Iron County news. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1890-189?, 1891-02-28
DIGGING DIAMONDS.
METHODS OF WORK IN THE GREAT
KIMBERLEY MINES.
what One Secs In q Journey from tho
Cape Through the Transvaai-
whipping Kamr.

Mr.. j. Charles Davis. theatrical
manager. recently described to a Chi
cago Inter Ocean reporter a trim to the
great diamond fields of Africa. He
said:
II took small coastnp steamer
and went up to Port Natal, whence I
went to Queenstown by rail. There I
Joined party of traders and prospect
ors, and with five wagons, each drawn
by sixteen head OF oxen. we journeyed
at the rate OF from twenty to twenty
five miles day for thirty DAYS, until
we reached Kimberley. We lived well
on the road. Two of us had horses
for use in little excursions, and we
kept the party supplied with game.
I'VE Travelled generally at night, rs
the days were hot and the cattle would
not feed at night. / should say we
had small herd Of cattle to take the
place OF any that might break down
on the trip. Our wagons were like
the former prairie schooners" of
America. except that they were larger.
In one of them we lived and in this
our small luggage and arms were
stored. Each wagon had Dutch
driver and Kafiir forelooker
Reaching Kimberley l found n reg
ular mining town, the houses being
built OF wood. canvas or corrugated
iron. All the building material had to
be transported across the country in
wagon trains. 1t was nightfal when
had eaten my dinner aad smoked
the first cigar | had had for month.
Then / started out to see the big KIM
berley mine, where they were working
by electric light. This was nine years
ago and in the heart OF Africa, remem-
Der. A wire rope stopped the way at
the end Of the main street down which
i had walked. In front of me was a
dark expanse. dotted here and there
with electric lamps, and IN and out of
the shadows fitted the forms of naked
negroes. 1t was very weird and lit
tie uncanny. The dark place was the
pit, ten or twelve acres in diameter
and about 800 feet deep. with sloping
sides leading into the great bowl.
There was no sound except the rattle
of chains as the cables brought up the
heavy iron buckets from the places
where the mon were working to the
hosting houses on the edge of the pit.
The mine was worked by COM
panies, some formed as joint stock
concerns. others as cooperative COM
binatious of miners. All the claims
were carefully staked out and pre-
served according to their surface di-
mansions. If a cavern occurred from
one claim 10 another, the offending
claim had to make good the damages.
when the Kaflirs had loaded their
buckets they placed on each o ticket
iuAi0atipnr what ka oh g
the earth it contained. That which
was worthless was carted away; tho
Acknowledging soil was put into
hopper and worked through screens,
over which water ran. the first screen
taking away the large, worthless
stones. and the others gradually sep
arating the pieces likely to contain
diamonds. The entire process was
superintendent by white men. Some
OF them could neither read nor write;
but every gang of blacks had white
man over them whose chief business
1t was to watch that no Kaf1ir stopped
down to pick up anything II he did,
he was given an emetic. The punish-
ment for stealing diamond, or
piece of the blue clay that usually con-
tains the finest diamonds, il twenty
years in prison, with work on tho
breakwaters at the Cape. 1t means
death as surely as, and little more
painfully than being shot. 1t isn't
often that the blacks receive this pun
ishment. They are more afraid of a
whipping, and they get it on their bare
backs with piece of rhinoceros hide
that draws the blood at every lick.
saw one man whipped-an ebony
statue; the blood trickled from his
shoulders to his feet. The prison
physician who was in charge OF the
affair, stopped the punishment at thirty
lashes He said any more at that par
ticular time might kill the Kaflir.
These negroes were curious sight;
they used to go about dressed in
scarlet jacket and breech-cout. A
particularly swell fellow might cover
his erect locks with an old hat. l
never saw one with a shirt on or with
trousers. A red coat was raiment
enough apparently.
u have told you how they got the
demonstrating soil into the hoppers.
As the gravel fell through the screens
1t went into boxes that we're locked.
Sunday was wash-up days. The boxes
we're brought into the Office, where
directors OF the company were seated
about table covered with zinc. An
expert, called the sorter. took three
cornered blade and spread the gravel
out on the table before him. In the
presence of the directors he threw
away the worthless stones. thought
he was casting aside the finest and
richest diamonds; but they were only
crystals that had no value. But few
diamonds were found 10 the first
boxes, where the larger screens were.
In those that had smaller meshes were
found more. The result of the weeks