The Romance of Industry and Invention Part 7

or pestle and mortar, easily obtained three hundred ounces of the precious metal. The unwelcome visitors stole two hundred ounces of the gold, a circ.u.mstance which obliged them to report their 'find' sooner than they would otherwise have done, fearing that, if they delayed, the thieves would do so instead, and claim the reward from the government.

On condition that they would not molest his mate during his absence, Mr Bayley agreed to say nothing about their having robbed him, and set out on his long ride to Southern Cross. He took with him five hundred and fifty-four ounces of gold with which to convince the Warden that his discovery was a genuine one. The field was declared open after his interview with the authorities.

DIAMONDS.

The diamond is a natural form of crystallised carbon, highly valued as a precious stone, but of much less value than the ruby. The l.u.s.tre of the diamond is peculiar to itself, and hence termed 'adamantine.' In a natural condition, however, the surface often presents a dull, lead-gray, semi-metallic l.u.s.tre. The high refractive and dispersive powers of the diamond produce, when the stone is judiciously cut, a brilliancy and 'fire' unequalled by any other stone. A large proportion of the incident light is in a well-cut diamond reflected from the inner surface of the stone. The diamond, especially when coloured, is highly phosph.o.r.escent, that is to say, after exposure to brilliant illumination it emits the rays which it has absorbed, and thus becomes self-luminous in the dark. Its excessive hardness serves to distinguish the diamond from other gem-stones: any stone which readily scratches ruby and sapphire must be a diamond. Notwithstanding its hardness the diamond is brittle, and hence the absurdity of the ancient test which professed to distinguish the diamond by its withstanding a heavy blow struck by a hammer when placed on an anvil.

In recent years, highly refined researches on this subject have been made by Dumas, Stas, Roscoe, and Friedel, all tending to prove that the diamond is practically pure carbon. Chemists have generally experimented, for the sake of economy, with impure specimens, and have thus obtained on combustion a considerable amount of ash, the nature of which has not been well ascertained. It has been shown, however, that the purer the diamond the smaller is the proportion of ash left on its combustion.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Square-cut Brilliant.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Round-cut Brilliant.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Rose-cut Diamond.]

The art of cutting and polis.h.i.+ng the diamond is said to have been discovered in 1456 by Louis de Berguem of Bruges. As now practised, the stone is first, if necessary, cleaved or split, and then 'bruted' or rubbed into shape. The faces of the stone thus 'cut' are ground and polished on flat metal discs, fed with diamond dust and oil, and revolving with great rapidity by steam-power. Antwerp comes first, then Amsterdam as the chief home of this industry, and the trade is chiefly in the hands of Jews; but diamond cutting and polis.h.i.+ng are also now extensively carried on in London, Antwerp, &c. The common form of the diamond is either the _brilliant_ or the _rose cut_. The brilliant resembles two truncated cones, base to base, the edge of the junction being called the _girdle_, the large plane on the top is the _table_, and the small face at the base the _culet_; the sides are covered with symmetrical facets. The rose has a flat base, with sides formed of rows of triangular facets rising as a low pyramid or hemisphere; but this form of diamond is daily becoming less fas.h.i.+onable, and is therefore of comparatively little value.

Although the term 'carat' is applied to diamonds as well as to gold, it does not mean the same thing. Used with regard to the metal, it expresses quality or fineness--24-carat being pure gold; and 22-carat equal to coined gold. But applied to the diamond, carat means actual weight, and 151-1/2 carats are equal to one ounce troy.

India was formerly the only country which yielded diamonds in quant.i.ty, and thence were obtained all the great historical stones of antiquity.

The chief diamond-producing districts are those in the Madras Presidency, on the Kistna and G.o.davari rivers, commonly though improperly termed the Golconda region; in the Central Provinces, including the mines of Sumbulpur; and in Bundelkhand, where the Panna mines are situated.

At present the diamond production of India is insignificant. It is notable, however, that in 1881 a fine diamond, weighing 67-3/8 carats, was found near Wajra Karur, in the Bellary district, Madras. The stone was cut into a brilliant weighing 24-5/8 carats, and is known as the 'Gor-do-Norr.'

