296 Men, Mines, and Animals in South Africa. 



syndicate of the Exploration Company, of London, 

 is found to be of a width of two feet and a half at 

 a depth of fifty feet. Samples taken at this depth 

 were assayed to yield, from the Alice shaft, twenty- 

 one pennyweights to the ton ; from the Susanna, 

 thirty- three pennyweights. The reef is probabl}^ 

 too narrow to supply any large stamp battery, but 

 in view of the fact that nearly every reef in this 

 part of Mashonaland has " pinched out " or become 

 poor in quality on going down, it was satisfactory 

 and encouraging to come across one reef which at 

 a respectable depth held its ovm. On the follow- 

 ins; mornino; at daybreak Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Borrow, 

 and I, rode eight miles through some very beautiful 

 hill country, to inspect the " Yellow Jacket " reef. 

 This reef is very characteristic of the auriferous 

 deposits in ]\Iashonaland vet discovered. The out- 

 crop is seen to ascend, run along the top of, and 

 descend a long kopje with the utmost regularity, 

 and this, tested along a length of fifteen hundred 

 feet, gave samples of the most promising quality. 

 These were assayed to yield from two ounces up to 

 as much as sixty ounces to the ton. It was as fine 

 a gold mining prospect as could be found. Alas ! 

 the sinking of two shafts disclosed the mortifying- 

 fact that at a very small depth the quartz became 

 poor, and seriously diminished in c[uantity. A 

 comparatively large sum of money had been put 

 down for the purchase of this reef, and the dis- 

 appointment of the investor, who reasonably 

 supposed that he had secured one of the finest gold 

 mines in the world, was as great as can be imagined. 



