery, Victoria has produced the most gold, some of

the largest nuggets in the world having been found in this colony.

The following story of the gold fields is related in Lang's "Australia":

While the ship _Dudbrook_ was docked at Sydney, where she was receiving

her cargo, a sailor boy named Bob heard of the great quantities of gold

that had been dug out of the mountains. He longed to try his luck at

mining, but hardly knew how he could get away from the ship without

being caught.

In the meantime, while the ship was receiving her cargo, all the old

crew except Bob had deserted. He hesitated about leaving and seemed to

find no good opportunity to escape unnoticed. The day of departure

arrived. The sails were being shaken out by the new crew, which had been

pressed into service. The little tug that was to tow the big ship out

of the harbor was beginning to straighten the cable and churn the water

into foam, but the hawser still held the vessel fast to the wharf. The

captain shouted "Bob, Bob, get ashore and cast off the hawser."

Bob now saw the long-waited-for opportunity and with alacrity sprang to

the wharf, but not to release the hawser. He ran along, hidden by the

jetty, until he reached the shore and then dodged into a house where he

had friends. The skipper could not stop to hunt up the runaway, so the

vessel was towed out through the Heads and sailed for Newcastle to pick

up a cargo for India.

The next day Bob started on foot for the mines and, while on his way,

picked up one of his old shipmates with whom he formed a partnership. On

arriving at the diggings, the two staked out a claim and began sinking a

shaft; but after reaching the bottom no metal greeted their longing

eyes. Another shaft was sunk and this time they struck it rich.

Within two months each had saved up one hundred twenty pounds of gold.

Like some of his companions, Bob now concluded to take a short rest and

go to Sydney for a few days of pleasure. Therefore he changed his gold

into pound notes, and, stuffing the big rolls into his trousers'

pockets, started for the city.

Being of an economical turn of mind, he concluded to walk, and taking an

early start, by the middle of the afternoon he had measured off

twenty-five miles. The day was hot and the roads dusty; and seeing a

shady nook, near a creek not far from the roadside, he betook himself

thither and sat down to wait for a bullock wagon which he had passed two

hours before. The water in the stream looked cool and inviting, so he

undressed to take a swim.

In taking off his clothes he pulled out of his pockets the two bundles

of pound notes and laid them beside his boots. After being in the water

for some time, he came out; and looking where he had laid the notes,

could see them nowhere. Who could have taken them? He saw no one around

when he undressed, and he had seen no one about while he was bathing.

Possibly the thief was hiding behind some of the trees near by. Without

waiting to dress, he searched here and there behind trees and logs, but

there was no sign of the thief.

He was greatly disheartened at his loss, but, putting on his clothes, he

came across a ten-pound note which he had concealed in a side pocket.

This find cheered him up and he resolved to go down to the city

notwithstanding his loss. The bullock team soon came along and Bob told

the driver what had happened. They both searched the ground over to

solve the disappearance of the money, but in vain.

When Bob reached Sydney, like other sailors, he visited several barrooms

where he told the story of his strange loss. In one of the places, in a

corner, sat an old Scotch crone, smoking her pipe and quietly listening

to the conversation. At midnight when Bob was about to leave, the old

woman said, "What will ye gie me if I find yer money for ye?"

"What will I give ye, mother?" cried Bob. "Why, I'll give ye a silk

dress and a ten-pound note."

"It's a bargain!" she cried; and then she told him what to do.

He was to be ready at four the next morning with a horse and trap which

he could obtain from the landlord. If he would take along an axe, a roll

of string, and a newspaper, she would find his money for him, she said.

Though much in doubt about the power of such articles to find his money,

Bob did as old Maggie had directed, and sharply at four in the morning

the two started back to his bathing place. It took but a short time to

drive back ten miles to the creek and the hollow log on which Bob sat

when he pulled off his boots.

"Now, show me the place where ye put the money down," said Maggie.

After carefully looking around she seemed to be satisfied with the

conditions.

"Now, gie me the paper and the twine," she said. Taking a portion of the

paper and tying it with a long piece of twine she laid it down just

where the notes had been placed. Then Maggie said, "Let us seek a shady

place a short distance away and I'll play ye at cribbage." Bob took

little stock in these seemingly foolish arrangements; nevertheless he

determined to be game to the end.

She led the way to a cool place on the creek bank a hundred yards

distant where they sat down. She then drew out of her pocket a dirty

pack of cards and a bar of soap punched with holes to be used as a

cribbage board.

