18 PEACE: LION HUNTING 



them the G.S.W. Colony would have been an 

 extremely expensive possession. Through the 

 courtesy of the burgermeister, who held big dia- 

 mond interests himself, and took a prominent part 

 in the management of several mines, I was enabled 

 to have a good look at the industry here. 



From Luderitzbucht the country inland becomes 

 even more desolate than on the coast ; in fact, 

 by the time the diamond field is reached, imagina- 

 tion suggests that the traveller has reached the 

 craters of the moon. The whole surface of the 

 land, that is, the sand, down to the rock, which 

 may be several feet, or only a few inches below 

 the surface, is put through large hand-worked 

 sieves, the big stones and small sand being drafted 

 out. The remainder, perhaps a third, of a size 

 to contain the rest of the diamonds, is from these 

 sieves sent down to the washing mills. There, 

 by a series of washings and concentrations, it is 

 so reduced that the gems can be sorted out on a 

 table by hand. The diamonds are rather small, 

 no big ones have been found, but the quality is 

 good. A large new sifter, to do the work of many 

 hand ones, was then in course of construction, 

 and the entire management of the whole of this 

 field — it could not well be called a mine — was 

 excellent. 



From Luderitzbucht to Keetmanshoep was two 

 days by rail, and soon there were many evidences 

 that the colony, plainly a very dry one at any 

 time, was suffering from severe drought. Keet- 



