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FT FRANK G. CARPENTER.
TftS muivcr of all the great diamond
rrrlnea lying about Klmberley is an
'American. His hum Is Alpheus Will
lama,' and he Is the son of Mr. Gardner F.
William, who took charge of the mine
at the time the De Been Company wa
organized, and who managed them un
til three year ago. luring Gardner Wil
liams' control the mines became the chief
source of the diamond supc'.y of the
world. He had charge of them for about
30 yea'rs. and In that time they produced
almost C0O.O00 worth of diamonds and
paid out' SU8.W.0OO In dividends. Since
his son has ' been handling them they
have beea yielding- In the neighborhood
of S3.000.000 a year, and the prospect Is
that they will produce millions annually
for many years to come.
Manager of the Ie Beers Company.
It Is a big thing to be the manager of
a company like this. It means the
control of an army of wage workers
greater than that which Xenophen led
on his inarch to the sea, and equal to
the standing army of the Vnited States
before our war with Spain.- During the
past two years Mr. Williams has hal
on his payroll In the neighborhood of
26.000 men. This number has been re
duced since the American panic: but still
It runs up close to 15.0u0 and It will be
increased as the times improve. All of
the men have to bo fed. and the sup
plies which they consume cost millions.
The Ave great diamond pipes, which are
now being mined here, are operated with
the most expensive machinery- They
have vast works connected with them,
and the weathering fields, with their
miles of cable cars, cover 11.000 acres,
or over 17 square miles. Most of you
can realize the size of a 160-acre farm.
The diamond floors and washing
works and mines of the De Beers Com
pany here would cover Just about 72
such farm and every square yard of
that area Is humming with Industry.
Nearly every square of It yields more
or less value; It has to have guards to
watch It, and the greatest economy Is
required to keep tho millions from
leaking away. In the year 1906 the
wages paid amounted to over $10,000.
000 and the food necessaries of the na
tive laborers almost SI. 600.000 more.
Huppllee for the men who have to be
fed In walled compounds would tax
the capacity of our largest department
Mores. They used last year almost
B.OOO.oOO loaves of bread and some
thing like J.000.000 pounds of fresh
meat. They drank 1.000.000 bottles of
milk, smoked 2.000.000 cigarettes and
were supplied with 61.000 new shirts
and BS.Oi'O pairs of trousers. The Hem
for mining supplies are even larger.
It took 700,000 pounds of candles to
light the men at work In the tunnels
and more than 1000 miles of steel wire
rope to haul the cars. The new tim
bers for the mines, which came from
Kan Francisco, amounted to more than
18.000.000 feet board measure, and the
Iron and steel bars, brass castings and
bolts and nuts ran high Into hundreds
of thousands of pounds.
In addition to the mines, the com
pany has a number of other institu
tions In and" about Klmberley. It has
300.000 acres of land, a great farm for
raising Its horses and mules, an elec
tric railroad, a hotel, and hospitals
and clubs. It practically controls the
town of Klmberley, which has a popu
lation of 80.000. so that altogether the
mine manager has little time to spare.
A Talk About Diamonds.
It mas In the offices of the Ie Beers
Company that I had a talk with tke
man who controls all the institutions.
Mr. Alpheus Williams is not yet over
35 yean of age. lie was born in the
United States, and educated at Cornell
and the University of California before
he came -out here some years ago to be
his father's assistant. When the lat
ter retired In 1905 he was elocted In his
place and since then has been In
charge of all the De Beers Company's
properties here. During my talk with
him the subject of the diamond demand
came up. and he replied that It had
been excellent until oor great panic
occurred. t"p to that time the world
ii-as taking the whole of the Klmberley
output, and the company had but com
paratively few diamonds on hand. The
people were everywhere prosperous,
and they were buying diamonds as
never before. This was especially so
In the United States, which was taking
almost three-fourths of all the dia
monds produced here. Then the panic
came, and our demand dropped. For
tunately the De Beers Company had an
enormous amount of blue ground on
Its floors.' and It has been able to re
duce Its expenses without any danger
of being unable to supply the demand
of the near future. Today the mines
are running with a much decreased
force, snd they will be operated on a
very conservati ve basis until the times
Improve.
The American Market.
In talking with Mr. Williams about
Ihe American market, I asked him what
kind of stones were purchased by us.
