DIAMOND RUNNERS OF S.A.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 8, 6 January 1913, Page 2

DIAMOND RUNNERS OF S.A.

HOW THE ENORMOUS ILLICIT TRAFFIC WAS CARRIED ON. Most people have heard of the dia-mond-runners of South Africa, hut comparatively few are familiar with the daring and ingenious methods employed by these astute individual- in carrying on the enormous illicit trade which existed (and still exists to a certain extent) in every mining camp in the country. It is common knowledge that the nucleus of many a handsome fortune acquired in South Africa was obtained by illicit diamond-buying. From the time of the first diamond digging in Griqualand West until the institution of the compound system the stealing of diamonds by employees, white and black, was a standing menace to the diamond industry. The conditions were such as to render theft so easy that the marvel is that there should not be more of it. All the claim-own-ers were well aware that the Kaffirs were selling as many diamonds as themselves to the low-class alien resetters who swarmed round Kimberley, but until the system of enclosing the employees in compounds and searching them before they got outside was established, little could bo done to prevent this serious leakage. Rough, but Honest. Curiously enough, the earliest diamond diggers, albeit a rough crew, were strictly honest. Indeed, a mining camp in the early “seventies’-’ was just one huge, good-natured brotherhood. No, one thought of knavery, whilst any miner striking a particularly good gem immediately signalled his luck to his fellow toilers by firing his gun, when a general rush would be made to his claim for the purpose of examining the find. In this way the precious gem, worth, perhaps, many hundreds of pounds, would pass from hand to hand, until it was completely lost to view amid the crowd of diggers. Nevertheless, the brief request, “Fork over the stone,” would immediately bring it back to the rightful owner, and everyone would troop back to work, with barely one covetous glance amongst the whole crowd. Unhappily, this blissful state of things did not last. The news of the marvellous “finds” brought the usual rush of the “great unsoaped,” and the morals of the mining camps went to the dogs. Then the little excitements began which have continued, with but slight intermissions, to this day.

Until the banks established brandies in the camps and threw open the use of their safes to their customers, the miner slept in his little canvas tent with his hard-earned stones stowed under his mattress or pillow. Sleep in those hard-working days was sound, and many a poor fellow woke at daybreak to find his little hoard vanished, and only the gash in. the deftly-slit canvas to show' him how the thief had worked his wicked will. This primitive method of diamond- lifting was known as “groping,” because the thief had to accomplish his foul purpose solely by touch, the slightest flicker of light being usually sufficient to attract neighbourly suspicions. Some Big Hauls.

The science of groping was brought to its highest pitch of perfection by an American named Marshall, who introduced a chloroform-saturated sponge at the end of a bamboo, in order to pacify the victim elect. His scientific methods were rewarded with great success. Finally, however, he made the usual mistake of divulging too much to an accomplice. The accomplice “split,” and Marshall “did time.”

One of the biggest of the early diamond robberies occurred owing to the carelessness of the New Rush postmaster. This gentleman left some registered letters, containing £35,000 worth of diamonds, upon the table of his open office, whilst he' stepped into the “Rig and Whistle” for a drink. When he returned he was surprised,to find the diamonds had vanished. Eventually a man named Hardy was arrested for theft. His luggage was searched the missing diamonds found carefully rammed into the barrels of three rifles, and he followed Marshall into retirement.

In 1882 Cecil Rhodes got a Draconian law passed which made not only the theft but the possession of uncut diamonds a felony, liable to bo punished by a fine of £IOOO, or fifteen years’ imprisonment, or both. Up till then Kimberley was notorious for this illicit traffic. The Orange River, only three miles away, formed the border between Capo Colony and the Orange River Colony.. No extradition law between the Boer and British Governments existed in those days, and once over the border both diamonds and runner were safe from molestation. Kaffir miners and Kaffir runners who carried packets of stolen stones out of the State exhausted every form of ingenuity in their practice. Most common among the methods used by the 1.D.8. —i.e., illicit diamond buyers —was to employ a Kaffir who could speak English, furnish him with a little money, and set him to work on one of the claims where washing for diamonds was in progress. Either by stealing them, buying, or finding and not reporting them, this Kaffir was able, if he we- “ - his salt,” to obtain a parcel of stones. These would In' delivered in due course to the illicit diamond buyers, en whose shoulders then rested the responsibility of getting them across the border.’ Buried in the Flesh. Here, again, the Kaffirs were almost indispensable. They knew that it was useless to conceal illicit diamonds among their clothing or other belongings; they swallowed them, or made their horses swallow them ; cut holes in themselves or their horses, and concealed the stones in the wound. One old native boasted more than Hiivtv scars on his body, each of them

at one time the hiding place of a diamond. He claimed to be one of the first to practice this painful form oi smuggling, and once got away with a stone which a tradition of the fields assorted was sold for £15,000. He arranged with another native a bogus quarrel, in the course of which he received an adroitly placed cut on the head with an assegei which lifted up a slice of the skin. Beneath this lie quickly slipped the stone, plastered the wound with wet clay, and a montn later went to the 1.D.8., who bought most of his stones, and haggled for a big price, half of which was to be paid before he would submit to have the stone extracted. The most notorious character the diamond fields have produced, however, was Scotty Smith. His relationship to Scotland, however, rvas most remote, Scotty having a distinct touch of the tar brush. Scotty’s chief occupations were cat-tle-lifting, highway robberies, gunrunning, and illicit diamond trading. Hearing that a large parcel of diamonds awaited the coach at a certain hotel, Scotty held up tiio manager in his office and obtained the diamonds. He was masked at the time, and was not suspected of the robbery. A week later he calmly Landed them over to the authorities and obtained a reward. Smart Dodges. His greatest haul was made in a most original manner. As a diamond runner he was cute and cunning beyond the cleverest, and he became so closely watched’ by the police eventually that, although ho was in possession of a large number of large and valuable diamonds, scheme as ho could he saw no chance of running them across the border. At last ho put the diamonds in dumps of dough and forced them down his horse’s throat. Although searched over and over again, the police feeling even the hide of the horse, and accompanying him to the border, again searching him, he eventually arrived in the Free State, which was sanctuary.

Dogs were also enlisted in the traffic and used as carriers. Often the poor animals were first kept without food until they were on the verge of starvation, and then given lumps of meat containing diamonds, which they greedily bolted.

For the same reason carrier pigeons were requisitioned to “fly through the air with the brigands’ booty. Other pets wore pressed into the service of the diamond-rUnnors, and gun and pistol barrels, hollow artificial teeth, hollowed heeled boots enclosing diamonds sealed down with wax were also expedients employed with decided and profitable success. Even when ’ clear of the mines the illicitly-bough|t diamond is seldom safe until it has crpssed the Atlantic, passed the Custom's authorities, and been re-cut. The dodges by which the experienced 1.D.8. has been known to cheat the Customs officers are legion. One brill suffice! Many of the' agents are women. One of these ladies, on being requested to turn out her trunks, retaliated by handing her baby to the Customs officer, saying: “Ho will be quite good if you will only shake the rattle for him !”

The Customs man laughingly did as lie was requested; but, his suspicions being aroused by the evident blind, ho took additional pains to have her trunks thoroughly searched. To his immense chagrin he found nothing, and mother, baby, trunks and rattle presently left the Customs House with a clean record. It was a bold move, but it succeeded. The diamonds were in the rattle!