THE CAPE DIAMOND FIELDS,

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1760, 26 March 1874, Page 3

THE CAPE DIAMOND FIELDS,

[ross guabdian.] A letter from Mr W. B. Forster, late of Ross, dated Kymberley, 22nd November, 1873, has been kindly placed at our disposal, and from which we make the following extracts :— We have got comfortably settled, and although we did not like the place at first, I think I acted very wisely in leaving Ross when I did. The first nine months I was here I had constant work at the tools (carpentering), and left 25s per day to go diamond digging, which I call no work at all; in fact it is the easiest times I ever had in my life. We have two claims going — one of them belongs to ourselves, that three of us bought for L 450, and I am working with another mate in the other claim on per centage. We get two-thirds of all the stones we find, and have to pay all expenses. We have twenty Kaffirs working for us at 10s per week and as much ground maize as they can eat. We have been in this claim ten weeks. It was very poor the first three weeks, and we were L2l pounds out of pocket ; then it began to pay better. I think this last six week 3 we nave got L 550 out of it. We got about Ll3O last week— one stone was worth i7O, another L4O, one LB, and several small ones. My other two mates got about L3OO worth in six weeks. They are talking about selling out, and going tothego!d fields. I must tell you that there was some gold discovered six months ago, about 500 miles from here, at. a place called Leydenburg. The Dutchmen and Kaffirs worked with only middling success for a time, until about twenty of our Australian shipmates went up and set into the creeks, and I am happy to say they are mostly all doing very well, and have written to some more of the shipmates to go up. I know three of them that got L9OO per man in six months from the time they left here, and it took them six weeks to go from here. They say it is a king of a place to what this is, but it is rather hot at present. I do not think this is any warmer than Melbourne. There are waggons leaving here every week for the gold fields — fare, about LB, and 2001bs luggage. The coaches charge Ll4 each, and 201bs luggage, but they will take you through in six days. If I was doing nothing here I would be off in the morning, but I will not leave these fields as long as my claims shape anything at all near the mark. There was a Native War commenced in Natal last week, and four of the white volunteers got shot dead, and several were wounded. The Kaffirs come to the diamond fields to work for three or four months, for as much money as will buy a gun, and then off home again. They are a fine race of people. When they come here they are as thin as lamp-posts, and go away as fat as butter. I firmly believe that , South Africa will be a thriving country before long, as the Tranavalis full of minerals of all descriptions.