several large diamonds, the largest reaching nearly three hundred carats. The discovery of the diamonds of this region
was purely accidental and due to a Dutch farmer who first
noticed them imbedded in the mud walls of his cottage, which
led to an examination of the surrounding soil and a knowledge
of the wonderful treasures it inclosed.
The New Rush, or Kimberly mine (referring to Morton),
is the site of more natural wealth than any other known spot
on the globe ; it has yielded an immense quantity of diamonds,
including some of remarkable size, as the Stewart, and three
others, named by Dieulafait the Koh-i-noor of South Africa,
the Star of Beaufort, and the Star of Diamonds. Information
has been received that the Kimberly mine has suffered a
serious, if not a permanent injury, by a caving-in of its walls.
The Cape diamonds, as the South African specimens are
called, are unique in some of their characteristics :, they have
no skin or envelope, like the Brazilian. The mines do not
yield carbonado, but sometimes the crystals group themselves
about the kind called bort, and form a mass of natural brilliants. Those obtained from the beds of streams are usually
white, and of a quality superior to the tinted.
The colors of the African diamonds range through all
shades of orange and yellow to faint straw, and occasionally
they are blue, brown, pink, green, and black ; the white or
colorless specimens are said to be as fine as any from India or
Brazil. It has been estimated that ten per cent of the stones
are of the first quality ; Mr. Streeter reckons twenty per cent,
and fifty-five per cent fit for diamond-cutting.
The total yield from their discovery to 1876 has been rated
at eighty-five million dollars. Many fortunes were made in
these mines, though none enormously large, rarely above fifty
thousand dollars, a significant fact indicating the great expense