Brazil was not regarded as a diamond-yielding country until 1727, when the true nature of certain crystals found in the gold was.h.i.+ngs of the province of Minas Geraes was first detected. Diamonds occur not only in this province, but in Bahia, Goyaz, Matto Grosso, and Parana. The geological conditions under which the mineral occurs have of late years been carefully studied by Professors Derby, Gorceix, and Chatrian. The diamonds are found in the sands and gravels of river-beds, a.s.sociated with alluvial gold, specular iron ore, rutile, anatase, topaz, and tourmaline. In 1853 an extraordinary diamond was found by a negress in the river Bogagem, in Minas Geraes. It weighed 254-1/2 carats, and was cut into a brilliant of perfect water, weighing 125 carats. This brilliant, known as the 'Star of the South,' was sold to the Gaikwar of Baroda for 80,000.

Both the Indian and the Brazilian diamond-fields have of late years been eclipsed by the remarkable discoveries of South Africa. Although it was known in the last century that diamonds occurred in certain parts of South Africa, the fact was forgotten, and when in 1867 they were found near Hopetown, the discovery came upon the world as a surprise. A traveller named O'Reilly had rested himself at a farm in the Hopetown district, when his host, a man named Niekerk, brought him some nice-looking stones which he had got from the river. O'Reilly, when examining the pebbles, saw a diamond, which afterwards realised 500.

Niekerk afterwards bought a diamond from a native for 400 which realised 10,000. The princ.i.p.al mines are situated in Griqualand West, but diamonds are also worked in the Orange River Free State, as at Jagersfontein. The stones were first procured from the 'river diggings'

in the Vaal and Orange rivers. These sources have occasionally yielded large stones; one found in 1872 at Waldeck's Plant on the Vaal weighed 288-3/8 carats, and yielded a fine pale yellow brilliant, known as the 'Stewart.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: Kimberley Diamond-mine.]

It was soon found that the diamonds of South Africa were not confined to the river gravels, and 'dry diggings' came to be established in the so-called 'pans.' The princ.i.p.al mines are those of Kimberley, De Beer's, Du Toit's Pan, and Bultfontein. The land here, previously worth only a few pence per acre, soon rose to a fabulous price. At these localities the diamonds occur in a serpentinous breccia, filling pipes or 'chimneys,' generally regarded as volcanic ducts, which rise from unknown depths and burst through the surrounding shales. The 'blue ground,' or volcanic breccia containing fragments of various rocks cemented by a serpentinous paste, becomes altered by meteoric agents as it approaches the surface, and is converted into 'yellow earth.' At Kimberley the neighbouring schists, or 'reefs,' are a.s.sociated with sheets of a basaltic rock, which are pierced by the pipes. About 2000 white men are employed in the industry, and about 4000 blacks, who earn, on an average, about 3 a week. In the year 1887 the production of the princ.i.p.al mines was over 4,000,000. The production for 1894 was somewhat less, while the total value of diamonds exported from 1867 to 1894 was about 70,000,000.

The great number of large stones found in the mines of South Africa, as compared with those of India and Brazil, is a striking peculiarity. In the earliest days of African mining a diamond of about 83 carats was obtained from a Boer. This stone, when cut, yielded a splendid colourless brilliant of 46-1/2 carats, known as the 'Star of South Africa,' or as the 'Dudley,' since it afterwards became the property of the Countess of Dudley, at a cost of 25,000. Some of the African stones are 'off coloured'--that is, of pale yellow or brown tints; but a large gem of singular purity was found at Kimberley in 1880. This is the famous 'blue-white' diamond of 150 carats, known from the name of its possessor as the 'Porter Rhodes.' At the De Beer's Mine was found, in 1889, the famous stone which was shown at the Paris Exposition. It weighed 428-1/2 carats in the rough, and 228-1/2 carats when cut. It measured one inch and seven-eighths in greatest length, and was about an inch and a half square.

