The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-02-17
A Land of Diamonds.


Perhaps brief description of this land
of gems may interestyour readers. This
place is about seven hundred miles in
land from Cape Town, and about five
hundred from Port Elizabeth. To reach
Kimberly from Cape Town one has to
travel through country called the Great
Karroo, barren, rocky tract. with
scarce any signs of life in it. 1t is about
three hundred miles through it. A more
desolate region can scarcely be found.
do not think saw ten acres, for dis
tance of two hundred miles, that could
possibly be plowed; and, judging from
appearances, I think rat, to travel
through the Karroo, would need KNAPP
sack on his back, well laden with pro-
visions, to sustain life on his journey,
unless he was of near kin to DR.. Tanner.
Kimberly, like its surroundings, is bar
rem waste, very unpleasant for family
home. Most of the country here is
worthless for farming purposes. Water
is scarce; wood is very scarce. 1t Is
brought here by ox-teams from distance
of 100 miles, and sold on the market at
auction for from $25 to $50 per load, ac-
cording 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 $25 to $50 per load; and a load of
live wood (unsplt), containing one and a
half cords, sells for $40 to $50 per load.
Potatoes grow to about the size of En-
glish walnuts. Beets, carrots, onions,
cucumbers and lettuce are luxuries nearly
unknown here. The dust and dirt is
fearful. cannot describe it and do JUS
tice 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 drink
ing, something stronger is the common
beverage here. But the diamonds 1t
is truly land of diamonds. Already
over $125, 900, 900 worth have been dis
covered. In the late war one of the
chiefs (Saccahuni) offered quart meas
ure full of diamonds for a cannon. Claims
of thirty-one square feet have sold for
$4S, 900 per claim The mines are all
worked by large companies. The largest
is French company. The manager in
formed me that their expenses were
$40, 900 per month. They take out OF
their claims four hundred load of dia-
mondiferous earth per day, worth on an
average $14.40 per load. There are sew
| aral 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
)u Tait's Pan, and one mile from that
another called Bulpantien. All these
are extensively worked by companies.
Bulpantien Mine was originally farm,
OH 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 shiny
stones" There has recently been dia-
mond mine discovered, eight miles from
here, called ELEPHANTS Fantein. Claims
| to the number of nine hundred have
been surveyed and sold in that mine,
and the people here are wild with specu-
lation. An acquaintance of mine bought
claims in Jager's Fantien Mine, forty
miles from here, which cost him $71O,
and in short time he was offered $33,
600 for said claim. It seems that men
are like bubbles the world over. Some
go up and explode financially, the ex-
ploding portion being by far the most
numerous. The penalty for buying a
| diamond of q negro is five years i'm
prisonment at hard labor and fine o1
| So, 400 for the first offense, and ten years
for the second. And yet the temptation
is SO great that out Of population oi
$1,000 there are over 600 now in prison
| for Illicit diamond buying and diamond
stealing. Some of the prisoners are
worth $40, 900 to $780, 900. Surely the
way of the transgressor is hard.-South
| Africa Cor Hartford Times.