Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-05-14
Fortunes Made by Accident.

From the Yankee Blade.
In connection with the diamond discoveries
in South Africa and the fabulous wealth which
the mines have since produced, the vide region
of fiction offers no parallel instance Of the e.-
traordinary manner in which these rich fnds
have been made.
1t is now matter OF history generally we'll
known how n commercial traveller and trader
by the name of o'Reilly, in casually stopping at
the house Of a Boer near Pnell, Griqualand
West, saw some children PLAYING with a number
of exceedingly pretty pebbles. and on asking
his Dutch host whether he could take one he
was promptly told that he could do So, rs .the
children had plenty more of them"
O'Beilly took the stone 10 Grahamstown.
where an expert examined il. and il at once
pronounced to be a diamond of the first water
1t was sold to Sir Philip wodehouse the then
governor Of the Cape, for 5000. who afterward
resold it, was stated at the time for s25. 600.
This incident led to the discovery of the River
diggings, but il was not until about two years
later that the great DE Beers mine was brought
to light.
A Dutcbman named De Beer had built hin
self the usual waffle and daub house on his
farm, but it had been erected for quite a long
period before some inquiring prospectors found
that the rough cast used for the walls actually
contained diamonds. The farm speedily changed
hands for $4,000. Ii now, with lite neighbor-
ing mines, PROVINCES over Cl0.VD.UU worth OF
diamonds annually the total wealth from this dis
covery TO date being probably over S250, 600 600.
However the most curious instance of how
Unexpectedly hidden wealth can be revealed is
connected with the discovery OF the wesselton
mines the richest of which were only found ont
less than two years ago. Nesselton is a farm
situated not five miles from Kimberley and has
over and over again been thoroughly prospected
by experts II retained for q simple Boer 10
be the instrument in bringing the precious
stones from natures storehouse TO the ewes of
the world
Riding out at shutdown TO bring in his horses
from the voldt, where they had been running
all day, he saw small animal called s.meer-
cat (it somewhat resembles a weasel and bur-
rows in colonies like rabbits) industriously
scraping some earth from its hole. some Pc
culiarity Of the ground 30 thrown up led the
Dutchman 10 I'LL his handkerchief with IT, and
after he had stabbed his horses, by the dismal
flight of a small lamp he examined the nature Of
the earth. To his astonishment and delight, -
found M-carst diamond in the sands.
Further search at the meercats hole re-
vealed other diamonds and six months aeu
no less than s2.250.00 refused for the
farm. The great DE Beers Company recently
acquired a quarter share in the same for
ELI, 900, and since the accidental discovery
white diamonds have been extracted from the
mine.
Recently there has been great excitement a
vryburg, Bechuanaland, owing 20 local hotel
keeper having. during the process Of sinking a
well behind his premises, discovered q small
diamond in the soil. The neighborhood 4 beipc
thorough explored, and who knows but what tb,s
accidental find in the well may not be the fore
runner offurther unlimited wealth?