Diamonds Underground - Chapter 7

Diamonds Underground

Chapter 7

On The Right Track

 

Hyman had a notion to go exploring and find that diamond mine .  He began to search for some local trackers who knew that particular region which was accessible only by a four wheel drive.  He was informed by everyone he spoke to that the area marked on his map was in a part of the Ethiopian tablelands and the journey there would be would be a long , difficult and very expensive venture . Hyman was not put off and was determined to get there .

He advertised for a crew of ten local men with knowledge of that area and had experienced before going on an Ethiopian  expedition  .

All the interviews were conducted by a human resources management service and a work crew of ten men were chosen . There was information of a highly skilled tracker  in a highlands tribe , who had a gifts with animals and tracking that particular area better than anyone else. He was known as Palmer and Hyman was given instructions where his village was . It was said that he had helped many people in previous expeditions who were fossicking for gold and looking for diamonds .

He always managed to find something for people who offered a small percentage on contract of the treasure that was found . He also loved baked beans and bread cooked and toasted on an open fire. So if you wanted his help those were two of the conditions he always requested . Hyman decided he wanted to seek his help . One of the crew was multilingual and could translate from English into most of the  dialects spoken in the Ethiopian highlands .

After purchasing all of the items required for the expedition Hyman and the crew set off on the road to Ethiopia with hope and excitement on board as part of the  equipment .

It was a two week drive to valley and the foot of the tablelands . After a check on their provisions and fuel Hyman and the crew made their way in their 4 wheel drive  veichles on the journey that had to be done .

Along the way they came across some abandoned villages . There in the sticks and the dust were graveyards with old headstones.

Hyman stopped briefly to pay respect and walked around looking at the names on the headstones . It seemed that there were many young people who had died . A few headstones . Some had indicated that Mother and baby were buried below. There were many young people who were buried there . Hyman asked one of his men if they knew what had happened to the village . It was said that most of the people had died of hunger and were buried by Christian missionaries . The reality of village life in Africa sunk in quickly and upwards and onwards through forests on secret paths Hyman and his men made their way in the direction of the Blue Nile . The further up they went into the highlands the lesser of man’s imprint was seen . Like babes in the wood they walked along in the cradle of humanity,. as in a land before time . Here and there they would stumble upon an ancient site with carved images of angelic beings . Surrounded by the mystery of life Hyman was drawn into the landscaper more and more .

It was only when he arrived at remote villages he could begin to see something special . The happy faces of children who came running to welcome them and the hospitality shown to them while they rested there . Hyman could see there was a  lot of need in those villages . Now his focus was redirected from finding diamonds to providing help . There was a change in his attitude and his thinking .

With the help of interpreters he spoke to the chiefs of various tribes along the highland way asked what assistance he could provide . Apart from food and water , there were many everyday items that were desired such as bicycles , beds , ladders and ropes . When Hyman saw the effects of famine and hunger he wanted to do all he could to help . He was inspired by those people in the villages who remained happy with their lives even though they had nothing to be happy about.

He was trapped by their infectious smiles and wanted to do all he could to help.

Because it didn’t rain , the drought came upon the land that left the hungry face of famine on the people who lived there . Even still through their smile it was clear to see the effect that drought had upon their everyday life . The drought has lasted a long time and no decent rain had fell . The waterfalls had been silent for years and the sound of animals had become extinct with their bones scattered on the dusty ground . Water in those places was like liquid gold and more precious than diamonds

Hyman had hoped to find . Rainclouds hid in the sky and there was no sign that change would come soon . Livestock was in short supply for the highland farmers who persevered to toil the barren soil in search of an underground spring somewhere in a parched land that was cracked and dry . Above the sun blistered in the an endless blue sky and beyond the backdrop of a reddish brown hue mountains etched an ancient landscape with a unique African beauty unseen anywhere in the world . Because of that Hyman continued to be inspired , to see more of this place for what it was .  Reflections of these places were kept in a journal of line drawings and sketches of the journey in Ethiopia .

