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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1908)
i 3 f9iMts ft I -r -av --? -.hm f"'t'yhM A r s -y - ,Ji,x - v - - a f K irnV i. r, t I ll':4:wKM ' fcv lift ; 4 rr:. Kv' V- vr-i; . rVi I BV FRANK . CARPENTER. BRITISH EAST AFRICA has an American Aladdin. He comes from rSt. Louis, and, 'like ' his prototype of Bagdad, in the days of Haroun AI Raschld, he has created a great estate In a night. He has rubbed the golden lamp of his fortune, and the genii who serve It have chopped down the jungle and fenced In the wilds. A year a'go all was a wilderness. Now 20,000 acres are under his pastoral or agricultural control, and many miles of wire fences have gone up about It. He has erected etables for hundreds of horses and ponies, has a dairy supplied by over 100 cows, and a magnificent bungalow home, with electric lights, ice-making machines and the other comforts which the nabobs of sL Louis must love. All this In one of the wildest parts of the Black Continent where antelope are as thick as sheep In Ohio, where there are more zebras than there are cows In Kentucky, where the gnus are more numerous than horses in Virginia, and . where the lion still roars night after night and the leopard lies In wait for his prey. The estate Itself teeme with wild animals; and it is one of the great private game preserve of the world. A Pike County Millionaire. The man I refer to is Mr. William N. MacMlllan, of Missouri. I have called hirn a Pike County millionaire, al though I am not sure that he comes from Pike. Like all Missourians, he usually registers from St. Louis. He ie about 33 years old, is dark complex ioned, tall, straight and fine looking, and he weighs, I judge, about 170 pounds. He is a man of culture as well as a man of muscle and enterprise, and he is also evidently a man of great wealth. He has already spent a fortune on his African estate, and I am told that he is now putting out from 160,000 to $100,000 a year in im provements. He is supposed by the citizens here to be worth some tens of millions of dollars and to have an in come running into the hundreds of thousands a year. As to these things, however, I know only from hearsay. Mr. MacMillan is a modest man, and when I took tea with him at his. city home here In Nairobi the other day I did not feel , at liberty to ask him personal questions. Indeed, a large part of the informa tion which I give in this letter con cerning his farm and his operations comes from other sources, although considerable cropped out in our chat about farming, Landholding and big game hunting on this great African plateau. The Juja Kancli. The name of Mr. MacMIllan's big ranch is the Juja farm. I see a post ing notice concerning It In the Nairobi Globe Trotter of this week, stating that its boundaries are unmistakable, that shooting is absolutely prohibited and that trespassers, will be prose cuted. The farm lies right in the heart of the big game country. It is on the Athi plains more than a mile above the sea, in a region which Is high and healthy. The Juja ranch is bounded by three rivers, and is now surrounded by a wire fence. Inside the fence are thou sands of antelopes, great droves of zebras and a large number of gnus, or wilde beeste, which are a combina tion between a horse and a cow and are of the antelope species. There are also rhinos and hippos unnumbered. The hippopotamuses infest the lands along the rivers, and these streams are also Inhabited by crocodiles. The other day Mrs. MacMillan's favorite terrier attempted to swim a creek not far from the house, and was gobbled up by a crocodile. A day or two before that a rhinoceros attacked one of the ctsroes who was hoelnsr thu lettuce JilSSflfA if .-' iw' r -fl- i -K v,"f i i in i ii ! ii ii wrtt i ' v i -ft if'd fj V,:7. V 17A I I i - .. ,. - , . . Ui tT, a In the garden and damaged bim con siderably, and every now and then a hippopotamus from the swamps of the Atiy River breaks in and has a meal off the peanuts or sweet potatoes. The amount that, these animals eat is not so great, but they tramp over the gar den, crushing the vegetables into mush with their giant feet, and they are apt to wallow in the flowers. A Palace in a Wilderness. I don't suppose I ought to call Mr. MacMillan's country home a palace. It would not be one in London, Paris, Washington-or Berlin, but it is certainly pala tial In tliis land where, until -within a dozen years ago, there were nothing but mud huts thatched with straw, and where the natives are still conspicuous by their nudity. The home is a low bungalow, painted in a cool green and white, with wide halls, spacious verandas and long, easy chairs all whispering comfort to the saddle-tired hunter who may have just come In chased by a lion or from a long hunt on the plains. The house itself was imported from England In sections, the material being brought 30 miles by oxen over flooded . rivers through almost im passable swamps, and through a country filled with wild beasts. This is so also of the furniture, the wall papers and the beautiful engravings and books, and also of the modern farm imiricments of vari ous kinds which are now used on the es tate. The same is true of the machinery of the pumping station and electric light plant, which are down near the river and carry light and water to all the buildings on the homestead. The structures in clude an engine-house and rooms 'for dy namos, storage cells and an ice chamber. The Dairy ahd Its Ilundi'etl Cows. In talking with me, Mr. MaeMillan said he had now 100 milch cows in his dairy. Each