The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-02-04

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spent several years in the diamond fields.
according to the New York Sun, twas
purchased in 1867 by trader, an Irish
man by birth, named John O'Reilly. While
returning from the interior with his cat
tie he stayed for few days, in order to
recupcrate, at large farm on the banks
Of the Orange river owned by a Boer
named Schalk van Niekerk. A peculiar
stone had been picked up some time pre-
viously by a Bushman boy. O'Reilly
bought it for a trils out of curiosity, not
knowing himself what it was, and took
It with him to q town called Colssberg
and handed it to the resident civil COM
missioner, who iii tCrl forwarded it to
Dr. Atherstone in Graham's Town. Cape
Colony. This gentleman after careful ex-
animation, pronounced it a veritable dia-
'rnond 21A carats in weight and worth
$4,000. 1t was subsequently purchased
for this price by the governor, of the col
ony; Sir P. Wodehouse. When the find
became known search for diamonds
was instituted throughout the Hope Town
district, but it was not until 1869 that the
existence Of diamonds in paying quaint
Ties was proved beyond a doubt. Then
great rush of diggers from all parts of the
globe was made &c the Orange river and
it's vicinity. 1t lis a curious fact that,
though the earliest finds were made in
the Hope Town district. no mine was dis
covered there. In the latter part of 1870
a lot of miners who Lad gained valuable
experience i'll California 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 British colonial secretary, the
earl of Kimberly. At the beginning Of
1871 10000 men had found their way to
this srct. The extensive farm on which
the Kimberly mine and town are situated
was the property of one Van Wyck from
whom it was purchased for about $3.50
1.-THE actual diamond mine is hole Of
twenty-five or thirty acres. The mining
was so-called gravel digging until 1873.
when the hard rock, was reached at the
depth of 27O feet from the surface. There
were then about 800 claims on which Ii
.censes were Daid. The yield. Of diamonds
from this big excavation since the open;
ing of the mine in 1871 probably exceeds
eight tons weight of precious stones, in
value about $240,O0O,0O0. After years of
progress all the individual small diggers
and claimholders sold out 20 a gigantic
syndicate of which the late Barney Bar
nato and Cecil Rhodes were the promot-
ers. This company employees at present
about ZOO white men and about IA 900
KaMrs, and its expenditures for labor,
material etc. are not less than $12, 900 900
annually. The finest diamond ever found
In South Africa was the famous Porter
Rhodes discovered in claim No. 375, near
the center Of Kimberley mine, on Feb.
r. 1880. 1t is, pure white octahedron,
weighing $50 carats and valued at $780,
900. A splendid yellow octahedron was
found on March -. 1854, at the east end
of the mine. It weighed 302 carats. The
largest diamond ever found in this mine
was discovered near the west end of the
mine on Sept. 20, 1885. It was a large ir-
regular octahedrCn, slightly spotted, Of
yellow color, and weighed 4O4 carats or
nearly three ounces In the month of
FEBRUARY previous similar stone OF 352
carats was found near the east end of
the mine. The former of these stones is
probably the largest diamond the world
has yet produced, excepting a very i'm
perfect stone Of some 500 carats found in
Jagersfontein, Orange Free State. in 1881
"About twenty miles to the westward
OF Kimberley the Vaal river is met.
Diamond mining Is in active progress on
its banks. These mines are generally
termed the poor mans diggings, because
any man with a little capital can so there
and stake off an unoccupied claim 4Ox4O,
pay his monthly license fee of $3.50 to
the government mining commissioner and
60 to work. The only mining implement
necessary for his undertaking axe pick
and shovel, large gravel Sleve and a
smaller hand sieve, two tubs, generally
obtained by saving an ale barrel in half,
and a provisional liable to sort on, as
well as a large pail in order to carry
tho water f>r washing the sand from
the gravel in the tubs. AS rule one of
these p-0spectors, according to his means,
hires two or three Kaffir laborers at about
- week and keep, the rations being
regulated by law. These men perform the
more laborious work in the sun, the pros
pector generally limiting himself to the
actual washing and sorting. The digging
: two feet a solid rock is met. I have
where men have expended their last cent
and savings probably ranging from $5OO
to $1,000, endured all kinds Of hardships
and never found anything.
con the other hand, have also met
men who, after a few weeks work. found
stones to the value of $4,000 can re-
call one instance where man whom I
personally knew had accumulated about
$1,000. He took chances and went to the
river to try his luck. He employed sew
eral natives and took out a license for
three claims. He worked INCREASINGLY for
about two months, without even finding
a single stone. Then he abandoned his
claims erd returned 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 Kaf1r and