Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1895-10-19
DIAMOND DIGGINGS.
PRECAU1ICNG AGAINST THEFT IN
SOUTH AFRICAN LINES.

But In Spite Of Ali Tlis Stealing Still Con-
tinucs-,-lc reclino of the Town of KIM
berIey-Pcpu!ation las Ilo.:n to the
Gold FlcIds About Johannesburg.
"The South Afl.,un diamond mines
are worked almost entirely by native
laborcrs-tl:o K&fiirS, ZUlUa, Tottcnt0ts
and tho rest, " said Il diamond merchant.
"These receive good wages, about &l25
per month, and are hired for a term Of
three months. During tbs period they
are confined i'll compounds located On
the edge OF the mines. The compounds
consist of rows Of buildings Of corrugated
iron, forming Il hollow square, surround
ed by high board fence and covering
several acres Of ground. Within this cor
raj arc stores, Il hospital, boarding houses
and other convcnicnces. Wood and Wa
ter are furnished free but 10 alcoholic
liquors arc allowed. Daring their term
of service the natives are not allowed to
have any communication with the out
side world and are under Il system of
close personal surveillance in order to
prevent the theft of diamonds. When
they come up from the mine shaft, they
are carefully searched, and Lany in
genious methods arc adopted to reduce
the loss from this source to q minimum.
Notwithstanding all that is done,
however, the theft Of diamonds still
continues. 1t is estimated that from 10
to 20 per cont of the diamonds found
are stolen every year. In order to pre-
vent this II very stringent law was pass
ed, providing that all rough diamonds
should be registered with the detective
bureau of the government rs soon as
they were found, and that every man
who sold a diamond must give with it
certificate of registry.
"The penalty for having an unrcgis-
tered rough diamond is seven years On
the Cape Town breakwutcr, and Tic
mere fact of possession is prima facie
evidence and will secure conviction. So
it happens that if one laborcr wants to
do up another he manages to slip
rough diamond into the other laborer's
coat, or into his room, and then tells
the police to Keep sharp lockout. OF
course the police MAKE IL arch. tho
contraband stone is found, and the man
is in for term of seven yea. A great
many unjust sentences have uuuuc. ION
ably been secured i'll this way, but de
spite the opposition to the law the COM
pany is powerful enough to Eccp it in
force
"There are other diamond fields out
,i, 10 o. 4 l,,,+
are difficult to work and are mainly OK
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 mon who have been
thrown out of work by the consolidation
Of the Kimberley mines into one vast
corporation and the subsequent restric
ton of production. This latter, by the
way, has had a curious effect upon the
town of Kimberley itself. AS late as
four years ago Kimberley had a popula-
tion Of %, 600 or 30, 600 people. 1t was
laid out for great city and enjoyed for
a timo a big boom.
"Fine brick blocks and residences
were built, hotels and theaters and wa
terwOrks and everything pertaining to
a modern city. Now a good third of
these places are empty, and Kimberley is
as dead as u New England town that is
dependent upon "a single mill. All tho
supplies and machinery for the mines
arc now bought of course by single
company, so hat more than two-thirds
of the business Of tho town is gone.
There is nothing there to sustain town
except the mine, and with tho opening
up Of the goldtields 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 tho invading
prOSpectors and for Il time kept them
ont by law Aftcrward a more liberal
spirit prevailed, and the Bocr govern
ment offered reward for the finding of
paying goldtields. But it was not until
1882 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 Sheba mino
and its phenomenal yield, gave rise to a
fever. Then prospectOrS poured in from
Kimberley and tho Cape, coming by
push cart, wagon, horseback or on foot.
In year there We're 10000 persons in
the district. The center Of the excite
ment was the little town Of Barbcrton,
but this section was soon thrown into
the shade by the discoveries ON the Wit
watersrand. Bnt whjlc the excitement
lasted the De Kuap fields, as they were
known, had their day, and So com
panies, with Il nominal capital Of $155,
900, 900, were f1outod, and many of the
shares sold at a tremendous premium.
Most of these mines are now abandoned,
though the Slcba mino is still big
producer. New York sun.
A Reminder.
"I do not hesitate, Mr.. Stalato," sho