The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-17
SOUTH AFRICA DIAMONDS
Instances of Luck. Related by a
Former Digger.
THE FRANKS OF FORTUNE
Men Who Have Made Rich Finds on
Grounds Where Others Had Spent
Their All ~ The First Dis
covery of Diamonds.

"The first diamond discovered in
Souht Africa" said Henry A. Kratsch
who spent several years in the diamond
fields, was purchased in 1867 by trad
er, an Irishman by birth named John
O'Reilly. While returning from the in
terror with his cattle he stayed for a
few days, in order to recuperate, at a
large farm on the banks of the Orange
river, owned by a Boer named Schalk
van Neikerk. A peculiar stone had
been picked up some time previously
by Bushman boy. OReilly bought it
for trit1e out Ct curiosity net know
ing himself what it was, and took it
with him to town called Solesherg
and handed it to the resident civil COM
missioner, who in turn forwarded it to
DIR. Atherstone in Graham's Town,
Cape Colony. This gentleman, after
careful examination, pronounced
it veritable diamond 21A
carats in weight and worth
$4,000. 1t was subsequently purchased
for this price by the governor of the
colony, Sir P. Wodehouse. When the
find became known a search for dia-
monds was instituted through
out the Hope Town district,
but it was not until 1859 that the exist
ence of diamonds in paying quantities
was proved beyond doubt. Then a
great rush of diggers from all parts
of The globe was made to the Orange
river and it's vicinity. 1t is curious
fact that, though the earliest finds were
made in the Hope Town district, no
mines We're discovered there. In the
latter part of 1870 lot of miners who
had gained valuable experience in Cal
ifornia and Australia, discovered a mine
about 100 miles due north of Hope Town.
nearly 1000 miles from Cape Town,
which they named after the then Brit
ish colonial secretary, the earl of Kim
berley. At the beginning of 1871 10000
men had found their way to this spot.
The extensive farm on which the Kim
berley mine and town are situated was
the property of one Van Wyck, from
whom it was purchased for about $685.
900. .E. E,.4'r
THE actual diamond mine is hole
of IS or 80 acres. The mining was so
called gravel digging until 1878, when
the hard rock was reached at the depth
of go feet from the surface. There
We're then about 800 claims on which
licenses were paid The yield of dia
monds from this big excavation since
the opening of the mine in, 1871 prob
ably exceeds eight tons weight of
precious storfess5i value about s240,-
100000. After years Of progress all the
individual small diggers and claim
holders sold out to a gigantic syn
dictate, of which the late Barney
Barnato and Cecil Rhodes We're the
promoters. This company employs at
present about 1,7O0 white men and
about $4,000 Kaffirs, and its expendi
lures for labor. material, ETC., are not
less than $4,000, 600 annually. The fin
est diamond ever found in South Africa
was the famous Porter Rhodes. discov-
cred in claim No. 375, near the center of
Kimberley mine, on Feb. u, 1880. 1t is
pure white octahedron, weighing $50
carats and valued at $1,000 A splen-
did yellow octahedron was found on \
March 27. 1884, TAT the east end of the
mine. 1t weighed 302 carats. The larg
est diamond ever found in this mine
was discovered near the west end of
the mine on Sept. 49, 1885. It was "a
large irregular octahedron. slightly
spotted. of yellow color, and weighed
404 carats, or nearly three ounces. In
the month of February previous Il
similar stone of 1852 carats was found
near the east end of the mine. The
former of these stones is probably the
largest diamond the world has yet pro-
duced, excepting very imperfect stone
of some 500 carats found in Jagersfon-
tein, Orange Free State, in 1881.
About 20 miles to the westward of
Kimberley the Vaal river is met. Da-
mond mining is in active progress on it's
banks. These mines are generally term
ed the poor mans diggings, because any
man with a little capital can go there
and stake off an unoccupied claim
i0x4O, pay his monthly license fee of
$3.50 to the government mining COM
missioner. and go to, work. The only
mining implements necessary for his
are a pick and shovel, a
large gravel sieve and a smaller hand
sieve, two tubs generally obtained by
saving an ale barrel in half, and pro-
visional table to sort on. as we'll as a
large pail in order to carry the water
for washing the sand from the gravel
i'll the tubs. AS a rule, one of these
prospectors, according to his means,
hires two or three kaffir labOrers at
about s. week and keep, the rations
being regulated by law. These men
perform the more laborious work in
the sun, the prospector generally limit
ing himself to the actual washing and
sorting. The digging is purely surface
as at depth of about two feet a solid
rock is met. l have known instances
during my sojourn there where men
have expended their last cent and saw
ings, probably ranging from $500 to ST.
600, endured all kinds of hardships and
never found anything.
On the other hand, | have also met
men Who, after a few weeks work,
found stones to the value of $4,000
can recall one instance where a man
whom l personally knew, had accumu-
lated about $1,000. He took chances
and went to the river to try his luck.
He employed several natives and took
out license for three claims. He work
ed increasingly for about two months.
without even finding a single stone.
Then he abandoned his claims ana re-
turned broke to Kimberley. A week or
two after his departure a Scotchman
named Cameron staked off one claim in
the center of where the former three
had been, hired one kaffir and started
to work. On the fourth day when he
was washing up he found a pure white
octahedron of 1471a carats. which he
sold to a visiting broker on the spot
for $4,000 cash. The largest diamond
found on the Vaal river surface dig
glngs, known as The Spalding or Stew
art diamond. was discovered in 1872. IT
Welged 2SS carats and was valued then
at $4,000. 1t has been cut and weighs