The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-09-19
Cape Town Diamonds.

j. c. Silberbauer, of Cape Town,
in 4 recent interview said: When peo-
pie tell you that the supply of dia-
mOnds down our way is exhausted you
just take them to one side and whisper
in their ears the solemn fact that they
don't know as much about our business
as they did last summer Sabe? Our
diamond fields are situated in the mid
die of the Great Desert. Now, I am
going to tell you something that will
surprise you. The leading diamond
mine and the one that furnishes most
of the diamond wealth, is nothing more
nor less than-what do you Supposed
the crater of an extinct volcano. This
mine since 1870 has given to the world
at least S10O,00O,0OO worth of dia-
monds, and is still yielding at least
S15, 900, 600 worth yearly. Now 1 will
tell you something about the plan of
work in this volcanic diamond mine.
The interior of the extinct volcano is
filed with sort of ashen substance
which is of the hardness of rock.
Within this the diamonds are
Embedded. Thousands of crystals
exactly similar to diamonds are
embedded in the same snug quarters.
The mine is divided into hundreds of
claims and the crater has now been
emptied to a depth of three hundred
feet Experts have bored down to al
most endless depths, however, and re-
port the supply as practically mex
daustible. As soon as this ashen SUBJ
stance is loOsened, hauled to the sur
face of the earth and exposed to the in
fuence of air or water it dissolyes and
crumbles like sand, and the crystal and
precious stones lie in the grasp of the
speculator. To you, the crystals would
appear of equal value with the dia-
mOnds, but an expert knows great
deal better than that. He places stone
after stone between his lips, and the
precious treasure is easily selected and
carefully looked after. The secret of
the matter is not much of secret when
you know. that diamond in its crude
state is velvety to the touch, while q
crystal is hard and unyielding. The
mouth of the diamond volcano is sur.
rounded with mining machinery, mostly
of American manufacture. The work. |
men employed in the mines are entirely
naked, and their movements are
watched with jealous eye. The laws |
have been made exceptionally severe
for the punishment of thieving miners
the penalty in most instances being long |
years of service in thepenal colonies |
this fact does not deter the poor devils !
from taking their chances for winning
an immense fortune with asingle stone. |
Their hair is clipped to the scalp. they
are not allowed to wear boards Vf any |
sort, they are entirely naked, are en-
amined critically upon leaving the |
mine, and yet they steal millions. |
How will tell you. They swallow
the sinners. You should see them gulp |
= stone down in the face of the guards. |
After recovering their plumber the
thieves dispose of the stones to specu-
lating Jews, who hang about the place
like carrion crows. These receivers
also run great risk from stringent
laws, but the great profit jushfies the
peril. They generally buy $1,000
stone for about $500. There are also
several mines in the desert beside the /
crater mines, but they are small and
unimportant. Our dia-
monds all 90 to England in the rough, |
but the United States buys more pure
diamonds of the first water to-day than
any other country upon earth. That's
news for you, my boys-news. The
Indies and Turkey are great markets
for of color stones, the nabobs setting
them in sword and dagger hits. Our
gold fields north of the Transyaal are
also assuming proportions of real COM
mercial importance Detroit Times