Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1881-01-12


! Kimberly, like its surroundings,
is barren waste, very unpleasant
, for family home. Most of the
} country here is worthless for farm
ing purposes. Water is scarce
wood is very scarce. Ii is brought
} here by OK teams from distances
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 your city. Old
dead wood dug up by the roots
and brought TO market, roots and
all, sells from $50 to $50 per load |;
and load of live wood (unsplit),
containing one and a half cords,
sells for $40 to $50 per load. Pota-
toes grow to about the size Of an
English walnut beets, carrots,
onions, cucumbers, aud lettuce are
luxuries nearly unknown here.
The dust and dirt is fearful. can
not describe it and do justice
to the subject. II fills your eyes,
nose, and ears, 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 drink
ing, something stronger is the COM
mon beverage here.
But the diamonds! 1t is truly a
land of diamonds. Already over
125,000,000 worth have been dis
covered.
In the late war one of tho chiefs
(SaccahunD offered a quart meas
ure full of diamonds for a cannon.
Claims of tbirty-one square feet
have sold for $4,000 per claim.
The mines are all worked by
large companies. The largest is
French company. The manager
informed me that their expenses
were $4,000 per month. They
take out Of their mines four hun
dred loads of diamondiferous earth
per day, worth on the average
Sl4.40 per load. There are sever
al large companies in the same
mine. A mile and half from here
Is another mine called Old De
Beers Mine. Three miles further
there is another one called Du
Tait's Pan, and one mile from that
is another called Bulpantein. All
these are extensively worked by
large companies. Bulpantein Mine
was originally farm, on which
was built brick house, and on
the discovery of diamonds the
house was found to contain the i
precious gems in the plaster used d
TO lay the brick and in the plaster
ed walls, while the children played
with what thoy called the "shiny
stones"
There has recently been a dia-
nond mine discovered eight miles
rom here, called ELEPHANTS Fan
Elm. Claims to the number Of
nine hundred have been surveyed
md sold in the mine, and people
lere are wild with speculation. v
An acquaintance Of mine bought
claims in Jagers's Fantein mine j
forty miles from hore), which cost
lin $500, and in short time he a
vas offered $4,000 for said claim.
t seems that men are like bubbles
he world over, some go up, and I
ONE explode financially, the ex-
'loding portion being by far the
most numerous.
The penalty for buying u dia- =
1ond of negro is five years i'm
risonment at hard labor and
ne of s2,400 for the first offence,
nd ten years for the second; and
ct the temptation is so great tina:
ut of population of sixteen /
thousand there are over six hun
red now in prison for illicit dia-
lond buying and diamond steal
y. Some of these prisoners are
'orth from $4,000 to 100000
correspondence Hartford Times.