The Washington herald., 1911-03-03

Copyright. 1911 By Mcclure Ssvs syndicate.l
The report that the Cullinan diamond
is to be reset for the crown which King
George of England is to wear at his
approac hing coronation has revived the
rumor that the missing portions OF the
great Cullinan diamond have been found.
When the diamond that is now known
as the Cullinan was discovered in the
Premier Mine in South Africa it bore
every evidence that, huge as it is, it was
only a portion Of much larger stone,
the original form and size of which only
can be approximately indicated.
What are known as a diamonds S
cleavage planes led the mine officials
to the conclusion that four pieces,
each Of considerable size, must have
been broken off from the original stone
by natural crystal cleavage. Needless to
say. the mine officials instituted a thor
ough search for the missing pieces. Up
to the present so far as the public
knows their search has been fruitless.
The possibility that these Cullinan frag-
ments may be stumbled upon any day
keeps the diamond region Of South At
rica alive with rumors. No one IS able
10 DTGOlCI "HGTt lIftot III hON
may be lying They may be deep down
in the mines; they may be elsewhere.
The diamond is formed at great depths
by the decomposition of carbon, dis
solved in the molten basic magma of
the earth CThe so-called blue earth"
is formed at a later period from this
rock) The carbon then was under enor-
nous pressure and at the very high
temperature prevailing at these depths
deposited from the molten rock in the
form of diamonds. During the volcanic
discharges of the masses of rock the
diamond was forced upward and the
very great friction to which the mass
was exposed during its passage through
the crater shaft, caused the cleavage of
the stone. It is not impossible that the
broken-off fragments of the Cullinan are
scattered over a wide space and that
one day they may be found on the sur
fare of the earth, but it is just as pos
depths of the mines.
One Of the rumors now in circulation
comes from the African newspapers.
.'The other half of the Cullinan," so runs
this interesting story, has been found
in the possession of the Kaffirs Of the
Magatos tribe in Zoutpansberg. The di-
mensions of this second Cullinan' have
been given as 4S23 carats. This story
has been denied by the Transvaal depart
ment of mines, and an official OF the
treasury in Pretoria stated that the ORR
gin of the legend can undoubtedly be
traced to the belief that enormous guam
titles of diamonds were buried by COM
mand of the chieftain Majatje during
the Boer war These diamonds became
the spoil of the Kaffirs when they re-
turned to Kimberley. But these treas
,ires are lost, for the Kaffirs who buried
them are dead and search for the stones
has been without result.
The Cullinan never had another half"
The shape of the stone before it was cut
afforded Almost conclusive proof that In
the course OF natures workings four
pieces had been broken from the origt-
nal diamond and that the diamond as
found in the mine was only about half
the size OF the original stone. The un-
discovered half, however. is represented
that these have been split into smaller
fragments
The Excelsior diamond. which was
found in 1873. and which held the record
for size until the discovery of the Culli-
nan in 1906 was picked up by a native
" hiie loading a truck with diamond
earth. and although a white overseer
was standing by. the negro managed TO
secrete 1t and kept II on his person for
some time. II does not appear. however,
that he intended "a. steal It, for he
Il