The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1907-08-14
DIAMONDS IN ARKANSAS.
First Really Promising Discovery
Made in America-Some Fine
Stones Picked Up.

First Really Promising Discovery
Made in America-Some Fine
Stones Picked Up.
Unless all signs and expectations
fail. saws the New York Evening Post,
Americans may soon be wearing dla-
mouds found on American, not Eng
lish, soil. This statement is made on
the authority Of DR.. George F. Kunz.
probably the foremost authority on
diamonds in the country. He has just
returned from careful two months
investigation Of the new field, which
is situated in Pike county, in south
western Arkansas.
Only when it is stated that there is
no other locality in the United States
WHERE diamonds are found "in place,
can the great significance and impor-
tance of this discovery be understood.
In short, the new region is the first
real American diamond field to be
discovered. Itss6Oo acres are owned
by Arkansas men.
Every chance Of discovering a new
diamond field is so eagerly accepted
by experts that this eagerness has
given rise to all sorts of attempts to
mislead them by sailing schemes
A succession Of disappointments OF
this sort had made diamond men
wary, so that when it became known
last summer that diamonds had been
found in Arkansas the matter was
carefully investigated.
The investigation developed the
fact that there was nothing suspicious
about the discovery. A native, VINO
could not read and write, walking
along the road, saw two sparkling
stones at the roadside and carried
them to local judge. Local jewelers.
pronounced them diamonds, and they
were eventually submitted to DR..
Kunz.
DR.. Kunz, accompanied by DR.. H.
S. Washington, the well known petro-
grapher, visited the region and made
a careful survey of the field. Within
the last few years DR.. Kunz has fol-
lowed up every discovery Of a dia-
mond in the United States, with the
hope that a new region worth while
would be found Discoveries in Wis
consin, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio
were investigated, and in every case
it was ascertained that the occur
renee Of the stone was unusual, and
its discovery was explained by the
fact that it was in the glacial moraine
and had been carried down from
some other field in Canada.
The Pike county field is several
hundred miles south of the southern
line fthe glacialmoraine, so the pos
sibility Of the occurrence being Of the
same nature as those further north
was at once dismissed. The outcrop-
nirr ce tho rock =, -,-'3,::cc.h7 tt11llfs d;seov
cry was made wss FRS noSsG IL 2sz2
and has been puzzlins S-s.1 1otaressil.s
geoIogisrz ever s5ace. Getceill search
. have :ai;ed TO discover acg ether
similar oulcropping.
DR.. Kunz said today that he was
fully satisfied that an American dia-.
mond field had at length been dis
covered.
This peculiar formation" he said,
SIS volcanic of igneous stock
very similar to that of the South Ari-
very similar to that Of the South Afri-
ers about 100 acres; the stones, how
ever. have all been found in an area
some five acres in extent between two
dikes, where roadway has cut up the
decomposed rock.
"The first stones were found almost
exactly year ago by native, and
since then they have been found al
most continuously. Last reports place
the total number % stones discovered
at 103. Many are White and of good
water. while others are yellow, and
some of brown boast The two largest
stones. weigh 6 1-2 carats. are eX-
ceeding,v fine and white. aa1 ,he 9th
ar brown. They are met with on the
surface Of the igneous area. as Wei
as in the greenish, friable d"coinposed
peridotite, somewhat like the famous
Glue ground of kimberley
The entire field is controlled by To-
cal capitalists, and is now beng ac-
lively prospected and developed.