THE DIAMOND FIELDS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 918, 16 April 1883, Page 2

THE DIAMOND FIELDS.

[by obb special correspondent. ]

Having heard that Mr Jacobsen and a party of three others from Christchurch had proceeded to arid camped in the vicinity of the long talked of Canterbury diamond fields, curiosity prompted me to visit Alford Forest, partly with a View of ascertaining the feelings of the residents in the district on the supposed existence of diamonds in their midst, and partly with a view of visiting the prospectors’ camp and havi ig a chat with Mr Jacobsen and his fed >w diamond seekers. On arriving at the Forest I found the peaceful inhabitants still pursuing the verj even tenor of their way, and apparently equally as much interested in the falling of trees and sp’itting them into posts and, rails, as though they were in total ignorance of having toiled and slept and toiled again year after year close to the very mouth of a huge crater that had ages ago cast forth from° its fiery depths millions of ready made wealth that might be had by any and everyone who chos • to stoop and examine the myriads of stones that have been anathematised times cut of number by travellers and residents in the neighborhood of the foot of the hills. I had heard and seen it paragraphed that considerable excitement prevailed owing to the supposed discovery of diamonds in the district, and arrived at my journey’s end fully prepared to hear nothing but' diamond conversation. I was doomed, however, to disappointment in this direction, and so far from any ex itement prevailing, not a sod was to be seen, the only apparent si®n of light being the faint glimmer of a dim light outside Bo wick’s Hotel, just sufficiently luminous to come within the requirements of that excellent enactment so rigidly enforced by the Licensing Committees. True, the hills were enveloped in dense clouds, ana it had_ just commenced to rain as it only can rain at Alford Forest. Besides this, it was rather late at night, and the diamond seekers and all those interested in the finding of such precious gems were doubtless in their beds dreaming of the bril.iant future that was then opening up before thetn. It rained incessantly throughout the following day,

and my visit to the camp had to be postponed. On the next morning ! started in company with two others; and after following up and crossing Taylor’s stream several times, we came opposite Friedlander’s stone quarry, and on a rising bit of ground in a snug nook to the left of the quarry the prospectors’ camp was seed, and shortly afterwards reached by myself and companions. Mr Jacobsen and bis party had evidently gone out for the day and left no trace behind as to the • direction they had taken. After an hour’s fruitless search we quenched our disappointment with the contents of a pocket flask and returned to the township. Here we learned that a number of specimens had been brought down the previous day, and had that morning been sent to Christchurch ,tt> be thoroughly tested- by an expert iu the matter of precious stones. On the following" morning I was at the camp shortly after seven, and found. Mr Jacobsen and his comrades busily fortifying themselves for the coming day’s work. After sharing with them a hearty , meal, Mr Jacobsen showed me the specimens he had found during’ the twb : or three days i he had been at work, and ho and. two .of. his companions were in such high-glee and spoke so enthusiastically of the enormous wealth they had discovered as to leave no ' shadow of doubt that they at least . thoroughly believed that the .igonbk! thfey I had gathered were true diamonds. 1 ' don't know whether it was the result of !my early rising that morning, my diwri,- ■ pation of the night j murky atmosphere that thewpdrftlded -the hills, or my utter ignorance of what a rough diamond should resemble, but somehow I never looked Upoh/dm-, ■ monds -with a less jealous eye or lesaldrigfing to become possessed of the little’gena; ' ;Mr Jacobson, Mr Wickes, and Mr Wibber j expatiated on their brilliancy value, and lent me a microscope tbTSxfamine them more closely. Still; T 'could •only see as through a glass darkly. ahdtfie’ iflery zeal of a diamond fever -wouldh 'neither rise in my breast nor could I suffi-’ ciently remove the, film. £lO9l ,lny eyes to see anything more resefnbling What I had [always thought to be diamonds than a , [ plrece of very'' clear kauri girth. This - fourth one of tbs prospecting quartette seemed to regard the diamonds with rnarked indifference ; but ! accounted for ‘this by learning that he was an old West Coast digger, and, probably, he had long-since-had the rough .-edges; takonpffxtbe pleasant novelty of finding small thing! of great price. I gladly accepted an In-" vitation to accompany the party, that day to, their head works, but it came on to rain and' our Operations were confined to with* £n a short distance of the• camper tHere I found myself busily breaking stones with Marge hammer, and with a little tuition from the three who had accompanied soon- began to find specunena,ancLißtbe - Course of an hour or so went back to the cajnp- with my pockets "full, of., stones,*' bristling with what Jacobsen believes to be diamonds. The rain vras now coming flown pretty heavily,' and’ after spending half an hour in pleasant chat, I left, laden <m , both aides, and rode away bsyak, L Gilp'n-like, to. the township. Thegem*! * pioneer of the" Canterbury diamond. .fields again expressed his firm conviction 1 that he had discovered untold wealth,_but Stated he would advise others & wnit thO qresult of the specimens that were then. -) being tested in Christchurch, The pectors are said to be determined to loaye.;, no atone unturned till they have satisficed the Government that they are finding true diamonds, and are satisfied that before many weeks the whole district will be proclaimed a diamond field. ;.-:-Should they ‘ follow up this determination to the letter, may heaven send them a speedy, safe, and profitable -deliv*- ■ erance from their arduous task, for-the ) number of stones that one’s horse has to X stumble over even in going to the camp: ) would keep a whole army, .employed turn-, X ing for many a weary month, and what? ■ ever may be the result of Mr Jacobsen's . present labor he certainly deserves geestt ! credit for the persistent way in Which he has worked and followed the search up for the past six years, anfi, diamonds or no diamonds, the present small expedition will doubtless call public attention to the ( undoubted mineral resources of the com- - paratively little knoWn district ofAlford* Forest. Should what they* art finding prove to be diamonds, there will- very soon be a large population in thaV neigh-, borhood, for there would undoubtedly sufficient then not only to make the fortunes of thousands, but to ’connect the Mount Somers and MethveUrailway,build the much needed traffic bridge over the Ash- 1 burton, construct the West Goastrailway,',' and then leave plenty to pay off the. - English national debt and afterwards re*; .- lieve the whole o! the distress inJreland,X for nearly every stone one kicks over is full of the little gems Mr Jacobsen, -is : treasuring up as diamonds." ’ Should'the result of the test be favorable'-the Awo tents now so conspicuous on theleaaeh'old> property ■of Mr Ivan Rankin OorhelittS ' 7 Cunningham Graham will soon be’h|d hundreds of others, for tpvoh a rush would set in as was never known smeethedays when Captain Cook first let loose on'half shores the progenitors *of the herd of swine now inhabiting the vicinity of Pudding Hill. ~ ~ "