194 Recollections of Adventures 



executive had heard that I had discovered rich gold 

 reefs in the Witwatersrand, and wished me to 

 inform them if this were the case ; as the Volksraad 

 were discussing the necessity of issuing money in 

 the form of Treasury bonds, and that they would be 

 the laughing-stock of Europe, as they had just got 

 the Transvaal given back to them by Mr. Gladstone ; 

 but had not a penny in the exchequer. I admitted 

 that I had found gold ; but that I had not had time 

 to develop the reefs, and that it would greatly 

 interfere with my plans to make our finds public 

 just then ; but after much persuasion, I promised to 

 think it over. He said there was no time to be lost 

 or the Raad would pass the resolution, and the 

 country would be bankrupt and discredited. I stated 

 at that time to the President and members of the 

 executive, and the entire Volksraad assembled in 

 Pretoria to meet me that this was the most exten- 

 sive and continuous gold field yet discovered. We 

 thought at that time (judging by the formation) 

 that there was a certainity of the conglomerate 

 beds going down at least 500 feet we now know 

 that 2,000 feet has not probed their depth. I insert 

 a report from a Pretoria paper which is as follows : 



" On the morning of the 5th June 1885, in the 

 presence of His Hon. the President, the Chairman, 

 and the members of the Volksraad, and a number of 

 the townspeople of Pretoria, Mr. H. W. Struben of 

 " The Willows," exhibited gold quartz of great rich- 

 ness, taken from a lode traversing the Witwaters- 

 rand, in the Pretoria district. The gold, (which was 

 visible to the naked eye) permeated the quartz, and 

 the result of some trials, made by some persons in 

 the presence of the audience, was extraordinary. A 

 button of gold and silver, smelted out of quartz by 

 Mr. W. E. Dawson (who had also made some of the 



