Thunder on the Veldt

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 240, 30 December 1927, Page 7

Thunder on the Veldt

THOUSANDS IN DIAMOND RUSH

Aucklander Sees Race for Fortune

THE THUNDER OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, MADLY RACING ACROSS THE SOUTH AFRICAN VELDT! PROFESSIONAL RUNNERS, CHINESE, FARMERS FROM THE CAPE COLONY, HINDOOS, BOERS, ZULUS, NEWLYARRIVED ENGLISHMEN—ALL IN THE WILD RUSH FOR DIAMONDS.

o nly those who have seen a race

for the diamond fields in South Africa have any idea of the excitement which prevails. For miles the runners pant onward, across barren, treeless country, spurred on by the fact that there may be a fortune for them in the small areas they are allowed to peg out. Mr. C. J. Fleming, who is at present in Auckland, witnessed the biggest diamond rush South Africa has known for many years. That was at Lichtenburg, between Johannesburg and Kimberley. Diamonds had been discovered on a farm where people had been living for 30 years without knowing that daily they walked over gems worth ransom for all the kings of the world. Precious stones were lying in backyards, but they were thought to be a valueless form of stone. As soon as diamonds are discovered the area is proclaimed public property, and all who read run in the race for fortune.

The owner is given 250 claims, a claim measuring 15 yards square, and he can select any claim he likes on the property. The person who discovers the diamonds is given 50 claims, and he or she, and the owner

of the property, can begin work immediately. Licenses are issued at 1/- each, and any person can enter for the race. This is the only manner in which the general public is allowed to peg out its claims on the diamond fields. “It is a primitive method,” said Mr. Fleming, “but it has proved to be the best. There is too much corruption otherwise.” TOWNSHIP BUILT IN NIGHT Usually the field lines up two or three miles away from the scene of the diamond find. Before the rush the competitors can inspect the country. The object is to peg out claims as near as possible to those of the owner of the land. For several days beforehand the scene is one of extraordinary activity near the starting-line. A township springs up in a night. Vendors of every kind of article appear as if by magic and open their temporarv shops. j From far and near people arrive in thousands. Trains, motor-cars, Cape carts, horses, donkeys, bicycles—every method of transport is employed, and many of the fortune-hun-te mi. tramp hundreds of miles on foot. There were over 20,000 people gathered at Lichtenburg, the rush which Mr. Fleming witnessed. The scene was amazing, he said. People of every nationality and vehicles of evdry description flocked across the treeless country, turning it into a hive of activity. Water was retailed at one penny a gallon. Mounted police watch the crowds and arrange for the start of the big race. Should a false start be made the penalty is a week’s delay; therefore, the competitors are careful A week’s delay means more expense, more food, and living is not cheap. On the day of the race the runners line up, wearing as few clothes as possible and carrying four pegs with which to peg out their claims.

Professional runners are in great demand and they earn i'rom»£2o to £3O and sometimes as much as £SO for the race. Previously they have been taken over the ground by the men by whom they have been engaged, and have received instructions where they are to peg the claims. BITTER COMPETITION A very strong force of police is necessary as fights and disputes, often very bitt,er ones, are frequent, particularly after the claims have been pegged out. The starting is done by flags which the police lower at a given signal. Suddenly the long line of thousands of runners breaks with a bound and soon a sound like thunder is heard over the veldt. The professional runners soon forge ahead and the galloping army begins to take the shape of a long, long line, making for the lonely farmhouse -or its surrounding country where fortune lies under the aridlooking soil. As soon as the runners reach the farm claims are hastily pegged out. But the trouble only begins after that. The claim must be watched with care. Other runners pant up in search of any stray corner of country which may have been missed. Fights are fre-

quent and pegs are moved when nobody is looking. Order is not restored for some days, and then the claims are arranged properly. In the first mad rush small sections are sometimes overlooked, and latecomers have been known to strike particularly rich diamond-producing corners which they are allowed to hold.

There were only 6,000 acres in the farm which Mr. Fleming saw rushed by the diamond-hunters, and in a very short time it was all taken up. Many were disappointed, but numbers of people, he said, make a point of going from diamond rush to diamond rush until fortune comes to them. Mr. Fleming says that diamonds were usually found near the surface and the method of finding them is simply to dig over the soil, sift it and wash it for diamond pebbles. During the last few years he says that small rushes are quite frequent, but no matter how small they are always exciting.