Two games were leisurely played, both of which Maggie won. "Now," said

she, "Come wi' me." She hobbled back to where the paper tied with a

string had been left. No paper was in sight, but hanging out of the

hollow log where Bob had removed his boots was the end of the string.

Maggie chuckled, and pointing to the log, cried, "Now rip it up wi' the

axe."

Bob set to work with a will and soon had a big hole chopped out of the

hollow log, and behold! there were the bank-notes and the newspaper,

forming a cozy nest for some little speckled native cats calling for

their breakfast, while farther in were seen two bright balls of fire,

the mother cat's eyes. The mother cat had run off with Bob's money to

make a nest for her young ones.

Maggie accepted the ten-pound note but refused the silk dress, telling

the lad that she had no use for such finery.

Soon after the English settled in Australia they introduced merino

sheep, and during the last quarter of a century the breed has been

constantly improved.

It is estimated that now there are not less than seventy-five million

sheep in Australia. The two great drawbacks to this thriving industry

are drought and disease. Some years, owing to the scanty rainfall,

millions of sheep have starved for lack of food.

Two seasons prevail, the dry and the rainy, the climatic conditions

being similar to those of California.

The eastern section of this continental island is the only part that is

adapted both to grazing and to agriculture. New South Wales outranks all

the other Australian colonies in sheep raising, and Queensland in cattle

raising.

Almost the entire eastern shore section is well adapted to the

production of lemons, oranges, and figs, while in the southeastern part

all kinds of temperate-zone fruits flourish. The production of wheat

also deserves important attention.

The development of cold-storage transportation has given a great impetus

to the exportation of frozen mutton and beef to England.

Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, situated on Port Philip Bay, near

the mouth of the Yarra River, is the largest city of Australia and

contains nearly half a million people. It is built chiefly upon two

hills and the intervening valley. The streets are broad and cross each

other at right angles. Many of the squares are devoted to public parks

and gardens. There are splendid public and private buildings, including

an excellent library and an art gallery, both of which are free to all.

Although less than sixty years old, this young city will compare

favorably in regard to its buildings and general management with the

largest cities in both Europe and America.

The oldest city in Australia, Sydney, is the capital of New South Wales

and has a population of four hundred thousand. It is situated on Port

Jackson and is said to have the finest harbor in the world. This is a

completely landlocked sheet of deep water which can be entered only

through a narrow passage, thus affording protection to the shipping,

even during the most violent storms, and so large that it could

accommodate all of the fleets that sail the ocean and have room to

spare.

[Illustration: Melbourne is the largest city of Australia and contains

nearly half a million people]

Of Australia's thirteen thousand miles of railways all but five hundred

miles belong to the colonial government, and are administered in the

interests of the people. So low are the freight and passenger rates that

often a tax has to be levied to meet the deficits. More than half of the

public debt is due to government ownership of the railroads.

Among other prominent places may be mentioned Brisbane, the capital of

Queensland; Adelaide, the capital of South Australia; and Perth, the

capital of Western Australia.

CHAPTER XXVI

TASMANIA

In 1642 a Dutch navigator named Abel Janszoon Tasman discovered the

island which now bears his name. Tasman did not know that he had

discovered an island, but thought that he had discovered a part of the

mainland of Australia; so he named it Van Diemen's Land, in honor of his

patron, Anthony Van Diemen, Governor of the Dutch East Indies.

Tasmania was once one vast plateau, but in time nature worked away on

its broad surface; mountains and valleys were chiselled in its face,

making it a picturesque and diversified island. It is well watered;

streams abound in every part, and many large lakes are found in the

interior. The Derwent in the south is the largest river, and vessels may

go almost to the head of its estuary.

On account of its beautiful mountain scenery, Tasmania is called the

Switzerland of Australia. Deep winding valleys, clothed with groves of

ferns, give added charm to its scenery. In recent years it has become a

famous summer resort for Australians, many of whom pass a portion of the

hot season in its wonderful forest solitudes and secluded fern-tree

vales.

No attempt to colonize Tasmania was made until 1803. In that year four

hundred convicts were brought there and the vessel containing the

prisoners sailed up Derwent River and landed them where the city of

Hobart now stands.

