PliKMDKN'l- > A|)J)1:KSS -SEtn>. P> AV1> C. 59 



(liaiuoiul fields at all, liaviiii; eiDssed tlu' C)raiii:;(' Hiver far holow, aftci- 

 which ht* had pmrcedt'd to Gricjuatown, right outside tlu^ diaiiioiidi- 

 ferous areas, (lilfillaii in his tra\els had actually handled eigliteeii 

 dianionds, and tlenionstrated the trutli c»f Dr. Atherstone's opinion that 

 there were many diamonds along tlie river. Tiie tra\esty of this story 

 has so often been ([Uoted as an e.vample of the fo(tlishness of tinsting to 

 the opinion of geologists, that I have laid stress on the true account in 

 a place where the actual facts can be verified in the files of our local 

 papers. Prof. J. W. Gregory some years later visited the c<»untry, but 

 he was confounded with his namesake, the natural history dealei-, and 

 was in conse(|uence leceived with scant courtesy on several occasions. 

 Gf'orge GilfiUan made the incorrect plan of the Diamond Fields which 

 was used by Sir H. Barkly in the famous dispute with the Free State : 

 he was killed in the 1879 Kafir war bv the explosion of an ammunition 

 waggon in a tlnniderstorin. 



Of the disco\ery of the dry diggings I have a mass of contem- 

 poiai'v notes, and 1 will confine my story to the discovery of the 

 Kimberley mine. Rawstorne of Colesberg, and Ortlepp, Ins brother- 

 in-law, dispute the discoxery of the first diamond. Rawstorne said 

 his Hottentot, who was drinking, was put to dig on Colesberg Kopje 

 to be out of the way of temptation, and he found the diamond on 21st 

 July, 1871, a Saturday. Ortlepp said his wife found it the .Sunday 

 before by the big tree, while scratching the ground \\ith her parasol, 

 but Mrs. De Beer told him that a black boy had found five or six at 

 the same p)laee a month before. When the iie^s spread the Kopje was 

 rushed. Purchasers for the farm had already appeared in the fiekl. 

 Stockdale was living at the time at Hebron, and when Bultfontein and 

 De Beers — old De Beers — were discovered, lie tried to buy the farm 

 Voruitzigt on wliich they were situated. The farm belonged to two 

 brotliers, Johan Nicholas and Diederick Arnold us de Beer whc) had 

 bought it from the Free State Government in 1863. The younger of 

 these readily parted with his half for £1000, but the elder evaded 

 Stockdale's advances. Two agents, Keytei- and Levey, were employed 

 to talk him over, but Keyter tried to do a deal on his own account, and 

 the business fell through. Stockdale then called on the De Beers ; 

 but the elder biX)ther was away, and it was inexpedient to appear to 

 be too eager to find out where lie was, so Stockdale talked about things 

 in general and waitefl for an opportunity to arise. After "a time two 

 Boers came in to knyer. They smoked and drank coffee and began to 

 (lezcUa, and at last one asked where the ondf herd was, and was told 

 that he had gone up the river with his waggon two or three days 

 before. Stockdale went out as if he had not been listening, and did 

 not understand Dutch. He procui-ed a cart anil four horses, and 

 found the elder De Beer up the Yaal River, outspanned with the 

 sheep lambing. The latter agreed to sell for £5600, and saifl that if 

 he ever bought a farm again he would see that there were no diamonds 

 on it. Stockdale came back to his tent and told Ebden what he had 

 done ; Ebden grumbled and said £5000 was enough for any farm ; but 

 Dr. Atherstone, who was in the tent at the time, remarked, "Give 