They came upon an old abandoned mine one day and made camp there . Hyman wanted to have a look at the site . He took a few men and they went deeper into the mine where fate had chosen them to be . He could not believe his luck when her found a gold nugget lying there inside an old abandoned cart. It was so big that he couldn’t lift it. . He tried a number of times but gave up in the end. Suddenly all the men started laughing as Hyman . Having trouble with this he asked what was so funny . One of the men took out his knife and scraped off the gold paint from the rock

“It’s a joke , fools gold man .“ He said .

“Why?” Hyman asked .

“It’s a symbol left of the times when men spent their lives looking for gold .“

Hyman recognised that he had been silly to think he had found real gold and started to laugh as well . He turned around slowly to see the everyone laughing .

“There are lots of jokes local people play on strangers who come here.”

Hyman was unaware of this and asked for more information .

“We will show you when we find them . Maybe we should continue now as the  tracker you are looking for is in the next village. Not far to go now . He will take us the rest of the way to the place on the map .’

Hyman agreed  they kept going . Leaving behind the false gold struck moment  

 

Step by step they continued their journey towards the next village .

Along the way they came to a sign on the ground with an arrow pointing in the direction of water  . One of the crew called to Hyman

“Another joke sir ”

“Why , because there’s no water there ?”

The man shook his head and said ,

“No sir ,it’s another trick for the stranger . The water in in the opposite direction to where the arrow is pointing .”

“Why would they do that ?” Hyman asked .

“To keep the water for local people sir.”  He replied .

“I think that’s a cruel joke to play on the stranger to walk for miles looking for water that’s not there .”

“ That’s the reason why you need guides like us along the away sir , to protect you and keep you safe .”  

“Thank you for the information . I’ll remember that .“ Hyman said .

The following day they arrived on the outskirts of the village where a skull was placed on top of a pole ,  warning people to stay away .

Hyman looked worried but one of the crew just laughed and said.

‘Another joke to keep strangers away. You’re with us so its ok . Don’t worry sir. ”

They continued along their way until they came to the village .

As Hyman and the men got out of their veichles a young tribesman same rushing towards them with a spear in his hand .

One of the crew said

.

“Don’t worry sir , it’s part of the welcome ritual .“

The warrior threw the spear and it landed at Hyman’s feet

“Quickly sir , throw the spear back to him . It’s will be a sign that you accept the welcome to the village. “

Hyman did what he was asked and the spear landed back at the feet of the warrior . Suddenly all of the tribe appeared from as if from nowhere .

Hyman and the drew were greeted by the tribe who all wore gold bracelets with embedded diamonds around them . Hyman asked if he could speak to the chief of the tribe . Before they were given permission to see him Hyman asked some of his men to unload some things from the cars to offer as gifts to the chief . i

After a while Hyman and a few of his men were taken to meet the village chief who  sat on a throne inside a building that resembled an old church .

As they went inside they saw the chief sitting on a throne to where an altar would have once been . Upon his head the Chief wore a golden crown laced with many coloured gems . On his fingers he wore diamond rings and around his neck were chains of gold with a pendant of diamond clusters attached .

Hyman asked his men to lay the gifts at the chiefs feet .

There were cooking pots and running shoes, safety eyewear, torches , a cricket bat and a teddy bear .    

The translator spoke for Hyman .         

“These gifts are given as a symbol of goodwill .‘

‘The chief , looked and smiled. He looked at the gifts and took the teddy bear into his arms and laughed .

 Suddenly the ground under their feet started to crumble .

“The chief called for his warriors to come and as they all rushed in the chief told them to fall to the ground before the guests.

The earth moving was a great sign of a powerful presence in their midst and the chief made everyone in the crew very welcome in their village .

