Rock Island Argus., 1895-09-28
DIAMOND DIGGINGS.
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST THEFT IN
SOUTH AFRICAN MINES.

But In Spite Of All This Stealing Still Con.
tinues-The Decline of the Town Of Kim.
berley-Populntion Has Flown to the
Gold Fields About johannesburg.
1.-THE South African diamond mines
are worked almost entirely by native
laborers-the Kaffirs. Zulus, Hottentct:
and the rest," said q diamond merchant.
"These receive good wages. about $I25
per month, and are hired for term OF
three months. During this period they
are confined in compounds located ON
the edge of the mines. The compounds
consist Of rows of buildings of corrugated
iron. forming hollow square. surround.
ed by high board fence and covering
several acres of ground. Within this cor.
raj are stores. a hospital. boarding houses
and other conveniences Wood and wa.
ter are furnished free, but no alcoholic
liquors are allowed. During their term
OF service the natives are not allowed &c
have any communication with the out.
side world and are under a system Of
close personal surveillance in order to
they como up from tho mine shaft, they
are carefully searched. and many in
geniOus methods are adopted to reduce
the loss from this source tO minimum.
Notwithstanding all that is done.
however. the theft Of diamonds still
continues 1t is estimated that from 10
to 90 per cent of the diamonds found
are stolen every year. In order to pre-
vent this a very stringent law was pass
ed. providing that all rough diamonds
should be registered with the detective
bureau Of the government as soon as
they were found, and that every man
who sold diamond must give with it
a certificate of registry.
1.-The penalty for having an unregis-
tered rough diamond is seven years Oh
the Cape Town breakwater, and the
mere fact of possession is prima facie
evidence and will secure conviction. So
it happens that if one laborer wants to
do up another he manages to slip a
rough diamond into the other laborer's
coat, or into his room, and then tells
the police to keep sharp lookout. OF
course the police make q search, the
contraband stone is found, and the man
is in for term of seven years. A great
many unjust sentences have unGuestion-
ably been secured in this way, but de-
spite the opposition to the law the COM
pany is powerful enough to keep it in
force
There are other diamond fields out
side of the Kimberley district, but they
L. Il.
plotted by diggers working on their own
account The total product is not large
and the work is very arduous, the dig
gers being mostly men who have been
thrown out of work by the consolidation
Of the Kimberley mines into one vast
corporation and the subsequent restric-
tion Of production. This latter, by the
way. has had curious effect upon the
town of Kimberley itself. As late as
four years ago Kimberley hal popula.
tion of $4,000 or 80, 900 people. 1t was
laid ont for q great city and enjoyed for
a time Il big boom.
Fine brick blocks and residences
were built, hotels and theaters and wa
terworks and everything pertaining to
a modern city. Now good third of
these places are empty, and Kimberley is
as dead as New England town that is
| dependent upon single mill. All the
supplies and machinery for the mines
are now bought of course by single
| company, SO that more than two thirds
| of the business of the town is gone.
There is nothing there to sustain Il town
except the mine, and with the opening
| up of the goldfields much of the popu-
lation moved on north to Johannesburg.
although the existence Of gold in
| the Transvaal had been known for years,
yet the Beers disliked the invading
| prospectors and for a time kept them
ont by law. Afterward more liberal
| spirit prevailed, and the Boer govern
ment offered reward for the finding Of
| paying goldfields. But it WAS not until
1859 that the now celebrated gold bear
| ing reef i'll which the bulk of South AT
| rican gold is found was discovered, and
it was not until four years later that the
opening of the celebrated Shcba mine
and its phenomenal yield. gave rise to a
fever. Then prospectors poured i'll from
Kimberley and the Cape, coming by
| push cart. wagon, horseback or on foot
In year there were 10, 900 persons in
the district. The center of the excite
ment was the little town of Barberton
but this section was soon thrown into
the shade by the discoveries on the Wit
watersrand. But while the excitemen,
lasted the Dc Kaap fields. as they were
| known. had their day, and SO com
panies. with Il nominal capital of sl55,
900, 900. We're fioated, and many Of the
shares sold at a tremendous premium
| Most of these mines are now abandoned
though the Sheba mine is still a big
| producer. New York Sun.