Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 October 1891 — Page 6

THE SPARKLING GEMS.

HOW DIAMOND MINES ARE WORKED. The World’s Supply of the Precious Stones and Where They Are Found— Scenes in the Diamond Mines of India. Brazil and South Africa—Hoiv the Mining’ls Carried On—Precautions Against Theft. Diamonds. The value of the diamond as an ornament has been appreciated from the earliest ages, and in the East the mining of theso precious stones has, from time Immemorial, been a prerogative of royalty. The o'dest diamond mines in the world are those of India, and evidence of the singular productively s of the Indian mines is found in the fact that though work has been carried on them since before written history had an origin, many of them are sill 1 , if no! as | roduetive as ever, snliicioatly so to ..ustify the continuance of work. The Indian mines arc not only the oldest, but are also the most extensive in the the diamond district of the peninsula extending from near the River lonar in the South to the River Sono in the North, a tract in the fa t Deccan over 70.) miles from north to sftuth and from thirty to 2(0 miles in width. Not everywhere throughout this vast extent of country are diamonds found, but here ar.d there tlic diggings are extensile, while almost anywhere, a “prospect” of tl.o soil gives indicati ns of good diamond territory. In this vide extent there arc many important minor Some ©f 'tin best have long been exhausted, and at urosent the most'extensive diggings are at Kudapah, Karn.d and Elloro, whero many hundred thousan 1 dollars' worth of dmmonds ar ■ annually taken from the soil. Some of the most productive territory is in the dominions of the Nizam of Hyderabad, dnd hero were the long famous mines of Golconda This was the name given them, lut in reality Golconda is not a name of a mine or even of a district, but of a fortress round which a town has grown up. In former days the castle was held by a strong garrison, and the gems from all the surrounding country were gathered into the fortress as a p!a e of security; hence (Jolconda became a market for the mines of Central India, and the Golconda gem might come from any one of a hundred mines in the vicinity. Formerly ail mining was

THE COLSONDA FORTRESS.

tondor the supervision of the Indian potentates, but in all the d amond districts of India the diamond digging is now ca ried on in a desultory fashion by the natives. The Indian diamonds are found only In comparatively recent alluvial deposits, there being generally an upper surface composed of loan and sand, perhaps two feet in thickness, under which lies a stratum of b ack c ay from two to four feet thick, and under tins again the diamond soil, a stiff clay Intermingled with larg! round stones. Here is the diamond hunter’s harvest. The deposit is from two to throe feet in thickness, and after bejng reached by tho removal of tho'overlying strata, is removed and treated in one or two ways. Winn water is abundant and easily avai able, tho mud is washed through a sieve, and the stones remaining in the sie/e aro examined to ascertain what gems n ay be among their number. When the mine is in a dry loca ity, tho mud is removed, dr ed in the sun, then broken into powder and subjected to a < lose scrutiny. Tho utmost degree of care must be exercised in exam nlng the soil from the diamond layer, in order that no gems may be overlooked, for a diamond the size of a pin h ad is tho reward of many days' labor, and its loss is not to ho replaced. As at present conducted in the Deccan. diamond mining scarcely pays expense-, oven when the laborer considers 35 cents a day an ample return for h's exertions. Tho surface soil is 'removed from a small area and an examination made of the diamond stratum When the indications appear promising, the mining i* contmuod, hut should tho laborer j'udgo that h s efforts aro being ■thrown away, h? at once abandons that loca ity mid sol;cts some other point. Tho consequence is, that although an Immense amount of work is done every year in the diamond region--, so unsystematically is it carried on, that the resii ts are very poor. Occasionally a gem of good size is found, and competent authorities say that if tho mines were conducted in a sc'ontitic ir systematic manner, considerable results m ght be attained. But perhaps this is . aying 100 much, for no business is more uncertain than diamond mining. The finest gems in the wor d are of Indian origin;

HILL, FORTS IS THE INLIAN LIAMOND DISTRICT.

the Kohtnoor. the liohit or, the regent, which once glittered in the hand : c of Kapoieoii's sword and was captured at Waterloo, the Orlofl, for which the Empress Catherine gave §45 ,000 in < ash, *n annuity of §20,000 and a title of nobility, together with a large nurabor of n ted gems, were fiom the Deccan diamond d strict of India. Uimionds have long been mined at \ ontiana in liorneo, a locality where a v.

