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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
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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.
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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.