The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-11-02

The DIAMOND FEyER.--A California miner
who emigrated to the Cape of Good Hope
in August last, writes q letter to the Aha
California from the diamond fields of South
Africa, in which he relates the following ex-
perience: 1--WE left Colesburg on the 1st of
July, and arrived at the headquarters of the
diamond fields on the 5th-2OO miles We
found plenty of grass and bush for the ami
mails, but water was scarce, and at several
farms we had to pay one shilling for
water for ourselves and stock; this
water had been collected in q kind of
hole formed by damming up ravine or de-
preston in the plain: the dams are filed dur
ing the rainy season, and last through the
dry season. The road is excellent all the
way from Colesburg to the diamond fields
Arrived at the diamond fields, a Californian
scene of early days presented itself. The
river was lined with rockers, tents and
miners of all kinds, color, sex, and size, for
mile on both sides At least 800 miners were
at work, whole families, men, women, and
children, having left their homes, either in
the Transvaal republic, Orange Free State, or
Cape Colony. The men were picking, shovel
ing, and washing the dirt, while the women
and children were sitting around tables and
sorting the pebbles that have been washed,
for diamonds. Before crossing the Vaal
river, we applied to Mr.. Kallenburg, the
missionary, for permission to dig on
the Pruel Farm, but he refused, as
we were strangers to him. He only
allows those whom he knows to mine on
the estate, and he makes them give him one
fourth of the proceeds of their finds There
were about 200 people on the estate when we
arrived, and they had found, on an average,
about twenty-five diamonds day of from !
to > carats each; no large diamonds had been
found on this estate up to the time of our
arrival hut Gauaral baya haar found CT
one of 10 carats, one of II carats, and one of
43 carats. We crossed the river on the 9TH of
July, and camped for the night near the
headquarters tent. On the 9th we signed the
Miners Rules and picked out our claims
twenty feet square for each partner. We
took claim on the third capie, or hill down
the river; the first capie is where the Naal
and King Williamstown parties took out 172
diamonds from triangular space of
about fifty PAGES in crcumfer-
ence, and from six inches to twenty
four inches in depth. Other parties had
taken at least $50 diamonds from near this
triangle, on the same capie. The second capie
had proved rich since, and about 100 dia-
monds had been taken out from it, The third
capie had just been opened, and about twenty
diamonds had been taken from it up to the
time of our arrival. At the first capie the
diamonds were from ! to 10, 3Oand 40 carats:
at VIC eeoOnu iioiA W =, ~, 20 anu %
carats, and from the third from ! to G, 10 and
Is ca1ats. saw 80 diamonds belonging to
the King Wllliamstown wn party from to 3, D.,
9 and 305 carats, the lot valued at eGOOO
The Natal party have a 4O-carat diamond
worth G9j00. They obtained 52 in all, but
larger than the other parties, and the
value of the lot is about G20, 900. We found
about 600 miners on this side; they had
elected commandant (Mr. Parker, who was
formerly trader), and a Committee of
Safety, consisting of twelve miners.