greatest corporations in the world. You hear of De Beers in every
conversation when in Kimberley. De Beers owns private cars for use
on the railways; De Beers gives millions to public enterprises, and
to the government; De Beers owns parks, hotels, street-railways, and
eight of the greatest diamond mines in the world.... De Beers was a
Dutch farmer on whose land diamonds were found. He never made much out
of the discovery, and has been dead a good many years, but, like our
John Brown, his soul goes marching on. Cecil Rhodes and Alfred Beit
were the real geniuses of Kimberley and its diamond fields, and they
are represented in monuments here, but De Beers is heard of much more
frequently because his name was given to the trust which took over the
mines.... Diamonds were originally discovered in South Africa in
1867, by some Dutch children playing on the Orange river. Three years
later, the great Kimberley deposit was found, and now the output is
twenty-seven million dollars a year. It is a saying around Kimberley
that if the De Beers company should put on the market all the diamonds
it has on hand and could produce, diamonds would sell at a shilling a
gallon, but the De Beers company only sells as many as it can get a
good price for. Diamond-mining, according to experts, will continue
at Kimberley for at least a hundred years; it has not been thought
necessary to make figures beyond that time. South Africa produces
ninety-five per cent of the diamonds of the world, and the De Beers
company is the principal factor in the diamond-production of South
Africa. The De Beers company does not represent the De Beers family,
but many noted English and French capitalists, with a sprinkling of
Americans; the diamond trust is one great trust in which Americans have
little interest.... Originally, the diamond mines at Kimberley were
divided into thousands of claims, 31×31 feet, but Cecil Rhodes saw that
diamonds would soon become very cheap unless conditions were changed;
so by hook and by crook he formed the great De Beers trust, which now
produces only as many diamonds as the world will pay high prices for.
Prosperous America takes the greater part of the output, and dull
times in America means dull times in Kimberley. Alpheus Williams, an
American, is general manager of the De Beers company, and many of the
officials under him are Americans. There are other diamond mines in
South Africa, including alluvial diggings, and the Premier mine near
Pretoria, where was found the great Cullinan diamond, which weighed,
before cutting, 3,025 carats, or a pound and a quarter. But Kimberley
is the centre, and will remain so, unless other discoveries are made.
At the end of 1908, it was estimated that eleven tons of diamonds,
valued at $350,000,000, had been found at Kimberley. Diamonds weighing
over an ounce are not infrequent; the largest found at Kimberley
weighed over four ounces.... Before the passage of the Diamond Trade
Act, thefts amounted to five million dollars a year, but the De Beers
company regulated stealing as well as output, and the losses are now
insignificant.... The finest diamond-cutting is lately being done
in New York, and not in Amsterdam, as formerly. The diamonds cut in
New York show more fire than diamonds cut in Amsterdam; they have a
greater number of facets, and represent finer and better work. Cutting
adds forty per cent to the value of diamonds, and an attempt is being
made to put a tax of 20 per cent on all uncut diamonds sent out of
South Africa. No cutting is done here, and the passage of such a law
would add enormously to the country’s labor roll.... The average
man, in thinking of a diamond mine at Kimberley, imagines a great open
hole in the earth, and thousands of men working at the bottom of it.
