Year: 1870

creasing. II is about four years since
the first diamond was found in South
Africa. This was n stone estimated at tho
time to be worth about $500. In the course
Of year five or six more were picked up by
natives and sold to cOlonists for mere trife.
In the third year fine stone OF S3i carats,
now known as "The Star of South Africa"
was bartered away to a cattle dealer. and after
passing through several hands finally sold for
f24,000. This was but a trihe compared with
such famous gems as the Regent diamond,
worth million OF dollars, or the famous jewel
belonging to the Sultan of Matan in Borneo,
valued at three millions and half; but it was
quite enough to cause q rush of emigration
from Natal and Cape Town. and it is reported
that from 1900 to 1000 persons are now en-
gagged in the search.


The diamond field is represented as covering
an area Of no less than 900 square miles,
principally in the Orange River Free State,
but stretching on the one side into the Trans
vaal Republic, and on the other into the British
Cape Colony. THIS definition includes the most
remote points at which there are rumOrs of
any discoveries but the excitement of the
search is concentrated in a tract few miles
i'm extent on both sides of the Vaal River near
its junction with the Orange, about 500 miles
from Cape Town. The jurisdiction over the


land is in dispute between several native chiefs
and the two BOer republics of Transvaal and
the Orange Free State, while Dutch mission
aries also claim territorial prOprietOrship In
certain parts of the field, and exact from miners
q royalty of One-quarter of the find. These
disputes give the miners little concern, for
they have organized republic of their own,
elected provisional government, and made
preparations to declare themselves independ-
ent. Thus far they seem to have lived peace
ably and orderly-being probably too busy to
make trouble.


The widest stories, of course. are circulated
respecting the value of the discoveries; but
thus far no trustworthy statistics have been
published. The latest advices from the Cape
report rich developments at the Pniel diggings,
where "a diamonds have been found in one
week, and $1,000 paid to the missionary as
royalty. Supposing the royalty to have been
honestly paid (Which we grant is supposing
good deaD, we shall have $4,000 for the value
of seventy -four diamonds-an average of S27O
q piece. There are nearly one thousand men
at work in this district, however, and they
seem to have worked for q long while with
only moderate luck. The stroke of good luck
over which the South African papers are now
rejoicing has yielded the fortunate miners only
800 q piece. The Cape Argus cOnjectures that
the value of all the diamonds unearthed
since the discovery of the Star OF South
Africa must be about 100000, and that the
yield at present is about 12O or 100 stones
week COnjectures as to the value of the pro-
duct are of little worth, for they must rest
only on the hearsay testimony Of inexpe-
rienced witnesses. The diggings are remote
and hard TO reach. Comparatively few stones
therefore find their way at once to market,
and we have only the gueSses of immigration
agents, forwarders, and colonial journalists as
to the treasures which the fortunate adyen-
turers may have put away in their pockets,
waiting convenient opportunity to sell. We
only know that nearly all the stones thus far
seen have been very small-mOst of them
worth only few dollars and nOne-not even
| the Star of South Africa--can be said to pos
sess exceptional brilliancy. The search, how
| ever, has been conducted in q random, super
fetal manner, b. merely scraping the surface
soil and washing or sitting the gravel in
which the gems are found so that though
the result has not yet been sufficiently bril-
liant to tempt emigration from distant shores,
it is by no means unlikely that more careful
and systematic methods of digging will prove
South Africa to be one of the richest dia-
mond- lands on the globe.