The Washington times., 1894-03-26

home. It proved to be diamond, weighing
only seven-sixteenths OF q carat, and . little
off-color. The find was made In 1888.
In 1885 1t was reported that number OF
mon river near Springfield, Ill, but SPRING
field was so lear the region Of diamond ex-
perts that the report was disproved very
quickly. It Is known that diamonds were
found in North Carolina as early as 1860.
But the only detailed case on record is that Of
discovery made in 1886 on the Alfred Bright
farm at Dysortville. boy, the son OF Gray
son Christie, was drawing water at the spring
on the Bright farm when his attention was
attracted by the brightness OF stone in the
spring. He picked it up and took it home.
II was SO very bright that Mr.. Christie and
the neighbors thought that it might be a dia-
mond, and they sent it to Tiffany in New
York. Mr.. Kunz examined it. and it proved
to be diamond, perfect and transparent, but
Of grayish yellow tint. Its value was be-
tween 800 and $50. In June following this
find Mr.. Kunz was in North Carolina, and he
took occasion to investigate the field OF the
Christie boys discovery. He lookup the sedi-
ment at the bottom of the spring and exam
ined 1t carefully, but found no trace of the usual
mineral associates Of the diamond H. con-
Guided, therefore, that the gem had been
washed down from distant higher ground in
freshet. Mr.. Kunz, while in the neighbor-
hood, also took the opportunity to examine
some other stones exhibited as diamonds
found at Brackettstown. He found that they
were smoky-colored quartz OF great bril-
liancy of the same character as some quartz
which was found some time before by Capt.
j. G. Mills at Brindletown and confidently
asserted TO be fine diamonds. Mr.. Kunz also
found that the swindler had made his way
into North Carolina, for rough diamonds
from South America were being exhibited as
North Carolina discoveries. undoubtedly with
a view to deceive possible investors. In the
same year great excitement was created by a
man named ] IS. keyser. who. while digging for
coal near Ponca, Neb., discovered what he
thought to be diamonds. 1t proved to be
yalueless quartz.
In April, 1887, Lewis NJ Parker, a tenant
on the farm of Daniel Light, thirteen miles
south of Atlanta, Ga, found diamond on
the farm. 1t came into the hands of
W. ". Scott. of Atlanta, who sent it to Mr..
Kunz for examination. 1t could have been
cut into brilliant OF one and one-twelfth to
two carats. 1t was rather yellow. At the
time of this investigation l.. o. Stevens, of
Atlanta, told Mr.. Kunz that colored man
had called on him with two-carat diamond
Of poor color, which he said he had found in
his garden not far from Atlanta There was
great excitement over these Georgia dis
coveries.
In the past twenty-five years, Mr.. Kunz
says, ten tons of diamonds have been added
for more than $500 ,0OO. 600 before cutting and
more than $500, 100000 after cutting. The
estimated wealth of the world in diam onds
in 1870 was less than S400, 100000.
OF this enormous production In the last
quarter Of a century the De Beers Company,
Of South Africa control more than nine
tenths. the De Beers Company mined and
sold in 1898 more than S15, ,250, 600 worth of
diamonds. The company's profits for the
year amounted to about 81, SOC, 900. The cost
Of producing the diamonds has been reduced
nearly fifty per cent. by improved methods Of
mining. The diamond industry keeps busy
about 900 people at the principal diamond
ceEters of the world. OF these 1000 to 5000
are workers in the mines. the others
diamond cutters and diamond traders. At
Amsterdam alone there are fifty-two large
and twenty small factories for cutting dia-
monds, employing about $500 people. There
are diamond-cutting mills in Antwerp, St
Claude. Paris, London, Geneva Berlin, Hanat,
Idar. and Oberstein.
But If the United States adds nothing to the
worlds wealth in the production of diamonds.
ii adds much to the value of the diamonds
produced. The diamond cutters of the United
States are ranked among the first diamond
cutters in the world. and Mr.. Kunz credits an
American, now dead. with reyolutionizing the
diamond cutting industry of the world. This
pioneer was Henry d. Morse, OF Boston, who
died January 2, 1888. Morse was originally
an engraver, but afterward he became jeweler.
In 1869 the finder OF the Dewey diamond
discovered not far from Richmond, Va. sent
the uncut gem to Mr.. Morse. Mr.. Morse made
a careful study of its geometric relations and
by skillfulness and adroit manipulation sue
ceeded in producing from rough stone
of twenty-five and eleven thirty-seconds a
gem of eleven and twelve thirty-seconds
carats The fame of this achievement
spread, and two years later. when the
South African diamond fields were
beginning to attract the attention
of the trade. i. 5. Pray, of Boston,
brought to this country package of rough
diamonds and intrusted them to Mr.. Morse.
The outcome Of this experiment was the es-
tablishment of a diamond-cutting house.
Dutch workmen were employed at first under
Mr.. Morse's supervision The act OF diamond
cutting had long been kept a secret by the
Dutch. Mr.. Morse quietly gained knowl-
edge of Dutch methods and. establishing
shop in the suburbs of Boston. secretly trained
a number of apprentices. One day the Dutch
workers struck. Mr.. Morse turned them out
and put his American workmen in their places.
Later Mr.. Morse taught the art to wousn and
they became workers in this industry not only
in America, but in France, Switzerland, and
other European countries.