As a matter of fact, no such mining is now done in Kimberley, although
visitors may see great holes in which such mining was formerly carried
on. Diamonds are now mined very much as gold is mined. Shafts are
sunk to great depths in the earth, and drifts run in every direction
from the bottom. Some of these shafts are more than three thousand
feet deep, and the diamond dirt is hoisted and treated very much as
gold-bearing rock is hoisted and treated.... Diamonds are found in
blue dirt, in what the miners call “pipes.” These pipes are the craters
of extinct volcanoes, and taper toward the bottom like a funnel. The
pipes are round, as may be seen in the old open workings, some of
which are a thousand feet deep. The deepest working in any “pipe” is
now at a depth of three thousand feet, but a diamond drill has been
sent down a thousand feet further without the blue dirt giving out;
so no one knows how deep they are.... The old open holes in the
ground were found very expensive to work at a depth of eight hundred
or a thousand feet, so the blue dirt is now hoisted by means of modern
cages operating in timbered shafts, as coal is hoisted; down below,
drifts are run, and the blue dirt hauled to the hoisting-shafts as is
done in coal-mining. As the blue dirt is exhausted, the shafts are sunk
deeper, and drifts run lower down. The “pipe” at the biggest diamond
mine at Kimberley is three hundred yards across at the top, and, as I
have already said, this tapers toward the bottom like the funnel you
use in pouring vinegar into a jug. The Premier mine, near Pretoria,
is very much larger than any mine at Kimberley, being eight hundred
yards across at the top. This great Premier mine, which you hear
little of, mines forty thousand tons of blue dirt per day, and employs
twelve thousand men, as against twenty thousand employed in all the
Kimberley mines. The Premier dirt, however, is worth only one dollar
per ton, whereas that at Kimberley averages something like three
times as much.... Briefly, the process of finding the diamonds is
as follows: The blue dirt in which the diamonds are found is brought
to the surface precisely as coal is hoisted, and mined in about the
same way. It is then placed in little iron cars, and hauled to a level
field, where it is spread over the surface to a depth of two feet. This
is done to permit the weather to disintegrate the dirt, and render its
washing easier. Today I saw a field of four thousand acres covered with
this blue dirt. It will remain out in the weather a year before it is
treated in the washing-mills.... You might pause a moment and think
of that four-thousand-acre field, covered to a depth of two feet with
the blue dirt in which diamonds are found. The four-thousand-acre field
I saw represented the output of only one mine; there are eight in the
Kimberley district, only two of which are known to be duffers, as they
say here; that is, of little value.... And you may rest assured that
this four-thousand-acre field is carefully guarded; it is surrounded
with a barbed wire fence fourteen feet high, and on top of the fence
are four wires spread out in such a way that no one could possibly
climb over. At night, the fence is illuminated with electric lights,
and there is a patrol of armed guards day and night. But you might be
turned loose in the four-thousand-acre field, and not find a diamond in
a year; the process of finding them is very intricate, expensive, and
difficult. Many of the natives who work in the diamond mines have never
seen a diamond: they see only the blue dirt.... After the blue dirt
has lain out in the weather a year, and been plowed up at intervals
with steam plows, that all portions of it may have a chance at the
sun, it is washed in enormous mills, and reduced in the proportion
of one to four million: that is, for every pound of diamonds found,
four million pounds of blue dirt are mined, hoisted, exposed in the
field a year, and then run through the washing-mills.... In these
washing-mills, the blue dirt is first crushed between rollers, and then
run through shaking washing-pans three different times. What is left is
then taken in cars to another mill, called the pulsator, and here the
precious dirt is again washed three times. Finally the diamonds and the
heavier pebbles remaining after six washings, go in a stream of water
over a shaking-pan, the bottom of which is covered with vaseline. The
diamonds stick to the vaseline, for some reason yet unexplained, while
the pebbles roll away with the water. The diamonds on the screen are
then easily collected and sorted. Some of the sorters, greatly to my
surprise, were negroes in charge of white men.... Today I saw the
result of one day’s washing from one mine; a pile of rough diamonds,
many of them as small as pin-heads. One of them was said to be worth
a thousand dollars. Dozens were of fairly good size, but the bulk of
them were very small. These small diamonds will be used in cutting the
big ones. There were many straw-colored diamonds, and some of them
were black; the black ones will be used in diamond drills. It seemed
to me that there were half a pint of these diamonds; Adelaide says
a pint. But anyway, three or four thousand men, aided by the most
enormous machines I have ever seen, work a day, and turn out—what? A
half-pint or pint of bright stones of no actual value except in cutting
glass and in diamond drills. The diamonds when found are in all sorts
of shapes, but some of them look somewhat like diamonds after they
have been cut. When taken out of the washing-machines they look like
ordinary rock crystals; but they do not flash or sparkle. Cutting gives
them that quality. The De Beers company last year made ten million
dollars profit, I am told, and I am also told that one gold mine at
Johannesburg last year made half that amount.... The mining of the
blue dirt is done by natives who live in compounds, or quarters, and
who are never permitted to leave the place until they quit, or are
discharged; but no native is employed who will not agree to work at
least four months. Today I visited one of these compounds, occupied by
2,500 natives. The place looked to be a thousand feet square. In the
centre is a place where the men bathe after coming from underground.
