Travels in India (Tavernier) 87.1
Travels in India (Ball) 87.1
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- English
87.1.1
The diamond is the most precious of all stones, and it is the article of trade to which I am most devoted. In order to acquire a thorough knowledge of it I resolved to visit all the mines, and one of the two rivers where it is found; and as the fear of dangers has never restrained me in any of my journeys, the terrible picture that was drawn of these mines, as being in barbarous countries to which one could not travel except by the most dangerous routes, served neither to terrify me nor to turn me from my intention. I have accordingly been at four mines, of which I am about to give descriptions, and at one of the two rivers whence diamonds are obtained, and I have encountered there neither the difficulties nor the barbarities with which those imperfectly acquainted with the country had sought to terrify me. Thus I am able to claim that I have cleared the way for others, and that I am the first European who has opened the route for the Franks to these mines, which are the only places in the world where the diamond is found.
87.1.2
The first of the mines which I visited is situated in the territory of the King of Bijapur in the Province of Carnatic, and the locality is called Ramulkota, situated five days’ journey from Golconda, and eight or nine from Bijapur. The fact that the two Kings of Golconda and Bijapur were formerly subject to the Mogul, and were then only Governors of the Provinces which they acquired by their revolt, caused it to be said, and makes it said still by some people, that the diamonds come from the Kingdom of the Great Mogul. It is only about 200 years since this mine of Ramulkota was discovered, at least so far as I have been able to ascertain from the people of the country. All round the place where the diamonds are found the soil is sandy, and full of rocks and jungle, somewhat comparable to the neighbourhood of Fontainebleau. There are in these rocks many veins, some of half a finger in width and some of a whole finger ; and the miners have small irons, crooked at the ends, which they thrust into the veins in order to draw from them the sand or earth, which they place in vessels ; and it is in this earth that they afterwards find the diamonds. But as the veins do not always run straight, and some ascend, while others descend, they are obliged to break the rocks, always following the direction of the veins.
87.1.3
After they have opened them out, and have removed the earth or sand which may be there, they then commence to wash it two or three times, and search in it for whatever diamonds it may contain. It is in this mine that the cleanest and whitest watered diamonds are found ; but the evil is that in order to extract the sand more easily from the rocks they strike such blows with a heavy iron crowbar that it fractures the diamonds, and gives rise to flaws. It is for this reason that so many thin stones come from this mine, for when the miners see a stone in which the flaw is of some size, they immediately cleave it, that is to say split it, at which they are much more accomplished than we are. These are the stones which we call thin (“foible”), which make a great show. If the stone is clean they do not do more than just touch it with the wheel above and below, and do not venture to give it any form, for fear of reducing the weight. But if it has a small flaw, or any spots, or small black or red grit, they cover the whole of the stone with facettes in order that its defects may not be seen, and if it has a very small flaw they conceal it by the edge of one of the facettes. But it should be remarked that the merchant prefers a black point in a stone to a red one. When there is a red one the stone is roasted, and the point becomes black.
87.1.4
This trick was at length so well understood by me that when I examined a parcel of stones which came from this mine, and saw that there were facettes on any of them, especially small facettes, I was certain that there was some speck or flaw in the stone. There are at this mine numerous diamond-cutters, and each has only a steel wheel of about the size of our plates. They place but one stone on each wheel, and pour water incessantly on the wheel until they have found the “grain” of the stone. The “grain” being found, they pour on oil and do not spare diamond dust, although it is expensive, in order to make the stone run faster, and they weight it much more heavily than we do. I have known them to weight a stone with 150 livres of lead. It is true that it was a large stone, which still weighed 103 carats after it had been cut, and that the mill was like ours, the large wheel of which was turned by four blacks. The Indians are not of the same opinion as we are, in that they do not believe that weighting them causes flaws in the stones. If theirs do not receive any it is because they always have a small boy who, holding in his hand a very thin wooden spoon, anoints the wheel incessantly with oil and diamond powder. Added to which their wheel does not go so fast as ours, because the wooden wheel which causes the steel one to revolve is seldom more than 3 feet in diameter.
87.1.5
The Indians are unable to give the stones so lively a polish as we give them in Europe ; and this, I believe, is due to the fact that their wheel does not run so smoothly as ours. For, being made of steel, in order to grind it on the emery, of which it has need every twenty-four hours, it has to be taken off the tree, and it cannot be replaced so as to run as evenly as it should do. If they possessed the iron wheel as we do, for which one does not require emery but the file, it not being necessary to remove it from the tree in order to file it, they could give the stones a better polish than they do. I have stated that it is necessary to rub the wheel with emery or to file it every twenty-four hours, and it is desirable that it should be done every twelve hours if the workman is not lazy. For when the stone has run a certain time the part of the wheel where it has pressed becomes polished like a mirror, and if the place be not roughened by emery or the file, the powder does not stick to it. When it remains one does more work in one hour than in two when there is not any on the wheel. Although a particular diamond may be by nature hard, having, so to speak, a kind of knot, such as is seen in wood, the Indian diamond-cutters would not hesitate to cut such a stone, although our diamond-cutters in Europe would experience great difficulty in doing so, and as a general rule would be unwilling to undertake it; but one pays the Indians something extra for their trouble.
87.1.6
I come to the government at the mines. Business is conducted with freedom and fidelity. Two per cent on all purchases is paid to the King, who receives also a royalty from the merchants for permission to mine. These merchants having prospected with the aid of the miners, who know the spots where the diamonds are to be found, take an area of about 200 paces in circumference, where they employ fifty miners, and sometimes a hundred if they wish the work to proceed rapidly. From the day that they commence mining till they finish the merchants pay a duty of 2 pagodas per diem for fifty men, and 4 pagodas when they employ a hundred men. These poor people only earn 3 pagodas per annum, although they must be men who thoroughly understand their work. As their wages are so small they do not manifest any scruple, when searching in the sand, about concealing a stone for themselves when they can, and being naked, save for a small cloth which covers their private parts, they adroitly contrive to swallow it.
87.1.7
The chief of all the merchants who embark in mining one day pointed out to me one of these miners, who had worked for him for many years, and who had stolen a stone from him which weighed a mangelin, i.e. nearly two of our carats. He had concealed it in the corner of his eye, but it was taken from him as soon as the theft was discovered. In order to prevent these knavish tricks there are always twelve to fifteen watchmen employed by the merchants to see that they are not defrauded of anything.