The Indianapolis journal., 1895-07-07
live, and the great detective system that
is continually on the lookout for 81.


is continually on the lookout for ST.
d. BIS"
A law was passed some few years ago
making Illicit trading in diamonds a
felony. This was rendered more strin-
gent by later enactment, making 1t
penitentiary offense for any person to
have in his possession an uncut diamond
unless he had a license from the Cape
government to deal in diamonds, or was
furnished with lie authority as a
digger. The Orange Free State and the
Transvaal Republic also passed laws
against Illicit diamond dealings, but the
colony of Natal which is opposed to
anything that the Cape desires, well
comes the II. d. b." and provides him
with a market for his diamonds, with
no question asked as to how or where
he got them.
TO be an II. d. B." In Cape Colony is
now considered a most despicable Of
fense, though some of the most inf1uen-
tial men Of the colony made their
money through such dealing.
THE YEARLY STEALING.
And yet, notwithstanding the great
caution taken by the company against
the stealing of the stones. diamonds to
the value of about s500.OOO are stolen
annually. Many and ingenious are the
schemes invented to steal diamol DIS.
best be told in the words of the general
manager.
I'VE had a night watchman at the
pulsator," said Mr. Williams. who had
been with the company for years. We
had perfect confidence in him, but 1t
turned out that when he went on duty
at 6 o'clock in the evening he used to
go into the finding rooms-he had keys
to all parts of the pulsator-and search
the ground left on the finding table.
This he kept up for months. He came
one day and asked for two weeks va
cation. This was granted, but some
how, our detectives had become suspi
cious of him. He was followed to Natal,
where he sold some fine stones for the
sum of $4,000. He sent $1,000 to his
mother in Germany and the rest he
banked. While he remained in Natal
we could do nothing to him, but he had
the impudence to march back to the
office and report for duty again. He
| was tried and sentenced to ten years at
hard labor. We got the money which he
| had banked.
There was another case in which a
| confidential clerk of this Office appro-
| priated diamonds TO the value of 100000
1t was his duty to accompany the direc-
| tors and any heads of departments to
| the diamond room. The diamonds found
| at the pulsator are weighed daily, an
inventory Is IdkeH OI tneIn, ana tnen
they are brought to the Office buildings
| and deposited in the diamond vault.
| This fellow used to pick up a fine stone
during the process of weighing, and if he
| had not been careless nobody would
have suspected him.
lone day he let drop a snuff box, in
| which he kept loose diamonds. He is
now repenting his folly on the break
water, at Cape Town"
| The detective system of Kimberley is
the most rigid in the world. Should any
person find a loose. uncut diamond in
| the streets of Kimberley it must be re-
ported at once to the detective depart
ment.
| The diamond is then registered by a
| process of weighing, noting the tint and
| taking its measurement. The finders s
| address is also recorded. At certain in
| tervals these diamonds are sold at auc-
| ton, the finder receiving half of the
proceeds.
There is another system which has re-
ceived a great deal of criticism, viz,
the trapping system" One Of the de-
tectiyes in disguise or a trusted negro
| will approach person who is suspected
of being diamond dealer and offer to
sell him a stone. he proceeds some
| what after this fashion:
Say, pard"-if it is white man who
is doing the selling-'1've got a fine
| stone here; got it yesterday from a
pose of it to advantage, while 1 would
have to keep and perhaps be robbed.
Come, what will you give for it? Is 1t
worth f50?"
Should the person addressed be foolish
| enough to buy il, he is arrested on the
spot, and will probably receive a SEN
tence of from five to ten years for his
pains.
WORSE THAN SLAVERY.
The compound system, where the me-
groes are quartered, is the sight Of a
lifetime. In the old days the negro Ia
borer used to live anywhere he pleased
and could smuggle diamonds to his
hearts satisfaction. But this condition
Of things could not be permitted to con-
tinue unchecked, and the precautions
taken have greatly diminished the evil.
All the natives are hired for a term OF
three months. During this time they
must remain at the compound. They
are permitted TO have no intercourse
with the outside world. The company
sells them their groceries in the com
pound. Wood and medical attendance
are given free. Liquor is prohibited
excepting where the company may give
small bottle of brandy to one of then
for finding a diamond. The various
tribes are kept apart.
| Each compound. has fine netting
over the entire ground. This is to pre-
vent the Kafir from throwing any dia
monds he may have stolen over the in
closure to accomplices. When their three
months service is completed they are
compelled to remain in the compound
for three days longer.
The main thing that the attendants a
a compound have to be constantly or
the lookout for is the swallowing of dia
monds by the natives. About a weel
before my visit to Kimberley a Basutt
swallowed twenty-one diamonds, of al
aggregate weight of 13S carats, and val
ued at $5,095. The natives are very Gun
ming. One of them was known to hav,
taken $4,000 worth of diamonds befor,
he was caught. He would nearly com
plete his term of three months servic'
when it would invariably become neces
sary to send him to the hospital to b.
treated for an abscess. The fellow uset
to poison himself to bring on these alb
scesses, and when they were lanced h,
would secrete' the diamonds in the cav
tiles.
The De Beers company sells all it
output at the Kimberley Office. Th
smallest package sold is valued at 500,
000 The buyer is not allowed to selec
the stones of his choice, but must TAX
them, large and small, as they are con
tanned in the package He gives his or