Even larger than this remarkable stone is a diamond found in the Jagersfontein Mine in 1893, and named the 'Jagersfontein Excelsior.'

This is now the largest and most valuable diamond in the world. It is of blue-white colour, very fine quality, and measures three inches at the thickest part. The gross weight of this unique stone was no less than 969-1/2 carats (or about 6-1/2 oz.), and the following are its recorded dimensions: Length, 2-1/2 inches; greatest width, 2 inches; smallest width, 1-1/2 inches; extreme girth in width, 5-3/8 inches; extreme girth in length, 6-3/4 inches. It is impossible to say what is the value of so phenomenal a gem. We do not know that an estimate has been even attempted; but it may easily be half a million if the cutting is successful. The diamond has, however, a black flaw in the centre. It is the property of a syndicate of London diamond merchants. The native who found it evaded the overseer, and ran to headquarters to secure the reward, which took the form of 100 in gold and a horse and cart.

Previous to this discovery, the most famous of the African diamonds was, perhaps, the 'Pam' or 'Jagersfontein' stone, not so much from its size, as because the Queen had ordered it to be sent to Osborne for her inspection with a view to purchase, when the untimely death of the Duke of Clarence put an end to the negotiations. The 'Pam' is only of 55 carats now; but it weighed 112 carats before being cut, and is a stone of remarkable purity and beauty. Its present value is computed at about twenty-five thousand pounds sterling.

The most valuable diamond in the world is (if it is a diamond) the famous 'Braganza' gem belonging to Portugal. It weighed in the rough state 1680 carats, and was valued at upwards of 5-1/2 millions sterling.

It has long been known that diamonds occur in Australia, but hitherto the Australian stones have been all of small size, and it is notable that these are much more difficult to cut, being harder than other diamonds. Although Victoria and South Australia have occasionally yielded diamonds, it is New South Wales that has been the princ.i.p.al producer. The chief diamond localities have been near Mudgee, on the Cudjegong River, and near Bingera, on the river Horton.

Borneo also yields diamonds. The stone known as the 'Matan' is said to have been found in 1787 in the Landak mines, near the west coast of Borneo. It is described as being an egg-shaped stone, indented on one side, and weighing, in its uncut state, 367 carats. Great doubt, however, exists as to the genuineness of this stone, and the Dutch experts who examined it a few years ago p.r.o.nounced it to be simply rock-crystal. Among other diamond localities may be mentioned the Ural Mountains and several of the United States. The largest diamond yet recorded from North America was found at Manchester, Chesterfield county, Virginia. It weighed 23-3/4 carats, and yielded, when cut, a brilliant known as the 'Ou-i-nur,' which weighed, however, only 11-3/4 carats.

A few special diamonds, from their exceptional size or from the circ.u.mstances of their history, deserve notice. Of all the great diamonds, the 'Koh-i-nur' is perhaps the most interesting. While tradition carries it back to legendary times, it is known from history that the Sultan Ala-ed-din in 1304 acquired this gem on the defeat of the Rajah of Malwa, whose family had possessed it for many generations.

In 1526 it pa.s.sed by conquest to Humaiun, the son of Sultan Baber. When Aurungzebe subsequently possessed this stone, he used it as one of the eyes of the peac.o.c.k adorning his famous peac.o.c.k throne. On the conquest of Mohammed Shah by Nadir Shah in 1739, the great diamond was not found among the Delhi treasures, but learning that Mohammed carried it concealed in his turban, Nadir, on the grand ceremony of reinstating the Mogul emperor on the throne at the conclusion of peace, offered to exchange turbans, in token of reconciliation, and by this ruse obtained possession of the gem. It was when Nadir first saw the diamond on unfolding the turban, that he exclaimed 'Koh-i-nur,' or 'Mountain of Light,' the name by which the gem has ever since been known. At Nadir's death it pa.s.sed to his unfortunate son, Shah Rokh, by whom it was ultimately given to Ahmed Shah, the founder of the Durani Afghan empire.

