davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
Guarding The Fields.

In looking over these fields one seldom
sees diamonds, but the brilliants are
there and they must be carefully guarded.
Think of S25. 100000 being scattered over
the earth within easy reach Of any town
Of $1,000 in the United States, and you
have the situation at Kimberley. You
would imagine that the fields would be
raided and the stuff carried off. 1t is not.
The fields are guarded day and night by
men who march around them with guns
in their hands. They have electric lights
which keep them bright from sunset to
sunrise, and they are surrounded by
high fences of barbed wire, the strands
being 30 close together that a man can
not crawl through, and so high that he
cannot easily climb over them. There are
two OF these fences around every field.
They are about twenty or thirty feet apart,
and the guards march between them. II a
thief could crawl over the first fence he
would lie sure to be shot before he got to
the second, and so the diamonds are COM
parRtively safe.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04

price, and more II the demand ~justifies II.
The syndicate cannot take less than II
agrees, but 1t may buy more at the same
price If the demand increases. One provi-
sion is that the De Beers company shall
sell to no one else during the term Of the
contract. This syndicate is independent of
the De Beers company, although many
men belonging to that company are mem
bers of the syndicate.
On account OF this arrangement 1t 10 not
an easy thing for a stranger to buy a dia-
mond in Kimberley, and anyone who might
purchase a rough stone of a native would
be in danger Of prison. The laws here
provide that he who buys diamonds must
first take out a license and that all dia-
monds bought and sold must be shown
to the government officials in order that
they may be valued for customs. In fact,
every man who takes a diamond out Of
South Africa must have a certificate show
ing where he got that diamond and that
he has a right to 1t.
During my stay 1 nave bought a rough
stone of a few carats at a cost Of about
SO per carat. 1 have been able to get it
through a special Introduction to the off,
GERS of the diamond syndicate. and it was
sold me at about the same price that the
diamond would have cost at wholesale in
London. l had to so to a half rozen diff
ferent officials to secure the papers show
ing that l owned it, and 1 have paid the
customs duty necessary to enable me to
get it out of Cape Colony.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
Ten Thouaand Negro Miners.

During the year 1907 the miners of the
De Beers company here kept something
like 10000 negroes regularly employed get
ting out the blue and working the floors
and washing machines. They had there,
all told, more than 5000 whites. on account
of the hard times in America, which has
seriously cut the demand for diamonds,
about 10000 of the native miners have been
recently discharged, and also over 1000
whites. There are still 10000 native
miners at work, and this number will be in
creased as the market improves. 1 have
had a good chance to see the miners dur
ing my trips about Kimberley. They are
Kaffirs coming from the various tribes of
South Africa, the ompany prefering to
have its men from as many different To-
calities as possible in order to prevent
strikes. The men work well and are more
efficient than the ordinary African labor.
They are big fellows, strong and muscular.
In the mines they are bare to the waist.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04

although most of them wear trousers and
have shoes to protect their feet from the
rocks. Each gang has a white overseer,
but the laws prevent any m-istreatment OF
the blacks and they nave a right to lay
their complaints before a protector of
labor appointed by the government. The
natives are never hired for less than four
months. although the COMPANY is glad to
keep them as long as they will work.
These 10000 miners are practically IN
prison from the time they begin their job
until the end of 1t. They nave to con-
tract that they will stay inside the COM
pounds Of great walled Enclosures which
constitute the native quarters of each mine,
and the company sees that they keep this
part OF their agreement. They do not
go outside even when they enter the mines,
for every compound has a tunnel from II
into the works, and they march down under
guards to where they dig and blast out
the blue clay far below the surface. Those
who work above ground are not allowed
to mix with the men who work under
ground; and every effort is made to pre-
vent them stealing the diamonds and snug
Cling them to their fellows.
Take, for Instance, the Dutoitspan COM
pound, which I visited recently. 1t con-
NhiAlS CNS oSlNS ulu AOOho " GIL
the world like a great racing park walled
with stables. Right in the center Of it is
a platform which might be compared to
the grand stand, and all around the walls
are rooms about twenty feet wide and
thirty feet deep, which corresponds to the
stalls in which the race horses are kept.
The grand stand is the public bath, where
the black boys come, when fresh from the
mines. and wash themselves right out in
the open. They stand in the sunlight as
naked as Adam before Eve gave him that
apple. and the water sparkles like dia-
monds as it pours down in a shower over
them.
1 took a look at the rooms where the
men live. They are walled with hunks and
about thirty natives sleep in each room.
While at rest, or loaf!ng about in the
court, they take off their clothes and fire.
quently have nothing bur lanke about
them.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
On the diamond Floors.

