THE TRANSVAAL. 165 



avoided by the horses or mules of travellers, 

 generally proves fatal. Indeed, in 1887, which was 

 the last time I visited Pretoria, nearly every stabled 

 horse in the town died, although at an altitude of, 

 I believe, about 4,000 feet above the sea-level. 

 How horse-owners have fared since I know not 



The rapid development of the gold fields at 

 Johannesburg and elsewhere is one of the 

 historical events of the age, and if the output 

 continues to increase at the rate it has hitherto 

 done, these gold mines will rank as the most 

 productive in the world at no distant date. There 

 is, indeed, little fear of any falling-off in the 

 quantity of gold for an indefinite time, as the 

 auriferous area still untouched is simply immense. 

 Continued success is, however, mainly dependent 

 on an uninterrupted supply of cheap Kaffir labour, 

 in default of which most of the mines would have 

 to " close down," and a case exemplifying the 

 theory of the " survival of the fittest " would soon 

 become the order of the day. Meanwhile there is 

 little apparent cause for much fear on these 

 grounds. These gold mines are entirely worked 

 by companies, and as there is no alluvial deposit, 

 they are wholly unsuitable for the working miner 



