Los Angeles herald., 1893-01-15
DIAMOND STEALING.
NC HONOR AMONG THE THIEVES
WHO INFEST THE MINES.


The Tllfrst Diamond Trafnc of South
Af-.cs-shrewd Tricks Of the Natives
Diamond-Clever Detectives.
Illicit diamond buying has been carried
pm to such an extent in South Africa that
It has been computed by those competent
70 judge that stones to the value of not
less than a30o, 900 have been lost to the
companies engaged in that industry in ppr
year. This, in my opinion, is a low figure,
rs Tam acquainted with one man, jew.
who is now engaged not far from HattDn
gardens, London, who was caught trying
to smuggle parcel of diamonds across tbe
Free State border which weighed close 70
four pounds and was valued at 950,00o. II
remember right he got five years impriN
onment for the foolhardy attempt
AS a rule when a fairly good parcel 81
stuff has been got together by those el~
gagged it is either disposed of to large buy-
ers on the fields or run out of the colony ~
the owners risk A family of Jews had /
good system. Father and sons carried os
operations in Kimberley, while the daugb'
ter took periodical visits to England with
the stones bought during her previous All
sence concealed en- her person. Anothes
large buyer paid a very handsome salary
TO man to run his property over to the
Free State. This man, not being satisfied
with his pay, took to tampering with tbs
parcels committed to his charge, but being
discovered wassdismissed. He then volup
teered his services to the detective forcs
and trapped over dozen people, ten Of
whom were caught, nine convicted and
sentenced 10 ssririss cf imprisonment rang
ing from five to rine years each.
The people engaged in the Illicit ola
mond traffic are often respected and
licensed buyers and are not confined to
any class or nationality. Although Jews
predominate, Europe is well represented;
30 are India and China, and the black and
white elements of Africa itself are not far
behind. Women are particularly ready to
enter into this trade, and many of them
have been very successful. Others have
had to pay the penalty by retiring from
active life for a few years. There is fas-
cination to those engaged in this business
that far excels all other systems of gam
bling. / have met several men who have
done long periods in the chain gangs for
this crime, and after being discharged from
prison can no more resist the temptation
to buy than if they had never suffered for
1t. The fact has been SO apparent in tho
past that the judges are empowered to
pass sentence which includes banishmens
from Griqualand West.
the mines are worked entirely by native
labor. Every ten or fifteen men have a
white overseer in charge, who receives ;
percentage on all the stones he or his men
may pick up while working the blue
ground. (This system has been recently
altered, the overseers now receiving fixed
salary) This is practically premium OH
his vigilance, but in spite of the closess
watching some of the boys are so smars
that they can pick up and conceal gems
about their person in the most inconceiv-
able manner The ear, nostrils and moutk
form receptacles for the gems, an6 some
times they will elude the keenest search by
mating it into their woolly hair. A Kaf-
frs countenance is so immovable that it is
impossible to read it; looking straight at
his overseer he will work diamond be-
tween his toes and retain it there until an
opportunity offers to remove it. A dog
has often been utilized for this purpose if
che stones are valuable, and if it is risky to
kAA ~ alnObe5 VIC VII iid1t AZ 10 AOllCu III q
piece of meat and the animal forced to
swallow it.
At night the dog is dubbed and the gem
extracted from his stomach. In the early
days this ended the trouble. There was no
difficulty in getting rid of the stuff, as no
sooner were the natives clear OF the works
than they were met by boys engaged by
the buyers to bring them to their house,
Ior nxx-ac CIR rc1<
paid. Since the compound system has been
introduced it is much more difficult for the
native to get rid of his plunder, as he is
compelled to stay within the company's
grounds until he has completed his engage
ment. Before being discharged he is very
carefully searched, likewise every article
in his possession.
A few months ago native was being
searched after having finished his time.
On coming into the office he threw his
stick, coat, hat and other garments on the
door in the most careless fashion. The
chief searcher was struck by the remarka-
BILE workmanship of the walking stick,
which was made of the skin of cows
tail, drawn, dried, dressed and beautifully
bound round the handle with thin copper
wire. One of the wires had come slightly
AOOSe uo pulleQ III open anu saw SOIn0-
thing that aroused his suspicion. He inn
mediately cut it open, and out rolled
few diamonds of great beauty, which were
roughly valued at over e7OO 1t is need
less to say that this boy was not dis
charged, but had he got clear he would
most likely have received about fifty
pounds for his parcel.
Success in the Illicit trade is like almost
every other business, in SO far as capital is
concerned, but to carry it on with safety it
requires an amount of discretion and
ability far above the average. The most
important part is to be able to value
stone correctly, which is undoubtedly
very hard matter, as they vary in value
from few shillings per carat to many
pounds. The next thing is to be sure of
your man. Is he a bona fide seller or
''trap9" A question of great Importance,
for if he is trap it means very serious
trouble. On the other hand, you may clear
or loss few pounds, according to the cor
rectnI lss of your valuation. 1t is also not
at al unlikely that the stone is only an
imita tion.-Cape Town Cor. ST. Louis
Glob, Democrat.
The Habit of Useful Reading.
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