The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-08-22

wheels sometimes sank to the hub.
When we reached the diamond mining
camp my friends the traders introduced
me to one Of the miners, named Carmi-
chael, of San Francisco. When he
learned that | was from the States we
became friends, and he insisted that
should take up my quarters with him.
The following day l was initiated into
the arts and mysteries of diamond min
ing.
The diamond fields comprise four
mines-Dut Tots pan, Bulfontein, old
De Beers and Kimberley. In the days
write of they had been worked but lit
tie. Kimberley was the deepest. The
process in searching for diamonds was
what we termed dry sorting.
A piece of. netting slung on the princi-
pie of hammock and large enough to
hold about six buckets of gravel was
worked back and forth by native Girl
guas. The fine sand falling through
was shoveled up and carried to a table,
where it was sorted over The larger
gravel in the net was put through the
same process Sometimes there was
! found goodsized stone in it, the
i largest I found in dry sorting being a
one hundred and thirty two-carat stone,
very yellow and badly shattered, and
worth only fifteen sh1llpgs, or $3.75 a
, carat.
| Carmichael and I We're now working
| together on sharps. He found stone
one day weighing nine carats, which
sold for five dollars a carat. 1t was a
perfect gem.
The diamond buyers were all located
| at Kimberly, which eventually became
| the great diamond market of South At
RIGA. At this early date it was individ-
ual digging, and the buyers would
| daily visit the mines, beating up trade,
which was termed Kopje wa1loping.
| Something now occurred which
changed the entire aspect of affairs. 1t
| was the arrival Of an engineer and car
penter named PETERSON, with his wife.
Just imagine the excitement it caused
on the fields! 1t was the first white wo-
man we had seen there.
To celebrate this.event we wanted a
flag, but having none we hoisted a shirt
on pole and suspended work for that
entire day. Previous to this our niggers
had paraded the camp in dress uniform.
Now sacks were greatly in demand.
This Peterson now introduced plans
for hauling the ground out of the mines.
and erected washing machine and an
elevator to be worked by horsepower.
Two firms were communicated with,
and they opened stores on the fields,
with everything connected with mining,
including powder and dynamite, an ex-
plosive I had made study of. This
introduction of machinery required con-
siderable capital and the diamond buy
ers, taking advantage Of the inability
of some of the diggers to meet this ex-
pense for machinery bought their
claims. each thirty feet square, for a
small figure, started erecting machinery
and employed the unfortunate miner as
overseer at a salary equal to twenty
five dollars week, and those that were
able to do carpentering or smith work
We're paid thirtyfive dollars per week.
The demand came now for water to
wash the diamondferous SOIL there
fore Carmichael and / sold out and
turned our attention to blasting and
sinking wells at the rate Of ten dollars
per foot. 1t was now an exciting min
ing camp The colonial government
sent up mining Inspector opened a
post-office, erected police barracks and
appointed a resident magistrate. Work
on extending the railroad was begun
and freighters We're running passenger
wagons drawn by mules and charging
$3.50 q hundred pounds for freight
Claims were increasing in value, and
some Beers that owned claims sold out
and realized as high as five thousand
dollars for a claim.
My partner had decided to take a
trip to Cape Town, and in his absence
/ took a job to sink a well for two min
ers I will remember that job until my
dying day. I employed two natives to
assist me, and with small quantities of
powder worked down thirty-fve feet
After lighting my charge [ was always
hauled up by these natives by means
of windlass
After getting down this depth struck
a vein of hard rock and decided to use
dynamite. l drilled a hole, charged it,
lit my fuse and was hauled up as usual
by my niggers. l knew they had a NOR
tai terror of dynamite but did not give
it any serious thought. After they had
cleaned up the effects of the charge, I
took one of them down with me and
drilled two angles for a double shot. l
charged the holes, marked the center of
the fuse so that both charges would go
off at the one time, and sent my niger |
up to get ready to haul me up as soon
as l lit my fuse. I noticed his hurried |
call of ''doonsah," or pull up" but
thought nothing of it at the time 7 |
drew my knife, cut the fuse, placed the
knife In my mouth until I opened the |
fuse to loosen the powder, lit it and |
then called to be pulled up. No move |
ment of the rope was made. I looked !
up, when to my horror discovered |
that they had abandoned the windlass. |
1t was ve-minute fuse. ] felt gid
dy for a second, but realizing the awful |
death awaiting me, nerved myself to in |
slant action. Having my Knife ready I |
drew the fuse and cut both ends short !
at, the primers, and then dropped down |
all Of a heap when l recovered myself |
] was obliged to get out hand over hand !
I never found those niggers.
A seriou~state of affairs came to the |
knowledge Of the miners which was IL |
licit diamond trade. An overseer was !
detailed to watch five natives, and dur
ing their days labor they would some
times find diamond in picking. This