The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-11-29


A bit OF ~ure carbon crystal that will
fit nearly into the palm of the hand. a
thing over a pound and q third-just
q nice sized missile for a small boy
to shy at a frog in a pond-a bauble
such as a savage would trade for IL
new knife or a string of brighter beads.
yet representing in the civilized world
q kings ransom or a princely fortune.
Such Is the Cullinan diamond, great
est OF gems. which is soon to become
the property OF the king OF England.
representing n sort of peace offering
from the Transvaal gGEernment to the
once hated British eml6e.
The Transvaal wishes to show its
gratitude to King Edward for granting
the colony q representative government.
most uncOmprOmising rebels and fore
most in the struggle with the British
troops, led the agitation in favor of pur-
chasing the great gem as a gift for the
English crown.
Romance, battle, assassination. plot
and treachery are carved in invisible
letters pom the shining facets of most
of the worlds famous diamonds. Blu
not so with the Cullinan, Its history is
a most and thoroughly
prosaic tale. No dark skinned traitor.
dazzled like Sir Bedivere by the glory
of it's %brilliance, gouged it from the eye
of q heather idol; no desperate thief
swallowed it to conceal his plumber.
only to have it cut from his mutilated
body. No petty kings have gone to war
over it. and SO far as known, not one
drop of blood has ever been shed for it.
1t is merely the richest chunk of crys-
talized carbon known to exist. and the
only sentiment connected with it CEN
ters about the desire of the Beers to
let it represent a token of peace and
gratitude.
Kicked From the Earth.
Two years ago the manager of the
Premier mine, situated near Pretoria.
was walking across the Neldt toward
n of the shafts. He had his eyes on
the ground, and when he saw some
kicked the object loose from the soil
and picked up the Cullinan diamond.
And that was all. His held it,
and now the Transvaal is about to pay
$15O,0O0 for the gem in it's uncut state.
It's present weight of 3,O24A carats
will, OF course. be educed by cutting,
but it will still be the king of dia-
monds, and will in all probability flash
Its llghtnings from the British crown,
now already heavy with precious
In striking contrast to the prosaic
pedigree of the Cullinan, stand the
thrilling histories of other famous
though not so regal jewels.
rake the hoh-l-noor, for example,
the splendid diamond included in the
British crowns collection. Its story is
written in blood, and is perhaps the
most thrilling of all.
The koh-i-noor CMountain of
Light') was first heard of about 1900
blood of rival dynasties, who were
fighting for sovereignty. One of the
heroes of the strife named Karna, pos
sessed a diamond of remarkable size
and lustre, which had been given TO
him, according to a legend of those
times, by one of the gods as a pledge
of protection.
A Symbol of Sovereignty.
And since that day possession of the
stone has been symbolical of sovereign
ty over the Indian mpire
karna kept the stone for many years.
but according to the legend. lost favor
at last with his protecting god through
some misdeed and persisted in battle,
only to be %despoiled of the great dia-
mond by his enemy who. in turn, came
into power as India's ruler. The gem
remained with the successors Of this
dynasty.
Here there seems to be a link missing
IN the Jewels history, but it is adj
'nitted that it finally fell into the hands
Of the powerful Rajput dynasty of
Malwa, and there it remained until 1904
A. D. In that year Alla-ud-din, en-
peror Of Delhi, fell upon the rajah Of
Malwa, defeated him., and took away
his prize gem. He did not keep it long.
however, for an assassin laid him low
and the diamOn went to the Hindu
rajahs of Agra.
Early in the sixteenth century Ba-
Der. sixth in descent from the great
Tamerlane. invaded India and set up
the Moghul empire at Delhi. His son
defeated the rajah Of Agra in 1926. and
took possession of the great diamond
IN his fathers. name. In this manner
the Moghul emperors of Delhi, the most
powerful rulers of India before the
coming of the British. got possession
or the koh-i-noor. and it became with
them a sort of talisrnan. They kept it
for two centuries.
dents in connection with the gem
winch brought back with startling and
tragic Vlvidness an old Hindu curse.
that whosoever diverted the Koh-i-
moor from the possession of the ancient
house of Vikramaditya, the greatest
Hindu ruler of antiquity, should die a
miserable death. A assassination and
revolt marked these two centuries of
the Moghul's rule; monarch succeeded
monarch, often to dle by his sons hand,
often driven by desperation to perish
by his own.
Assassination Follows.
Then In 1889 came Nadir Shah, ruler
of Persia, who ousted the emperor and
carried off plumber estimated at $780,
0OO, 600, including the famous peacock
throne made of precious stones and the
koh-i-noor. But Nadir Shah, too, fell
a victim to the subtle curse which pur-
.sued the gem, for he was a~ssassinated
by rebellious soldiers. Then followed
years of battle and murder fwith the
diamond always the moving considera-
ion. At last a Persian ruler, driven
from his throne, escaped into the Pun
f1Hh wifi the nropinnS nriyo hio ro~;a
sought. He kept it there only long
enough for an Indian p~otentate to learn
of its whereabouts.
In 1889 Ranjit Singh, Their possessor