The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-10-29
RHEUMATISM, NEURAL GIA,
hardly realizing what was taking place

]
! hardly realizing what was taking place.
AS the hot African sun sank in the west
that evening Robinson, then nearly forty
years Of age, found himself homeless and
! penniless. South Africa is the worst
place in the world to be without money;
| it was so then, it is so now. Robinson
| had heard stories of the new diamond
/ fields at Kimberley. He had been in
! formed that several had made their for
| tunes at the diggings. He decided TO go
to Kimberley The question was, how?
Kimberley was nearly 200 miles from
Bloemfontein. Mrs. Robinson suggested
that they walk there. The husband
shouldered his little belongings and
started for the diamond Mecca A few
miles from the Orange Free State CAPT
tai the couple stopped at a farmhouse
and asked for a nights shelter. They
were given a supper, a place to sleep and
a breakfast in the morning. Thus day
! in and day out for three weeks Robinson
and his wife depended on charity until
they arrived at Kimberley. a peculiar
looking pair they were when they arriv-
ed at the then busy diamond diggings.
The two travellers were footsore and
weary from their long march over the
hot African Karoo and hills. Things
looked extremely black for them, but it
is an old saying that IT is always darkest
just before dawn. This happened to be
case with Robinson and his better half.
1t was the unexpected that happened.
u
streets of Kimberly, dragging his feet in
listless manner, he kicked a shining OBJ
ject from under the dust. It proved to
be a fine, uncut diamond. Robinson then
knew little Of the value of those precious
stones nor their quality. Now he has
diamond mines of his own, and can tell
in an instant the value of an uncut
stone. Within two hours after he had
found the diamond, he sold it for 1920.
This was more money than he had ever
possessed 1t was the turning point in
his life. Since the day he arrived at
Kimberley everything that Robinson has
touched turns to gold.
Like others who were then at Kimber-
ley, Robinson soon went to buying dia-
monds on the sly from the negroes. In
those days the natives stole the gems
with impunity, selling stones worth a
small fortune for a mere song, or ex-
changing them for bottle of Cape
Smoke" Cbrandy), valued at about 81.
Within year Robinson was man Of in
dependent fortune and growing rich
daily
It was in 1888 that gold was found in
the Barberton district OF the Transvaal.
Robinson was among the first to arrive
at the new gold diggings. His invest
ments there all added to his wealth.
When gold was found in 1856 at Johannes
burg Robinson hurried to the scene. He
paid an old Boer farmer $4,000 for
section of his farm
Old prospectors shook their heads, stat
ing that -. b" was getting foolish in
his old age with his money, and If he
carried on that way he would lose every
penny he possessed. For time even
Robinson thought he had purchased a
worthless piece Of property. He offered
to sell the land for one-quarter what he
paid for 1t, but everybody laughed at him,
stating that they would not have it for
q
Robinson stin chung to him. His mine,
known as the Robinson mine" turned
out to be the richest on the Rand. In
1893 an English syndicate offered him
S1O,O0a000 for the property, but Robinson
refused TO sell. Besides being the owner
Of the richest mine in johannesburg, this
wonderful multi millionaire has large
diamond fields at Jogersfonteln, near
Bloemfontein. On these fields the larg-
est diamond in the world was found. II
weighs in its uncut state 971 carats.
This stone. which is pure white, the
writer saw in 1894 at the johannesburg
Office of Mr.. Robinson. An Indian rajah
is said to have offered Sl.250,000 for the
gem in the rough, but the offer was re-
fused.
In 1894 the wealth Of this Croesus OF
South Africa was conservauvely esti-
mated at $3.50 100000. while many claim
ed that it was nearer half a billion. His
income for that year above all expenses
was S25. 600. 900 Robinson states that he
does not know within a few how many
millions he now possesses.
In appearance Mr.. Robinson Is Of me-
dunn height. has a ford face. gray hair
and mustache. He has a quick and
jerky manner when couversing. lie and
his wife keep up a large establishment IN
the Transvaal. and they have also
magnificent estate in England.
OF course. these days are a vast dif-
ference to Mrs. Robinson, but she IS not
like her husband. The grocery store ex-
periance has not embittered her nature.
she gives largely to charity and no ono
appeals 20 her in vain for aid