When the convicts landed, they found a very dark-skinned race of natives

in possession of the land. The natives were low of stature, with ugly

broad faces, flat noses, and frizzly hair. Their habits were repulsive,

but they were inoffensive. They lived chiefly on shell-fish and what

they could obtain from the sea. Occasionally they hunted the kangaroo,

and unfortunately a kangaroo hunt led to their undoing.

One morning a newly-arrived commander of the convict colony saw a large

number of natives making toward the camp. He did not know their customs

and mistook a chase after a kangaroo for an attack on the camp. So he

ordered the soldiers to fire on the crowd, and, as a result, fifty or

more were killed.

This was bad enough, but worse was to come; for escaped convicts began

to rob and murder the natives whenever they could do so. So in time

there began a bush warfare that almost exterminated the poor natives.

Finally, the remnant, about two hundred, were put on a transport and

carried to Flinder Island, where they gradually decreased in number. The

last native died in 1874.

In 1853, the English government ceased to send convicts to the island,

and within a few years afterward the blackest plague spot in the world

became one of the most beautiful colonies on the face of the earth.

Tasmania is far enough south of the tropics to have a much greater

rainfall than most of Australia, but it is not far enough to have a cold

climate. The generous rainfall covers the whole surface with green.

There are forests of eucalyptus, or "gum tree," tree ferns, beech, and

acacia--just about the same kinds that one finds in Australia.

The animals, too, are much the same as in Australia, and some species of

them are pouched, like the opossum. Many of them are now rarely to be

found near the settlements, but one kind is pretty certain to be found

at all times and seasons--the Tasmanian devil. This ugly beast is a

terror to any neighborhood. An English hunter described it by saying

that it was more bear than wildcat, and more wildcat than bear--and

bear-cat it is frequently called. The tiger-wolf is another pest that

makes great havoc among herds and flocks. Still another pest, also

called "devil," has bands of black and white on its neck and shoulders,

a thick heavy tail, and a bulldog mouth. It is a cowardly little night

prowler with a fondness for young lambs.

As was the case in Australia, the success of sheep-growing and the

finding of rich gold-mines put an end to the convict colony. Even before

the mines became profitable the ranchmen were trying to stop the sending

of convicts to the island; but when the gold fields were found, it was

stopped in short order.

Very shortly gold-mining became the leading industry. Then tin ore was

found at Mount Bischoff. Tasmania now produces more tin than all the

rest of Australasia. In addition to the tin and precious metals, there

are great beds of excellent coal--enough for all the smelteries and

manufactories in the island.

Next to the mines the sheep and cattle ranches bring the chief profits

to Tasmania. But another industry is growing and bids fair to become

more profitable than either mining or cattle-growing. The fruit of

Tasmania is of the very finest quality. Moreover, when the fruit is

ripening in an Australasian spring and summer, all England is shivering

in midwinter storms. What better business could there be than to ship

apples and pears fresh from the Tasmanian orchards? Those same apples

can be shipped half-way round the world and sold in England for a lower

price than the apples shipped from Buffalo to New York City!

Then there are the peaches, cherries, and strawberries. They find a

ready market in Australia, a matter of only a few miles away. So in time

Tasmania is bound to be one of the great fruit-growing countries in the

world.

Where once the first convict colony made its camp the beautiful city of

Hobart stands. It is every bit an English town. The business part of the

city consists of fine, substantial buildings; most of the residences are

low-built and half hidden in gardens of roses. The school-houses are as

good as those in any American city of the same size, and the schools

themselves are equal to the best anywhere. Kindergarten, grammar school,

high school, and university are within the reach of all who desire.

It is said that an enterprising man can go to Tasmania, make his fortune

in fifteen years, and return to England rich, to spend the rest of his

days. But why should any one desire to leave such a beautiful island to

spend the rest of his life in London smoke and fog?

CHAPTER XXVII

NEW ZEALAND

By digging at London right through the centre of the earth one would

emerge about a day's ride, in an automobile car, from the capital of New

Zealand--if only the automobile could ride on the water. That is to say,

England and New Zealand are almost exactly opposite each other on the

earth. That is the short way, however, and the trip would be eight

thousand miles. As a matter of fact, the trip by the only available

route is not far from sixteen thousand miles; for, go either east or

west as one may choose, the route from London to New Zealand is a very

roundabout way, and New Zealand is Great Britain's most remote colony.

When Tasman was cruising about the Pacific, or South Sea, he skirted the

coast of the islands. That was in 1642. About one hundred and forty

years afterward Captain Cook called at the islands and annexed them as

an English possession, but the English government refused to take them.

