Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-10-19


found everybody everywhere
talking diamonds. Day after
day, with each new ship,
diamond traders were ar
irving from New York, Amsterdam,
London, and their signs became Wis
ible on every hand.
AS soon as We had landed we spent
a week in getting office and living
quarters and seeing our baggage and
equipment through the customhouse.
We were able to get lease of the
old quarters of the Colonial Bank.
The whole location took up y.
acres of land, was nicely planted
with colorful flowers and waving
palm trees and entirely surrounded
by a tall iron fence. A broad drive
way led from arched gateWays to the
front door of the office floor and an
other to the private entrance at the
secluded side. The blacks considered
it most elaborate and awe-inspir-
ing structure.
During my short absence from the
country many traders, both Chinese
and Portuguese, had gone into the
jungles, where they built li"tle huts;
each one of these had a Georgetown
office, usually no more than = little
dingy cubbyhole up two flights of
stairs over some gin shop. The fact
that We had such comfortable and
exclusive quarters set us apart from
the rest Of the traders Immediately.
The blacks watched our movements
"a~erly. expecting great things to
happen.
The Mazaruni House. as we naI ed
our quarters, stood in the midst tf
the city like a silent advertisemeE
adding prestige both to the growing
industry and to our own organization
The planters on the coast, the men
who were dependent on their crops
or rice and sugar. watched us also.
They required labor to work their
large estates.
They did not relish having an in
dustry spring up that would rob then
OF laborers. 1t was these planters
who had. through holding most of tne
political refns, kept the interior from
being investigated and opened up I'm
DER the auspices OF the government;
1t was they also who took every occa-
sion to scott at the thought that the
interior held anything of value, or
that diamonds would be found in pay
ing quantities. Like dogs in a man
ger, they tried to make enemies for
us.
Stay on the coast and work" they
advised the negroes. There are only
a few diamonds in the jungle. You'll
not be able to find any. You'll only
starve"
They had created such an atmos-
phere OF danger and mystery around
the interior that the blacks e2cept
for few of the more adventurous,
had decided not to give up their Jobs
in the rice and sugar estates. Woo
doc doctors had been secretly COM
missioned to spread vivid warnings
against diamond mining. 1t was only
A device of the 20 devils, they ranted,
TO lure poor negroes to their death
There were 5000 blacks working
on the estates. i estimated that there
were at least $4,000 of them who
would have already gone into the in
terror after diamonds had not the
planters and the voodoo doctors made
them afraid of the jungle. / wanted
them to go up the Mazaruni River and
dig diamonds and sell them to me. |
had arranged for great supply of
food, equipment and clothing to be
shipped to me from the States, many
thousand dollars worth of stock
which l had picked out as appealing
to my prospective customers. But
what was the use of it all if there
were not going to be any negroes in
the jungle, with whom to trade?
THEN 10 negroes, like 10 angels from
Heaven. came down the river
chanting about q big diamond they
had found. The news Travelled ahead
of them that they had discovered a
tremendous gem. l sent a messen-
ger to meet them telling him to hire
the best automobile possible and give
them 4 joy-ride through the town be-
fore bringing them to my office.
sent another messenger to cash a
check for $4,000.
Presently / had given this sum to
the 10 negroes for their diamonds, in
Guiding a 30-carat stone, the largest
by 10 carats that had ever been found
in Guiana They went away radiant
ly happy, with more money than any
of them had ever seen. The news Of
their good fortune spread like wild