search for the precious stones is still in pro tress; andvfrom time to time the labors of the diggers are rewarded by the discovery of valuable gems. The formation in which they are found is, however, quite diifoiont from that of India. The diamond earth of Borneo i 3 of red clay, in which are found not only 'diamonds but also gold and platinum. These three va'uablo products make the Borneo mines well worth developing, a; one or,the other is almost certain to afford enough to pay expenses and a handsome profit The application of improve I machinery to tho Borneo mines might produce good resu ts, for many

A SORTING TABLE IN THE ERAZIAN DIAMOND DIGGING.

valuab'e gems have been already dis Covered, and it is said that hardly more than half of the. d'amond district has been worked. Tho most famous stono from the Borneo mines is tho great gem in the possession of tho Multan of Matan. It weighs 307 carats, and is valued at S 3, SCO, 000. AVI en the Spaniards conquered Peru and other parts of South America tl ey found many valuable stone tin possession of the natives, but destroyed great numbers of gems by placing them on an anvil ami striking tl o n with a hammer, under the mi-taken impression that tho genuine diamond could not thus be in,ured. It is now known that the diamond is one of the most brittle of stones, and even a well-cut stone will sometimes bo split in two by gn accidental fall on a stone, or even a wooden floor. It Is certain, tliorefi re, that many gems of great value weie ho, olcssly destroyed by tho ignorant Spanish soldiers. Whence came the jewels of the Incas and the Montezumas no oho knew until the raidd'o of the last century, when diamond mines wore for the first tim6 discovered by Europeans in the Brazilian province. The di.-covery was tho merest accident. In tho province of Minas Gcraos the negro for a considerable time used as counters in card-playing c Ttain bright stones which they found in the streams and a ong the shores. Along cam ■ a traveler who had spent sotno years in India, and, recognizing the stones, lie purchased a large number for a few (cuts each and took himself out of the country with all imaginable

haste. For many months nothing was hoard of him, but a'year or two iater a large party of woil-armel men began 10 make mysterious researches in the province where th > negroes had found the stones. They were diamond-hunt-ers. and before the government became cognizant of'their exertions large numbers of valuable gems had been found and taken out of the country. When the fact became known a stop was put to tho work, the foreigners were expelled, and the government took charge of tho mines. For a long time tho Brazilian stones were regarded as inferior to those of Ind a and Borneo, but save the tinge of color, generally yellow, which is often found in the Brazilian stones, there is no reason for the supposed inferior!ly, and when thoy arc white they can not be d stuiguished from tho produc t of tho Deccan mines In Bra il tho diamond occurs among the detritus of a sandstone formation and often occurs in connection with gold and other precious stones. On the banks of the Brazilian rivers, especially where ledges of rock come down into the water, a very curious circumstance is observable. Tho little whirlpools which are found in the eddies of every stream have turned the small stones round in one spot so as to form what are known as “pot holes.” These holes aro cut in the beginning by diamonds lodging in some crevice or accidoata! concavity in the rock, but the floods bring other stones, and thus assist in cutting out the holes, until these curious cavities are sometimes five or six feet in depth and not mo:e than two to three in diameter. In summer, or dry season, thcc natives take out the water, lift out tiie large rocks and search among the smal er stones and pebbles at the bottom for diamonds, which are frequently found there, carefully filling up the hole'-again with sand pebbles ayd bowlders, under the idea that diamonds will again grow at the bottom. After the foreign ad onturers were ex-

pelled the diamond mines were declared to be the property aftlio Brazilian Government, but the right to work In them was rented or leased from the Government by a royalty sura of 810-per annum on each slave employed in the diggings. Tho Government, however, realized no profit, and the annual bounty per man was fnci'o s d to 825, and still no money was made from tho mines. In despair at this lesult, the Government of Brazil took c liargo of the mines and worked them, but finding them a source of great cxi ense and little income, tho laws were a few years ago so ohangod that tho mines are now tho property of private

indiv dua’s. The most remarkable thing about the Brazilian mines is tho singular uniformity of product—that is to say, that every 101 cubic yards of earth removed from the mines will yield about tho same n mber and weight of diamonds. They are mostly snail, but

there have been som ■ notable exceptions. The famous diamond n the treasury of tho King of Portugal camo fiom Brazil. According to tho rules of measurement and priio it should, if pure, bo worth 828,000,000, for its weight is said to be no less than 1,680 grains. The diamond “Star of the touth, ”

WORKING A SOUTH AFRICAN MINE.

weighing a little over 254 carats, is perhaps iho finest gem, save that of Portugal, which ever came from the Brazilian mines. But Brazil does not depend upon her diamond mines as a source of wealth. During the first hundred years of diamond mining in Bra il, or from 1750 to 1855, the output of the mines was about $20,00',000, and in the year last named the export of coffee alone was over $28,000,000. From the port of

Bahia there are very year exported $1,4.00,000 worth of diamonds and over $4,000,000 worth of sugar, thus proving that what grows on the'earth is of mere importance than what is found mid, rncath its surface The. Fral Mountains have, on the Russian sid *. valuable mir.os of diamonds, gold and p atinum, several valuable gems and many small stones having

WASHING FOR DIAM NDS.

