DIAMOND MIXES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 69
flag
was hoisted on the diamond-fields, Nov. 1871; and the district south
and west of the Vaal, known as West Griqualand, was proclaimed under
the protection of the crown.
The
South African diamonds are found over many hundred square miles of
territory. The principal diggings are situated in the extensive valley
of the Vaal river, to the north-east of the Orange River Free State,
and within the boundary of the Cape Colony as now defined. The country
here rises into long stony ridges, called kopjes, consisting of irregular fragments of hard
rock imbedded in ferruginous gravel, which varies in character and
compactness, being sometimes quite loose and sometimes forming a
compact lime-cemented mass. It is in this gravel that the diamonds are
found. They occur at various depths down to twenty feet or more, but
the usual depth is from two to six feet below the surface. " The manner
of working is simple enough. A claim, or piece of ground thirty feet
square, is occupied by two diggers in partnership, assisted by their
black servants. They remove the loose blocks of stone, which are cast
aside; they take up the gravel, and sift it thoroughly, either in a dry
state, or with abundance of water in a sieve rocked by a cradle. When
the pebbles have been thus separated from the sand, they are cleansed,
and placed upon the sorting-table to be