He replied:
"The very best. The finest and pur
est of our "diamonds go to the United
States, and within past years that
country has been by far our best cus
tomer. For some time It took two
thirds, of all the diamonds we mined,
and during the past year or so it has
bought even more. We send also many
ordinary stones there. There Is a great
demand In our country for diamond en
gagement rings. In fact we are about
the only people among whom every
voting man thinks he must give a dia
mond ring to his sweetheart to seal
the promise of marriage. This Is so
much the custom that many prospective
grooms are now buying such rings on
the installment plan, and there is a
regular business of selling them on
long time, at so much down and so
much per month, until paid. Diamonds
are also used largely as wedding pres
ents and as birthday gifts."
American Diamond Cutters.
in what shape do the diamonds go to
the United States. Mr. Williams?" I
asked.
"The most" of them are first cut in Eu
rope . was the reply. "We have a duty
of 10 r-r cent on cut diamonds which
is levied to protect the American diamond-cutting
industry, but the fact that
more than two-thirds of the importa
tions are In the shape of cut atones
riow that the tariff Is not high enough
for that- purpose. In lsn the United
State Imported about S34.000.0UO worth
of d'amonds. ar.d of these only S10.
o ..) worth were In the - rough, while
$:'-l.onr worth were cut stone. Rough
diamonds are free of duty."
"But are the American diamond cut
ters equal to those of Europe? Can the
stonea be as beautifully shaped and pol
ished at home as abroad T"
"Yea Our diamond cutters are mainly
from Holland and Belgium, and the most
of them learned their trade before they
emigrated- As it Is now, we have over
such workmen In and about New
York. Mch Is the center of the in
dustry. This la a small number com-
The United States Takes Three
ithe Fhseious Stones o
Fourths of
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pared with the thousands employed In
Antwerp and Amsterdam."
Sawing and Polishing Diamonds.
"The business of diamond cutting has
materially changed of late years," con
tinued Mr. Williams. "We have now dia
mond saws by which we can cut pieces
from a diamond and make two or more
diamonds out of one. Here, for instance,
is the kind of saw which is most common
ly use."
At this point Mr. Williams handed me a
copper disc about as thick as my thumb
nail and as big around as the bottom of a
teacup. The metal was comparatively
soft, and I could not see how It could cut
a diamond, which Is harder than tho fin-
BUNOAI Lead carpenter layout
est steel, until Mr. Williams said that the
wheel m-as dipped In diamond dust and the
dust did the cutting.
"It is on this same principle that all
diamonds are ground and polished," said
Mr. Williams. "The only thing that will
cut a diamond Is a diamond itself, and
all polishing, must be done with diamond
dust. In the cutting establishments this
Is done on flat wheels of soft Iron as big
as a dinner plate, which are so moved by
machinery that they go around at the
rate of 1MJ0 revolutions a minute. These
wheels are covered with a mixture of dia
mond dust and water, and the precious
stones fastened into cement are pressed
upon the wheel and ground off into the
facets, which so Increase their brilliancy.
The splitting of diamonds is done by other
diamonds, which might be called diamond
knives. The latter are fixed in cement,
and axe used to split the diamonds at the
flaws which the stones frequently 'have.
There are something like 10,000 men and
women employed In the diamond cutting
and polishing Industry of Amsterdam, and
they handle gems worth many millions
of dollars every year. The greater part
of the De Beers output Is cut In Europe,
and the center of the Industry is Amster
dam. It Is said that more than S8.000.000
Is paid out In wages to the diamond work
ers of that city every year and that there
are something like 60 factories In which
the cutting and polishing are done."
The Diamond Output "ot Failing.
I asked Mr. Williams whether we would
ever have a diamond famine, saying that
I had heard that the mines were playing
out. He replied:
"Any statement of that kind is not
true. We have enough diamonds In
sight to keep us busy for many years,
and we shall probably be supplying
most "of the diamonds of the world for
several generations to come. As it is
now, we have something like ten mil
lion loads above the 500-foot level, and
in the Dutoltspan, SI million loads
above the 750-foot level, while the
amount in the Bulfonteln mine above
the 690-foot level, to which we have
sunk the shaft is about 7.800.000 loads.
All toid. we have somewhere between
60,000.000 and 70.000.000 loads of blue
ground on our floors and in sight. The
total amount washed and crushed last
rear was over 6. 500. 000 loads, and that
produced diamonds which realized
about S-S.000.000. At the same rate of
washing the blue on the floors and in
sight would last for over 11 years, and
would produce considerably over $30.0,
000.000 worth of diamonds."
"Have you yet reached a point in any
of the pipes where the diamonds have
played out?" I asked.
"No. The number and value of the
tones in the various pipes have not In
creased as we have gone down, but
they hold their own. At the Klmberley
mine we are now working a half-mile
below the grass roots, and the blue
ground theTe is about as rich in dia
monds as It was all the way down.
