84 THE DIAMOND MINES OF SOUTH AFRICA
offence.
If convicted, when his term of imprisonment expires, or after he has
paid his fine, he must return to the compound and complete his
contract. Before leaving the compound his clothes and person are
thoroughly searched to prevent the disappearance of diamonds with
them. Gems were sometimes found secreted in clothing, or shoe heels, or
canes, or cans with false bottoms, in fact, in anything that the
natives were allowed to take out with them. Even this close inspection
did not bar
the
practice of stealing, and there was an inexplicable trickle of fine
diamonds from unlooked-for quarters, until it became known that natives
on the point of leaving the compound were swallowing diamonds and
conveying them away.
In 1895 one native had the nerve and capacity to swallow a lot of diamonds worth £750'
and did not appear to suffer by this strain upon his digestion. There
has been only one authentic instance where a native has embedded
diamonds in his flesh — this was done by a native in De Beers Convict
Station, who made an incision under the shin bone and concealed several
small diamonds wrapped in a rag. This native had symptoms of tetanus,
and the visiting physician (Dr. Otto) searched the man's body, and,
finding an ugly-looking wound on his leg, cut it open, and to
his great surprise found a rag full of diamonds. The native soon
recovered, a wiser, if poorer, man. The largest yield
