Part 29

Another diamond, quite famous in its way, is the “Sancy.” It fell from the helmet of Charles the Bold at the battle of Granson, and was picked up by a Swiss soldier. The soldier disposed of it for two francs, and thought he had made a very good bargain. In 1589 it was bought by De Sancy, treasurer to Henry IV. of France. In 1792 it was stolen, and after various adventures, was bought, forty years afterwards, by Prince Demidoff, who paid for it seventy-five thousand pounds. It has since been sold for a much smaller sum.

A few years ago a diamond was found in Brazil, and imported into France under the name of the Star of the South. It was found by a negress, and bought for a few dollars by a speculator, who obtained a large return for his investment. Its weight in the rough was two hundred and fifty-four carats; after cutting, it was one hundred and twenty-four carats.

Another famous stone, known as the Grand Duke of Tuscany, is of a yellow color, and weighs one hundred and forty carats.

It was lost at one time, and bought subsequently, it is said, for a few francs, out of a jeweller’s shop at Florence, the jeweller supposing that it was only a piece of colored crystal.

[Sidenote: THE ORLOFF AND THE KOHINOOR.]

A famous diamond in Russia is the Orloff. It is shaped like an egg, with an indented hollow in the smaller end. It was found at Landak, in India, and at one time formed the eye of an idol in a Brahmin temple at Pondicherry. An enterprising deserter from the French army managed to have himself shut up in the temple, and during his incarceration he gouged out this eye of the idol. He attempted to capture the other eye, but was unsuccessful. He was lucky enough to get away with his prize, which he sold to a jeweller at Calcutta. After passing through the hands of various purchasers, it was bought by a Greek merchant, who sold it to the Empress Catherine for four hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and an annuity of twenty thousand dollars, with a title of nobility.

One of the best known, and probably the most famous, diamonds in the world is the Kohinoor. It is interesting for the great number of historical associations connected with it. It is said to have been worn by an Indian king three thousand years before the Christian era. From this king the Kohinoor passed through the hands of successive sovereigns of Central India, until about the beginning of the fourteenth century, when it was added to the treasures of Delhi by the Patan monarch Aladdin. In 1739 the Persian monarch Nadir Shah conquered Delhi, and had an interview with its vanquished ruler. The latter put on his best garments in order to make as good an impression as possible. He wrapped a gorgeous turban around his head, and in it he fastened the Kohinoor.

The Persian conqueror, during the progress of the interview, saw this diamond, and, in the expressive language of modern days, “went for it.”

He was too polite to capture it by main force, but proposed eternal peace and friendship to Mohammed Shah, the vanquished ruler of Delhi. The latter, like Barkis, was willin’, and the two embraced.

“As a token of our friendship,” said Nadir, “let us exchange turbans.” Mohammed was cornered and obliged to comply, and Nadir walked off with the prize. But Nadir did not keep it long, as he was assassinated soon after.

After his death it passed to the hands of Ahmed Shah of Cabool, and thence through various other hands, until in 1849, when, on the annexation of the Punjaub to the East India Company’s territory, it was stipulated that the Kohinoor should be given to the Queen of England. It was sent to England, and was delivered to the queen July 3, 1850. It was exhibited at the Crystal Palace in London, but caused great disappointment by its inability to develop the proper refraction, unless surrounded by strong lights; in fact, it was much inferior to its glass model in the Tower. Its name, Mountain of Light, seemed to be a misnomer.

[Sidenote: RECUTTING THE KOHINOOR.]

An examination was made with a view to recutting it. Scientific gentlemen were called in, and skilful cutters at Amsterdam were sent for. After much consultation, it was determined to recut the stone. The proper machinery was prepared, and set up, and the Duke of Wellington was required to begin the work.

In cutting a diamond, the stone is firmly embedded in lead at the end of a stick. Only the portion which is intended to be cut is exposed at one time. The Kohinoor was properly fixed in its leaden surrounding, and placed in the hands of the duke. He held it firmly against a swiftly revolving wheel covered with diamond dust, and in a little while the first facet was finished. Then the stone was placed in the hands of the workmen who were to continue the operation; and when their labors were completed, the Kohinoor was found blazing brilliantly, and justified its title as the Mountain of Light.

The largest and most valuable diamond in the world, so far as known, is presumed to be the one so long owned by the Sultan of Matan, Borneo. It weighs three hundred and sixty-nine carats, and is valued at five million dollars—a very good piece of property to have; but it is said to be so carefully kept, that no ordinary diamond thief can obtain it.

[Sidenote: ARTIFICIAL DIAMONDS.]

