Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-08-12
SOURCE OF THE SPARKLERA
Great Clutches DUG in tie Earth in Search
of Gems.
DIAMOND MINES or SOUTH AFRICA
How the Kanirs DeIve in the Dark
Blue Ground TO BriEE TO
Light the Precious
Jewels.
DIAMOND MINES or SOUTH AFRlC

Each of the great mines has its several
compounds where the Kaffirs are impTis-
oned. These are enclosures with walls suf-
ficientiy high to prevent escape, and around
the walls is a stretch of roofing sufficient
to prevent the inmates from tossing dia-
monds to the outside to be picked up by
confederates. In the early days the KAT
frs used to throw diamonds over the walls
in tin cans, so that thAir wives or friends
might come and pick them up. When the
Ksffirs go to Kimberly from their tribes
they agree to submit to Imprisonment. The
shortest period is three months. but there
are many who have never been out of the
compounds for two or three years. Those
who go underground are, for the most part
drllers. They take a chisel and a ham
mer and drill holes in the hard, rocky
ore. called playground, in which the dia-
monds are invariably imbedded. These
holes are for blasting the rock and re.
ducing 1t to a crushed state. Tons of dy.
Mantle are used in the mines and the
sitting smoke makes II no pleasant task
to remain underground after the explosions.
At the Kimberly mine there are 1900
Kaf'irs who work underground; the De
Beers mine has; 5000 the Bultfontein mine
has 1900; the Du Tots Pan mine has 1900,
and the Wesselton mine has 1000 In ad-
dition there are several shifts white men,
some of them miners, some of them engi-
neers, some drillers and some in charge of
moving the ore out of the mines. The
work never ceases 1t goes on all night
and all day Sunday.
Blast Comes First.
The first step in the mining is drilling
the holes for the blasting. Then the blasts
are touched off, and the crushed blue
ground is conveyed to the shaft OF the
mine, which is LOO feet away from the
tunnels where the mining is actually done.
At the foot of the shaft the ore is dumped
into huge bucket. or skip" and ths
fastened to a great cable, is rapidly drayyu
out of the mine by powerful engines. Such
diamonds as have been accidentally found
have been washed from placer beds beside
some river. The mining proceN is the
modern way Of finding DIAMONDS. Thou.
sands Of men, mostly negrcIes. with nc
higher aim in life than to earn N.e1 a
day, are perched upon the tshIeground rock
In the tunnels drilling wnh a chisel and
hammer, The spirit of adventure has been
eliminated by the stuLSndous devices OF
the mechanical engin Ger.
The task of separating the diamonds from
the playground realAres months. From the
shaft the ore is conveyed 10 what are called
the "hoors'-gIeat stretches OF GROUND
cleaned on like tennis court. The ore 1.
taken there ar trucks or cars, which ar,
fastened ter feet apart to an endless cable
propelled ny the power from the ensin,
ROOM Each floor is 900 feet square. bu
their Combined territory covers a great ares
OF isnd. one mine alone having floors
whfSh extend Ave miles These floors
arc nothing more than dumping grounds
iJpon their smooth surface is spread tn,
, playground to a depth Of about ten inches
Being very susceptible TO the action OF ali
and water, the playground disintegrate.
after being exposed several months, and II
| the crumbling such indestructihle crystal.
as diamonds or garnets are released Thi,
Is facilitated by narrowing the ore after 4
has been exposed six months and is begin
ming 10 become pulverized. The harrowint
is done by steam ploughs drawn back and
forth over the doors by cable. Any OIL