gives only a gallon, of milk a day, but the milk is almost pure cream, and far richer than that of our American cows. Mr. MacMillan tells me that he is now making a groat deal of butter and that the most of It finds a ready market in Nairobi. "He speaks confidently of the future of -British East Africa as a dairy ing country, saying that the grass is rich in f its butter-producing qualities, and prophesying that this colony will some day export butter to India, South Africa and London. Mr. MacMillan's dairy on the Juja ranch Is a wonder to the people here. It Is equipped as well as any of the cowhouses belonging to our millionaires of the United States. Its fittings are of white enamel; it has a boiler for Sterilizing the utensils," a steam separator with white enamel fit tings and everything is managed in the most sanitary way. On one side of the dairy is a bacon room containing flitches and hams, and down on a marshy bend of the river nearby are piggeries, in which are swine of all sizes, fattened on the re fuse milk. Stables and Their Abyssinian Ponies The Juja stables have quarters for 100 horses and ponies, with box stalls and all other conveniences. The floors are paved and drained and the loose boxes . are netted against mosquitoes, which during the rainy season are death to horses in this part of the world. Outside the sta bles are chicken runs and not far from them are a large number of farm wagons lately imported from Wisconsin for use on the estate. Among the animals used for draft are Bombay mules and East In dian oxen, both of which seem to thrive here. Mr. MacMillan has recently brought in about 100 ponies and mules from Abys sinia. He has altogether 600 cattle, having just began to stock the ranch. His cattle have humps on their backs; they are de scendants of the sacred bulls of India, but he is now importing Hereford and Guern sey bulls to improve the breed. The Question of Lubor. In my talk with Mr. MacMillan I asked him as to the African natives as an avail able tabor supply. He says they do. well, "d that the wages paid average about THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 23, 1908 HeH l Acres Antelopes and Gnus . J1.33 a month per man. He has about ten white foremen and something like 700 Hin dus, Somalfs, Masai and other native Africans. The Masai are a stock-rearing people and they are valuable upon the ranches, as they know how to care for cattle.. Theywill do nothing In the. way of cultivation or other hard labor. The Waklkuyu, on the other hand,- are fond of farming, and can use the hoe fairly well. Such men as are working away from their own country have to be fed; but this costs only about 75 cents a month over their pay. Those who are employed from the tribes nearby and are allowed to go home every night, feed themselves. Most of the farmers here use African or Indian servants. The Somalfs are good boys and: the Swahilis are in great demand.- The wages of a fairly good house boy are about 10 cents a day and his food. The better class cooks, however, some times get as much as $13 a month, and such wages are rising. Domesticating the Zebra. There are great droves of zebras, run ning about oer the wilder parts of Mr. MacMillan's big farm. He permits n'o shooting upon it by strangers, and as a result these animals are remarkably tame considering their character and locality. After the farm is in good running or der, an attempt will be made to domesti cate the zebra, and experiments in cross breeding will be carried on. Indeed, this has already been attempted here and there throughout the country and espe cially at the. Government argrloultural farm at Naivasha Lake between here and Uganda. I have gone through Naivasha and the wild zebra about there look fine and healthy. It is different with the tamel ones on the government farm. The ex periment was begun in 1904, when 100 head were brought, in from the wilds. They fell off, one by one, being attacked by parasites and disease, and the ex periment is now considered a failure. The Secretary of Agriculture says that he has great hopes from the zebra colts born in captivity, and thinks they may eventually be handled like donkeys and horses. As to the wild zebras, he says it is impos sible to take them from the plains and use them for farm animals, and he ad vises the settlers that-oxen and mules are better and cheaper. A wild zebra never becomes docile and the natives cannot possibly handle it. The colts. If treated kindly, seem to change their .nature, and I have seen zebras driven about hitched to carriages and spring wagons, and in some places even ridden by natives. How to Break the Zebra. I have before me the report made by the farmer in charge of the government ranch giving his conclusions as to zebra training. - After saying that the animals need a' wide range he tells how. he broke five zebra stallions, after they had been haltered and stabled for more than a year. He says that one of these was sav age to ferocity and unsafe to approach in the stall or outside. The others he hitched up to an old military wagon, using a set of mule harness reversed, with the breeching acting as the breast collar, and with rope tugs. It took him one. whole month before he could run a pair of these zebras together, and six weeks before a good team could be de pended upon. After that they went fair ly well. He worked them for several weeks hauling brush and wood, and at the end ther became thiri. They would eat only grass, and turned up their noses at bran-and corn. They were good pull ers and strong. Shortly after turning them out on pasture they