Though diamonds cannot be made artificially, they can be imitated, and the imitation is almost perfect. Several French manufacturers of bogus diamonds have obtained high reputation for their skill. Flint, white sand, and silver are the substances used; at least they are said to be the substances, though there is doubtless some other material added which the manufacturers do not mention. These fraudulent diamonds, in weight, color, and brilliancy, are almost identical with the genuine ones, and some of them have even deceived the dealers. They will stand some, but not all, the tests applied to diamonds. They reflect the light perfectly, but are apt to grow dim in a few weeks, and require fresh polishing. The diamonds sold in New York under the name of Alaska, Australia, or California diamonds are mostly of French manufacture, and were never seen in the locality whose name is applied to them.

False diamonds have become so common among certain classes of Americans as to cause the real diamond to be used very rarely among other classes. During the prosperity of the famous Tammany Ring, false diamonds blazed on many a political shirt-front, where they could be seen and admired of men.

The followers of the Ring politicians were generally equipped with false diamonds; but the great leaders, like Tweed and his companions, decorated, or were supposed to decorate, themselves with the genuine article.

There are many strange stories told in connection with diamonds. We have already seen through what vicissitudes the famous diamonds have passed.

A story is told of a French prince, who, while travelling, was attacked by robbers. He had intrusted a valuable diamond to a faithful servant. The servant was slain, but the master escaped. He returned subsequently to the scene of the fight, and sought for the diamond, but could nowhere find it. At last he bethought himself to examine the body of his attendant, when he found that the latter had swallowed the diamond to preserve it.

[Sidenote: A FORTUNATE ACTOR.]

Some years ago an actor, looking through an old clothes shop in London, found a pair of slippers decorated with glass beads, and suited to a character he was about to play. He bought them for a trifle, paying two or three shillings for them. He wore them on the evening of his performance, and used to leave them lying carelessly about the theatre. He had them a year or more before discovering, as he did, by accident, that the supposed beads were diamonds, and that the shoes which had cost him a few shillings were worth thousands of pounds. He sold them soon after making the discovery, and retired upon the fortune so easily obtained. He never took the trouble to ascertain their previous character or history.

About twenty years ago, in a gaming-house in New York, a gambler, who may be called Smith, put up a ring as a stake, against an outside player for a hundred dollars. The player—I call him Jones for sake of convenience,—won the ring and went away with it. Smith had received the ring a short time before as a present, and was told at the time that it was false, or, as it is generally called, “paste.” Jones took the ring next day to a jeweller, and asked what it was.

The jeweller said, “It is paste—worth about two dollars.”

“Have you a genuine stone like it?” Jones asked of the jeweller.

“Yes,” was the reply, “I have one exactly resembling it, worth five hundred dollars.”

“Will you take out the paste and set the genuine stone in its place,” asked Jones, “provided I leave you its value as security, and pay you for the use of it?”

“Certainly,” was the reply; and the bargain was quickly settled. The change was made, and Jones walked away with the ring.

[Sidenote: HOW A GAMBLER WAS CAUGHT.]

That evening he was in the same gaming-house, and was chaffed by the friends of Smith on obtaining a paste ring against a stake of a hundred dollars. Jones insisted that the ring was genuine, and offered to back his opinion with a bet of a hundred dollars. The bet was taken, and it was agreed that Jones, Smith, and a person selected by the two, should go together to the prominent jewellers and ascertain the value of the ring.

Next day they visited the stores, and jeweller after jeweller examined the stone, and pronounced it genuine, and worth four or five hundred dollars. Most of them were ready to give four hundred dollars for it.

The bet was paid, and Jones departed to drive with a friend up town; but on his way he called at the jeweller’s, exchanged the genuine stone for the paste, obtained his five hundred dollars he had left on deposit, paid for the use of the diamond, and slipped away.

That evening he was again at the gambling-house, and rallied Smith on having sold himself. Smith acknowledged that he had been deceived, but he never supposed the ring was worth anything, and was surprised to find that the stone was genuine.

“Well,” said Jones, “I don’t wish to take any mean advantage of your stakes; you staked that ring for a hundred dollars, and the jewellers said it is worth four or five hundred dollars. For a hundred dollars, the amount of your stake, you can have it back again.”

Smith bit at the offer, paid the hundred dollars, and received the ring. Jones departed, and did not return. Imagine the disgust of Smith when he subsequently found out the real state of affairs.

XXVI.

THE DIAMOND FIELDS OF SOUTH AFRICA.

MODE OF REACHING THEM—THEIR EXTENT AND RICHNESS—THE YIELD OF THE MINES—CHARACTER OF THE AFRICAN DIAMONDS—MODE OF WORKING—THE NEGROES AND THEIR PECULIARITIES—DU TOIT’S PAN—KIMBERLEY—COLESBERG KOPJE—LIFE IN THE FIELDS—DUST STORMS AND HEAVY RAINS—A WHIRLWIND AND ITS EFFECTS—CAUGHT IN A STORM—INDIVIDUAL INSTANCES OF GOOD LUCK—A DIAMOND ON A BURST.