The houses where the men sleep form the square, and thirty men are
provided with sleeping-bunks in one room. The bunks are in tiers, three
deep, and reminded me of my quarters on the ship “Maunganui” between
Wellington and Sydney.... In front of the houses the men do their
cooking, at open fires, with wood furnished by the company. The men
earn an average of eighty-two cents a day each, and are compelled to
board themselves. They usually live in messes, one man in the mess
doing the cooking for a week. The company has stores in the compound
where all sorts of provisions may be had at about cost.... The men
come from the interior, and, when they arrive, are given a number.
This number is retained until the man quits, or is discharged. There
is a system of piece work, and some of the men make $1.25 a day.
The eight-hour system prevails, but the system of team work is such
that all the men work steadily; the company sees to it that there are
no shirkers. So the De Beers company has the services of excellent
workmen at an average cost of eighty-two cents a day. There is a
modern hospital in the compound, and men who are injured are treated
free, and, in addition, receive their usual wages while laid up. The
compound is much cleaner than an ordinary negro village, and many of
the men remain with the company for years.... There is a good deal
of water in the Kimberley mines. In one of them, 25,000 gallons an hour
is pumped without trouble from a depth of 1,500 feet.... The blue
dirt is hauled from the mine to the field, where it is exposed to the
weather for a year, in iron cars holding about a ton each. The cars are
pulled by an endless cable, and one of the sights of Kimberley is these
cars going and coming without attendance on a double-track railway two
or three miles long. The cars run in bunches of three, about twenty
yards apart, and reminded me of ants coming and going.... When the
blue dirt is ready to be treated, it is hauled to the washing-mills in
the same cars, and in the same way. At the washing-mills there is a
large residue known to contain no diamonds, and this is carried to the
top of the dump and thrown away, and thus are formed the gray mounds
seen around the town of Kimberley.... The Transvaal government
has an interest in the Premier diamond mine near Pretoria, and gets
sixty per cent of its profits. The government’s share amounts to two
and a half million dollars a year. Whenever a diamond mine shows a
disposition to amount to a good deal, the De Beers company buys it.
The stockholders in the De Beers company have gradually acquired a
large interest in the Premier mine, so that there is a “gentlemen’s
agreement” in the disposition of diamonds.... A great deal of
hauling is done from Kimberley to points off the railroad, and donkey
teams are used in freighting. Every time I go on the streets I see
donkey teams of ten to fourteen span hitched to enormous freight
wagons. The donkey teams are usually driven by three Kaffirs.... The
favorite vegetable in South Africa seems to be cabbage. At the public
markets I see particularly big stacks of it, but little else. In the
public market of Kimberley, vegetables are placed on the ground; I saw
string beans lying on the ground, in the filth of the market-place,
this morning.... Kimberley is very dusty and dirty. The days are
about as hot now as they are at home in July and August, but the nights
are much cooler. An American woman who has lived in South Africa
nineteen years, says she has never slept a night without blankets over
her.... I was frequently told in Kimberley I should look up a man
named Brink, the only man in the town who could give away diamonds, if
so disposed, and not be responsible to anyone. I did not see Brink, but
I saw a man who sent me permits which enabled me to see most points
of interest. The De Beers officials are very polite to visitors, and
anyone who comes recommended may easily see all there is to see....