picked up and grew fat once more. One of the jchief troubles of keeping the zebras In captivity Is that they be come Infected with worm's and parasites of various kinds. Old settlers, who un derstand the country, say that the zebra has these same parasites when he runs as 20,000 Swarming With wild on the plains, but that he knows certain plants and grasses which are an tidotes for. them and seeks them out and eats them. This keeps him inhealth, notwithstanding the parasites. When in captivity such, wide ranging is not pos sible, he can not find his medicine and as a result grows sick and dies. Big Farms in Africa.. The farm of Mr. MacMillan which I have described is one of the big es tates which are springing up here on the high African plateau. There are a number 'of the kind, and the papers are rilled with warnings to hunters that they must' not shoot upon these large properties. The division of the land into big holdings, through favor itism or in other ways, is creating a great deal of comment, and It is de nounced by the smaller settlers. Among the big estates are those of Lord Hind1 lip. who has over 100,000 acres; of the East African syndicate, which - has 500,000 square miles, or 320,000 acres, and of Lord Delamare, who has 100,000 acres and more. Lord Delamare's es tate. Is 7000 feet above sea' level, and the equator runs through it. 'He has already 1000 acres under cultivation, and has stocked his pastures' with 8000 native sheep and 600 imported "Merinos. He has also Imported rums: and 200 Ryland-crossed native lambs. He is experimenting In cattle rearing, and has a herd of 17,000 native head, in cluding 800 oxen. He has 14 Short horns and a number of Herefo'rds. He has also a model dairy. Other farm ers are bringing In European stock for breeding purposes. There is a settler not far from Nairobi who has recently imported 30 Merino rams and 100 Mer ino ewes. This man is also engaged in dairying, and has several fine Guern sey buHs. Xo Plnce for Poor .Americans. There Is one thing I should like to Bay about British East Africa: It Is no place for poor Americans, and the poor Englishman who can do well here la a wonder. The land seems to be good, and it can be bought, comparatively cheap; but everything is far from the markets, and all imports are high. Labor is ex ceedingly low. A native can often be em ployed for 6 to 10 cents a day, and hun dreds work for 3 cents a day. But It is difficult to control them, and the con ditions are impossible for the ordinary American farmer who has but little money and relies largely on his muscle and brains. The British East African government advises no one to come to the country unless he has at least $1500, and it says he should have $5000 to do well. The cost of land ranges from 66 cents to $1.30 an acre, according to whether it is near or far from the rail road. This is for farm lands. Pastures can be bought for as low as 30 cents an acre and homesteads of 160 acres, with the right of preempting 4S0 acres more, can be purchased by installments, spread over 16 years. The right of preemption lapses at the end of three years, if 48 acres out of the 160 have not been cultivated. As a 'general thing the government will not grant more than 5000 acres to any one man, although 10,000 acres may be ac quired by special arrangement. It would take about 3000 sheep to stock 1000 acres of good grazing land; and the government estimates that the capital neetfed to start with 500 sheep and 29 cows would be in the neighborhood of $3000. Dissatisfied Settlers. As it is now the settlers who have taken up small holdings are dissatis fied with the prospects. This country is a world of undeveloped possibilities, and if it were thrown open," as was our great West, each man being given 160 acres out right and aided as Canada is now aid ing its settlers, the land would soon be mw&mi WW35 si Zebras .taken up and a considerable white popula tion would result. As it is now rnoet of the best tracts along the railroad are in the hands of English nabobs, and the hundreds of comparatively poor men who fame here from South Africa at the close of the Boer war ' have left. Nevertheless there is no reason why-this should not some day be a white man's country, settled by white men- Every where above 5000 feet the climate is healthy, and at 8000 feet ice Is usually seen in the early morning. A great part of the highlands has a good rainfall, and Unconventional Publicity Methods of Idaho Candid Catechism Over Best Plan for Advertising the Resources of a Western State. HAT did Idaho do with that $104, 000? . She spent It advertising.' What, spend it advertising the money appropriated to prosecute the assassins of Governor Stounenberg? Tes. IMdn't the lawyers get pay? Yes. , Didn't the detectives get some of -It? Yes, they got a good-sized chunk of it. What do you mean by "advertising," then? That Idaho is the best advertised state in the Union today. All coming from this Steunenberg case? Ko, not all of it, but the greater part of it. What is the result of so much adver tising? People 'are getting off the trains every where in Idaho and they buy property before they get back on the. trains to go on West. Do you really think they are doing much of that? A great deal of it and more since our latest advertising. Are not people afraid to stop In a state where they kllKtheir Governor? It doesn't look like 'it from the im mense sales In Idaho that are just now being made, and besides Idaho people did not kill the Governor. What other source of advertising has Idaho? Every town has Its commercial club or board