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Would You Like An Acre Of Diamonds?
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Life in South Africa was hard for its few early settlers - harder than in their native Holland. There were devastating droughts when nothing would grow. The Kaffirs and Zulus, the native tribes to whom the land originally belonged, were resentful of strangers.
The colonists had plagues of locusts, only primitive tools with which to work - and the oppressive feeling of being in a strange land thousands of miles from home. All this changed because two children went out to play on the banks of the Orange River at Hopetown. The Union of South Africa, now a great and powerful state of almost twelve million people, ought to erect a monument to the two Jacobs children. They made the discovery that started South Africa's growth from a frontier settlement, raising only corn and cotton, to one of the most important countries in the world. The Orange River, a playground for all the children of Hopetown, is what is called a "flashy" stream. This means that its water level varies greatly. During the rainy season it is full from bank to bank. During the dry season there is only a trickle of water. During the dry season the boy and girl went out to play on the river bed. Out some distance from the bank they found a strange chunk of stone. It was a dirty bluish color, but there seemed to be a crystal embedded in it. This crystal was an unusual shape and when held toward the sun gave off a gleaming light. The little girl clapped her hands and said, "It will make a pretty lamp for my doll house!" The children took the stone home with them. The next day their neighbor, Schalk van Niekerk, dropped in. "That's a strange stone," he said to the little girl. "I'd like to see it." She ran across the room and gave it to him. He turned it over in his hand and its glitter intrigued him. "I'd like to buy it from you." "Nonsense!" broke in Mrs. Jacobs. "The children shouldn't waste their time picking up rocks. Take it for a gift - and a worthless one at that!" The little girl started to cry. "It's a lamp for my doll house - a lamp for my doll house!" Van Niekerk patted her on the head. "I'll make you a lamp carved out of wood, just like a real lamp," he promised her. Schalk van Niekerk took the stone home and asked a friend of his to find out if it were worth anything. The friend took it to a scientist. "It's a diamond worth a fortune," he said. It was. The "worthless" stone was sold for twenty five thousand dollars. Some of this money was paid to the poor Boer farmer whose children had stumbled on the treasure. More about treasure hunting. |
Extracted from "The Real Book about Treasure Hunting"
Treasure Hunt Books & Game
Every Kid Needs a Treasure Hunt
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