The Washington times., 1894-03-26
FEW DIAMONDS IN AMERICA
Precious Stones Are Here. But Not
in Paying Quantities.
THEIR DISCOVERY BY ACCIDENT
Huge swindles That Have Been Perpetrated
Upon the Unsophisticated- an Ameri-
can Broke Up the Monopoly in Diamond
Cutting-Expert Government Examiner.

At long intervals the chief OF the mining
division of the United States Geological Sur
vey receives letters from people in the South
or West telling him that an American dia-
mond field has been discovered. DR.. Day
turns the correspondence over to the expert
in precious stones of the bureau, George f.
Kunz, of New York, and he investigates the
claims. Not that he has any faith in the state
ment that there is a diamond field in the
United States, but because he knows from
past experience that it is quite possible that
stray diamonds have been discovered. But
Mr. Kunz does not make any trumpeted an
nouncement of the result of his investigation.
The chief use that has been made of the
discovery of diamonds in America has been
to swindle the incredulous by all sorts of con-
idenee games. Twelve or fifteen years ago
some sharpers ''salted' piece of country in
the lids of Arizona and organized a stock
company to work it for diamonds. The
swindle was planned on a large scale, and
several thousand dollars worth of rough dia-
monds were scattered about for the benefit
OF the California experts. who were sent to
the spot by the syndicate which was organized.
These experts were deceived into making
favorable report, and a company was organ
lied and many thousand dollars invested In
its stock before the fraud was exposed. Three
winters ago a find OF diamonds was reported
in Idaho, and there was IL rush of fortune
hunters to Boise City. The find proved to be
quartz. Still later some swindlers sailed
some property in Georgia. They did not
make very heavy investment. They put In
only two diamonds. and one of these was sent
to Mr.. KunZ for examination. He promptly
informed the senders that the diamond was
never found in Georgia; that it was Brazil
ian diamond, which had undoubtedly been
brought to Georgia for dishonest purposes.
The Georgia swindle was not success,
thanks to Mr.. KunZ's remarkable knowledge
of the minute differences between precious
stones. There is probably no other expert in
the world who has so quick or certain per-
ception of the value of precious stones and
particularly of the diamond.
Mr. Kunz has called the attention OF the
geological survey to the discovery of two dia-
monds in the United States in 1898 One OF
them was found in the village of Oregon,
Wis. and the other near Kings mountain,
North Carolina. There were two small dia-
monds found in Butte county, California,
during the winter OF 1928. These diamonds,
like most OF the diamonds which have been
found in the United States were picked up
by chance. The Wisconsin diamond was
found by Charles Devine while he was husk-
ing corn in rough. stony field which had
been under the plough for forty years. 1t was
in bank OF clayey earh containing great
many quartz pebbles. This was the second
discovery of diamonds IN the neighborhood
of Oregon, Wis, hut Mr.. Kunz. from his
knowledge of the district reported that it
was altogether unlikely that there was any
diamond bed in the vicinity. The North Caro-
lima case had many more precedents. Dia-
monds have been found in that state in the
search for gold since 1850. In the Butte
county district of California they have been
known since 1858. The first authentic report
of the discovery of diamonds in California
dates from 1850. A New England clergyman
saw small crystal which he identified as a
diamond in the hands of a miner. Most of
the American diamonds have been discovered
during the hunt for gold in one locality or
another.
Diamonds occur in the United States in
two regions. One extends along the south
ern base OF the Allegheny mountains from
Virginia to Georgia; the other on the western
side OF the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges
in northern California and southern Oregon.
The mineralogical conditions in these two re-
mote regions are very similar, and the dis
coveries made in them are much alike. The
formations in the diamond-bearing localities
OF the United States are very like those OF
South Africa where the greet diamond fields
of the world lie. 1t was this likeness of the
conditions in California to those in Brazil
which brought a warning in 1854 from man
named Atwood who was familiar with the
Brazilian diamond-flelds that it was likely
that diamonds were to be found in California,
and that there was danger that they would
be allowed to escape with the worthless quartz
by the gold miners. ignorant of their value.
Since AttwoodS warning, diamonds have
beed found in five counties OF California.
The minerslogical indications failed in an
other quarter, however. DR.. H. C. Lewis
read a paper before the British association at
Birmingham in September, 1886, in which he
said that he had found in Kentucky peridotite
similar to that which occurs in the Kimber-
ley diamond mine in South Africa, and that
he was convinced that a search would reveal
the presence of diamonds in that state. Mr..
KunZ expressed the opinion that the peridotite
alone was not q sure indication of the pres
ence of diamonds. Nevertheless he and an
other representative of the geological survey
went into Elliott county. ky.. in 1856 and
spent two days searching in the neighborhood
of the discovery of peridotite. No diamonds
were found. 1t was proposed by those inter-
ested in the search to equip persons who
lived in the neighborhood with rough dia-
mCnds set in rings. so that they would know
a rough diamond when they saw it, and a
great part OF the population of Elliott county
went about with its nose close to the soil for
many months searching for diamonds. but up.
to the present time no diamonds have been
discovered there. The only diamond found
in Kentucky. so far as known, was vagrant
gem found by C. o. Helm on the farm of
Henry Burris. near the Cabin Fort creek, in
Russell county. While walking through an
old field, Mr.. Helm saw small, bright stone