Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-12-15
Quarts of Diamonds.

A correspondent from Kimberley, South
Africa, gives the following description of
that land of gems:
This place Is about 700 miles from Cape
Town, and about 500 from Port Elizabeth.
To reach Kimberley, from Cape Town,
one has to travel through a country called
the Great Karroo, barren, rocky tract.
with scarcely any signs of life in it. Ii is
about 300 miles through it. A more desc
late region can scarcely be found. | do
not think | saw ten acres for distance of
200 miles that could possibly be plowed;
and, judging from appearances, l think a
rat. to travel through the Karroo, would
need knapsack on his back, well laden
with provisions, 10 sustain life on his jour
ney, unless he was of near kin to DIR. Tar
ner. Kimberley, like its surroundings. is
a barren waste, very unpleasant fo- a family
home
Most of the country here is worthless for
farming purposes. Water is scarce; wood
is very scarce. It is brought here by OK
wagons from distance of one hundred
miles, and sold on the market at auction
for from S25 to $50 per load, according to
size and quality. None of it would be
merchantable in yoIr city. Old dead
wood dug up by the roots and brought to
market, roots and all, sells for S25 to $50
per load; and load of live wood (unsplit),
containing one and half cords, sells for
$40 to $50 per load.
Potatoes grow to about the size Of En-
glish walnuts; beets, carrots, onions, Gu
cumbers and lettuce are luxuries unknown
u ~E,.n II
cannot describe it and do justice to the
subject. 1t fills your eyes, nose and ears,
and mats your hair and whiskers; and as
for clothes, the natives, who wear none,
have the advantage, as the water is hard
and miserable, full of dirt, and sells for
sixty cents per barrel for washing purposes,
and as for drinking, something stronger is
the common beverage here.
But the diamonds II is truly land of
diamonds. Already over Sl25, 900. 900
worth have been discovered. In the late
war one of the chiefs (Saccahuni) offered
a quart measure full of diamonds for a
cannon. Claims of thlrty-onc square feet
have sold for S4S, 900 per claiml
The mines are now worked oy large
companies. The largest is French com
pany The manager informed me that
their expenses were S70,0 per month.
They take out of their claims 400 loads of
diamondiferous earth per day, worth on
the average Sl4.40 per load. There are
several other large companies in the same
mine A mile and half from here is an
other mine, called Old De Peers mine.
Three miles farther there is another one
called Du Taitis Pan; and one mile from
that is another called Bultfontein. All
these are extensively worked by large
companies.
Bultfontein mine was originally farm,
on which was built brick house; and on
the discovery of diamonds the house was
found to contain the precious gems in the
plaster used to lay the brick and in the
plastered walls. while the children played
with what they called ''the shiney stones"
There has recently been a diamond mine
discovered eight miles from here called
Olipanht's Fantein.
Claims to the number of 900 have been
surveyed and sold in that mine, and people
here are wild with speculation. An sc-
quaintance OF mine bought claimsin Jagpr's
Fantein mine, 40 miles from here, which
cos, MIN : ~, anu III snOIl llIne Nc was
offered S3S, 500 for said Claims. So it
seems that men are like bubbles the world
over; some go up, and some explode finan-
cislly, the exploding portion being by far
the DlOst numerous.
The penalty for buying a diamond of
negro is five years Imprisonment at hard
labor and fine of 81, 400 for the first Of
fense, and ten years for the second offense;
and yet the temptation is so great that out
of population Of 5000 there are over
600 now in prison for Illicit diamond buy
ing and diamond stealingi Some of these
prisoners are worth from $40, 600 to $780,
900. Surely the way of tine transgresser
is hard.
Twenty miles from here are what are
called the River Diggings, on the Vaal
river.
Men carry diamonds in their pockets,
sport them on their fingers in rings, and in
breast pins; and what shall / say of the
ladies, in such land of diamonds and os-
trich plumesi