Morning journal and courier., 1888-02-28
I'm SOUTH AFRICA,


I'm SOUTH AFRICA.
K1mberly-A Hot Chrfstmas-The Dfa.
mond Mines-How They are Worked
The Natfves-A Diamond Washing-
In the Hospital.
The following letter is from &goung lady
engaged in missionary work in South Africa
| to her parents in this city. During vacation
| at the school recently she has been taking a
tour through the diamond mines at Kimberly
| and writes home about them:
BLoEMFoNTA1N, Orange Free State,
Jan. 2.
How shall tell you of all we saw and all
| we did, and how everything looked at Kin-
berly9 I am anew convinced that the only
way really to understand about place is to
go and see it. We reached the Kimberly
| station about two o'clock Saturday afternoon.
1t is a building of corrus ated iron, a fine,
| large station with well appointed rooms.
Arrived at the house, both Mr. and Mrs.
Bottomly came out to greet as and gave us a
most cordial welcome. After tea it was pre-
posed that we should have a look at the town
in its gay attire of Christmas eve. The
shops were very bright with their many
lights and with their rich display of pretty
things. I had no idea that Kimberly was
SO large place, or that there were so many
we'll built private houses, shops and public
buildings. It is finer looking place on the
| whole than Cape Town, though the latter has
| few places that are more pretentious.
Kimberly numbers about thirty thousand i'm
| habitants, including Beaconsfeld, which by
| the way is more distinct than I had sup
| posed, though connected by tram line with
Kimberly About half of these thirty thou
| sand people are natives, and the white peo-
pie are from nearly every part of the world.
Many had gone away for the hot weather and
| others were soon going. On Sunday I went
/ to church both morning and evening. Mr..
Lloyd had returned and I heard him preach
| both times, and they were both excellent
Sermons. The Presbyterian church is a very
plain edifce of iron, but larger than any
| other church in Kimberly. It was beauti-
full Christmas day. It was very hot, but
| Monday was hotter and Tuesday was about
as hot day as I ever saw. One thing is re.
markable at Kimberly; there is always q
breeze, which if you can get out of the sun
I is cooling. AS soon as the sun goes down
| the air is delightfully."- cool and refreshing.
Emma Bottomly's house is a delightful enc
| to be in, and I have seen 80 many of the
family before that felt NEST perfectly al
home among them. Several of the family
| were away for little time and others were
| away to stay Mrs. Bottomly has had four
| teen children; all but two are living. She
| came out to Africa as a bride at eighteen
| years, and Mr.. Bottomly was in Natal till the
| opening of the diamond fields dozen years
| age, or about that. Mr.. Bottomly became
I~ouite rich in the diamond diggings, but he
| has twice lost thirty thousand pounds by the
falling of reef into the mines while he stood
| by and saw it fall. They live quite out of
| the center of the town in a low rooted house
! under the shadow of the wall Of reef which
| you find running through the town.
| The reef is about forty feet high and is a
dark slate color. The reef is the earth which
| does not contain diamonds, and which sur
rounds the diamondiferous stuff like the out
side cf cup The diamondiferous stuff,
| commonly called ''stuff,n is light blueish
gray color when first got out, but turns to a
| soft brown after being exposed to the air.
On Monday morning we went to see the
| mines. We examined the Kimberly mine
Beside that there is 'fOld de Beers" also in
Kimberly, and Du Tort's and Bultfontain al
Beaconsfeld, which place till lately was
| called Du Tort's Pan. The mines look like
the crater of a volcano, and from the sulphur
| flames constantly issuing from the sides il
looks volcanic now. The Kimberly mine is
1 open to the sky for an area of about = acres,
/ and the opening is almost a complete circle.
| The sides slope at an angle of about forty-
| five degrees. Down their sides iron buckets
| run on wires to take down nen and bring up
the "stuF" in which diamonds are to be
found. The open part of the mine is about
four hundred feet, but shafts sunk to the
depth of another hundred feet below. There
are now no 'sopen workings" and the fall o1
reef is much lees now, though there are still
frequent accidents and men killed by falling
reef. The mine is inclosed at the top by al
iron fence and the streets are close to tbs
edge of the precipice. One street had to &C
out of being not long ago, and it looks as il
| another would have to follow, for the side
| reef is not strong and easily breaks down bJ
action of time, air and weather We saw
some blasting while we stood looking d0wI
into the mine.
We went to compound before going home
| to dinner. This is where the natives live
who are at work in the mines. They are un-
der strict regulations and it is much better
for them and for all Kimberly. We saw
the night Workmen at their rest and their re-
creation; some were already cooking theiI
dinner Their food is supplied them and
/ there is shop in the compound where they
can purchase anything they wish except Ii
quor, which they are not allowed to have.
There is school room where they are taught
sometimes. Ministers go to hold services
there at different times. The compound is a
large open square with little houses in con-
tinuous line all around. Trees are planted
and the place will be pretty bye and bye.
We walked around to see the groups of ma
| tiyes outside their doors. Some were rolled
uu in their blankets and sleeping in a line
under the projecting roof, which all houses
in Kimberly must have to keep OFF some of
o1o ovin arda n
they put down gold pieces too in their gam
bling These natives in the compound are
those who come to work in the mines for a
time and then return home, and they have
no women with them. There are many
| tribes represented; they are very tribal IN
their feelings and group is almost always
of those belonging to the same tribe. We
saw one group from Benguela playing a ma
tive game with small stones. In another
| place we saw a man reading Step by Step, u
| a childs primer used in the colony. One
| was writing a letter to his brother and we
had a look at the letter. Some were making
| the Kafr bangles. The natives were in all
| stages of dress and undress. It is the first
| time have ever seen any ssraw heathen. "
Some had on jackets and trousers, some had
| jackets without trousers; one was arrayed
Pin military jacket as his only garment.
His glossy legs looked very well below the
English soldiers cast off finery. Many had
their great thick blankets hanging jauntily
from their shoulders. Some had on nothing
but belt Such handsome black skins
have never seen before, as black and shiny
and smooth as ebony. We were in the COM
pound an hour and did not want to leave
then, but it was neon and time to leave be-
fore the natives came in and went naked
through the searching Office, which search
ing they must undergo every time they
come in from work. Yet with all the care
taken it is thought the companies lose more
diamonds than all they have to sell. The
devices for conoealing the diamonds are
most ingenious; sometimes they manage to
keep them between the fingers and elude
discovery; sometimes they cut cash in
the flesh and insert the stone; sometimes
they swallow them, and pumping" a man
is not merely figure of speech in Kim
berly.
On Tuesday afternoon We rose at six and
went before breakfast to see the diamond
washing wonder if I shall be able to give
you any idea of this. The diamondiferous
blue stuff is brought in chunks in cars
drawn by horses along railway. 1t ID
/ .,,raod ont on tha Aoara (fha hard 0rOund,