In the De Beers we are down 2000 feet,
and in the Klmberley and the De Beers
they have been working almost con
stantly for 86 years, and it is believed
that the mines have still a long life
before them. The Wesselton, Bulfon
teln and Dutoltspan have altogether an
area about 4 '.4 times as large as the
Klmberley and De Beers combined, and,
although an enormous amount of dia
monds have been taken from them,
there are still 60,000,000 loads of blue
ground above the 600, 600 and 750-foot
levels. There is ,no reason to think
that the diamonds may not gd ae far
down In these pipes as in the De Beers
and the Klmberley; and the prospect is
that there will be no diamond famine
for many, many years to come."
Diamond Pipes.
"Tell me something about these dia
mond pipes. Do they occur anywhere
else In the world than bereT"
"Yes. There are some others in South
Africa, a notable one being the Premier
diamond mine, near Pretoria. There are
similar pipes near Syracuse, N. T., and
elsewhere, but, with the exception of
South Africa, the ground within the
pipes does not contain diamonds. I un
derstand that the Brazilian diamonds
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a sort of springy sand
are found in
stone."
"Are the pipes regular in shape?"
"No: they vary as they go downward.
The Klmberley mine at the top is shaped
like a pear. At a depth of a few
hundred feet It becomes somewhat like
a gourd and it changes as It goes on. In
some places the rocky walls bujge out
and in others they contract, so that we
cannot tell Just how they will run. al
though their direction is comparatively
straight."
"There is one thing that should be said
in respect to the diamonds of this part
of the world," continued Mr. Williams.
"The mining of them is a low-grade
proposition, and it pays well only be
cause it is scientifically and economically
handled and that on a large scale. In
deed it Is wonderful how much work it
Has Outlived "Rivals for 240 CJears
Famons Hudson's Bay Company That Started TVith a Capital of $42,000.
HE history of the famous Hudson's
I Bay Company dates from 1670.
when a license to trade in furs in Hud
son (now Hudson) Bay was granted to
a company which Included several men
of high rank. The Duke of Tork, the
Duke of Albemarle and the Earl of
Shaftesbury were among them.
The capital was 8423. not a great
amount with which to fight the rival
companies and the intrepid individual
agents, chiefly French, whose competi
tion was hard on the new enterprise.
But the conquest of Canada helped it a
good deal. English traders learned the
ways of the Indians and their system
of the exchange of goods.
Toward 1684 some merchant of
Montreal combined to explore the fur
country and founded that powerful
Northwest Company, which soon be
came the center of the fur trade. In
179S this new company shipped furs
to the value of no less than 120.000.
and the existence of the .Hudson's Bay
Company was again threatened.
In "Conjuror's House" Stewart Ed
ward White has given us glimpses of
the picturesquely highhanded methods
of "the company" which nowadays has
but one meaning, the Hudson's Bay
Company. But according to a writer in
Fur News, its early rival was no bet
ter. "It shrank from no act. however in
iquitous." says the account. "Its agents
Imposed on their own employes and
speculated on the misery of the In
dians, consequently realizing Immense
profits in spite of the competition of
new Russian and American compan
ies." The American Fur Company, for In
stance, was founded in 1809 with a cap
ital of Sl.300,000 and operated west of
the Rocky Mountains. The competition
of all. these rivals put the Hudson's
Bay Company into greater danger than
it ever had been.
But in liii a treaty was made amal
gamating the Hudson's Bay and North
west companies under the 'title the
Hudson's Bay Fur Company. At pres
ent It has only one rival of import
ance, the American St. Louis Fur Com
pany. The Hudson's Bay Company has posts
scattered over a domain covering 3,
700,000 square miles. Its principal es
tablishments are on James Bay and
toward the frontiers of upper Canada,
on lakes Athabasca. Winnipeg, Methye
and near the Columbia, Mackenzie,
Saskatchewan and Asslnlbolne Rivers.
Fort York, commanding the course of
the River Nelson, is the headquarters
of the company and contains its prin
cipal depot.
In 1842 it took a lease of all the
Russian establishments In North Amer
ica at an annual rent of 40,000, so
that it is now working on its own ac
count the vast tracts of country be
tween the Mississippi and the Pacific
Ocean.
The following is a list of the quanti
ties of skins and furs dispatched to
Europe by the Hudson's Bay Company
in 1833-34, which will give an exact
idea of the extent of its trade:
1.074
82.0114
694.0i'2
Beavers
Skins and young beavers
Muflkrata .