By Ahmed it was bequeathed to his son, Taimur Shah; and from his descendants it pa.s.sed, after a series of romantic incidents, to Runjit-Singh. On the death of Runjit, in 1839, the diamond was preserved in the treasury of Lah.o.r.e, and on the annexation of the Punjab by the British in 1849, when the property of the state was confiscated to the East India Company, it was stipulated that the Koh-i-nur should be presented to the Queen of England. It was consequently taken in charge by Lord Dalhousie, who sent it to England in 1850. After the Great Exhibition of 1851, where it had been exhibited, it was injudiciously re-cut in London by Voorsanger, a skilful workman from Messrs Coster's factory at Amsterdam. The re-cutting occupied 38 days of 12 hours each, and the weight of the stone was reduced from 186-1/16 to 106-1/16 carats. The form is that of a shallow brilliant, too thin to display much fire. According to Lady Burton, it is believed to bring ill-luck to its possessor.

The 'Nizam' is the name of a stone said to have been found in the once famous diamond-mines of Golconda. Sir William Hunter, however, gives us to understand that there were really no diamond-mines at Golconda, and that the place won its name by cutting the stones found on the eastern borders of the Nizam's territory, and on a ridge of sandstone running down to the rivers Kistna and G.o.davery, in the Madras Presidency.

However that may have been, both regions are now unproductive of valuable stones. The 'Nizam' diamond is said to weigh 340 carats, and to be worth 200,000; but we are unable to verify the figures.

The 'Great Table' is another Indian diamond, the present whereabouts of which is not known. It is said to weigh 242-1/2 carats, and that 500,000 rupees (or at par, 50,000) was once refused for it. The 'Great Table'

is sometimes known as 'Tavernier's' diamond. It was the first blue diamond ever seen in Europe, and was brought, in 1642, from India by Tavernier. It was sold to Louis XIV. in 1668, and was described then as of a beautiful violet colour; but it was flat and badly cut. At what date it was re-cut we know not, but, as possessed by Louis Le Grand, it weighed only 67-1/2 carats. It was seized during the Revolution, and was placed in the Garde Meuble; but it disappeared, and has not been traced since. Some fifty years later, Mr Henry Hope purchased a blue diamond weighing some 44-1/2 carats (now known as the 'Hope' diamond), which it was conjectured may have been part of the 'Great Table.' It is preserved in the Green Vaults, Dresden, and is regarded as one of the most superb coloured diamonds known.

Another famous Indian diamond is the 'Great Mogul,' which appears to have been found about 1650, in the Kollur mine, on the Kistna. It was seen by the French jeweller Tavernier at the court of Aurungzebe in 1665, and is described as a round white rose-cut stone of 280 carats.

Its subsequent history is unknown, and it is probable that at the sacking of Delhi by Nadir Shah in 1739 it was stolen and broken up. Some authorities have sought to identify the Great Mogul with the Koh-i-nur, and others with the Orloff.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SOME OF THE PRINc.i.p.aL DIAMONDS OF THE WORLD: _a_, Great Mogul; _b_, Star of the South; _c_, Koh-i-nur; _d_, Regent; _e_, Orloff.

All actual size.]

The 'Orloff' is an Indian stone which was purchased at Amsterdam in 1776 by Prince Orloff for Catharine II. of Russia. The stone at one time formed the eye of an idol in a temple in the island of Seringham, in Mysore, whence it is said to have been stolen by a French soldier, who sold it to an English trader for 2000. The Englishman brought it home, and sold it for 12,000 to a Jew, who pa.s.sed it on at a profit to an Armenian merchant. From the Armenian it was acquired, either by Catharine of Russia, or, for her, by one of her admirers, for 90,000 and a pension. It is now valued at 100,000. It weighs 193 carats, is about the size of a pigeon's egg, and is mounted in the imperial sceptre of the Czar.