Hyman noticed the walls still had old artworks in golden frames and around the ceiling above there were carvings of angels in each corner . After that moment Hyman there was a welcome party in the village with members of the tribe dancing   around in a circle as the dust swirled, gentle voices started to sing and chant songs f times that once where when many visitors came bringing gifts of precious stones and gold . Hyman noticed a sign above the door of the old church building that said

Abandon All Fear You Are Welcome Here.

After a day in the village Hyman was introduced Palmer the expert tracker .\

With the help of his translator Hyman asked Palmer if he couls help their expediditon to find the diamond mine  . When he said he could Hyman presented the map to him and Palmer indicated that he knew that area well , then he gave Palmer a written contract and showed where Palmer could make his mark . Hyman signed it before him and an arrangement was made between them .

Now the adventure had begun in a new way because Palmer indicated that the journey from the village could only be made on foot and all the veichles would have to remain in the village until their return . Without any hesitation it was all agreed too and the group were soon on their way to the destination marked on the map .

 

The first days hike brought them to an abandoned mineshaft and one by one they all went down inside the old  mine.

One of the crew brought to Hymans attention that a long time ago on previous expedition he was on , there were four men who also travelled here to this same place . He mentioned that they were looking for an underground pathway omewhere with statues of angels guarding a tabernacle . No one had seen those men return for many years and so it was assumed that their mission had come to an end .

This was great news for Hyman as now he knew he was on the right track .

The small group descended down into the old mine until they reached the bottom of the mine they were met by a large cobra snake that came rushing towards them.

Palmer stood in its way and stopped the snake in its tracks by taking off the rope belt that he wore around his waist and making a lasso with his hand he threw it around the snakes head and with one short snap of his wrist he snapped and broke the snakes head . Then he held the lifeless cobra up in the air and spoke the words ,

that translated into English meant , “ Abandon hope all you snakes who enter here.”

Then he hung up the snake on one of the rafters in the mine .

That cobra had met its fate when it ran into Palmer .

The group continued along the tunnel until they came to a shaft of light that streamed down from above on the surface . Palmer had been this way before as he climbed the walls to the top and tossed down a rope ladde3r for them all to climb .

One by one they all made their way to the surface of the open mine. As soon as everyone stood there Palmer dragged back up the rope ladder again .

Palmer stood very still for a moment looking and listening . After a few moments he screamed out in a loud voice strange words that echoed in a distant silence .

One of the crew said ,

“He’s asking the ancient ones for protection on our journey’ “

“ Awesome .“ Hyman replied .

Palmer knew exactly which direction they had to go and without looking at the map

he led the way . They came to the elephants graveyard where Palmer made a sound like a trumpet among then bones that lay over the ground . There was a new body in almost perfect condition lying there as if it were asleep . Palmer whispered into its ear for a moment before moving on . One of the crew said ,

“He must have lost his way but he’s at peace now in his final resting place”

 

 

A soft breeze blew some dust from around the graveyard and suddenly Hyman saw something shinning under his feet. He brushed away some of the soil and then he saw it , a large diamond that was shallowly buried in the ground at his feet.

It was the first diamond Hyman had ever found and it was special to  him . He showed it to Palmer and they all agreed it belonged to him . He called it Hymans Diamond .

The day was coming to an end and it was decided to set up their camp for the night before the shadows of night fell around them . Palmer and some of the crew built four campfires and as Hyman as the others erected the tents before opening up the cans of baked beans and cutting up the loaves of bread into thick slices .

Palmer was very happy when he saw that and smiled .

They all toasted their bread over the flames of the campfire and scooped out some baked beans that were cooking in the pot and sat down to eat .

All through the night the crew took turns in looking out for any wild animals on the prowl . Before Hyman closed his eyes he looked at the diamond he had found .

He felt so grateful and at peace there under the stars with a dream in his keep stioll waiting to be found . That in itself was a rare treasure in life .

 

  End Of Chapter 7  

 

https://www.abctales.com/story/mcscraic/diaminds-underground-chapter-8

 

Link t Chapter 8

 

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