Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1895-12-12
DIAMOND DIGGINGS
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST rArr l.
SOUTH AFRICAN MINES ["

ttru.. stlll Con.
''nae'1se Decline Of the Town Of H.
beriey--f'opulation Has Fiov,
Gold Fields About Johannesburg.
The South African diamora
are worked almost entirely Nv M
laborers-the Kaffirs, Zulus. Ho,.a1 1--we
and the rest" said diamond mercbss.
These receive good wages, abon, A..
per month, and are hired for tow.
three months. During this period ~
are confined in compounds locatad
the edge of the mines The comno,.s
consist of rows of buildings of CORN Nus
iron, forming hollow square. snrre'..s
ed by high board fence anu coyar;n.
several acres of ground. Within tb;s ~
raj are stores, a hospital, BOARDING ~
and other conveniences. Wood and W.
ter are furnished free, but no alcohs,a.
liquors are allowed. During their ,or,s
of service the natives are not allowed -
have any communication with the ~.
side world and are under system !,
close personal surveillance in oraar
prevent the theft Of diamonds W.
they come up from the mine shaft H.
are carefully searched, and many in
genious methods are adopted to redno.
the loss from this source to a mininnr,
Notwithstanding all that is DONE
however, the theft of diamonds st;l,
continues. 1t is estimated that from IN
to 20 per cent of the diamonds found
are stolen every year. In order to nre
vent this very stringent law was mas,
ed, providing that all rough diamonds
should be registered with the detective
bureau of the government as soon az
they were found, and that every man
who sold a diamond must give with 4
a certificate of registry.
"The penalty for having an unregis.
tered rough diamond is seven wears on
the Cape Town breakwater, and the
mere fact of possession is priina facie
evidence and will secure conviction. So
it happens that if one laborer wants 10
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 search. the
contraband stone is found, and the man
is in for term of seven years A great
many unjust sentences have unouestim.
ably been secured i'll 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 ont.
side of the Kimberley district, but they
are difficult to work and are mainly ex.
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 had popula-
ton Of %, 900 or 80, 900 people It was
laid out for great city and enjoyed for
a time 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 Kimberleyis
as dead as New England town that is
dependent upon single mill. All the
supplies and machinery for the mines
arc now bought Of course by a single
company, 50 that more than two-thirds
of the business of the town is gone.
There is nothing there to sustain 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 III
the Transyaal had been known for years
yet the Beers disliked the invading
prospectors and for time kept them
out by law. Afterward more liberal
spirit prevailed, and the Boer govern
ment offered reward for the finding q
paying goldfields. But it was not until
1882 that the now celebrated gold bear
ing reef in which the bulk of South Al.
rican gold is found was discovered, aud
it was not until four years later that tAe
opening of the celebrated Sheba mine
and its phenomenal yield, gave rise tos
fever. Then prospectors poured IN from
Kimberley and the Cape, coming oy
push cart, wagon, horseback or on 1921.
In year there were $1,000 persons III
the district. The center Of the excite
ment was the little town of Barbertoh'
but this section was soon thrown lno
tho shade by the discoveries on the Nl'-
watersrand. But while the eXcltelnet"
lasted the De Kaap fields, as they were
known, had their day, and 70 som'
panies, with a nominal capital q sioS'
600, 000 were tloated. and many q tne
shares sold at tremendous premium
Most of these mines are now abandoned
though the Sheba mine is still pis
producer. New York Sun.
A Reminder.
81 do not hesitate, Mr.. Stalate' sae