1 have spent a part OF this week in go
ing with the diamond ore to the field or
floors where 1t is left TO weather, and in
following 1t to the washing machines
where the Jewels are finally won. AS the
rock comes to the surface It bears no
sign OF them. l have looked over several
thousands cars Of It, but have not seen a
single brilliant imbedded in the blue, and
/ am told that the priceless stones are
seldom discovered, except when they
come out In the washing.
This blue ground Is as hard as rock. !
can just scratch It with my knife. It is
so hard that you could drive a nail with a
chunk OF it. and it takes a heavy ham
mer TO break 1t. The ground is carried
from the mines to the floors and spread
out there to a depth of one foot, all over
the surface. It lies out for about a year,
being plowed and narrowed from time to
time. II the weather is dry It is sprin-
Killed., and as a result II 80 melts or softens
that the diamonds can be washed out of
1t.
Every one of these great mines has it's
Owl fields for such acknowledging.
There ere at least 5000 acres in all. OF
these. In the neighborhood of 1000 acres
belong to each pipe, and all are now
covered with this rock, containing dia-
monds. There are about 100000 carloads
lying out under the sun. and l am told
that there is something like s25, 900, 900 worth
Of diamonds In them.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
washing out Diamonds.

This blue grounl $ brought o TIE fields
In s;eCl cars. There are 80 miles of rail-
road tracks, which run from the MINES to
the floors, and from them to the crush
Ing and washing machines. which handle
the Garth, after its melting, over every
ear track is a steel cable. and the thou
SANDS OF cars are moved by the steam en-
tines Of the five central plants.
/ saw the process of washing out dla-
monds at tbs De Beers mine. The rock
was car. led n. re a distance Of eight nj es
by the cable, In reducing It, It was divided
into two classes, one soft and one hard.
The hard rock was that watch had not
been affe-ted by the weather.; and It had
to be c.ushed to a powder lefore the dia-
monds could be taken out. This was done
IN mighty steel crushers which are so made
that tiey will grind up the rock, and at
the sam time not injure the sim harder
diamonds within. After crush ng, the
coarser pieces are crushed again, and at
the end Il is all reduced to about the con-
sisteney OF soft ground, made SO by the
weather.
Both the Soft and the crushed ground
are then wash.d 10 get rid OF the waste,
ard, a. a Jesuit, oIt OF every hundred
leads OF the mixture comes one load OF
gravel containing the diamonds.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
Diamonds Saved by Grease.

II used 10 be hat all the gravel obtained
In this way was sorted owe. by men. Both
natives and whites were employed. but the
ohantes for stealing wers great, and II
was found that many small stones were
lost. Indeed some Of the gravel which
was sorted over In that way years ago IL
now being sorted again and at o. great
profit
Today the diamonds are saved by tables
covered with a grease just like axle grease.
The gravel is run through what is known
as a pulsator, consisting OF a series OF iron
tables corrugated like a washboard. These
tables he at q slight angle, and the ma
chi1ery shakes them. SO that they are al
ways moving as the gravel passes over
them. They are covered with this grease.
and by nhaslnE almost every stone at one
time or another comes In contact with this
grease,
Now Il Is a curious thing that diamonds
win stick In this grease. and that ali the
other ssuaeq win Gov off without catching.
Every few hours the tables are stopped
and the graaae scraped off. 1t is found 70
contain all the diamonds and also small bits
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04