The owners of diamonds, and those who buy and sell the gems, were thrown into great consternation, a few years ago, by the announcement of the discovery of immense diamond deposits in South Africa. As usual, when rich deposits of precious stones or precious metals are known to have been found, there was a great rush for the newly-opened region. Many persons imagined they had only to land at some point on the coast of South Africa, and the first touch of the pick or spade would bring them fortune in the shape of Koh-i-noors by the thousands. Many of them found their mistake long ago. On the other hand, many others have been handsomely rewarded for their enterprise and exertion. The diamond fields of South Africa have created some large fortunes, and a great many small ones. “Lucky finds” have been numerous, and the diamonds seem to be pretty well distributed in the valleys where they exist.

The regular route to the diamond fields is by way of Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope. Cape Town is an interesting city of about thirty thousand inhabitants, picturesquely situated on Table Bay. The diamond fields are about seven hundred miles distant. There are no railways in that region, and the most rapid conveyance is by the mail-coach, which makes the journey in about six or seven days. A slower and cheaper conveyance is by ox or horse teams, generally the former. The route is not a picturesque one. Those who imagine beautiful valleys, wide-spreading plains, open prairies thickly covered with luxuriant grass, with a horizon of rugged mountains, will be disappointed with the reality. The plains are generally treeless and stony, many of the hills are barren, and the very settlements along the route are quite too dirty and dilapidated to be attractive. Several rivers are to be crossed, some of them very muddy, and some of them abounding with quicksand.

On some of the plains, the oxen suffer for want of grass and water, and the cruel beatings they receive from the hands of their Hottentot drivers are exceedingly disagreeable to sensitive travelers. The Hottentots carry a whip of Rhinoceros hide, known by the name of “shambok.” It is quite analagous to the “courbash” of the Egyptians. It resembles a small, long, flexible cane, and is capable of drawing blood at every stroke when handled by an artist. From twenty-five to forty days are consumed in the journey with ox wagons, and when the traveler reaches his destination, he feels very much as though he had been run through a cotton-picker.

[Sidenote: DU TOIT’S PAN.]

The diamond fields are first reached at Du Toit’s Pan, and the traveler suddenly finds himself in the midst of great activity. The ground is cut and seamed in all directions, and the pits whence the diamonds are taken, are, in many instances, two hundred feet deep. The mode of working in these mines is somewhat different from that of gold mining. In the first place, the white miners are not strictly miners at all, as they universally employ the natives to do the work, and their own occupation is simply that of overseer. The natives work for a sum equal to about five dollars a week and their board. They are of four different nations, and a miner thus describes them:

[Sidenote: THE NATIVE MINERS.]

“The handsomest and most trustworthy race are the Zulu Caffres of Natal and Caffraria. The next are the Basutos. Third are the thievish and drunken Hottentots, and fourth, the Koraunas, small, ugly, and contemptible beings, despised by all the rest, and of no use to the diggers, owing to their unconquerable laziness. I always admired a Zulu. There was one living near our tent, a model for a sculptor. He would sometimes cross my path, with his long steady strides, his blanket hanging around him in graceful folds like the toga of a Roman senator. One hand grasped the robe, and allowed freedom of motion, while the other would be crossed on his breast. In his woolly locks, braided and arranged neatly on his head, would appear feathers of different wild birds, while underneath his massive brow shone a pair of eyes—coal-black eyes—with such long lashes that they reminded me of eyes in eastern pictures. A man with such orbs as his could speak were he deaf and dumb. An aquiline nose, with inflated nostrils, overshadowed a delicately curved mouth, full of firmness and pride. Below was the massive chin of statesmen and conquerors. In fact, he was a model man in ebony.”

The natives will only work a short time. When they have accumulated a certain amount of money, they purchase arms and ammunition and go home. They are good-tempered, obedient, and faithful, and do not spend much money upon dress. Sometimes they get themselves up gorgeously, and a wardrobe sufficient for an ordinary white man will dress at least a dozen negroes. One will deck himself with a coat, another with a hat, another will consider himself finely arrayed in a paper collar, while a pair Of trousers will be sufficient for two, if properly divided. An odd boot, shoe, or stocking, or an old shirt that reaches perhaps as far as the waist, is considered the proper thing for polite society in negro land.

