The Washington weekly post., 1899-10-10

product in this way. The business Of pur
! chasing stolen germs occupies many enter
priSing persons. and the methods devised
/ by the l. u. BIS as the Illicit diamond
! buyers are called exhibit an ingenuity
worthy Of a more honorable calling. Laws
| framed to put down this ofense are ex-
| ceedingly strict-so much So indeed. that
| a presumption Of guilt Is always consider
ed as standing against an accused person
| unless he can prove his ian0cence-and
sentences OF five to fifteen years are COM
monty imposed in cases Of conviction. As
for the thief II caught, he Is whipped
| with extreme severity, or else set at
breaking rocks for term Of years. The
| principal outlet for contraband stones Is
through the Transvaal to Natal
Kafir- Practically Slaves
Exceptionally good wages serve TO at
tract the Kaffirs to the mines. and for the
sake Of the high pay they are recoReiled
10 certain conditions Of servitude with
| which white men could hardly be induced
| TO put Up. These relate 10 the precau-
lions above referred 10 against thieying
Every evening when the laborers come
from the diggings they are obliged TO
strip themselves 10 absolute nudity and
hang their clothes-usUally the latter con-
slst Of a breechclOut merely-upOn pegs
on the wall Then they are subjected to
an elaborate examination. even their
mouths, ears, &c, being inspected. From
| the examining room they go to the quar-
tiers in the compound, where they pass the
night, blankets being provided for their
comfort, and the clothing they haze left
behind is carefully looked over The lat
ter they put on wnen they 20 TO work
again in the morning. Customarily they
are engaged for a period of three months,
and they may renew the contract as often
as they desire; but during the term of
employment they are not permitted TO
leave the inclosure, which is surrounded
by wall miles in length and of consid-
cradle height
How so many diamonds are stolen under
such conditions is q mystery even to the
officials of the company. On one occa-
sion black fellow was found to have
concealed bog stone. worth many thou
sands OF dollars, in a wound in the calf OF
his leg, covering ii over with q piece of
sticking plaster just the color of his skin
II was discovered by the merest accident,
and since then the examiners have pur-
sued the method OF tapping each laborer
gently with q mallet over various portions
Of his anatomy, so that the presence of a
hidden gem may be revealed by sound 1t
should be explained tnat an underground
passage connects the mine with the COM
pound, and an overhead wire netting pre-
vents the workmen from tossing stones
over the wall 10 a confederate or an /. u. |
B. on the outer side.
Guarding Against Theft.
The compound of the De Beers mine, |
for example, is vast triangular space. |
with a huge bathing tank in the center /
and long, mudbuilt sheds of one story |
all around the sides. These sheds are |
cut up into innumerable little rooms, and |
overhead, from side to side and from end |
to end of the inclosure. is a net of wires |
the meshes of which are not more than |
an inch in width. The Kaffirs make fire. |
quent use of the tank, for they are a |
cleanly people, and il is said that they
never eat meal without washing their
teeth after 1t. If they fall sick or are in
jured in the mines they are cared for In
the company's hospital. During the term
Of their contract they are allowed to use
only compound money" l. e., brass
tickets. one of which is good for a
shilling's worth of provisions, tobacco.
ginger pop. or what not, at the compound |
store. AT the end of his period of seryi-
-ude, during which he is as much a pris-
)ner as any convict, the laborer goes TO
detention house." where he Is stripDed TO
he skin and remains in that condition for
week. Every act of his daily life il
here performed under the eve of guards
md If he has attempted to steal any dia-
nonds by swallowing them, the fact is
surely discovered
Some of the largest diamonds ever
Known have been dug out of the Kimberley
deposits. One of these. from the De Beers
nine was exhibited at the Paris Exposi-
Ion of 1889, and was purchased by an
oriental prince 1t weighed 225 carats
Lfter cutting. and was q very pale yellow
N color The Nizam of Hyderabad. a
ew years ago, bought the famous Victo-
ia, otherwise known as the imperial dia-
nond, which weighed $50 carats after cut
ing 1t is remarkably beautiful stone.
of blush white color and fawless.
strange to say, this gem, then the largest
diamond OF modern times, came to Lon
on without history. 1t was from one
4 the Kimberley mines, however, and was
wned by London syndicate. Afterward
was ascertained that IL had been stolen
y Iour men, three Of whom lost their
mares In 1t at cards the very first night
fter IT came into their possession.
In 1884 the Jagersfontein diamond was
iscoVered at one Of the Kimberley mines.
weighed 81 carats, or nearly half a
ound avoifdupois, and was three inches
'ng, one and one-half inches thick. and
wo and one-half wide A Kafir picked
up yhile he was loading a cart with :
lue clay, and. concealing it about his .
erson, gave it to the manager directly.
n return. he received $50 in cash. a
orse. and saddle The stone Is valued !
$2,VooVOO. 1t is blue-white In color. and
iuItless except for very small daw in
le center II was presented TO the Popa y
y Dom Paul Kruger. WV b