Early in the nineteenth century missionaries brought the Bible to the

native Maoris, and at the same time lawless traders carried liquor and

firearms to those same natives. What was still worse, they kept on

supplying them with liquor and firearms until there were but a few

thousand natives left.

The Maoris are the most remarkable native peoples of the Pacific. They

were not the original people of New Zealand, however, for they drove

away the black race--probably like that of New Guinea--which they found

there. Like the Hawaiians and Fijians, the Maoris came from Samoa about

five centuries ago. Their traditions about their journey are clear and

exact; even the names of the canoes, or barges, in which they made the

journey are preserved in Maori history. First they went to Rarotonga, an

island of the Cook group; then they went to New Zealand.

[Illustration: Maori pa, or village]

Long before white men had settled in New Zealand, the Maoris had made

great advances toward civilization. They had become wonderful carvers in

wood; they were also expert builders, weavers, and dyers. No better

seamen could be found in the Pacific. War was their chief employment,

however, and tribal wars were always going on in some parts or other of

the islands. One may compare them in progress to the tribes of New York

just before the Iroquois confederacy was formed.

Two large and a small island make up the greater part of New Zealand.

North Island is a little smaller than New York State; South Island is a

little larger; Stewart Island is half the size of Rhode Island.

Aside from these, the Chatham, Auckland, and part of the Cook group--in

fact, pretty nearly every outlying group that can be used for cattle and

sheep growing--are included in the New Zealand colony. This industry is

the reason for the existence of New Zealand; it is the great

meat-producing market of Great Britain.

The two largest islands of New Zealand form a great plateau. Mountain

ranges border the edges, and fertile, well-watered lowlands are between

the ranges. The ranges and valleys, together with hundreds of lakes, are

beautiful to the eye; they could not be better for a great grazing

industry. Cook Strait, which separates the two islands, is about sixteen

miles wide at its narrowest crossing.

North Island has several active volcanoes, and likewise one of the three

famous geyser regions in the world. There used to be the Pink-and-White

Terraces also--terraces of brilliant coloring, like those of Yellowstone

Park. But a few years ago Volcano Tarawera had a bad fit of eruption,

and when the eruption was over, Pink-and-White Terraces were covered

many feet deep with lava and ash.

Many of the higher ranges are snow-clad the year round. The New

Zealanders do not need to go half-way round the world to spend the

summer in Switzerland; they have a fine Switzerland at home. Indeed, the

Alps of Europe are not surpassed by those of New Zealand; and as for

glaciers, the great Tasman Glacier cannot be surpassed--twenty miles

long, a mile wide, and no one knows how deep. In South Island some of

the glaciers reach almost to the sea.

[Illustration: The Petrifying Geyser, New Zealand]

There is some wonderful vegetation in New Zealand and nowhere else will

one find a greater variety of ferns. Some of them grow in the form of

trees; some are huge vines; and still others are as fine and delicate as

the maidenhair fern. Some kinds have fine wiry tendrils that are much

used for mattresses and cushions. Another plant looks so much like a

palm that no one ignorant of plants would suspect that it was not a

palm-tree; but as a matter of fact it is a lily.

So many of the forest trees are evergreens, and so abundant is the grass

that at all times of the year the islands are green from the mountain

summits to the sea. Of all the forest trees the kauri pine has been one

of the most valuable--has been, because not many trees are left. The

wood itself is about as easily worked as white pine or California

redwood. What is still better, it is very tough and durable.

But the wood itself is only a part of the wealth of the kauri forests.

The bark is full of gum which, when hard, is much like amber. It makes a

very hard and glossy varnish that commands a high price because of its

good qualities. In places where old kauri forests have existed, digging

kauri gum is a profitable employment. Kauri-gum mining does not require

much capital. A sharp iron rod and a pick are about the only tools

required.

The gatherer goes about thrusting his rod into the earth at intervals of

a few inches. When he "feels" a piece of gum with his rod he needs only

to use his pick to capture it. For many years about a million dollars'

worth of kauri gum was thus obtained each year. The lumps vary in size

from that of a hen's egg to masses weighing several pounds.

