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the blood of a he-goat. The blood, however, must be fresh and warm ; the stone, too, must be well steeped in it. ”
Ball (Tavernier, Travels, II, 460-1), quotes a story from Nicol Conti (15th century) about Indian diamonds obtainable only by fling- ing pieces of meat on the mountain,’ ’ where the diamonds could not be collected owing to the number of serpents. The pieces of meat with diamonds sticking to them were then carried to their nests by birds of prey, from whence they were recovered by diamond seekers.
. . . This myth is founded on the very common practice in India on the opening of a mine, to offer up cattle to propitiate the evil spirits who are supposed to guard treasures — these being represented by the myth. At such sacrifices birds of prey assemble to pick up what they can;’’ which is the foundation for the remainder of the story.
Here we have a striking similarity to the beliefs connected with the gathering of frankincense, as outlined under § 29, and pepper (§ 56).
The Thousand Nights and One Night gives substantially the same story (dxliv-v; Sinbad the Sailor, 2d voyage), while sufficiently iden- tifying the stone :
Walking along the valley I found that its soil was of diamond, the stone wherewith they pierce jewels and precious stones and por- celain and onyx, for that it is a hard dense stone, whereon neither iron nor steel hath effect, neither can we cut off aught therefrom nor break it, save by means of the leadstone.”
Marco Polo (III, xix) records more definitely this ancient belief :
Moreover in those mountains great serpents are rife to a mar- velous degree, besides other vermin, and this owing to the great heat. The serpents are also the most venomous in existence, insomuch that any one going to that region runs fearful peril; for many have been destroyed by these evil reptiles.
“Now among these mountains there are certain great and deep valleys, to the bottom of which there is no access. Wherefore the men who go in search of the diamonds take with them pieces of flesh, as lean as they can get, and these they cast into the bottom of a valley. Now there are numbers of white eagles that haunt those mountains and feed upon the serpents. When the eagles see the meat thrown down they pounce upon it and carry it up to some rocky hill-top where they begin to rend it. Bet there are men on the watch, and as soon as they see that the eagles have settled they raise a loud shout- ing to drive them away. And when the eagles are thus frightened away the men recover the pieces of meat, and find theiti full of dia- monds which have stuck to the meat down in the bottom. For the
