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DIAMOND MINES OF SOUTH AFRICA 243
and
which he exchanged for others when the detective found they did not fit
his gun. Though the I. D. B. act, as it was called (I. D. B. stands for
Illicit Diamond Buying), materially reduced the illicit trading in
diamonds, it did not stop it entirely. The natives, who were much more
expert thieves than the whites, continued to make the attempt, and
though they were often caught, frequently succeeded. White buyers were
always ready to take chances and buy. Men well acquainted with the
fields, for a long time reckoned that fully five per cent, of the
diamonds found, passed out surreptitiously.
As
the miners learned of the well-defined lateral limits to the yellow
ground which only contained diamonds, and followed it down in the
vertical dykes containing it, they began to encounter new difficulties
which at the depth they were working, not only menaced their fortunes,
but the lives of those working in the mines. The towering walls formed
by the dividing roadways of the Kimberley were taken down and gone, but
the reef of all the mines began to fall in on the adjoining claims. Men
with good paying claims would wake to find that overnight, hundreds
-of tons of worthless rock and earth had fallen and covered them.
Sometimes it covered the miners also. There were mud-rushes and
underground currents of water which made havoc. The unfortunate who had
insufficient capital to tide over the expense entailed, sometimes were
obliged to sell out to men or companies waiting for such opportunities.
Some did not have sufficient faith in the continuance of the
diamond-bearing material. Not all made fortunes. The number of
ownerships on the pipes became smaller; the
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