The discovery of diamonds in South Africa was made in the year 1870. A traveler through those regions stopped one night at a farm-house, and found the children playing with some pebbles. One of the pebbles attracted his attention, and he bought it for a trifle. He subsequently sold it, at Cape Town, for three thousand dollars. He bought another from a negro, which he sold for fifty-six thousand dollars, making a very fair margin of profit on his transaction. When the natives found these stones were of value, they began to search for them, and a great many were brought in. Then began the rush for the diamond fields. Great numbers of people went there from Cape Town, and as the news spread to England and to other countries, there was considerable excitement concerning the South African fields. The place where the diamonds were found is in an extensive district of country belonging to Dutch farmers.

[Sidenote: GARNET AS AN INDICATOR.]

The surface indication of a diamond mine are numerous garnets, which are not of any particular value. The general rule is that wherever the garnet is found, one is pretty certain to find diamonds. At first, the principal diggings were at a place on the Vaal river, where there was an abundance of water. The gravel was taken to the river and washed, and the diamonds were separated from the worthless stones. Only the earth was allowed to float away, as it was possible that some large and valuable gems might be carried off with the smaller stones. When the stones had been separated from the earth, they were carefully sorted, and in a short time the miners became very expert at recognizing the gems.

The diamond fields of South Africa, covering an area of perhaps one thousand square miles, are between longitude 24° and 28° east, and latitude 27° and 30° south. It is estimated that, down to the end of 1876, eighty-five million dollars worth of diamonds had been taken out, and this estimate does not include thousands of stones that were carried directly to England by their owners, and did not pass through the market at Cape Town. Diamond owners would have been ruined completely by the African discoveries, had it not been for the fact that the great majority of the diamonds found there are of poor quality. Professor Lenant, who has given considerable attention to the matter, says that of the Cape diamonds, about ten per cent. may be classified as first quality, fifteen per cent. of the second, and twenty-five per cent. of the third. The remainder, under the name of “bort,” is employed in cutting diamonds and for various other purposes, by the lapidary, by the engineer in rock drills, for cutting glass, and similar purposes.

[Sidenote: DIFFICULTIES OF MINING.]

Unfortunately for the miners at the Cape, there is a very short supply of water. If they could have adopted the system of hydraulic mining to their work, they would have saved enormous labor and expense. At many of the fields which are distant from the rivers, the gravel is removed by means of buckets, drawn up by long ropes, and it very often happens that a single heavy rain of a few hours, will destroy the entire labor of months, the pit becomes filled with water, and there will be no way of extracting it except by evaporation, or by the laborious process of hoisting or pumping. One of the fields, known as Colesberg Kopje, fell off, in one year, more than fifty per cent. from the yield of previous years, in consequence of the heavy caving and floodings caused by the rains. The value of claims in that region has gradually fallen, and so desperate is the condition that, at last accounts, money was loaned upon mining licenses at the rate of ten per cent. a month, with a foreclosure at the end of the first month if the interest was not paid.

At the diamond camp, the small stones form the basis of value. They might be used for currency except for one fact. Gold dust, in California, was used for currency, for a long time. Its value, of course, is directly proportioned to its weight, a pound nugget being worth exactly twelve times as much as an ounce nugget of the same fineness, but the value of diamonds increases with enormous rapidity as they grow heavier, so they cannot be put in bunch or weighed out the same as gold. Transactions frequently take place in diamonds, and the amount of exchange is often very difficult to compute.

The last region of which we have any account is known as Kimberley, and a city of ten thousand inhabitants, with banks, hotels, churches, and theaters, has grown up there. In its general features, it is not unlike a frontier city in California or Colorado, except that its streets are filled with carts carrying earth away from the diggings, and with great numbers of negroes who come to work in the mines. The diamonds are found in a conglomerate which is dug up from the bottom of what has once been a deep cañon. At Kimberley, the cañon is two hundred feet deep, and one thousand feet across. When one descends into this place, it is almost impossible to hear the human voice, on account of the noise made by the wheels and buckets, and the picks, shovels, and other tools of the miners. In the early times of the mining excitement at the Cape, the negroes were reasonably honest, but association with the white man has made them otherwise. When they can steal the diamonds they do so. They will secrete them in their ears, their mouths, or their noses, and a negro has been known to work an entire day with two or three diamonds concealed between his toes.

[Sidenote: HOW AN ENGLISHMAN LOST A DIAMOND.]

An interesting story is told of how an Englishman lost, one day, a valuable diamond, through his impetuosity. He had found a very large and fine stone at the bottom of his pit, and was coming up the ladder, carrying the diamond in his mouth. A negro happened to shake the top of the ladder, whereupon the Englishman proceeded to swear at him, as an Englishman might be expected to do. The result was, the diamond fell from his mouth down into the pit or into a neighboring one, and its whereabouts was never discovered by the unlucky finder. We have heard of mouths that speak pearls, but it is rarely the case that one hears of a mouth swearing diamonds.