pound, a hospital for the sick and rooms
for the guards.
The natives are carefully watched to
prevent them stealing the diamonds while
they are working. Their rooms in the COM
pound are built against a wall, around
which are marching guards, with guns in
their hands. One hundred feet beyond this
wall there is a tight fence of galvanized
iron about fourteen feet high, and out
side that are other guards, so that it is
impossible to throw diamonds over the
fences to confederates outside.
The greatest care is taken by the De
Beers company to prevent diamond Snug
Cling. Nc man is allowed to leave the
mine until several days after the compile
ton of his contract. During this time he
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
Buying Diamonds.

All the diamonds of the De Beers com
pany now go to the diamond syndicate.
This is a sort of a trust which contracts
to take the whole profits Of the mines up
to a certain point for five years at a time.
1t agrees to take so many million dollars
worth Of diamonds every year at a fixed
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
Quaint Features of Life

reasonable time" says the complainant,
and about 9 y. m, said day. she gave
birth to a child without medical attend
ance."
Jumped In Canal from Moving En-
CINE.
Fireman John Mulroy of 313 Academy
street, Trenton, N. j., leaped from his NOV
ing engine into the waters Of the Delaware
& Raritan canal as his passenger train was
coming from Bordertown. and saved the
life of a n eighteen-year-old Italian, who
could not make people understand his
name.
The lad had fallen into the canal. which
runs along side the railroad track, and
was drowning with no one in sight. when
the train came alongside. Mulroy had
been watching out ahead and when oppo-
site where the boy sank he dropped from
his engine into the water, rescuing the
boy, His engineer did not miss him unt1
he arrived in the station a half mile away.
He then took the engine back looking for
Mulroy and found him dripping wet walk
ing to the terminal In company with the
lad he had saved.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
To Catch Diamond Thieves.

The men buy their own provisions and
do their own cooking. There are store
houses inside the compound which furnish
groceries, and butcher shops where meat
is sold lower than anywhere else in South
Africa. Connected with the buildings are
the offices of the managers of the COM
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
stork Refuses 10 Wait.

A novel suit has been started In New
York by the filing In the county clerks
office of the complaint in an action brought
by Mrs. Olga Eisenberg against the Postal
Telegraph Cable company 20 recover $4,000
damages for alleged negligence OF the COM
pany in not delivering a telegram sent by
her husband, Aaron Eisenberg, to the
family doctor telling him to come at once,
as the stork was expected.
Mrs. Eisenberg says that at 1913 o'clock
on the afternoon OF May 10, 1905, her hus-
band acting for her, sent a telegram from
the defendants office at 1877 Fast one
Hundred and Twenty-fifth street TO her
doctor at Ssi East sixth street, telling him
10 come at once.
The defendant failed to deliver It in
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
Mining the Blue.


All the soil of this mighty farm has
been taken out of the diamond pipes,
which have described in a previous let
ter. There are five such pipes at Kim
berley, and each contains a pudding of
this blue clay, sprinkled with white cur
rants of diamonds. The pipes range from
500 feet to several times that in dame
ter. Two Of them, the Kimberley and the
De Beers, have already been ~excavated
to a depth of more than 1000 feet, and
the three others. the Wesselton, the Bull
fontein and Dutoitspan, are now being
mined at 500 or more feet from the sur
face. In every pipe the blue rock has been
found continuous, and everywhere 1t Is
peppered with diamonds. How far down
berley they have been probed to a depth
of more than a half mile, so that It is no
exaggeration to say that there are hun
dreds Of millions Of dollars worth of. dia-
monds in sight.
AS to the origin OF the gems, they are
supposed TO be volcanic, and Mr.. Gardiner
Williams, who managed the mines for
twenty years. believes that they were
shot up by mud volcanoes. There Is no
doubt but that the pipes were formed by
some convulsion Of nature and that It was
at about the same time that the Jewels APP
peared.
The mining, as ] have described, consists
OF blasting out and raising to the surface
the blue clay containing the diamonds.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
Triclss Of AIabama "weta.,

