THE DIAMOND FIELDS.
Directly south of the Kalahari Desert lies a region familiarly termed
the Diamond Fields. This region, which, properly, should be known as
Griqualand West, was formerly a separate colony. Now, however, it is
included among the Cape of Good Hope colonies, which comprise Cape
Colony.
This region consists of extensive grazing tracts, some few valleys
suitable for agricultural purposes, and sections rich in deposits of
copper, lead, and iron.
The chief interest at the present time in the Diamond Fields centers
about the precious stones which have been found there. From time to
time these gems had been picked up, but the finders did not realize
their value.
It is related that a gentleman noticed one of the children of a Dutch
farmer playing with a peculiar-looking stone, and offered to buy it. The
farmer laughed at the thought of selling a stone, and offered to give it
to him. It subsequently proved to be a diamond that weighed almost an
ounce. Later, it was sold to the governor of Cape Colony, who paid some
five hundred English pounds for it. This stone was found at Hopetown,
and search was immediately made for more of the gems, with the result
that the diamond fields in that neighborhood and about Kimberley in
Griqualand West became famous. It was in 1867 that this stone was found,
by accident as it were.
The largest stone from this region is named the "Star of South Africa."
It was in the possession of a Kaffir witch doctor, and was bought by a
gentleman who afterwards sold it for eleven thousand two hundred English
pounds. This stone is about the size of an English walnut. Its weight is
three ounces and a half.
In 1871 the first diamonds in the region called Kimberley were
discovered under the root of an old thorn-tree, in the now famous mound
from which the region is named. Since that time the mountain has been
tunnelled in every direction, till the excavations give its interior
much the appearance of a gigantic honeycomb.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A DIAMOND MINE.]
Not only in the heart of the mountain, but in the neighboring plains and
along the banks of the Vaal River, these gems of "purest ray serene" are
sought for. The water of the river is used to wash the precious stones
from the clay soil, in which they are often imbedded like plums in a
pudding.
Back from the river are what are termed "dry diggings." These consist of
pits sunk through decomposed rocks of volcanic origin until a layer of
tufa, limestone, and clay is reached. In this layer the gems are
imbedded.
Masses of this "stuff," as it is called, are carried to the banks of the
river and there washed. The more common custom, however, is to dry the
mixture and to sift it by the aid of the workmen, who belong to the
Kaffir tribes. These workmen have, however, learned the value of the
gems, and need to be carefully watched lest they steal more than they
deliver into the hands of their employers.
The most rigid watch is kept over the workmen, who often display the
greatest ingenuity and cunning in hiding away the precious stones.
Notwithstanding their lack of clothing these workmen manage to hide the
stones about them; often secreting them in the hair, the folds of the
skin, in the ears, under the tongue, under the nails of the toes, while
instances have been known where they have even swallowed the precious
gems to secure them from the white man.
Unlicensed dealing in diamonds or the purchasing of them from the
natives is considered an offense of the most serious nature in
Griqualand West. In spite of all precautions, much of this illegal
trading is carried on; for, if the risk is great, the profit to those
engaged in the trade is even greater.
It has been estimated on good authority that fully twenty million
pounds' worth of diamonds has been exported from these fields since the
first discoveries. As a pound in English money is equal to very nearly
five dollars of our money, we can estimate what the revenue of these
mines has been.
It is believed that gems of many million pounds' value lie yet
undiscovered in the unexplored portions of the diamond region.
Statistics show that about two million pounds' worth of the gems is
unearthed annually.
Naturally, the great mineral wealth of this region has attracted
thousands to the neighborhood of Kimberley. Formerly, the country was
roamed over by Griqua Kaffirs, numbering but a few thousands. Now, the
region has become peopled "in spots." Many of the settlements have
assumed the importance of towns of considerable size. It is estimated
that not only some thirteen thousand whites, but upwards of thirty-three
thousand blacks, from all sections of South Africa, have flocked to
found such settlements as Kimberley, Bult-fontein, and Du Toit's Pan.
Griqualand West is about one-half as large as Scotland. The country has
nothing attractive in its physical features. Indeed, it would be
difficult to conceive of a dryer, uglier, drearier, more depressing
region than the Diamond Fields. These conditions are intensified when no
rain has fallen for months and the thermometer notes a steady increase
of temperature day after day, till it reaches 90 deg. in the shade.
The great novelist, Anthony Trollope, visited the Diamond Fields when
not a blade of grass could be seen growing on the thirsty ground, and
when, as he expressed it, he "seemed to breathe dust rather than air."
His impressions of the Diamond Fields may be judged best from his
description: "An atmosphere composed of flies and dust cannot be
pleasant,--of dust so thick that the sufferer fears to remove it lest
the raising of it may aggravate the evil, and of flies so numerous that
one hardly dares to slaughter them by the ordinary means lest their dead
bodies should be noisome.