Kimberley has one long business street which is very creditable, but
outside of that the town does not look very well. Rain is very scarce,
much scarcer than at Johannesburg, and when the wind blows, all doors
must be closed, owing to the dust from the mine dumps. It is much
hotter here in summer than in Johannesburg, and general conditions of
living worse. I shouldn’t mind living in Johannesburg, but I don’t
believe I could be content in Kimberley.
THURSDAY, MARCH 20.—Today we traveled from Kimberley to Bloemfontein,
and the same polite conductor was in charge of the train. He not only
gave us a compartment to ourselves, but presented me with a Zulu
war-club which I am bringing home as a souvenir. When the Zulus go
to Kimberley to work in the mines they are not allowed to take their
war-clubs into the compounds, and sell them at low prices. The one I
have is a fancy affair, and probably the late owner worked on it for
two weeks. It looks as though it has been in action, and has probably
cracked a good many heads.... We were compelled to wait nearly three
hours at Bloemfontein for a train to Johannesburg, and dined at Polly’s
Hotel Cecil. Mr. Polly is a model hotel man, and knows his business
so well that his place is constantly crowded, while the opposition
hotel, just across the street, and a newer and larger place, is almost
deserted. It is surprising what a clever man can do to a dull one; if
Mr. Polly wants the larger and newer hotel, my prediction is that he
will have it in six months.... We walked about Bloemfontein for
an hour in the moonlight. I like this town, because it is dull, and
the people are consequently polite. I have always been accustomed to
dull towns, and like St. Louis better than Chicago because St. Louis
people are not so struck on themselves. Every citizen of Chicago is as
badly spoilt as a pretty woman.... It being the night before Good
Friday, which is a holiday here, there was a rush of passengers for
Johannesburg, and the friendly conductor could not get us a compartment
to ourselves. But I was quartered with two very interesting and polite
men in a compartment for four, and rather enjoyed the night ride....
Let the passenger conductors on American railroads prepare to scream
with horror and indignation over an incident I am about to relate. The
train on which we rode from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg was composed
of twelve coaches, nearly all of them used as sleepers at night. The
conductor not only took up the tickets, and looked after the train,
but he acted as porter in all the sleepers, and made up the beds. The
crowd was so large that we did not get our beds made up until midnight,
although we left Bloemfontein at nine o’clock. We paid sixty cents
each for the use of the beds, when we finally got them. The beds were
done up in separate bundles, two sheets, two pillows and two blankets
in each bundle, and the conductor of the passenger train was compelled
to take these out of lockers, and change all the seats into beds. He
had no help whatever, and all the time he was at work, passengers were
snarling at him in an impudent way. I have never before seen anything
like it anywhere. At every station the conductor was compelled to go
out to the platform, and, when the train started, he didn’t say “All
aboard,” but “All seats.” Translated, “All seats” means: “The train
is about to start; all passengers take their seats.”... After we got
to bed at midnight, country boys were constantly racing through the
corridor outside, and looking into our compartment for seats. We could
not lock the door, and, although the train was crowded when we left
Bloemfontein, we took on passengers at every station. In American
sleeping-cars, you engage a sleeping-berth in advance, and after
bedtime the cars are quiet; no racing through the aisles. Here you take
your chance of getting a bed. A similar train on an American railway
would have had a train conductor, a Pullman conductor, and a porter in
each sleeping-car. The door of our compartment was thrown open a dozen
times during the night, but my two companions, important mining men,
were accustomed to it, and were not annoyed. The beds were narrow,
but clean and comfortable; I had no fault to find except the racing
of country boys through the corridors. There were three of us in a
compartment that would have seated eight. I suppose the country boys
had a right to chase us out, and demand that five of them be given
seats in the compartment, but fortunately they did not do it, and we
slept a little toward morning.
