July 1 Wednesday – In Kimberley, Sam accompanied A.M. Robeson, assistant engineer to the general manager of DeBeers, Gardner Williams, and viewed the diamond mines and the “Big Hole.” A day’s yield was on display — Sam’s notebook lists it as worth $50,000. In FE, ch. 69 he gives it as $70,000.
In the evening Sam gave his “At Home” (No. 2) talk at the Kimberley Town Hall, reviewed on July 2 by the Diamond Fields Advertiser [Philippon 23].
Wednesday, July 1, 1896—Kimberley
Performance: “At Home” (2, 28), Town Hall; includes MT’s Australian poem, Diamond Fields Advertiser, July 2
Activities: Visits De Beers diamond mine (chapter 69, FEq); sees great crater with A. Robeson, assistant engineer to general manager Gardner Williams; accompanies Robeson and compound manager Seymour Dallas to see native mine workers dance in their wire-enclosed compound; finds diamond, Cape Times, July 7
Newspapers: Diamond Fields Advertiser
Accommodations: Central Hotel
[see Philippon, 2002]