AN INDIAN DIAMOND PRINCE.

been found there in a formation closely resembling that of Brazil. The Russian mines, however, like most^others, have never been worked sys’ematically, and the general corruption prevalent in every department of the Russian Government encourages the belief that large numbers of the stones are stolen by the employes. In 1808 tho adventurers of the world were excited by reports of the discovery of diamonds in South Africa. As elsewhere, the discovery was by the merest accident A litt e boy p aying on the banks of the Orange River found a bright stone,••wliich he used as a plaything. Its value was not suspected, and it lay about tho hpuse, until one day a hunter passed through, and recognizing the s gem purchased it for a small sum, despite the boy s remonstrances had an examination made of it, and it prbved, when cut, to fre a diamond of 21 carats and excellent brilliancy. Seaich was made! with the usual result, and Su the diamond fields fo.und to be that at present upwards of 6,000 persons are engaged in the mii.es along thifOrange and-Vaal Rivers. A remarkable feature of South African mines is the large sizo of tho stones produced; over 100 have been found exceeding thirty carats in weight, and many over twenty. Nearly all, howe\er, are yellow, and the effect of the South African discoveries was to reduce tho price of yellow, stones to about one-fourth their former figure. The diamond diggings of South Africa cover an area of about 20,000 square miles, the whole of which was at once claimed by Great Britain and annexed as soon as its value was discovered. In one important respect the South African diggings are different from other regions, for in Africa the diamonds are found from tho surface to a depth of upward of one hundred feet. As a ru'e tho diamond strata ije close to the surface, but in tho South African mines the contrary is the case, and better gems are found from eighty to one hundred feet below the surface than are found in the early stages of the work. The method of working tho mines is exceedingly primitive. A claim is staked; all tho earth is removed one bucketful at a time, and carefully sifted for the diamonds it may contain. The labor is done by bla' ks, who before going to work are deprived of all their clothing, and after leaving the mine are carefully searched lest they should steal the product of the day’s labor. Extreme caro is necessary, for the diamond comprises so much valuo in so little bulk, that it is quite possible for-a dishonest employe, unless carefully watched, to carry away many thousand dollars’ worth of gents. Every mine-’ owner, however, is provided with emetics, and the negro suspected of swallowing gems is promptly doctored. In spite of the utmost precautions, however, employers are subjected to great loss on account of thefts by tho laborers, and in every mining ca tip there were dishonest dealers who would buy the stones from the blaelcs at a small part of their va’ue, and then smuggle them out of the neighborhood. 1* inding that watching the negroes was of no avai l , the mine owners went to the root of the evil, hung two or three deaers caught in the act of purchasing stolen stones, ordered others out of tho camp, and thus, for a time at leart, stopped the ovil.

Too Eager.

The Companion recently printed a, story about a woman who had no 'doubt that she could paint pictures if a certain famous artist would only “tell her how he did it.” The Boston Courier has a similar anecdote, and the two, if we are to believe them, seem to indicate that the old saying, “Art is long,” is no"longer universally .belied, even for “substance of doctrine.” A well-known vocal teacher of Boston, whose reputation brings him pupils from all over tihe country, relates that there once came So him a lady who announced herself as a music teacher from a Western city, and declared her intention of' taking •a course of lessons. She asked his terms, and pronounced them satisfactory, and then went on to talk about ’the time of lessons. “You see,” she explained, “I have only a limited time in Boston, and I must manage so as to get the whole twenty lessons into that.” “How long are you to he here?” the other asked. * “Three weeks,” she replied. “Twenty lessons in three weeks!” he exclaimed aghast. “How could that be done?” “Oh,” she responded easily, “I could take two lessons some days.” “Yes,” the teacher answered, “or you might take the whole twenty lessons one after the other all at once. That would only take about ten hours.” The face of the lady brightened. “Would you really be willing to give them to me that way?” she asked. “Then'l could/get home inside of ten days, and get my advertisement as your/pupil printed before the end of vacation.” And the amusing part of th£ story is that the woman could not be made to see the absurdity of her suggestion.

The Tricks of Trade.

Ikey Isaacstein—O, fader, dese collars und cuffs in der vinder vas all fiy-shpeckled. Isaacstein—Neffer mind, sonny. Shust mark dem up to t’irty cents und advertise dem as de ladest t’ing in polka dots, ain’d it?—Boston News.

