The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-02
THE STAR OF SOUTH AFRICA.
Pipe and Five Pounds of Tobacco
Nearly Bought the Beautiful stone.
New York Sun.

New York Sun.
1T was a Kaff1r boy named Pombe who
found the great diamond afterward called
the Star Of South Africa" said A. c. from
ridge who spent twelve years in South At
RIGA, going there in 1854 three years before
the discovery of the diamond fields This
boy worked as a shepherd for Van Asweld,
a BOer living at OaktoWn, in Griqua Land.
800 miles from Cape Town. 1t was in 1869,
two years after the first finding of diamonds,
but the boy knew nothing of the value of his
find, and his master but little more I was
freighting TO Kimberley, in charge of six
wagons, and / went into camp one night
near Van Asweld's place. l had known the
old fellow for two years, and after | had
seen that everything was right for the night
him a call. Van Asweld, though friendly
enough, received me in the stold half-sus-
picious way characteristic of his people in
dence as we talked, and at last, just as
was about to go, he fetched from chest
something wrapped up in dressed lamb
skin, which he unrolled and displayed to
me.
Vat you teenk of dot?' he asked
1T. 1T was what seemed to be a crystal, the
material inclosed it. but through this crust L
saw in the lamplight some CLEANS of color
and brightness.
g oh it may be a pebble or it may be a
diamond 1 said. Where did you pick it
up?,
he drfe der sheep to der kraal. He come
to me und say he a mooee cl1ttee hat found
a beautiful stone, as you say And hat
it. Vat you teenk? Is it Something's vurt?'
II looked carefully at the stone again
and fancied its color as l turned it in the
lamplight. I'll give. you this pipe-it's meer-
schaum from the block-and five pounds of
plug tobacco for it, / said
The BOer pondered on my offer. then
rolled the stone up in a lambskin, put il
away and did not return to the subject again
that night. The next morning, as | was in
spanning my teams, Van Asweld came over
to the camp, bringing the lambskin ard it's
inplOEnTp lJnT0lIinQ
=" Vat you teenk to-day? Is it der pipe
and der tobacco vurt?'
I'm the daylight the stone under its crust
looked as dull as glass. | was busy with
my men and oxen, all calling for my atten-
ton dozen different ways at once so |
merely glanced at it. Van Asweld had al
ways been friendly to me did not take
much stock in the stone but saw that he
had taken a fancy to my pipe and L was
Yes. ri stick by my Offer said. ex-
pecting that he would take me up, but not
at all desiring that ne should. IL was ms
Dutch slowness of thinking only. / believe
to this day, that kept him from doing it. But
he had to ponder the proposition over again
before he could come to a decision and, as
luck would have it. he seated himself in the
shade Of a tree. Now. there are two things
that bring out the tints of a diamond IN
perfection: the lights of a chandelier and
the shade of a tree in q bright day. Inc
sunbeams you see. sitting down through
the moving leaves give just the play OF light
that brings out everything there IS IN the
stone. Van Aswelds eye caught the depth
and glow of flame under the stones crust
ing that / had seen by the lamplight the
~ dakes my vool to Cape Town next
month he said at last. 1 show der stone
to Iillifeldt und find vat he say to it.. He
rolled the stone up once more in the lamb
skin. and my chance for getting the ''mooee
clittee' was gone. OF course did not know
what I was missing, and the whole thing
passed out of mind did not think OF the
stone again until my meeting Van Asweld.
three months later, in Cape Town, reminded
Der lustre stone; you gift me der pipe
and tobacco for it now? he said, with per-
on. you brought it to Lillifeldt's, did
vou?' said. He told you, suppose, that
it was a crystal worth two shiihngs for
sYaw. it vas a crystal-a diamond like
crystal big-und he say he gift me $1,000
= 1rTen thousand pou~dsH repeated, think
ing that some one had been playing the old
fellow joke OF course they paid you the
money down.
ut was the simple truth he told me. Lilli-
feldt & Co had offered him 2l0.000 for the
rnooee clttee' and he had refused the offer.
He took 1t back to Valetown with him, and
there he squared matters with Pombe, who
found the stone 1t was the customary
agreement OF Beers with their Kafi1r en-
ployes that when a lad had served out his
time with a master he should receive from
him ten sheep, yoke of oxen, an ak ard
some trinkets and yards OF calico cloth.
With these he could go back to his people,
buy a wife or two and set up as a man OF
consideration in the community Van AS
weld gave Pombe three hundred sheep, for
oxen which was wealth for Kaffir.
1.-THE Lillifeldta HOG the mOoee clitteef n4