Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1908-08-25
DIRT, MUD, CRIME,
HALF-NAKED MEN
---AND DIAMONDS
By SIR W. s. CRooKEs.

the world are Kimberley, De Beers,
Dutoitspan, Bulfontein and Vessel
ton Kimberley is practically in the
centre of the present d.amond-produc-
ing area.
The five diamond mines are all con-
tanned in a precious circle three and
one-half miles in diameter. They are
irregular-shaped round or oval pipes,
extending vertically downward to un-
known depths, and becoming narrow
er az the depth increases. They are
considered to be volcanic necks filed
from below with a heterogeneous mix
ture of fragments of surrounding
rocks, and of older rocks, such as
granite, mingled and cemented with a
bluish-colored hard mass, in which IA
nous ''blue ground" the imbedded
diamonds are hidden.
How the great pipes were originally
formed it is hard to say. They were
certainly not burst through in the or
binary manner of volcanic eruption,
since the surrounding and enclosing
walls show no signs of igneous action,
and Bare not shattered or broken up
even when touching the ''blue ground. .
1t is pretty certain that these pipes
were filled from below after they were
pierced, and the diamonds were form
ed at some previous time and mixed
with mud volcano, together with all
kinds of debris eroded from the rocks
through which it erupted, forming a
geological plum pudding" A more
wildly heterogeneous mixture can
hardly be found anywhere else on this
globe.
1t may be that each volcanic pipe
Is the vent for its own laboratory
a laboratory buried at vastly greater
depths than we have yet reached =
where the temperature is comparable
with that of the electric furnace,
where the pressure is fiercer than in
our puny laboratories and the melting
point higher, where no oxygen is pres
ent, and where masses of liquid car
bon have taken centuries, perhaps
thousands of years, to cool to the
solidifying point.
In 1903 the Kimberley mine had
reached depth of 1853 feet. Tun-
nels are driven from the various
shafts at different levels, about 120
feet apart, to cross the mine from
west to east. These tunnels are con-
nected by two other tunnels running
north and south.
The scene below ground in the laby,
rinth of galleries is bewildering in it's
complexity, and very unlike the pop
ular notion of a diamond mine. All
below is dirt, mud, CRIME; half-naked
men, dark as mahogany, 1.-THE as
athletes, dripping with perspiration,
are seen in every direction, hammer
ing, picking, shoveling, wheeling the
trucks to and fro, keeping up weird
chant which rises in force and rhythm
when a greater task calls for excess
sive muscular strain. The whole
scene is more suggestive OF a coal
mine than of a diamond mine, and
all this mighty organization-this
strenuous expenditure of energy, this
costly machinery, this ceaseless toll
of skilled and black labor-goes on
day and night, just to win few
stones wherewith to deck my lady's
finger! Ali to crafty the vanity Of
woman! "And," / hear my fair read
er remark, "the depravity of mani"
'Prodigious diamonds are not so un-
common as is generally supposed.
Diamonds weighing over an ounce
(151.5 carats) are not infrequent at
Kimberley. l have seen in one par
eel of stones eight perfect ounce cry
stalls, and one inestimable stone
weighing two ounces The largest
known diamond, the "Cullinan," was
found in the New Premier Mine. 1t
weighs no less than 3,025 carats, or
1877 pounds avoirdupois. 1t is a frag-
ment, probably less than half, of a
distorted octehedral crystal. The
other portions still await discovery
by some fortunate miner.
At the close of the year 1904, ten
tons of diamonds had come from these
mines, valued at $3O0OOO,0O0 This
mass of blazing gems could be accom-
modated in box five feet square and
six feet high. a
The diamond has a peculiar luster,
and on the sorter's table it is impos-
sible to mistake it for any other
stone. It looks somewhat like clear
gum arabic. Form the sorting-room
the stones are taken to the Diamond
Office to be Gle aned in acids and sort
ed into classes by the va;uauors, ac-
cordfng to color and purity. 1t is a
sight for Aladdin to behold the sorters
at work In the Kimberley treasure
store the tables are literally heaped
with stones won from the rough blue
ground-stones of all sizes, purified,
flashing and of inestimable price;
stones coveted by men and women all
the world over.
Where fabulous riches are concen.
trated into so small bulk, it is not
surprising that precautions against
robbery are elaborate. The Illicit Dia-
mond-Buying Laws are very stringent;
and the searching, rendered easy by
the compromising" of the natives, is
of the most drastic character. The
varhe of stolen diamonds at one time
reached 100000 year Now the
safeguard against this is the com
pound" a large square enclosure of
twenty acres surrounded by rows of
one-story buildings divided into rooms
holding about twenty natives each.
Within the enclosure is store where
the necessaries of life are supplied
at a reduced price and wood and wa
ter free. In the middle is a large
swimming bath with fresh water run
ming through it. The rest of the space
is devoted to games, dances. concerts
and any other amusement the native
mind can desire. In the compound are
seen representatives of nearly all the
picked types of African tribes.-From
the North American Review.