Notes 011 South African Hunting. 
19 
Diamond Dodges. 
ance of money and the wasteful use of it, in the 
Californian gold fields, were almost excelled on 
the diamond fields. I know of a man who, 
after money got scarce on the Fields, and 
necessaries cheaper, bought a billiard room and 
canteen. For some reason he had to take up the 
flooring. Underneath the boards he found, I 
should be sorry to say how much, in coin of the 
realm, which had been dropped on the floor, 
and had rolled through the cracks; but I think I 
am within the mark when I say he found over 
;^ioo. In quite recent days I have seen 7s. 6d. 
paid for two brandies-and-sodas; but that was 
during the time of the Expedition to Bechuana- 
land, when the proverb about fools and their 
money was well exemplified. 
Before companies were formed, a great trade 
used to be carried on in the buying, by small 
traders, of diamonds from the diggers. Of 
course, many diggers used to be much in want 
of money, and equally of course when a man 
began digging he was usually ignorant of the 
value of diamonds ; so that very valuable stones 
were sold at absurdly low prices to these 
traders. A diamond in the rough is not easy 