"When a gust of wind would bring the dust in a cloud, hiding
everything,--a cloud so thick that it seemed that the solid surface of
the earth had risen diluted into the air,--and when flies had rendered
occupation altogether impossible, I could be told, when complaining,
that I ought to be there in December or February--at some other time of
the year than that then present--if I really wanted to see what flies
and dust could do. I sometimes thought that the people of Kimberley were
proud of their flies and their dust."
Bare and uninviting as this portion of Griqualand West is known to be,
there are exceptional tracts along the banks of the Vaal and Orange
Rivers, for they are well wooded and not lacking in picturesque beauty
of scenery.
Diamond fields have been discovered not only on both sides of the Vaal
River, but also in the Orange Free State. At several places in this
state the "dry diggings," as they are called, have been very productive;
for they may be said to be literally sown with the precious stones.
The early scenes about the diamond diggings cannot have been unsimilar
to those witnessed during the mining fever in California, when the hope
of securing fabulous amounts of gold drew all sorts and conditions of
men to the grounds.
Houses were more easily constructed from canvas than from wood, and
whole towns, as if by magic, sprang into existence. It must have been a
curious sight to look upon one of those canvas towns.
In the red letter days of diamond digging, it was no uncommon thing for
sixty thousand or more people to gather round the dry river diggings.
When the great rush was over, and men settled down to steady labor in
the mining districts, the population naturally decreased to a great
extent, as the mere fortune hunters left the field of labor to the real
workers.
The New Rush Mine of Kimberley has been described as the center of
interest. A town has been built around it, and there are churches,
clubs, hotels, halls, and even a fine market place, as attractions.
The mine is said to have the appearance of a hollow. This has a
circumference of three-fourths of a mile. The mine had naturally a
slight elevation above the plain in which it is situated. Since mining
operations began, it has been scooped out to quite a depth, the lowest
point being estimated as lying more than two hundred feet below the
surface.
The greater part of the work in the mines can, of course, be done by the
natives. They labor with pick and spade, load the buckets, which are
constantly being pulled up and let down by means of ropes and pulleys,
and carry them off to the sorting ground. Here they throw the "stuff"
into sieves, where it is carefully sifted, then examined with the
closest scrutiny, after having been spread on tables in the open air for
the purpose.
[Illustration: WASHING SAND FOR DIAMONDS.]
Just as in the early gold-mining days in America, "claims" were set off
by the diamond diggers in South Africa. The owner of a claim then set to
work to examine the soil, which he collected in a heap by the aid of
his pick and shovel. This done, he removed the loose stones, and
separated the sand by means of fine sieves. The remaining earth and
stones he then carried to the washing place on the river bank.
The washing was done in a curious kind of "cradle," as it was called. It
really consisted of a double sieve. The upper sieve had holes in it
about half an inch in diameter, while the lower one had holes so small
as to prevent a diamond of one-half carat from slipping through. When
the washing process was once accomplished, it was followed by that of
sorting.
The diamond sections have been the scenes of the most intense
excitement. It was no uncommon thing for one man to pay another a
fabulous price for his claim. One case is cited where half a claim,
which measured only thirty by sixteen feet, and which had been dug out
to a depth of fifty feet, brought the immense sum of twenty-four
thousand English pounds.
Not infrequently these half-worked claims were worth the money and time
expended, and many a lucky "find" gladdened the hearts of the fortunate
purchaser.
A case is mentioned of the finding of a diamond, after a few hours'
search, which brought the fortunate possessor three thousand pounds.
Another stone picked up on a deserted claim was described as one of a
hundred and fifteen carats' weight.
In those early days life was hard and the barest necessities for
existence difficult to obtain. Meat was not only dear, but of poor
quality; butter was even worse, and vegetables so scarce as to be
veritable luxuries.
It must be remembered that everything for Kimberley had to be brought
up either from the coast, five hundred miles from the Orange Free State,
or from some of the more accessible parts of Cape Colony.
All goods had to be brought with ox teams. This was a very slow and sure
mode of transportation, and an extremely costly one.
Many changes have taken place in the neighborhood of the mines and dry
diggings. Some of the mines have become exhausted, but new ones have
constantly been discovered each year. The population has become more
settled. The queer "shanties" of canvas and wood have disappeared, and
whole towns of substantial brick and stone houses have replaced them.
An air of comfort and thrift pervades the settlements, and the energy
and activity of the scene are enhanced by the steam railway, which forms
the connecting link between the various mining sections. Improved
methods of irrigation tend to relieve the country from the discomfort of
dust and flies, and Griqualand West of the present time is as great a
contrast to that of the past as can well be imagined.