The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-04-05
Life in the Diamond Fields.

who has resided for two years in the dia.
mond fields Of South Africa, lectured, a
few nights ago, in New York, before the
Geological Society. Leaving England in
one of the regular Cape mail steamers,
and stopping on the way at Madeira, As
cension and st. Helena, he was in due
course landed in Table Bay, and from
Cape Town, fine city of 10000 iDhabi-
tants, started out across the intervening
desert to reach the diamond fields, $50
miles off, in an eight horse wagon, which
carried fourteen passengers and all their
travelling chattels. This road has now
been abandoned, the routes to the mines
being by Port Elizabeth or Port Natal, on
the east coast. The journey from any of
these places is made by horse and mule
convey ances, and in its general particulars
may be described as much resembling the
same thing through the Territories in by
gone times, or even at the present day.
A traveller, named O'Reilly, stopped
one night at Beers house. He found
the children playing with pebble that
looked like diamond. He bought it for
trifie, the Boer saying that if it
was diamond they could get plen-
ty more, and took it away He
sold it at the Cape for 5000
He bought another from negro
which he sold for $4,000, and then the
natives began to search for these stones
where they had previously seen them !;
the white men heard of their success, and
then the rush began. One mine after
another, all in the same neighborhood,
was found, and round each mine city
sprung up. The last, and that which is
the center of the diamond trade, is Kim
berlcy. This city has 10000 population
five churches. two theatres, banks, hotel.
and other buildings. In general charac-
teristics it resembles frontier city, ex-
cept that its streets are filled with carts
carrying earth away from the diggings
and with numbers of Caffirs, who come
in 70 work at the mines, all the labor be-
ing done by negroes. The negroes are of
very superior class to those of the
Southern States of America, and the
Caffirs are the finest of them all. These
men will only work for short periods, to
enable them to buy ammunition and arms.
II ey are good tempered and kind, and
wear only such clothing as they can pick
up, such, for instance, as a discarded
paper collar, hat, an odd boot, or
soldiers coat, when they can get one.
The speaker gave graphic and minute
account of the manner in which the mines
we're worked. The diamonds are found
in aconglomerate which is dug up from
that which by digging has become mud
dy-bedded canyon. The claims are at the
bottom of this, and thousands of wire
ropes connect the claims to the surface
and carry up the baskets of conglomerate
to be washed out This canyon is 200 feet
deep and / 900 feet across. Descending
into this, speech becomes difficult from
the noise of the workers voices and the
whir of the wheels hauling the buckets
up along the wire ropes. Up to the end
of 1876 $S5 200, 600 of diamonds had been
taken out, besides those taken home by
miners and others, so not coming into the
market. The work is all done by negroes
overlooked by white man, the negroes
getting five dollars week and beef and
tobacco. The negroes, when they can,
steal the diamonds, secreting them in
their ears, mouth, and even working all
day with one or more secreted between their
toes. People at Kimberley believe that the
trade will not cease but should the hard pan
be reached the mines would be quickly
flooded, and the whole thing there would
be over. Life at the mines is peaceable.
Revolvers are not carried, law issupreme,
and any violence speedily punished.
Mining is now most successfully carried
on by those who have little capital
Very large fortunes are not made, but nu-
merous small fortunes are. All the TIM
Der and iron used there, as we'll as all
furniture and the greater part of the pro-
visions, are brought up by team from the
seaports. The Cape diamond is not al
ways yellow diamond, as supposed,
there being white diamonds, pink and
brown diamonds found there, but not the
pure carbon or black diamond of Brazil
and India. The speaker described the
bursting of diamond frequently spoken
of. When first taken out speck is seen
in it; ii is laid aside, and in the morning
it is in fragments. The miners keep It
in water or oil generally until they can
find greenhorn to sell it to, the bursting
being caused by the disappearance Of
some moisture contained in the stone.