TIL sale and distribution of the whisky
sandwich is the latest method of evading
the liquor laws in the state of Alabama.
Loaves of breal, cut and arranged like
oyster sandwiches, are sold over the coun-
ters in lunch rooms presumably operated
for that very purpose, a bottle of whisky
being cleverly arranged between the layers
OF the bread.
1t is said that questionable lunch rooms
have sprung up all over the state in which
these contraband goods constitute prac-
tically the total bill Of fare.
The discovery Of the whisky sandwich
was made by the warden at the Birming-
ham jail, who took it into his head to ex-
anime an apparently inndcent sandwich
which was brought to the jail for one OF
the prisoners by a relative. Upon opening
the loaf a bottle OF whisky was disclosed.
A rigid investigation was then put on foot,
which resulted in the discovery that the
whisky sandwich is already an important
article of m in Alabama.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
Chased ~ a Meteor.

Mr.. and Mrs. William Gaddis Of Column
bus, Ind. were pursued by a meteor, or
some other stray heavenly body while driv-
ing about five miles east OF that town.
They we're travelling In the direction OF
Columbus. and had remarked about the
extreme darkness OF the night, as they
were scarcely able to see their horse. when
a sudden bright light RhOne on them with
such brilliancy that thoy were blinded.
Surprising that an automobile was COM
ing from the rear. they drove TO one side
to await its passing, but as no machine
came, they turned to look for It, and were
startled to see a bah 0 fire which seemed to
be about five feet in diameter coming to-
ward them.
According to their story It was coming
horizontally and about six feet from the
ground. They watched n for about fifteen
seconds, as they estimated, when II ex-
ploded like a Roman candle, and immed-
lately everything was as dark as before.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
Mandshake breaks Ann.

AS the result Of a vigorous handshake,
jeremiah Eerger Of Wilmington, Del. aged
60, is at the Delaware hospital suffering
from a broken arm.
BCrJer Is a powder worker for the Du
Pont Powder company. and lives at Henry
Clay. A few day ago he met Patrck
Dougherty, a hotel proprietor. and the
two cla5red hands in a hearty shake as II
VAS the first time they had met for sew
eral months.
A few days later Bcrger's arm began to
pain him. He went TO the hospital to con-
suit a physician and was then told a bone
had been broken.
Berger de lares he will be careful here
after TO whom he extends hs hand IN
greeting.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
Near Kimberley Are Plowed and Narrowed for Precious Stones
tcoprrlrht. LOO. Frank Q. carpenter.

.MbbftLhI NspeClA CoITe
spondence of The Bee.)-Eleven
thousand acres Of diamondsi
Hundreds Of fields Of blue
clay sprinkled with tewelsl
A mighty farm where the
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04

bu4uan,s lie out under the sun and the
d-iamondiferou earth is worked with steam
hRrrowsl
These are some Of the things you may
see any day here at Kimberley. Last
year the crop from this vast diamond
farm amounted to sS2, 900, 900. 1t was
equal to more than 10000 for every
working day the whole year through. II
was more than $40 for every minute, or
more than 81 for evcy tick OF the watch
though all the minutes OF all the hours
Of all the days Of that year.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04

swallowed. About ten years g one an
big as a chestnut was thus disposed of.
and the negro kept 1t for more than a
week. In 1896 about 81, 900 worth of stones
were lost in a miners stomach and after
wards discovered, and the same practice
would go on today were it not for the Inn
p~rlsonment in a naked state and the medi-
cal and dietary treatment which all must
go through before they are allowed to de-
part. AS to other smuggling methods.
gems have been found In boot heels, in
hollow canes, and in dinner pals with
false bottoms. The miners frequently make
gashes in their persons and try to carry
away the brilliants under the skin. They
put them In their hollow teeth. under their
toes and in every conceivable place. TIL
guard grows more rigid from year to year,
and the detectives have become so expert
that they know just exactly which places
to search. FRANK G. CARPENTER
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
Sorting Diamonds.

