Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1889-06-13
DIAMOND THIEVES.
DEVICES OF MINERS AT THE
SOUTH AFRICAN FIELDS.
Making Dog Swallow a Gem
Diamonds Secreted Under the
Skin of Live Fowls and in Shells
of Shotgun.

Kimberly, South Africa, presented &
curious picture, a conglomeration of ma
tlonality, of license and order, of law
and lawlessness, that has probably never
oeen gathered together in one place since
the world began. Natives, Germans,
Jews, French, Greek, English, Dutch,
Boers, Africanders Ga detestible race,
half Dutch, half native), Chinese, Rus
sian, and few Americans. This mot
ley throng jostled 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
500 for his claim, and, stalking it out,
went to work, OF employed natives to
dig for him; if it was an old claim that
he had bought, the same license was re-
CURED 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
termlxed with the whites, were the hon.
est men of the community, and rendered
up every stone they found, with very
few exceptions, writes w. f. Pond in
the P1ttsburg Dispotch. SO largely did
this uprightness obtain among them
that a 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 I" receiving as re-
ward 80 cents for diamond and 25
cents for a gold piece OF 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 unscru-
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 a 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
a lively time ensued.
Evory native was subjected to O most
rigorous scrutiny on leaving the mine,
and rs they mostly worked nude, or
nearly so, the chance for hiding the
gems We're limited, and the ears, mouth,
nose and wool completed the hiding
places possible, as a glance at the feet
displayed the curled up toes which in
Dictated the fact of something held be-
tween them. Added to this, the most
Sfriof lon az Nuo G ava,nicnJ ,x,o,. = n
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 a 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 up of a
stone without detection almost an i'm
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 were in a
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
eyes, 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 (village) 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 as 100 cents make one dol
lar.
Watching his work, the native would
see fairly large stone fall from a 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 il
to the surface. Getting an opportunity
he would manipulate it near his foot
pick it up with his toes, and work away
for an hour until he saw chance Of
getting it 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 mingle with the
men and hide it some way, thrusting i
into dogs throat, and then watch the
dog until he had chance to kill it
Failing in this he would thrust it into {
goats hair, OF even at pinch swallow j
himself.
Once started upon the course of de
ception, and giving himself up wholly
y 10 the corrosive effects Of civilized
habits, the native speedily passed hi
teachers, and became a past master il
I he art Of duplicity. Water pals had
i ornall holes bored in their slaves, max
jhf kind q pocket, into which a SINAI
e iamond could be slipped by a native
4 69et bending to drink; a slur from hi
NV hand effectually covering up thu
o|e. When the pail reaches the sur
g b. the diamonds We're extracted by
s. = 5rater- carrier, who were in collusioI
the workers, and we're sold to some
s. = 1nscrup ulous brokers.
Icl l1ex smart trick was found out By
Snt. A native who was suspected
sting diamonds was watched, bu
t<ib Auccess they could never catcl
until one day q sharp eyed In pee
6v through his method. II ven
q Ills MINIS naked, like the q :ers
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