of trade. What of that? Every commercial club or board of trade has out a little book. What of that? Every one of these little books tell the same tale. What do they tell? They all say: "This town is the Magic City or the Hummer City or the com ing center." Do they think they can make people think that every place is the coming hub of the state? Every wheel has a hub. , Are you any better fixed in Idaho than Oregon or Washington? No. What makes you think Idaho is get ting an advantage over us, then? We never said anything about advan tage over you or any one else. Is Idaho building any railroads? Two transcontinental lines will open new territory in Idaho within one year. What of that? You ax Uly. m-mllM III 1 almost any kind of crop cemmon to the temperate zone will grow. Farther down near the' coast patches of cotton have been planted, and are yielding 300 to 400 pounds of lint to the acre. I have already spoken of the coffee plantations about Nairobi. I am told there are also good coffee lands on the slopes of Mount Kenia. Some tobacco farms have been set out along the Ramisl River, and veg etables are now being raised here for Why, silly? Markets, man, markets. See what that will do for the state? Do you advertise on the trains? A man entering the state on the east has forty little books put In his hands before he gets to Huntington, Oregon. He is not going to quickly purchase property. Is he? Quicker than a wink, sometimes. Don'tyou think they recall the as sassination of your Governor? Not, one man In ten thousand ever recalls the incident. You suppose really now. on the square, tiiat Oregon loses out by the hard work you Idahoans are doing to show what you have over there? Oregon dues not need to lose out if she .uses her printer's ink. Where are you going to get this $104,000? We already had it. " Did not some Eastern bonding concerns refuse to bid on Canyon County bridge bonds for no other reason than that Idaho was broke? Yes, I think somebody said they did. What does that look like? Looks like a pretty thorough system of advertising. The kind you want, think you? It's as good as any. Don't you think it will keep people out of Idaho? Not a bit of it. You say they never recall the assassi nation of Steunenberg? They, every one, think of it, of course, but not in the sense you had in mind a moment ago when you asked about it. Why didn't you convict the men when you had air this money to spend? We couldn't. Why? There you are. silly again. What are the Socialists doing in Idaho? Distributing their papers by the hun dred thousands and making a convert every six hours. Four a' day, you suppose? Just about. That's 1400 per annum, you ' remember. That's about the figure. Does that advertise the good qualities of Idaho? Yes, that sort is O. K., so far as Idaho is interested- Now, on the square, how are values in Idaho? The entire State of Idaho is held at present to be just about twice the value it was held at two years since. Will the Assessor's roll show it? No. Why? You are silly again. BlIlTiHWMTM f III UTI i i VI ,1 f I nft lltf i lft '""A V . Mombasa and the other ports farther. down the coast. The people hope to rais European vegetables for South Africa, and it is their idea that they will event ually export meat to that country. The greatest obstacles now in sight are the. insect pests and animal diseases, but theyj will probably be conquered, and these! vast plains, which are now supporting j thousands upon thousands of antelopes.) zebras, gnus and other wild animals, wiil eventually be teeming with cattle and. sheep. Nairobi. British East Africa. Js property moving in Idaho? Every town, nearly, is developing, rapidly; some, of course, more rapidly1 than others. How about the. farm lands? Three years since all the land In the, state could have been purchased for! about half what It is selling for to-! day. Do you tell the passengers on the I trains this story? Yes. ' And they will stop off in the face' of it? Yes, and buy property right along.' How Is that? We have "Try-to-get-the-old-place-back" clubs in Idaho. What are they? They are the fellows who are trying to get the old place back for twice what they sold it for three years since. Can they do It? Sometimes they do, and sometimes ' they don't. What other kinds of clubs have you in Idaho? We have men standing around point ing to certain corner lots and certain tracts, saying, "Two years ago I could have bought that for half what it sold for yesterday." We don't know what to call this club yet. Is everything on the square in Idaho? No, not everything, of course. What's wrong? There are some Irrigation schemes that are fakes. What are you doing with them? Turning them over to Uncle Sam for a spanking. What about this old sore we hear so much of nowadays that the state capital is going to move away from Boise? ' That's dead In Idaho now. We don't want to move the capital. Who would get It if you did move it? Probably Moscow, probably Caldwell and even Nampa still looks that way. Idaho don't have a iSig city, does she? Not ret. Do ydn people look for one? Y'es, before long the die will be cast Where, will the city be? Silly again, aren't you? Suppose it is admitted that there is room for a good city between Salt Laka and Portland, where will it be? Barring the fact that Baker City might get It, which is not likely on account of. Baker being in Oregon, when the city; would noturally take place in Idaho, wav think it will be at the point of junction.; Short Line and the North and Southi road, and if Boise should get that, of1 course Boise et3 the 75,000 city.
