File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (18158288302).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo18amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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The one diamond mine established in British Guiana was equipped very little better than are the individual prospectors, or "pork-knockers." Enough gravel for two or three days' sorting was brought from the mine to the washing beds. A trough hav- ing strainers of different-sized mesh was used for the first rough sorting out of the coarser stones from the gravel, after which it was turned over to the jiggers. This mine has since been de- serted, as working it without proper equipment proved a failure
Text Appearing After Image:
Two steps in the process of separating the diamonds from the gravel. — The man at the right is swirling some gravel in his sieve to send the diamonds to the bottom. The other man is scooping out of his sieve the top layer of residue gravel from which the diamonds have been jigged to the lower layer. A careful jigger rarely loses a diamond from the mass of gravel gin), which is sold in exchange for the dia- monds of the porlc-linockers. By these boats the men work their way into the diamond fields; serving as paddlers, and toiling all day long for several weeks, they reach their destination, having earned in addition one week's supply of rice, salt fish, salt pork, sugar, tea, and flour. They do not carry pro- visions with them from Bar- tica, but depend upon this supply to last them until they can unearth enough stones to )iay for the next week's ra- tions—and so on each week. Their prospecting is begun most often in some shallow creek bed. Those who are more fortunate in the posses- sion of imjjlements may be able to make enough each week to pay for their provi- sions and leave a profit, but most of them make barely enough to buy their provisions, and often have to go into debt during many weeks before they make a find of any im- portant size. Imjjlements usu- ally consist of an ax, shovel, pick, bucket, and a round sieve used for separating the diamonds from the gravel. A party I once chanced upon was illustrative of the average group that one might meet in the bush. A negro (giant in size and clad only in a loin cloth) stood knee-deep in the creek and with a long-handled shovel filled the bucket with small gravel. The boy who hell) the bucket carried it to an old man (picturesquely gray-haired and with exceed- ingly large and knotted fore- arms) who did all of the "sci- entific part" of the work— that is, the jigging of the gravel in the round sieve. Diamond production depends largely upon the abilities of the jigger; if he be careful and know his work there will be no loss. This man was very careful and experienced; in

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