Outrageous Wastefulness.

Uncle Silas (reading)—Stifferny & Co. have made a solid silver epergne for a New York lady. It is valued at $1,496. Aunt Betsy—That’s downright extravagance. I never had an apr’n in my life that cost over 35 cents.— Jewelers’ Weekly.

The Girl Graduates’ Cipher.

He—Why do the girls at Madame de la Mode’s school write young Foster notes in French—to air their learning? She—No; it’s against the rules to have beaux, and they don,’t want madame to understand what they write. —Judge. Those early saints were fond of fasting, but the modern fast men are far from being saints.— Binghamton Republican.

FRANK JAMES’ HOME.

The Historic House to Which the I’lnkeitons Once Paid Siege. The home of Frank James, the notorious outlaw, which foolish gossip it was to be purchased by Chicago parties and transferred to the World’s Fair grounds, is located in Missouri, near the little town of Nevada. This is the house which was surrounded by Pinkerton men on one occasion when they threw bombs down the chimney to raise the siege and force. the outlaws into their clutches. One of these bombs shattered the arm of Mrs. Samuels, stepmother of the men. The house is still occupied by Mrs. Samuels and is an object of " interest to the curious and to the relic hunters who visit the

FRANK JAMES' HOUS.

neighborhood. There is no probability that it will be taken to Chicago—qtMeast' not by the World’s Fair directors as an adjunct to the exposition.

Humors of Chinatown.

“Chinatown as a spectacle is disappointing,” says Mr. Rus in his “Studies Among the Tenements of New York.” But he found some things therein to tickle his sense of humor,' and other things at which he laughed that he might not weep. One evening, while going through Mott street —the Chinese quarter—ho heard a woman shrieking in a cellar. Descending with his companion, a policeman, he discovered a Chinaman beating his white “wife” with a broomhandle. “She velly had!” shouted the Chinaman, as the two Americans, prejudiced against wife-beating, caught held of his armsjand released the woman. “S’pose your wifee bad, you no lickee her?” he asked, turning fiercely upon Mr. Rus. “No, I wouldn’t; I’d never think of, striking a woman,” answered the American. The amazed Chinaman eyed him in silence for a moment, and then contemptuously answered: “Then, I guess, she lickee you.” Going into a joss-house, he discovered among the Chinese scrawls on the wr:lls the inscription, in English letters: “In God We Trust.” It had been copied from the trade dollar, and the priest explained that the inscription was a delicate compliment to “Melican Joss,” the almighty dollar. On his own shores John Chinaman may be a thousand years behind the age, but here he has been so influenced by the “Melican Joss” that he is abreast of the age in his scheming to “make it pay.” He turns everything, from “Joss” down, into cash, or that which cash buys.

Fading.

In a small town of Northern Vermont the inhabitants are noted for their early marriages. An unmarried young woman who has passed her twenty-fifth birthday is universally regarded as an “old maid,” and a young man who has reached the same age in an unwedded state is pronounced a confirmed bachelor, and the young people themselves appear to accept the current opinion. One handsome young fellow, twen-ty-six years old, was a great trial to his mother, a bustling, energetic farmer’s wife. As she lamented to a summer hoarder, “it did seem as if Hiram was possessed to stay single,” no matter what she could say. “An’ ’taint likely,” she would add, fretfully, “that any girl will be takin’ up with him after a year or two, when he’s settled down an’beginnin’ to look old!” Hiram himself was not given to sentiment, and furthermore was quite unconscious of his s own attractions. He showed the summer boarder some dreadful photographs of himself, which had been taken the previous winter to please his mother, and remarked gravely: “Mother was set on havin’ ’em, an’ I only waited to see if I wa’n’t likely to get any better lookin’. But come last winter I see I was beginnin’ to fade, so I had ’em took, right away!” The contrast between the speaker’s youthful appearance and his words was almost too much for his hearer.

Kismet.

“Do you see that pale young man calling out ‘Cash’ at the ribbon counter?” “Yes.”“Fate’s awful funny sometimes. Ten years ago when we were boys together his one ambition was to be a mighty hunter and catch mountain lions with a lasso.”—[New York Recorder.

If we have any virtue in us, did it spring up in an hour or a day? If we have any wisdom, did we pick it up in a lump at some particular turn of our experience? No; these signs and fruits of inward life qre the outcome of long, slow-working causes, running back through all our years, including all that we have dreaded and bewailed, as well as all that we welcomed and enjoyed; including also the outward and life of our struggling ancestors, and the long and broad evolution of humanity. We must follow the hint; we must make each step an onward one. We must not interrupt our own progress.