plNh Out the pItClOuS SlOltS amer
the grease was poured off. Each man had
on a table before him a handful of dia-
monds of all shapes and sizes, and he was
picking them up one by one with a pair of
tweezers and dropping them into a tin cup,
which cost, l venture, less than 5 cents.
As ! watched one Of these men he lifted up
a LITTLE white stone. saying: This is
worth $500 and then showed me another,
not much larger, worth double that sum.
The manager afterward poured out a pint
Of diamonds on the table, showing me
some that were worth $50 a carat and others
cheaper. He took up a little scoop shovel
and with II threw the diamonds back into
the cup, handling them as though they
were peas.
Later on I visited the company's offices
in Kimberley itself, and was shown quarts
OF diamonds from the various mines. The
sorters can tell by it's shape and color
from just which pipe each diamond comes,
and l was shown specimens from every
mine. 1 had in my hand a little bundle
which contained about a pint of small
stones. the value Of which Appropriated
$500, 900, and / was shown other bundles
containing brillisnts as big as the end Of
my finger. Some of these rough stones
had smooth edges and they were almost
pebbles in shape. Others appeared ready
for setting and some were broker and
Clipped from other stones. Many of the
diamonds contained flaws, but there were
many which were absolutely perfect. The
diamonds were of different colors. Some
were as yellow as topazes, others a light
blue tint and others pure white.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04

is stripped naked and put into a room so
warm that he will not catch cold. He is
kept there for several days and watched
all the time. Every bit of his person is
then gone over by the diamond detectives
to see that he has no precious stones con-
cealed anywhere in 1t. His toes, ears,
teeth, gums and hair are examined, and
If he has any sores on his body they are
probed. While the examining goes on the
natives have mittens of sole leather upon
their hands. These are so stiff that they
could not pick up a diamond If one lay on
the floor before them.
I the same time the miners are paid
for being honest. Every man receives S1.25
per carat for the diamonds he discovers
and hands over to the ov1rseer. The other
day a negro dug out a gem as big as a wal
nut. It weighed more than 100 carats, and
he received a premium Of S16O for 1t.
1t used to be that many diamonds were
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04

river from Weston. Mo, in 1854, and staked
out the site for Leavenworth. Only two
members OF the company are living, and
the other, A. T. Kyle, is no longer a resi-
dent. having returned to Weston.
1T seems strange" said Mr.. Moore, re-
miniscently, "that I survived those ragged
days to enjoy the quietude of old age when
my career came so near being nipped in
youth so often.
why. twice in the year 1856 I was strung
up by proslavery ruffians and once thrown
into the Missouri river in the same year.
I was cut down by friends VINO found me
hanging by the neck unconscious. Those
ruffians were terrified by my temperance
to ~life"-here he chuckled as in apprecia-
ton of a good joke-"when 1 walked about
the streets the next day"
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04

Of iron pirites, garnets and pieces of metal
from the miners boots and the copper fuses
used in the blasting. 1t is now put up in a
steel bucket which is perforated with holes,
and this is sunk in boiling water. As the
water touches the grease it melts and
goes to the top and may be poured off,
leaving only the scraps of metal and the
diamonds. The diamonds are picked out
and cleaned and sorted, after which they
are ready to be valued for the market.
Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-04
strung Up Twice.

II can be safely said that II.
Miles Moore is the oldest resi-
dent of Leavenworth, relates
the Leavenworth Times. He
was a member of the townsite
company that came down the