The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1888-08-16
TIE KIMBERLY DIAMOND MINE.
Curious History of the Pioneer of the Dry
DigS;ns.

I. 1t has curious history, this mine,
the pioneer of the dry diggings," first
called Rush and now Kimberly. says
W. p. PondIn brakes Magazine. A lit
tie child playing at 'jackstones" or
some other child's game drew the at
tention of Trader O'Reilly to one of
the stones. He offered to buy it and
WAS offered ii for nothing; but he was
conscientious, and. believing it val
nable, he finally proposed half profits
If the surmise of value should prove to
be correct. O'Reilly took the stone to
Colesberg and was laughed at for say
ing it was diamond. He took medi-
cal and spiritual advice from doctor
and bishop in Grahamstown; they
declared it TO be diamond. 1t was
then sent to the colonial secretary and
was sold to Messrs Hunt & RoskeIl for
$1,000. The father of the boy Mr..
Nioukerk, then hunted up native
witch doctor who had famous white
stone and gave all he possessed for it,
afterwards selling it 10 MesSrS. Lillien-
field of Hopetown for $50, 900. 1t was
chrlStened the Star of Africa" and
was sold by them to the countess of
Dudley.
Then began mad rush to the rivers
where these stones had been found.
Then diamonds where found at Du
Toit'S Pan and Bulfontein and finally
the cream of the diamond region, New
Rush, was struck and the diggers-at
first pooh-poohing the idea of ''dry
dlgginsn-came with rush and nearly
precipitated a war, which was only
STAYED off by the English government
paying down $450,O00 to the rival
claimants.
When the Kimberly mine was first
started the claims Were 'jumped'' in
the majority Of cases, but numbers
brought with them order, and eventual
ly the mine or digging ngs-locally called
''Kopjes divided into clair.
which originally were thirty .;J, .;l1,
and ten feet long, or tbi'', Zoo. go eo,a i.a0
according to Local " y 80; aoei 81 uaie'
dom from the cxperience Of other pi do G,9
law was passed that a strip
zen feet six inches wide should be
taken from one side of each claim for
road, and the Kimberly mine was the
first one to enforce this most necessary
regulation. These roads were twelve
in number, and should have been
maintained at a mean breadth of fifteen
feet, but IN short space of time most
Of them ceased to be two-thirds of that
width. When rich piece of soil was
struck the diggers, careless of the fu-
ture, undermined them and frequent
landslips took place.
Natives We're employed to work in
the claims, and the rudest machinery
imaginable was used to remove the
soil for sorting. At first the claims
were simply shallow pits, which had
a large stake driven into the ground
at the upper edge of the pit, to which
was attached pulley, with a rope to
draw up the buckets or bags contain
ing the diamondifcrous soil for sort
ing.
As the mines grew deeper huge cap
stans were introduced, which were
worked by horsepower and were
called ''whins.n As the work of min
ing progressed and capital came to the
front, steam engines took the place of
the old ''whins," and soon the edge of
the pit was one mass of machinery
Any description of the mine itself
falls short of the reality. You peered
over the edge and saw a semi-circls
hole crossed and recrOSsed by banks of
greater or less height, some appearing
in nls likeness of battlements and tur-
Esk, ssme like cluster of pillars or
spreading terraces or steps; others gap
ing like great black pits that might be
full of stagnant water; while three
hundred feet below, almost out of sight,
looking like ants, labored ten thousand
men in six acres of ground; a gigantic
hive filled with human bees, the hive
resonant with the clang of the iron
pick on rock or loose stones, the thud
of falling earth, the splash OF water
from the pumps, buckets rising and
falling, pulleys creaking, ropes strain
ing and groaning, wires humming,an
through the gigantic cobweb of the
wires tloated the gray aclid dust rising
from thousands of sieves, slowly set
ting and tiltering back into the depths
OF the mine; while overhead the scorch-
ing sun beat down with burning, pitt
less, vertical rays.