Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1899-02-08
The Star Of south africa.

there in 1854, three wears before the
discovery OF the diamond field. This
boy worked as shepherd for Van
Asweld, Boer living at Oaktown,
IN Griqua land. 500 miles from Cape
Town. lit was in 1869. two Years after
the first finding of diamonds. but the
boy knew nothing OF the value of his
md, and his master but little more.
Il was freiGhting to Kimberley. in
charge of six wagons and | went into
camp one night near Van Asweld's
place. j had known the old fellow
for two years. and after had seen
that everything was right for the
night in the camp 1 went over to his
house to make him a call. Van AS
weld. though friendly enough. re-
ceived me in the stolid half-suspicious
way characteristic of his people in
meeting an Englishman. He oa:ned
confidence as we tailed. and at last.
Just as / was about to go. he fetched
rom a chest something wrapped up
in dressed lambskin, which he un-
rolled and displayed to me.
| Vat You teenk of dot?" he asked.
lit was what seemed to be a crys-
tai, the size of q walnut. sort OF
crust of earthly material Enclosed it.
but through this crust 1 saw in the
famplight some CLEANS of color and
brightness.
oh. it may be pebble, or it may
be "a diamond | said. Where did YOU
pick it up?'
Dot boy Pombe. der Kaffir. find
1T when he drife der sheep to der
kraal. He come to me und say he
mooee clittee hat found-a beautiful
stone, as you say. And / hat it. Vat
yon teenk? Is it Something's vurt?'
II looked carefully al THE stone
again and fancied its SoSoe- as I turn
ed ut in the lamplight: I'll give you
this pipe-it'S meerschaum from the
block-and five pounds of plug to-
bacco for it, 1 said.
The Boer pondered on my offer,
then rolled the stone up i'm a lamb
skim, put it away and did not return
to the subject again that night The
next morning as l was inspamning nv
teams Van Asweld came over to the
camp. bringing 1.-THE lambskin and it's
Enclosure. Unrolling it again he
asked me:
Vat you teen today? Is it der
pipe und der tobacco vurt?'
I'm the daylight the stone under it's
crust looked as dull as glass. I was
busy with my men and oxen, all call
ing for my attention dozen different
ways at once, so 1 merely glanced at
it. Van Asweld had always been
friendly to me. l did not take much
stock an the stone, but / saw that he
had taken a fancy to my pipe and
was willing to please him.
Yes, I'll stick to my Offer | said,
expecting that he would take me IND
butt not at all desiring that he should
1t was his Dutch slowness of thinking
only, believe ITO this day, that kept
him from doing it. But he had to
ponder the proposition over again be-
fore he could come TO conclusion.
and, as luck would have it. he seated
himself in the shade of a tree. New.
there are two things that bring ,ut
the tints of a diamond in perfection:
the lights of chandelier and the
shade of tree in a bright day The
sunbeams, you see. sitting down
through the moving leaves give just
the play of light that brings out ev-
erything there is in the stone. Van
Asweld's eye caught the dert,h and
glow of flame under the stones crust
ing that l had seen by the lamplight
the night before.
L dakes my WOOL to Cape Town
next month"; he said at last 4 show
der stone to Lillifeldt und find vat he
say ITO it, He rolled the stone up
once more in the lambskin. and my
chance for getting the 'mooee cittee'
was gone. Of course, I did not know
what I was missing, and the whole
thing passed out of my mind. | did
not think of the stone again until my
meeting Van Asweld, three months
later, in Cape Town, reminded me of
| it.
Der luster stone, you gif me der
pipe and tobacco for it now?' he said.
with perfect gravity.
oh, you brought it to Lillifeldts.
did your 1 said. He told you, I sup
pose, that it was a crystal worth 2
shillings for a curiosity?'
| 'Yaw, it vas crystal-a diamond
like a crystal big-und he say he gif
me 100000
Ten thousand pounds.' T re-
peated. thinking that someone had
been playing the old fellow a joke.
| of course, they paid you the money
| down.
| Nav. 7 not dakes it he answered
ct was the simple truth he told me-
Lillifeldt & Co. had offered him 6 no.
600 for the 'mooee clittee' and he had
refused the offer. He took it back
to Oalotown with him, and there he
squared matters with Pombe, who
found the stone. Tt was the custom
airy agreement with Beers with their
Kaffir employees that when lad had
served out his time with master he
should receive from him ten sheep.
a yoke of oxen, an AK and some trink-
cts and yards of calico cloth. With
these he could go back to his people,
| buy wife or two, and set up as
man of consideration in the COM
munity. Van Asweld gave Pombe 300
sheep. forty-eight goats, wagon and
span of sixteen oxen, which was
wealth for a Kaffir.
! "The 1illifeldt's got the 'mooee Gilt
tee at last. paying Van Asweld ELL
600 for the stone. which he was once
within an ace of parting with for a
meerschaum pipe and five pounds OF
tobacco If he had not gone under
THE tree ITO think my offer over 1 be-
lieve the great diamond it weighed
| SO karats uncut-would have gone to
me. Lillffeldt & Co. called the stone
THE Star of South Africa and sent
It in the mail steamer Celt to London
under 100000 insurance. There it
| u,as ont down TO AZ karatS and of its