Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-05-16

In the old days the diamond fields of
Kimberly, South Africa, presented a
curious picture, conglomeration of ma
tionality, of license and order. of law
and lawlessness, that has probably never
been gathered together in one place since
the world began. Natives. Germans,
jews, French, Greek, English, Dutch.
Beers, Africanders "a detestible race,
half Dutch, half natiye), Chinese, Rus
sian, and a few Americans. This mot
ley throng iostled each other daily upon
the main street, or around the mine,
all busily employed in the race for
wealth, the search for the small glitter
ing stones that the earth was forced to
yield up to their eager eyes and utiring
hand.
When the fields were first opened,
''miners law" prevailed; man paid
81. 80 for his claim, and, stalking it out,
went to work, or employed natives to
1 dig for him; if it was an old claim that
he had bought, the same license was re-
quired to work it; he then sold his dia-
monds for what he liked, and where he
could or wished.
The natives in those days, newly in
termixed with the whites, were the hon.
est men of the community, and rendered
up every stone they found, with very
few exceptions, writes w. +. Pond in
the Pittsburg Dispatch. So largely did
this uprightness obtain among them
that native servant employed in the
house finding diamond or money in
the sleeping room of man would seek
the individual at the canteen or the
mine, and holding out the find would
say: Here, Baas |" receiving as a re-
ward 80 cents for a diamond and %
cents for gold piece or a bill. With
the growth of the industry the rivalry
in the search for diamonds became more
and more intense, and the first shoots
of dishonesty that Slapped the upright
nature of this golden age of the natives
may be traced to the advent of unscrl-
pulous brokers, who did not hesitate to
waylay and importune the native work
ers to steal the diamonds, and sell the
precious stones to the broker at nomi-
nal minimum price.
For long time this went ON unsus-
pected by the majority of the claim
owners, and when found out by chance
q lively time ensued.
Evory native was subjected to a most
rigorous scrutiny on leaving the mine,
and as they mostly worked nude, or
nearly so, the chance for hiding the
gems were limited, and the ears, mouth,
nose and wool completed the hiding
places possible, rs a glance ut the feet
displayed the curled up toes which in
dictated the fact of something held be-
tween them. Added to this, the most
strict surveillance was exercised over the
doings of the natives both in and out of
the mine; when in the mine each gang
worked under the inspection of trust
ed native, or of white man who had
gone busted in his own claim, or had
sought the fields to try and work his
way from the bottom upward. These
inspectors watched every movement of
the diggers, making the picking mp Of a
stone without detection almost an inn
possibility, and these inspectors were,
in turn, watched by other men, and I'M
der this double supervision the anxious
minds of the claim owners we're IN
measure satisfied and at rest.
Under this system innumerable lodges
were tried by the natives, proving sue
ceessful for time, but in the long run
discovered and exposed; the one great
fact which opened the claim owners
ewes, being the constant disappearance
every day or so Of some native, and the
news CLEANED some weeks later from
newly arrived natives that the missing
men had reached their kraal (ylllage) up
country, and were ''buying cows, or,
in other words, accommodating to them
selves the currency of the tribes, which
runs: eight cows make one woman
(wife), Just rs 100 cents make one dol
lar.
Watching his work, the native would
see fairly large stone fall from stroke
of the pickax, or see one stuck upon the
broken face of piece of tufaceous lime
stone as it was thrown into the bucket
that running, ON the cables, conveyed 1t
to the surface. Getting an opportunity
he would manipulate it near his foot,
pick il up with his toes, and work away
Tor an hour until he saw a chance OF
getting il into his hand, and transferring
Il thence to his mouth or nose. Making
an excuse to get in the bucket and reach
the surface, he would mingie with the
men and hide it some way, thrustnglt
into a dogs throat, and then watch the
dog until he had a chance to kill it.
Failing in this he would thrust 1t into q
goats hair, or even at a pinch swallow 1t
himself.
Once started upon the course OF de-
cention. and giving himself up wholly
10 fine corrosive effects of civilized
habits, the native speedily passed his
teachers, and became past master IN
the art Of duplicity. Water pals had
small holes bored in their slaves, max,
inc a kind pocket, into which small
diamond could be slipped by native
pretending to drink; slur from ~ ms
earthly hand effectually covering up the
hole. When the pail reaches the sur
face the diamonds were extracted by
the water-carrier, who were in collusion
with the workers, and were sold to some
of the unscrupulous brokers'
Another smart trick was found out oy
accident. A native who was suspected
If secreting diamonds was watched, but
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