FRIDAY, MARCH 21.—We returned to Johannesburg at 8 o’clock this
morning, and it was a little like getting home. We found two excellent
rooms awaiting us at the Langham, as the proprietor expected us, and we
soon forget the discomforts of the night ride. We found an invitation
to dinner awaiting us at the hotel, and among other agreeable guests
we met at this agreeable affair was Edwin N. Gunsaulus, American
consul. Mr. Gunsaulus of course keeps in touch with American affairs,
and he gave us a good deal of news from home. The consul is a cousin
of Rev. Frank Gunsaulus, the noted American preacher and lecturer,
and comes from a town in Ohio smaller than Atchison. Another fact
that endeared him to me is that he formerly ran a weekly newspaper,
and was editor, publisher, business manager, reporter, and one of
the type-setters.... I may as well tell here of the reprehensible
conduct of an American now a resident of Johannesburg. I refer to Isham
F. Atterbury, formerly of St. Joseph, Missouri, but now manager of the
African Realty Trust. I expect the American women to be as indignant
over his conduct as the American passenger conductors will be over
the treatment of the conductor of the train on which we traveled last
night. Mr. and Mrs. Atterbury were also guests at the dinner, and the
story I shall relate of Mr. Atterbury’s conduct I had first-hand from
his wife’s lips. Mr. Gunsaulus also heard the story, and I called his
attention to it particularly by recommending that, as American consul,
he do something about it.... The story is as follows: For years Mrs.
Atterbury kept house, and slaved, as American women do, in preparing
delicacies for her husband to eat, in order that she might keep him
good-natured. But human endeavor has a limit, and Mrs. Atterbury’s
slaving for her husband’s comfort finally resulted in a collapse, and
a trip to a sanitarium. After her partial recovery, they went to an
English boarding-house, which Mrs. Atterbury declares is worse than an
American boarding-house, to live. And here is where Mr. Atterbury’s
baseness developed: _he ate as heartily of the boarding-house fare as
he had ever eaten of his wife’s cooking_.... Although the incident
happened years ago, Mrs. Atterbury is still mad about it. “And,” she
added, in telling of her wrongs, “some people say I am a pretty fair
cook. After that, I quit the kitchen for good, and have been boarding
ever since.”... Their young gentleman son, Manfred Atterbury, is
afraid to take sides in the controversy, but he did say that his father
doesn’t pay much attention to what he eats; that when he goes to the
table he usually carries American newspapers or magazines with him,
and doesn’t eat anything at all unless his attention is called to the
fact that the body requires a certain amount of nourishment.... The
American women I meet here all say American men are more considerate
of their wives than the men of any other nation. I believe that at
home we men are rather unpopular as husbands, and that our conduct
attracts a good deal of unfavorable criticism from American wives;
but abroad we are everywhere toasted because of our devotion to our
women-folks.... At the dinner tonight, an American woman said:
“Another reason I want to go home: I want to see pretty girls again.”
There are not many pretty women over here, whereas America is full of
them; particularly in dull towns.... Another guest at the dinner
tonight was H. T. Hofmeyer, a prominent Boer lawyer of Johannesburg,
and who has just served two terms as mayor. He is much interested in
American newspapers, magazines, books, and citizens. The ex-mayor and
Mr. Gunsaulus, the American consul, were quite impatient with me
because I had arranged to leave Johannesburg at 10 P. M. on Monday
evening, whereas they said no train left at that hour. So we all took
a walk to the railroad station, to get the facts. It turned out that I
was right about it, and the consul and Mr. Hofmeyer walked all the way
home with me, in explaining how they happened to be mistaken....
Merchants everywhere work the words “reduction” and “cut prices,”
for all they are worth. Wherever we have been, we have encountered
“reduction” sales, and merchants side by side abuse each other in the
placards displayed. “This is a real reduction sale,” one placard read;
“do not be deceived by false pretenses elsewhere.” One shoe store in
Johannesburg displays this sign: “Shoes for next to nothing.” Every
storekeeper thinks he is a public benefactor, because of his low prices.