The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-11-01
Londoa Spectator.

LoHdoa Spectator.
Until within little more than ten wears
ago, an "Ethiop" on his native soil dcsi.
rous of wearing fair jewel In his ear
would have had to import the bauble
and at much later date, the cclonists of
Queensland and New South Wales be-
heved that Nature, in the storing of her
treasu.o.housee out of their way, had
drawn the line at gold. IN all the riches
OF tne eart:i had English territory share,
except In those mitch. priced things which
have inspired fancies and fables from the
beginning of all records of fancy and of
fable. The diamond had hitherto yielded
un its peerless nrccic,,sness in Indian
mines and in Brazilian gravel.beds-
where in early times the men who. In
washing gold, found tn sparkling stones,
threw them away, or Ut ed them as card
markers-in the Ural mountains (where
the earth was also bountiful of emenld,)
and in Borneo. or these treasure. boards
India's were
THE MOST ANCIENT AND RICH,
and the most industriously rihed. When,
IN !727, Bernasdino Fonseca Lobo, who
had seen rough diamonds in India, took
a number of the pretty card markers from
Aiinas-Geraes to Portugal for sale, the
European merchants, frightened lest the
discovery should cause fall in the price
OF the gems in their possession, declared
that Brazilian diamonds" were only the
refuse OF the Indian stones, forwarded to
Goa, and thence to Brazil. No inani-
mate article of commerce in the world
has inspired more cruelty and tyranny,
or occasioned more misery, than the dia-
mond and, if among the animate the
horse rivals it as q suggester of subtle
swindling, it barely does so. The very
fairies cannot help cheating in precious
stones how, then, should mere mortal
merchants? So the dealers, having the
ear of the acknowledging world, pooh
hoohed and discTedited Brazil; where.
upon the Portuguese cut their human
fellow diamonds deeply by sending the
BRAZILIAN stonee 20 Goa, and thence to
Bengal, where they were offered for sale
as Indian gems, and fetched Indian pri-
ces. This was 9 very neat transaction,
pending the establishment of the "Dis.
mentina" as remunerative fact demon
strated by slave labor.
SOME REMARKABLE STORIES
are connected with the discovery of dia-
monds in Brazil, 80 much regretted BY
the Marquis de Pombal, who vainly en-
deav0red TO arrest the evil by forbidding
search in the Province of Bahia BRAZIL
ian diamonds were known at first as "Ba-
has on the plea that agriculture would
snher from the diversion of industry.
We find these stories in Mr.. Streeter's
valuable work on "Precions Stones" in
which every branch of his faecinatiDg
subject is made interesting. The discov-
cry of diamonds in Bahia was in this
wise: "a cunning slave from Minas-
Geraes, keeping his masters hocks in
Bahia, observed similarity between the
soil of his native place and that of Bahia.
He sought therefore in the sand, and soon
found 700 -cafats offdiamonds. = Fleeing
from his master, lie carried these with
him, and offered them for sale in dis
tant city. Such wealth in the lands of
a slave caused him to be arrested, bit he
would not betray himself. The master,
to whom he was given up, tried to get at
his secret by cunning, but without avail,
until he thought Of restoring him to his
former occupation, in Bahia, and watch
ing him." A year afterwards % 900
people were digging diamonds there
(eighty miles long by forty broad.) and
at the rate Ss ,z50 SaFass day.
DREADFUL MIsEkY, .rs
ensued on the discovery of the "Dia.
mond Rivers" The government wanted
to secure O monopoly of tho new-found
wealth to the Crown, and so the dwellers
on the rivers banks were driven from
their homes 70 distant wilds and despoiled
of all they possessed. Mature seemed
to take part s,against them : dreadful
drouth, succeeded by violent earth
quake, increased their distress. Many of
them perished, but those who lived to
return, on May l8, 1906, were beneyo-
lently reinstated in their rightful posses
sions. Strange to say. ON their return,
the earth seemed strewh With Diamonds.
After shower, the children used to find
gold in the streets, and in the brooks
which traversed them. Oftsp the little
ones would bring in, three or four carats
of diamonds a negro found diamond
at the root Of vegetable in his garden,
and poultry, in picking up thoir food,
took up diamonds constantly.n Esop
thus improved upon, in the snllness OF
time we find Sindbad' parodied. IN 1858
the child of Dutch farmer named 'Ja
cobs, settled at the Cape, amused hiniseli
by collecting pretty pebbles on the banks
Of the neighDoying river, and picked un
specimen which attracted his mothers
'attcntion, SO that she showed it 20 one
Setback, van Niekirk, who was curious in
aiich matters. He;wes, puzzled about IL
nature, and offered to buy it, but Mrs
Jacobs laughed at this offer and gave
him the pebble, which afterwards passed
carelessly through two. intervening pairl
of hands before Il reached-in gummed
envelope and unregistered-Dr. Ather.
stone, OF Graham's Town, an exy1lieni
| minefalogist. This gehtleman, HAVING
examined its physical character and ties,
! ted its degree of hardness and density
, and its behavior when subjected to opti
cal tests by means of polarized lights,
: PRONOUNCED IT TO BE DIAMOND.
. This is the stone which was examined By
savans of oil nations during the Parii
Exhibitions in 1857, and purchased at the
close Of it BY Sir Philip Wodehouse fol
9500. In 1870 Mr.. Streeter's Diamond
Expedition party were exploring the
| Transvhal far and wide. and asceFtaininr
facts which complete our knowledge o.
. the new wocder of the world, Amid dry
, geological letails, charming touches o.
l anecdote and adyenture crop mp, like -ths
gems themselves from the gravel ant
tl:SS. quartz; and great solitary. jewels
Hike the nStnart" and itifa LfD6dley,
: emerge and take their places in history
with the Sancy, the Pitt, the Great Mo
I. gul, the Hope Brilliant, and many anoth
!. er bright bauble, blood.and.tear-staine
l The Transvsai, our new territory, 10 Sind
: hafa Vallev In prospect. and tile Origin
= of the most celebrated group of dry dig