Year: 1871

The following, from the Detroit Free Press. il


an extract from private letter. giving faithfu


description of the diamond fields Of South Africa


which will doubtless prove Of interest to tn,


reader:


left Cape Town for the diamond fields by the


Inland transportation Company's wagon, with ten


other persons for Pniel the principal town in the


mines where we arrived safely after twelve days


and nights constant riding, passed through the


Cape Colony and into the Orange Free state, a


distance of eight hundred miles, which is the most


desolate and forbidding one would wish to see


The scarcity Of water makes it almost barren


waste, and the only the land is put to is gra-


zing Many of the farmers have from twenty to


fifty thousand sheep and goats, and with those


vast herds they get no more than living. Wool


is only worth eight cents pound, which little


more than pays for clipping, and had they to pay
good prices for help they would have nothing left


All their help is from the natives. whose services
are to be obtained for little or nothing, many Of


them receiving one sheep for six months work.


All who are engaged in farming are Hollanders-
the first settlers Of this God-forsaken region.


The discovery of diamonds has infused new life
into the people, and most of the communities
have left their ranches. bag and baggage, for the
diamond fields. As have already mentioned


we arrived safely at Pnel where hardly rested
myself before / started for this camp, the rash
from outside camps and new comers being in this
direction caused me to join in and come with the
crowd. On my arrival the whole number on the
ground was only two hundred, and at the present
time it numbers FIVE thousand, all having arrived
inside of five weeks. There are three houses of
sheet iron aud one of adobe, but there is not a
wooden house in the place; all the other dwell
ings are the cOarsest kind Of tents and flrmers'
wagons. You can well imagine the appearance
OF three Thousand tents dotted over the Copje
when lighted by night with their camp fres This
is one of the first camps in the field, and is said
to be the most important point just now. The
names of the several places are Gong-Gong, Kip
Drift, Puel Hebron, Moonlight Rush and Toils
Pan. The dggings differ very much at this camp
from all others Heretofore diamonds have been
found on the banks OF the Vaal River, and of
course about all the mining has been cor fined to
those camps. Several months ago, however,
few diamonds we're found on the surface at this
point, twenty-four miles from the Vaal River, on
an open plain, but the ground was worked but
very little until last February, when the richness
of the Cope became known.


The method of working the ground differs con-
siderably from that of river mining. Here we
have scarcely water enough to drink and that
only by paying at the rate of eight cents per
bncket 50 with water 50 scarce we have to resort
to dry sitting. as it is called here. The ground |
is thrown from the holes, mostly by natives, and |
then put into coarse Selves mostly by natives, af
ter being through it is put through fine |
selves, and the ground thus left is put on sort
ing tabe-somewhat similar to an ordinary kitch- |
en- tabe-the women and children, in most cases
doing the sorting, as they are considered the
luckiest. l have seen some beautiful gems, some
as large as one hundred carats The diamonds
found here are pronounced to be the finest in the
world in hardness and briancy, and the camp is
illed with diamond buyers for the London mar
iets. who pay from one to three pounds sterling
per carat in gold for stones in tbe rough. A great
many stones of fourteen to twenty carats have
'een found, but most of the'large ones are of a
'eowish hue, and do not bring as good price as
he white garnets, both of which are found in
reat quantities.
party Of Americans are working a claim ad-
dining mine who have taken out some beautiful
tones during the past week One Of the party,
ir. ]. H. Riley, Secretary of the Mining Bureau
t Washington, D. O., who is also correspond
Mt of the San Francisco papers, has just left for
ONE, taking with him some fine specimens of I
African diamonds.
Making fair estimate, the chance one has of
iaking fortune is about one in thousand. A $
Nv do tolerably well, while the balance spend
leir money and time get nothing and leave in t
sgust. hope the Americans will not get the i
diamond fever; if they do they will regret it. t
person is without money and has to rely on r
is labor here, God help him, for labor is at dis
'nnt. All the negroes one requires can be hired L
the rate of from ten to twenty cents per day. n
pay one of mysKahrs seventy-ive cents day 4
I'd be boards bimself; / do 80 because be is n
,od hand and does not get drunk every other

~ as is customary with most of the natives; a
zen those who have been fostered by the mis- Il
Onaries prove to be the worst of the lot The
airs are very primitive in their habits They
we no clothing, only string about the waist
most true Georgian costume minus the spurs N
and many Of them sit at the same asserting al
be with the women and children, their black nj
in, polished with cocoanut OIL shining like a lie
lizard ball. The style would not quite suit the in
'troit adies but out here every fashion prevails
This is the most orderly camp have ever been ia


My experience in California and Nevada led fu
to expect that should witness the same row. so
scenes over again, but such is not the case to
is harmony and quietness; no brawls or drunk an
ness no stabbing or shooting. and morals are ma
tie as good as will be found in older eommuni- tn
,. The Dutch people are very kind and hos an
abei the English element is quite large and th
a very respectable portion Of London society. tic
my of the latter have been officers in the army orr
o have sold their commissions and are now eai
lding the pick and shovel instead of the sword grs
rife, and they rather like the life, should via