HUMOR OF THE WEEK.

STORIES TOLD BY FUNNY MEN OF THE PRESS. Many Odd, Curious, and Uanghablo Phases of Human Nature Graphically Portrayed by Eminent AVord Artists oi . Our Own Day. A Strong Case. Judge, in Boston court—On what grounds do you apply for this divorce? Mr. Beacon Hill—On the ground, your honor, of extreme cruelty and neglect. Judge—Has the defendant anything to say? Mrs. Beacon Hill (nee Harlem)— Your Honor, the only point of difference that ever arose 1 . t ween us was this: Hfe wanted beans for breakfast seven times a week, and I thought six times was enough. Judge—And you refused to let him have them the seventh? Mrs. Beacon Hill—Yes, your Honor. Judge—The Court grants the divorce, and cannot refrain from expressing its surprise that the application was not made before.—Boston, Courier. Force of Habit. “It is astonishing how a habit becomes fixed on a man,” remarked an electric-car conductor. “Now what have you caught?” “The driver, this morning, started out to the car with his stool and whip. He was informed that the stool was barred by the rules. He turned around and said: ‘Well, lam going to have the whip anyhow.’ The boys laughed at the idea of a driver undertaking to use a whip on lightning.”—Columbus Dispatch. Anxious to Know. “Now, you never smell the odor of liquor on my breath,” said the young clergyman, expostulating with Staggers for his bibulous propensities. “No; what do you do for it?” asked Staggers, with deep interest.—Epoch. One of the Two. In the woods: Dolan (holding hand to nose) —Murther! Murther! But phat’s ailin’ the cloimate! Is itmortifoyin’, Oi wonther? Woodman—Why, you greenhorn, don’t you know a skunk when you smell one? Dolan—Muslia, but it’s a skoonk, is it, that’s makin’ the atmyshpere so conslipickyous? Well, now, it’s mes’lf as do be sayin’ it, that aither me nose Is igzageratin’ the sittywation or the gintleman sadly neglicts his brith. The Universal Help. Employer—“ Jerry, you ought to know better than to put that box on that shelf, where no one can reach it.” Jerry—“Do you wish to get it down?" Employer—“ Yes. ” Jerry (who is slightly impertinent) —“Advertise.”—Jeweler’s Circular. A Great Shine. Br’er Johnsing—“My boy, Abe Linkum done take a great shine to yo’ girl, Mathy.” Br’er Sami’s—“Whatfo’ you say dat? How yo’ know?” Br’er Johnsing—“He done take her a box of French blacking, yah, yah, yah, niggar.”—Lake Shore News. The Secret Was Safe. • “Why did you talk French to Ethel last night?” “Because I had something to impart to her that I wished no one else to know.” “But there was a French lady sitting close behind you.” “Yes, but I have since discovered that she didn’t understand a word we said.”—Cape Cod Item. They Always Do. Bjinks—Have you heard of Bj ones’ great loss? Bjenks—No; what was it? Bjinks—Why, he lost a game of croquet yesterday and then he lost his temper.—Somerville Journal.

A Case of Dire Necessity. Mrs. Kingley—l see your church is going to send away your minister for three months. Isn’t that a long time? Mrs. Bingo—Yes. But we need the rest.—Life. A Hard World. “This is a pretty hard world.” “It is. I wonder who first used that phrase?” “Vulcan, probably, when he dropped on it and broke his leg, after being hustled out of heaven.”—Cape Cod Item. Wantod It Himself. Miss Summit (at the seaside)-—Mr. Travers, I do hope you will be at the hop to-night. We are short of gentlemen. Travers—But you forget that I came unprepared. I have no dress suit. Miss Summit—Why not telegraph to your room mate? Travers (sadly)—That would be useless. He is going to a dance himself. —Clothier and Furnisher. , Tli© Secret of Tenderness. At the hotel hop: Ella (of Pittsburg)—Have you ever been in our city, Mr. Henderson? Harry Henderson, Esq. (fond of tho good things of life) —I*have. I can recall this by*the fact that I had there the best and tenderest steak I ever ate. Ella (proudly)—Yes, wc know how to live in Pittsburg. Harry H.—Decidedly; and how to act. The waiter at the Hotel accounted for the steak by saying that the house enjoyed the use of the steam hammer in the big iron mill in the next block.—Pittsburg Bulletin. Ethel—Wbv are you always kicking because I have other aimirors ? George— t h, if yon want to make a syndicate of yourself, I don’t object