The Savannah morning news., 1900-07-20
In an African Diamond Mine.
az 0pA.ov Nar,s,

While a Trummel l took advantage OF
a couple of days camping to go out three
miles from camp TO have a look at a
diamond mine. l found a red-whiskered
Dutchmau in charge, who knew less Eng
lish than I knew Dutch, and as my Dutch
consists of about twelve words, we did
not do much in the converse tional line:
but l made him understand by panto~
mimic telegraphy that l wanted to have a
look round, to size up things. He took me
to a dump" where the ore at grass
was stored. and converted himself into
human stone-cracking machine for my
benefit, until l had seen all that l wanted
to see in regard to the "ore at grass"
He was very much like mine managers
the world over-very ready to play tricks
on any one he considered green" a the
business. II was not his fault that he
did not know that l had been reporter
on gold, silver copper. lead. tin. and coal
mines for about twenty years.
Thinking, doubtless. that / was like
unto the ordinary city fellow. who comes
at. rare intervals to look at a mine, ne
made me present of a piece of rock
with some worthless garnets in it, also
sample OF country rock pregnant with
mundic; the garnets and the mundc gilt.
tered in the sunshine. ! rose to the bait.
as l was expected to do, and intimated
mat L NOutu IKE a IOt oil II. 1nlS de-
lighted the Dutchman, and he beamed all
over his expansive face, all the time ours
ing me for the second son of an idiot.
as is the way with mine managers But
he stopped grinnipg before the afternoon
wore out, for l set him climbing and
clambeTing for little pieces of mundac and
tiny patches of garnets in all the tough
est places / could find in that mine and
went into ecstacies over each individual
nil 1raff 7 h,1 ~
bish Then l intimated gently that I
would be back thar way when the war
was over, and would surely send my Cape
cart for them if he would be good enough
to mind them for me. l fancy an mklins
or the truth dawned in that Dutchman's
soul at last, for he made no further ref
Ell ence to either garnets or mundic I
satisfied myself with a sample of the mat
rix in which diamonds are found and
also with a specimen of the country rock
for geological reference, but the garnets
are on the heap still.
The mine, which is named the "Monas-
terry, is very crudely worked; everything
connected with it is primitive. A huge
quarry, about 600 feet in circumference,
and about forty feet deep. had been
opened up. There was nothing in the
shape OF lode or reef but a large num-
Der Of disconnected "stringers" or lead
crs of rocky matter, in which diamonds
are often found. AT the bottom OF the
quarry the waller lay fully eight feet
deep, owing to the fact that the mine had
lain unworked during the war verti-
cal shaft had been sunk a little distance
from the quarry to a depth of 40 feet
but there was a hundred feet of water
in it, so that / am unable to say any
thing concerning the Monastery diamond
mine at rs lower levels. One or two run
nels had been drawn from The quarry in
to the adjoining country on small lead
ers, and from what I could ga her from
my guide, diamonds had been discovered.
Whilst ! went below l left my Kaffir
boy on top TO pick up what he could in
the shape of rumor or gossip from the
natives and he informed me that the Mig
gers had been the cause of the opening
of the mine they having found diamonds
near the surface in some of the leaders
which cons sted of a rock known in Aus
tralia mining circles as illegifima'e gran
lite, The white folk. fearing that the poor
heather might become debauched If they
possessed 100 much wealth, had gather
ed those diamonds n--when they could
and later had started mining for the pre-
cious gems with what success the
heather did not know | tried the Dutch
man on The same point but | might as
well have interviewed an oyster in reRarl
70 the science of gastronomy. He lodged
around my question like fox terrier
round a fence until I gave him up In
despair But for all that. rather fancy
that they have found diamonds round
that way, only they don't want the Brit
ish to know anything about IL.