There are also some strange animals in New Zealand. One curious creature

is a bird without wings--the kiwi. The species is one of many similar

kinds that lived in Australia and New Zealand ages ago. Their remains

are found in abundance, but the kiwi is the last species now living. It

has a long, sharp bill and hair-like feathers. A full-grown bird is

about the size of a bantam fowl. One of the more beautiful birds is a

dull green parrot, the kea. But the kea is also a wretched pest, for it

has learned how to kill sheep since the sheep-herders came to New

Zealand. The kea darts out of the air, fastens its talons in the side of

the sheep, and quickly makes a gaping hole into the animal's vitals.

Thousands of sheep are thus killed every year.

There are about one million people in New Zealand, and most of them live

on the east side of South Island. That is where the grassy lands are;

and that is why the cattle and sheep are there also. And the people are

there because of the sheep and cattle. New Zealand is one of the

greatest grazing regions in the world, and most of the various

industries in the islands have something or other to do with the

grazing.

In Australia the sheep are grown almost wholly for wool. That is because

climate and grasses are just right for the growth of wool. In New

Zealand the climate and grasses are not very good for wool, but they are

just right for meat, both mutton and beef. So the commerce of beef and

mutton is the chief business of New Zealand.

The meat must go a long way before it reaches the people who consume it;

they live in Great Britain and western Europe. In any case, too, it must

have a long summer trip; for one cannot go from New Zealand to Europe

without crossing the Torrid Zone. Even if the meat were sent from New

Zealand in midwinter it not only has a long trip in the Torrid Zone, but

it gets to Europe in midsummer.

Now, it is very plain that meat cannot be carried for a month or six

weeks on a steamship without preparation. The preparation is very

simple; the meat, after dressing, is frozen and it is kept frozen until

it reaches the people who eat it. There are refrigerating-rooms at the

slaughter-houses, refrigerator cars to the nearest port, and

refrigerator ships to London.

Wool is also one of the important products of New Zealand, but it has a

much coarser and harsher fibre than the fine merino wool of Australia.

As a rule, sheep that are grown for their wool feed on grass; those that

are for mutton get their final feeding on turnips; and all England has

said that turnip-fed mutton is good.

Christchurch, a city of about seventy thousand people, is one of the

great centres of the wool and mutton industry. The city is there because

the great Canterbury Plain is one of the finest grazing regions in the

world. Christchurch is not very old--it was made a city in 1862--but it

has grown pretty vigorously. Its handsome buildings--churches, college,

museum, and school-houses--are as fine as those of any city of the same

size anywhere. The streets are wide and beautifully kept, and electric

railways extend to half a dozen suburbs.

Out in the suburbs are the large meat-freezing establishments. In the

season for export about fifteen thousand sheep are dressed and frozen

daily in the great plants in and around Christchurch.

The freezing-rooms are kept at a temperature of a cold winter night. In

a single plant there may be as many as ten or fifteen thousand carcasses

hanging from great frames, and the walls of the rooms are covered with a

thick coat of ice and frost. In three days from the time the meat is put

into the freezing-room it will be ready for its long journey.

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand; it is likewise the windy port

of the Pacific, for it is in the eye of the "roaring forties," the

strong west wind of the South Temperate Zone. But Wellington has the

harbor, and the harbor has the shipping; and because of this Wellington

is a very rich and prosperous municipality.

On the whole, the New Zealanders have not much cause to envy the people

of other lands. Every man and every self-supporting woman can become the

owner of a homestead; and about one person in every ten has become a

landholder. The government lets them have the land on very easy terms of

payment. Women have the same political rights as are possessed by men.

They can vote, hold public office, and hold property in their own names.

The government has established postal savings banks at which any one may

deposit money; what is equally good, the money is loaned at a small rate

of interest to farmers while they are waiting for their crops. What is

still better, the bank never fails, leaving the depositors to whistle

for their money.

The government owns and operates most of the railways, telegraph lines,

and telephone system. There is good service at a low cost. The

government manages and supports all public schools. Attendance is

compulsory and practically everything is free from the kindergarten to

the university. There are old-age pensions for deserving poor people of

good character; there are likewise prisons for those of criminal

character--and the two are pretty apt to get together. "Bad" trusts and

monopolies have not got the upper hand anywhere in New Zealand and the

government sees to it that they do not. Great Britain appoints a

governor of the colony, but the people elect a legislative council and a

house of representatives.

New Zealand has also something more than productive lands; the colony

has plenty of coal fields, gold-mines, silver-mines, iron ore, and

copper ore. Even if all the rest of the world were closed against this

far-away colony, the New Zealanders could worry along quite well, for

they easily rank among the most prosperous and well-governed people in

the world.