NEW ELDORADO.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 19 September 1901, Page 4

NEW ELDORADO.

Major Burnham’s Discoveries in West Africa.

Famous Scout’s Story,

Major Burnham, the famous American scout who helped Lord Roberts in the Transvaal war, has returned to London after six mouths’ gold seeking in the swamps and jungles of West Africa. His stories of the strange lands into which he penetrated in the Gold Coast hinterland and the gold mines he discovered, showing traces of having been worked a. thousand years ago, read like a second edition of “King Solomon’s Mines.”

• The little pathfinder was looking just a trifle thinner and browner for his trip when he described his adventures to a “Daily Mail” representative recently. Only one other white man accompanied him —his brother-in-law, Mr J. C. Blick, and they set out together on their 1200 miles march through jungle and scrub, with a long line of native bearers trailing behind them.

“My expedition was undertaken,” said Major Burnham, “to find the northern limits of the West African goldfields. As a result of my explorations I am no longer astonished that the Guinea coast furnished the principal supply of gold for the whole world for hundreds of years, until the great finds of California and Australia wore made.

When you get away from the fever ridden coast the country is undulating and well wooded, with none of that terrible undergrowth that characterises the coast line. There are huge tracks of land like immense parks, with forests and deep smooth flowing streams.

The.white man can stand the climate easily. He may get a touch of fever now and again, but we were only down with malaria cme day each the whole time we were awav.

A Depopulated Land. “ One of the most amazing things was to see a stretch of country larger than Ireland absolutely destitute of inhabitants. It was the scene of one of King Bamory’s gigantic slave raids, and the whole of the population had been killed or driven away. Hundreds of human skulls, bleached by the burning sun, told a tale of terrible slaughter. “ Hundreds of miles up the hinterland I discovered ancient gold mines, with thousands of pits. In some of tnese places mining is still going on in a primitive way, without the use of explosives or any moder. tools. The reefs when worked, are crushed by beating the quartz with quartz. I went to West Africa believing the one insurmountable obstacle to successful mining was the difficulty of transport, for to carry machinery on negroes’ heads is child’s play, and the Government railways are too slow for anyone in this generation.

But the problem is solved by the navigation of the Volta river. It is a river confined between permanent banks and free from sand bars. Two miles of railway round one rapid will make it navigable for 500 miles from the sea. I hope soon to see a fleet of river boats, stern wheelers like those on the Nile, at work with light railways bringing the ore to the steamers from the various mines round the Volta’s banks.

As to my adventures, I had none but Mr Blick can tell you some good stories about hippo shooting. As a rule the hippopotamus moves away when' the hunter comes on the scene, . but up the Volta they were mighty fierce. Une day Mr Blick shot eleven. One of them charged his native canoe. It was an exciting moment. The slightest miscalculation would have found us in the swirling waters at the mercy of the hippo: but he did not miss and it was all right. I think the most wonderful thing out there is to see how England maintains her Empire. Away in the wilderness I have come across a couple of white men with a handful of Kansas ruling half a dozen tribes of wild savages. But they are bolding down a stake on the Empire’s boundary, and they are content to hang on so that some day the man of commerce may deveiopo the resources of the country.