Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-03-23
sAPPhIREs OF cEYLoN.
The Blue Stones Are by No Means So Rare
~ Represented.

The Blue Stones Are bv No Means So Rare
~ Represented.
To a reporter of the Post Mr.. Fred G.
Whitney, who has travelled around tho
world, gave the following interesting
account of a visit to Colombo, on the
island of Ceylon:
"Our steamer anchored behind the
breakwater in the open roadstead at
Colombo one bright May morning and
those Of the passengers that chose to go
ashore were transferred to the steam
lighter in waiting and were soon at the
long wharf opposite the Grand Oriental
hotel. This hotel is well named, as it
II truly grand and quite oriental both
In structure and service. The broad
verandas and spacious, cool apart
ments are in the custody of brilliantly
costumed Cingalese servants, who
move noiselessly around, carry
ing cool drinks and ices to the
guests or moving their baggage to
the apartments assigned them. They,
the native servants, wear no shoes, and
the new arrival is sometimes startled
by finding a tall, swarthy native, with
his huge turbaned head respectfully
bent to receive an order, right over ones
shoulder, just as you think you are
quite alone.
II think the Cingalese make the best
servants in the world, and know their
| cooks rank with the most celebrated
chefs of Europe. AS we had only few
hours in which to do the town our party
| dispatched a hasty but substantial
Inn nd ;I~a1 81.
| spin through the principal streets to
the Notifications, where one of our fell
low-passengers Immediately got into
trouble by trying to kodak the sea face
OF the principal fortress. The English
troops In charge do not permit sketches
to be made or photographs to be
taken of any of the Notifications
| of the island of spices for fear the
| pictures might find their way into tho
hands of an enemy and aid him to de-
prive the English crown of one of its
most precious gems. We rescued the
camera fend, who departed, glad to
| escape with the loss of his picture box,
which the officer of the guard confis-
| Gated, and we drove to the cinnamon
| gardens, then along the sea wall back
to the clock tower and through the res
idence portion of the quaint city, which
is very rapidly becoming European in
character, business and architecture.
I'VE arrived at the hotel hot, tired
and hungry, where we were beset by q
horde of Arab jewelers., who offered for
sale the greatest variety of Ceylon cats
eyes, rubies and sapphires it was ever
my lot to behold. These precious stones
were offered at all prices, from one
rupee to many thousands. Our guide es-
corted us to Moorman's establishment,
where we were shown the largest
cat's-eys ever found on this island Of
gems. This stone was quite as large
as a small orange and very brilliant,
and had Just been returned to it's orig
inal owners by London Arm that had
failed to find a purchaser willing to
pay the enormous price asked for it.
The stone is too large for any ordinary
purpose, and the only hope the owners
now have of disposing of it 1T fair
price 10 to sell it to some government as
crown jewel or to an East Indian
raiah. The rubies and .sapphires were
both numerous and beautiful, but were
held 1T prices about as high as those
asked for the same grade of stone in
England.
THE annual report that the sapphire
mines of Ceylon are failing is started
for the purpose of keeping up the price
of the gems, as there are probably
enough of these beautiful blue stones
on the island of Ceylon alone to sup
) ply the world for the next twenty
years, to say nothing of the rich mines
: OF Burmah and those of the mahara-
jah OF Cashmere, which are said to be
4 the most extensive in the world
: THE Cingalese dealers also have
I large quantities of diamonds of al
: grades, mostly cheap yellow cape
stones, and the lower grades from the
Golconda river mines; these find read
sale among the natives and to- :,
t while the more valuable, ID Ilst'
: ity brilliants are sold .gner-qua
n expert collectors, I" oealers an
e oaarIv thS industry Of Ceylon
= 49,, .ng of the past, the lnsec
2 L.. almost entirely destroyed IL
s few crops, but the planters are d
ing quite as we'll, if not better, I
- growing Indian tea and chinchona, al
the island is rapidly becoming as pro
o porous as of yore. The only cities ha
n ing any European population to spes
J. of arc Colombo and Handy, the prese
seat Of the colOnial government n
It once famous seaport Pont-du-Gal
g is now little better than an ordina1
Q native village, as the construction
. the huge brealEwater at Colombo b
d diverted the steam traffic that on
IS made this part Of the island so Pre-
. perouS At nightfal we re-embark
a and began our journey to Australi
. eight thousand miles awsy."-Was
/, ington Post.