Bsdirers l.oos
Bears 7,4ol
Ermines 4'
Foxes , .1
Lynxes - "''ji
Sables &4.41W
Polecats 2''-10
Otter.
Raccoons ' "
San .
Wolves 8S1?
Wolverines ,1.51
Such figures ought to bring in a
large profit to the Hudson's Bay Com
pany, but unfortunately they have not
been maintained, and for the last 20
years have been decreasing.
Until 1839 the company, was in a
flourishing condition. In that year the
number of furs exported was 2,SD0.001,
but since then the trade has gradually
declined, and this number Is now re
duced by one-half at least.
The following table, taken from the
"Voyage of Captain Robert Lade,"
shows on what terms exchanges were
formerly made with the Indians. Beaver
skins were then the currency employed
in buying and selling. The Indians
paid:
Beaver
TTor sums.
One gun
.10
takes to get out the diamonds. In the
Dutoltspan we have to handle four tons
of earth to every carat, and It Is about
as bad in Klmberley. Now. when you
remember that a diamond weighing a
carat is not as big as a pea, and that It
has to he found and taken out of this
great mass of earth and rock, you will
see how difficult the problem Is. In the
first place, we have to blast down the
blue ground. We then carry it to the
surface and allow it to be out in the open
for one year to soften it. After that It
must be washed and crushed and handled
again and again to find tho stones. All
this means an enormous amount of labor.'
as well as expensive machinery, which
must be carefully operated."
"Yes. but !t pays." said I.
"It does pay. The value of the De
Beers mine per load is about 24 shil
lings, or S6. It costs us S2 to get out
the diamonds, so that we have a profit
there of something like S4 per load.
In the other mines the profit varies,
and all told about half or more of the
values are eaten up by the cost of op
erating the mines and getting out the
diamonds. A load weighs in the neigh
borhood of three-quarters of a ton.
The values of the blue ground and the
cost of production vary In different
mines, but altogether they pay well."
After the diamonds have been mined
and cleaned they are sold to the di
amond syndicate. I visited the offices
of this organization in the De Beers
Company building and took a look at
the steel vaults In which the brilliants
are kept until shipped to London. They
are sent there by mail, and usually in
registered packages. They go on mall
cars to Cape Town and from there to
Southampton on the big steamships of
the Union Castle line. The trains which
carry them over the 600 or 700 miles
of track from here to the Cape of Good
Hope are equipped with safes, which
have been especially built for the pur
pose. The steel floors of the safe are
as I understand it, a part of the floor
of the car.
Not long ago a would-be diamond
thief got the idea that if he could cut
out this steel plate a million dollars'
worth or more of diamonds would drop
into his hand. He prepared for his
work by crawling under the car before
It started. He had a board under him
and lay there on his back during the
first part of the Journey, while he
drilled 49 different holes up through the
safe. He had the floor plate Just about
loose, and was sawing with a steel saw
from one hole to another when some
thing made him think he was discov
ered and he dropped out and ran. The
alarm was a false one, and he might
easily have got the diamonds had not
his nerve failed him.
That attempt was made many years
ago, and since then the safes' have been
so improved and fortified that it would
be impossible to cut through them. It
would seem, however, that they might
easily be held up by train robbers and
that a little dynamite or nitroglycerin
would suffice to lay their contents bare
to thieves. It Is very sure that such
enormous values in diamonds could not
be regularly carried over the western
parts of the United States without great
danger. .
Half pound powder J
Four pounds shot
One axe " i
Six knives f
Ona pound (lass beads
One laced coat s
One coat not laced
One laed female dress e
One pound of tobacco J
One box of powder J
One comb and one looklng-glas &
But a few years ago beaver skins
became so scarce that the currency
hsd to be changed. Bison furs are now
the medium of trade. When an Indian
presents himself at the fort the agents
of the company give him as many
pieces of wood as he brings skins, and
he exchanges these pieces of wood for
manufactured articles on the premises,
and as the company fixes the price of
the articles it buys and soils It cannot
fail to realize, large profits.
A "Peacherine."
(A California fruit specialist has invented
a fruit that is even liner than the peach.
It Is called the peacherine.)
When Betty bade me writs her verses lately
(She knew that I was bashful In my
1 ioundPthehsaW If not ths most stately
Metaphor for a fiancee was a Peach.
But fashions change, and now. It seems, a
FrultVbeen hit on; whencs I rather ween
That In addressing these few lines to
I d ?JST..r .h. I. a 2l?3XZM