Other famous stones are: The 'Austrian Yellow,' belonging to the crown of Austria, weighing 76-1/2 carats, and valued at 50,000; the 'c.u.mberland,' belonging to the crown of Hanover, weighing 32 carats, and worth at least 10,000; the 'English Dresden,' belonging to the Gaikwar of Baroda, weighing 76-1/2 carats, and valued at 40,000; the 'Na.s.sak'--which the Marquis of Westminster wore on the hilt of his sword at the birthday ceremonial immediately after the Queen's accession--which weighs 78-1/2 carats, and is valued at 30,000.

The 'Regent' is a famous diamond preserved among the national jewels in Paris. It was found in 1701, at the Parteal mines, on the Kistna, by a slave, who escaped with it to the coast, where he sold it to an English skipper, by whom he was afterwards treacherously killed. Thomas Pitt, grandfather of the first Earl of Chatham, at that time governor of Fort St George, purchased the stone, and had it re-cut in London, whence it is often known as the 'Pitt.' Its original weight was 410 carats, but it was reduced in cutting to 136-3/4; the result, however, was a brilliant of fine water and excellent proportions. Pitt sold it in 1717, through the financier John Law, to the Duke of Orleans, then Regent of France during the minority of Louis XV. The price paid was 135,000, and its value has since been estimated at 480,000. The stone is now among the French jewels in the Museum of Paris.

The large 'Sancy' is an historical diamond, about which many contradictory stories have been told. It appears that the Sancy was an Indian stone, purchased about 1570 by M. de Sancy, French amba.s.sador at Constantinople. It pa.s.sed temporarily into the possession of Henry III.

and Henry IV. of France, and was eventually sold by Sancy to Queen Elizabeth of England. By James II. it was disposed of to Louis XIV., about 1695, for 25,000. At the beginning of the 19th century it pa.s.sed to the Demidoff family in Russia, and by them it was sold in 1865 to Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy. In 1889 it was again in the market, the price asked being 20,000.

The Russian diamond, 'Moon of Mountains,' is set in the imperial sceptre, weighs 120 carats, and is valued at 450,000 roubles, or, say, about 75,000. The 'Mountain of Splendour,' belonging to the Shah of Persia, weighs 135 carats, and is valued at 145,000. In the Persian regalia there is said to be another diamond, called the 'Abbas Mirza,'

weighing 130 carats, and worth 90,000.

THE HON. CECIL J. RHODES, THE DIAMOND KING.

We get a good insight into the character of Mr Rhodes from all his utterances and public acts; and an anecdote about him when busy with the work that made him famous as the 'Diamond King,' the amalgamation of the diamond-mines, shows up the man. He was looking at a map of Africa hung in the office of a Kimberley merchant. After looking at it closely for some time, he placed his hand over a large part of Southern and Central Africa, right across the continent, and turning to a friend at his side, said, 'There, all that Britis.h.!.+ That is my dream.' 'I give you ten years,' said his friend. When he was in power at the Cape, and the times were ripe, his dream was realised, and the s.h.i.+eld of the great White Queen was thrown over North and South Zambesia, and railway and telegraphic communication was being pushed on towards the equator.

The Right Hon. Cecil John Rhodes is the fourth son of a clergyman, of Bishop Stortford, where he was born in 1853. He was educated at the local school, but his health being far from good, he was sent to Natal to join his elder brother, a planter there. Both brothers made for Kimberley at the first diamond rush, Cecil going into partners.h.i.+p as a diamond digger with Mr C. D. Rudd, who had also gone out to South Africa for his health. While at Kimberley, young Rhodes read sufficiently to enable him to pa.s.s at Oxford. His crowning achievement of the union of the De Beers Company and the Kimberley Central Company was not the work of a day, but it was accomplished largely through Mr Rhodes's financial skill, and became known as the De Beers Consolidated Mines, of which he was elected chairman and one of the life governors. The capital valuation of the company now stands at about twenty-five millions.

