Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-11-24
STOLEN DIAMONDS
SOME ceRIosrTIEs or THE SOUTH
AFRICAN TRAFFIC IN ILLICIT GEMS.

oOME OGHtOottf[S VT IT'S S0C''
AFRICAN TRAFFIC IN ILLICIT GEMS.
Fr.ssrnity. the IL b B.--Ho~ Stolen
Stones Reach Earupe-soas Interesting
stories-rhs Dying Digger.
Dr. Matthews, an English practitioner
who spent many years in the diamond
field Of South Africa. has Just published
in England a book on the subject An
interesting part Of his book Is that which
deals with the Development Of the great
diamond digging industry. and the
schemes and articles Of that rascally
fraternity, the l. D. b., or Illicit diamond
buyers. There Is a saying that five years
in South Africa is sufficient to corrupt
the most immaculate, and that man
who has lived there for seven should not
be believed upon his cath. DIR. Matthews
revelations certainly give color to the
saying. According to his account, the
larger part of the community OF kIfnoer-
lev is mixed up in this nefarious traffic.
Diamonds, as most people Will be
aware, are sorted out Of diamonduerous
stuff By native hands Some Of these
hands are probably in the pay Of the fra
ternity. A fine stone is turned up by enc
Of them when nobody Is booking lie
seizes il. hides it in his hair, in his mouth.
or in some other portion Of his person
Or if a goat lie handy he twists II In his
wool, and tends the animal affectionately
till an opportunity occurs Of redeemlng
the stone. Or, perchance, he conceais il
behind a rock, or forces it down the
throat Of dog. or, HOmeric device, he
..troll,u+e 10 hfy,.atf Tho frera taiudr ia
stored 70 the light Of day from its hiding
place. whatever it may have been-and
many diamond now sparkling on a
lady's neck has made acquaintance with
the stomach Of kaiir--the dusky thief
IN due course puts himself in conmuni-
Gated with another native Of d superior
class. This man Is a tout In the pay OF
low white mana mean white. as he
is called in the colonies
HOW 1T Is DONE.
The tout buys the stone for, let, us say,
a hundredth part Of its value, and the
thief spends the money in the vile drink
which it is the peculiar pride Of civil
Hation TO supply to the unsophisticated
savage, and, so far as he is concerned,
there is an end of the transaction. Then
the tout carries the stone to the mean
white" and receives from him sum of
money, perhaps double what he has
given to the actual thief. The mean
white" in his turn takes it to the licensed
buyer of diamonds, who is possibly
person Of glaring and even aggressive
respectability--a church warden or a
member Of the municipality, or at least
a merchant Of good antecedents-and
from him receives perhaps tenth part
Of the worth OF the gem. So far so
good; but still there are slips between
the cup and the lip, and it is sometimes
found difficult to convey the stuff out OF
the country to the final receiver in Lon
don. To this end many articles are re-
sorted to- Innocent looking fowling
pieces, on examination, have been found
to be loaded with diamonds to within an
inch of the muzzle, while such depos-
tories IS novels with holes cut in the
leaves, the quilts of ostrich feathers and
boots with hollow heels are not uncom-
mon.
Often the fair sex are found to be use
full auxiliaries in these adventures, for
there is q peculiar sacredness about
ladys undertaking that appeals to the
mind of the customs officer. The man
would be bold who merely ventured on
her back hair. However this may be,
by far the greater number of stones SO
procured arrive safely in Europe. Most
people will naturally think that the ma
tive rascal who takes the stone is reSpon-
sible for this state of things, but it is not
the case. The native never dreamed of
stealing diamonds until he was taught to
thieve by the white receiver of stolen
goods.
SOME INTERESTING STORIES.
DR.. Matthews tells some interesting
tales of the |. D. b. fraternity. In the
dead of certain night in the year 1872,
he was reused from sleep and confronted
by trembling and middle aged citizen
of the fields, who informed him that he
had swallowed a thirty carat diamond
and two sovereigns--just to show his
friends how the scoundrels did it, and
was now anxious to be rid of these
foreign substances which had presum-
ably begun to disagree. Ultimately
they were recovered, and the happy
citizen departed with the diamond,
leaving the gold i'll payment. OF course
this man had disposed Of the diamond
under imminent fear of detection; but
why he took the two sovercigns it is diff
ficult to say, unless it was to get his
hand in. Some people, by the way,
appear to be able to swallow very large
stones, for so lately as last year, native
d ling under Suspicious circumstances,
his body was opened and sixty carat
stone found in his stomach.
Here is another tale. A white gentle
man lived with q pretty Fingo woman,
who also acted as his agent in the
trade" He fell ill of fever. and for
weeks lay in a state Of delirium, between
life and death. She nursed him tendcrly
through 1t all, and, Whit is more, kept
up his connection with the boys" so
that when he came 70 himself she was
enabled to present him with hundreds of
carats of fine stones. And now, mari.
the sequel. No sooner was he strong
enough than he departed for Europe,
taking every gem and farthing she had
collected with him. and leaving the I'M
fortunate girl to starve on the streets.
On certain occasion DR.. Matthews was
called in to attend a Gyi:; digger, who
had once worked claim for him. These
were the words that greeted him when
he told the man that there was no hope:
Doctor | cannot die without telling
you how, when | worked your claim in
No. 8, | robbed you of nearly all your
diamonds.
In the face of stories such as these and
a mass of other evidence. it il sometimes
difficult not to believe that civilization is
failure and that the educated Christian
man, except under very exceptional cir
cumstanccs and when restrained by the
strictest pressure law. is lower ami
NAL at heart than tie savage he despises
and destroys with drink and ride bull
lets.-The ArGonaut.