The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-04
THE DIAMOND COUNTRY.
Growth and Extent Of Diamond Find
ing In south Africa.

the London Times says: Among the ecu
flositles of commerce" none, perhaps. is
more curious than that the major por-
tion of the produce exported from South
Africa is simply used for the adornment
Of ladies. Out of a total value exported
Of 81, 500, 900, ostrich feathers and dia-
monds account for G5, 100000 Twenty
years ago all known diamonds had come
to Europe or the United States from i'm
memorial Eastern stocks or from the
scanty produce of mines in Brazil and
elsewhere, which were calculated to yield
not more than $50. 900 worth in the year.
To-day, situated in the midst of wide
sea line horizon of fiat 1yeldt," we find
this town of Kimberley with large Eu-
ropean population of wealth and well-to-
do people. and large native population
earning every year more than 81 900, 900
in wages. And from this mining oasis
in the agricultural desert has been sent
IN the last fifteen years something like
e4O, 900, 900 worth of diamonds in the
rough, which, with the cost of cutting,
setting and selling, must have taken
from the pockets of consumers something
approaching e1OO, 100000.
AS all the world knows the South AT
rican diamond mines have their own
story of unexpected discovery at the
least as startling as that of any gold field
or other rich mineral deposit in the world.
In 1867 the first diamond was found, the
favorite toy of little Boer girl, which
she had picked out from among the
roots of an old tree. Its genuinencss was
not long in doubt, and in few months
the bed of the Vaal river was known as
profitable diamond region. Prospect
ing became the rage, and here and there
on the open, fiat, grassy veldt diamonds
were found in spots with common pecu-
liarities of soil and so forth. In three
years. time the secret of the diamond de-
pOsits had been so far fathomed as TO
prove that they were strange circular
deposits, or patches, of peculiar earth
isolated from one another and few in
number. These were at once crushed"
and regulation digging community
took possession of the new district.
Private individuals, previous proprietors,
and governments fought for the claim
to these new mineral riches, but despite
these squabbles the practical work was
carried on of marking out these circular
patches in diggers' claims over the flat
surface. At first the rule was each dig
ger for himself; and with pick and
shovel diamonds were brought to grass
in such profusion that the whole mining
world was startled by a discovery ex-
ceeding in magnitude, real and prospcc-
| tive, any previous find. But, as men
dug deeper in their claims, so they
found il necessary to arrange and
malgamate with their neighbors more
over, the deeper they went the more
necessary for machinery to hoist the soil
to the surface. And then as they passed
on through the top "ycllow," they came
upon ''blue' soil which was yet more
rich in diamonds.
Suffice it to say, that in ten years. time
had been SO far cmptied of soil as to rep
resent great quarries 100 to 200 yards
across and 800 or 400 feet deep. The
as 'the reefs" and in their greed to Sc
cure all they could the older miners
cut out all the "blue' right up to the reef.
When, however, the cuttings got down
deep the walls or reefs began to fall in,
owing to the dsintegrating action of
boiling sun and heavy rain, covering up
| in their fall large areas OF valuable blue.
! At first the digging was simple and cheap
the mere turning up and searchin e
| of loose soil; q second stage was reached
| when the soil had to be cut out and
| hauled up to the surface with the aid of
machinery: a third stage brought the
| miners to stiffened bluc, which had
only to be brought to the surface, but
| then spread about and broken up by
! hand labor and exposure to the weather,
and at the present moment all around the
mines are to be seen literally miles of the
''blue," laid out in shallow layers over
the veldt. With these more extended
| operations came more elaborate machin-
cry for hoisting, for spreading on the
''hoors, :" and for sorting. Now. round
each great basin or quarry is circle
| of steam engines working wire rope
lifts up and down to the bottom of the
quarry, and around the brink run loco
motives and trains of trucks,
whisking the "blue" so brought ur
away to be spread out like so much ma
nure over the veldt, and to be taken
thence, when duly disintegrated by the
weather, broken up by hand, and har
rowed and rolled, to the washing places,
where it is all sent by hydraulic action
through series of rotatory selves and
pulsators. on the principle of, in
successful mechanical operations
washing away all dirt thai
is lighter than diamonds. The washers
are so arranged that the outfall of each
portion is graduated in size, and falls or
series of sorting tables. At these
stand five or six of the principal men
owners and directors of companies among
them-s spreading out the clean washed
stuff, graduated from the size of pebbles
to that of sand: and the visitor may
stand by in wonder to see the searcher al
the one end pick out his eight or ter
''big" stones per hour. or assist tho
searcher at the other busily sorting ou
of the sand innumerable white specks o.
diamonds. The days work, tumbleo
into small snuff-boxes, will frequently
reach IL local value of 81 900. One car
look into quarry of states or stone an6
see the rocks themselves cut down an6
carted away for use; but in these quar-
ries the soil and the rock are cut out and
| dug out, and what for2 Simply that ou
of every 100 tons raised out of the quar-
| ry an ounce weight of diamonds may be
secured. 1t is a startling and impressive
thought in gazing into these great quar-
ries that all that soil should have beer
dug out at cost for labor alone o.
something like Els, 900, 900, and will
the aid of invested capital of e1 600, 00(
in machinery, in order to distribute SC
many hupdredweight of precious stones