Litchfield enquirer., 1878-08-08

How DIAMONDS WERE FOUND IN SOUTH Ar RIoA.-The modern. discovery of diamonds came about in this wise: In 1867 certain John O'Reilly, trader and hunter, on his way from the interior, reached the junction of the rivers, and stopped for the night at the farm of Dutch farmer named Van Niekerk. Tie children were playing on the earth floor with some pretty pebbles they had found long be- fore in the river One of these pebbles attract ed O'Reilly's attention He said picking it up, ''That might be diamond" Nekerk laughed, and said he could have it it was no diamond; if it was there were plenty around there. However, O'Reilly was not to be laughed out of his idea, and said if Niekerk didn't object he would take it down with him to Cape Town and see what it was, and if it proved of any value he would give him half the proceeds. On his way down, long jour ney he stopped at Colesburg, at the hotel and showed the pebble, scratching with it pane of glass. His friends laughingly scratched glass with a gun flint, and threw the pebble out of the window, telling O'Reilly not to make a fool of himself. However, Reilly per- severed, got it to Dr. Atherstone, near the coast, who announced that it was in truth a diamond of 225 carats. It was sold for $3, 000
 am glad to say that OReilly divided fairly with Niekerk. The latter remembered that he had seen an immense stone in the hands of a Kafir witch doctor, who used it in his incan- tations. He found the fetish man, gave him 500 sheep, horses, and nearly all he possessed,
 and sold it the same day to an experienced diamond buyer for $56,000. This was the famous 'Star of South Africa" It weighed S3t carats in the rough, and was found to be a gem quite the rival of any Indian stone in purity and briliance. After it had been cut 1t was bought by the Earl of Dudley, and it is now known as the 'Dudley" diamond The natives crawled over the ground and found many more, and the excitement grew and be- came intense. By 1869 parties in OK wagons had worked their way over the weary plains to the Vaal River. From all parts of the col ony and from foreign lands people swarmed
 and soon, like the creation of dream, tent ed city of 12, 900 and more grew at Pniel and Klipdrift, the opposite banks of the stream, where diamonds were found plentifully and of excellent quality by sorting over the bolder- drift. Soon hundreds of cradles, like those used by the Australian gold-diggers were rocking on the edge of the stream, supplied with the precious gravel by large force of diggers, sievers, and carriers. People were thunderstruck with their success. Poor men with turn of the hand became rich. Hotels
 bakeries breweries, drinking saloons, and shops were erected, and reaped rewards quite as large as did the diggers It was a marvellous scene at night, when the opposite camps were lit up with the warm glow of lights shining through the tent-cloth buildings and the bril- liant camp-ires of their 12,000 inhabitants glinted across the water, from bank to bank. Far into the night were kept up the shouts and laughter, singing and music and the cros- sing and recrossing of the boats The excited crowds shifted their quarters up and down the river, making new discoveries during 1870 and 1871, over an arear of from 40 to 50 miles of the stream, and forming many camps such as Gong Gong Union Kopje, Colesberg kOpje, Delpor's Hope, Blue Jacket, Forlorn Hope, Waldeks' Plant Larkin's Flat and Me kerk's Hope.-Scri6ner's Monthly,