Regular dividends of twenty-five per cent. have been paid for some years. It was natural that an influential man like Mr Rhodes should be sent to the Cape Parliament, and in 1889 he rose to be a member of the Cabinet. Another successful attempt at company promoting was his a.s.sociation with Mr Rudd in the Transvaal gold-fields. At first their mines on the Wit.w.a.tersrandt did not turn out well; but it is long since they began to pay enormously, the net profits of 1894 being over two millions, while the market value of the concern is ten millions sterling.

Several gold prospectors had dealings with and concessions from Lobengula, in Matabeleland, before Mr Rudd and Mr Rhodes joined forces in 1888 and secured mineral concessions covering the whole of his kingdom. Then came the launching of the Chartered Company, incorporated in October 1889, with a capital of one million, which has since been raised to two and a half millions. Then Mashonaland was prospected, and forts built and roads were made, and the telegraph was carried on to Salisbury, giving connection with the Cape. When it was found that the settlers could not live in peace with Lobengula, a force under Dr Jameson, the administrator, broke the power of the Matabele in the autumn of 1893. The only serious affair was the deaths of forty-nine men of Wilson's column. Since that time the country has been slowly settled, and the railway is being pushed on to Buluwayo. Mr Rhodes has interested himself also in pus.h.i.+ng on the telegraph system towards the Great Central African lakes, by way of Zumbo, in the Central African Protectorate, under the capable rule of Sir H. H. Johnston. Matabeleland is an excellent pastoral country, and if a sufficient number of agricultural emigrants could be got to remain and develop the territory, its future would be secured. Unfortunately, this cla.s.s of emigrant has. .h.i.therto been lacking in South Africa--the gold and diamond fields have been too tempting--but in time, doubtless, the slow and sure sort of emigrant will find it to his interest to develop the land.

The residence of Mr Rhodes is at Groote Schnur, Rondebosch, near Cape Town. In the twelve hundred acres which surround the house there are charming views, and a natural Zoo, upon which he is said to have spent at least one hundred thousand pounds. He has thrown this place open to pleasure-seekers from the Cape for all time coming. He enjoys riding over his estate, and watching the visitors enjoying themselves. Lord Salisbury once termed him a 'remarkable man.' This is well borne out by all who have come in contact with him. 'He presents,' says the _African Review_, 'a character that is well worthy of a.n.a.lysis--that is a curious compound of generosity and almost repellent cynicism, of disinterestedness and ambition, of large aims that are dependent on things that are essentially trivial; the keen, hard-tempered character of a self-made man who has carved a career out of Kimberley finance and Cape Colonial politics.... Of giant force of mind and will, with practised judgment that nearly amounts to intuitive perception, with a grasp of cause and effect that is founded upon a microscopic observation of the laws of nature, he is decidedly a big man. He is a rarely accurate critic of his fellow-mortals.'

Dr Jameson prophesied, when in this country in 1895, that the annexation and occupation of Matabeleland and Mashonaland meant more than mere annexation of territory, but would lead to a commercial union, amalgamation, or federation of South African states. In Rhodesia, a country nearly as large as Europe, white men and women could live, and white children could be reared in health and vigour. Gold was to be found there, and coal and iron. The country has been settled since the power of Lobengula was broken, and the road and railway are doing their beneficent work. The revenue for 1894 nearly balanced the expenditure.

When Mashonaland and Matabeleland needed the railway, Mr Rhodes was still the key of the position. 'Kruger will not let us take the Kimberley line into his country? Very well,' in effect said Mr Rhodes, 'we will take it round him, and beyond, on the way to the Transvaal of the Zambesi.' And so the matter was arranged between the Imperial and Colonial government and the Chartered Company. So much land was to be given for taking the line to Vryburg, so much to Mafeking, in connection with the main trunk line from the Cape.

Dr Jameson's raid into Transvaal territory, early in 1896, ostensibly taken for the purpose of helping the people of Johannesburg, who complained of their treatment by the Boer government, and the complications which ensued, led to the resignation of Mr Rhodes as a member of the Cape government, when he turned his attention to the development of Rhodesia, the new and promising territory, which has been so named after him.

[Ill.u.s.tration: African Village.]