146 THE DIAMOND MINES OF SOUTH AFRICA
so
weak in numbers that they had some fear of possible attack from the
neighboring Koranas and Griquas, or other natives who might covet their
oxen and arms and supplies, as well as their hard-won gems.1
In view of the abject state of the few surviving Hottentots on the
Vaal, any dread of their hostility seemed absurd, but the miners did
not know how weak the natives were, and their new-found treasure
unsteadied their nerves. So thev were glad to see a rally of
prospectors on the fields large enough to scare off any menacing
natives.
The
early comers picked out irregular patches of ground here and there, to
suit their fancy, and dug and strayed along the river banks as they
pleased, prospecting on any unoccupied spot. There was no precise limit
to the size of any claim. One party would pounce on a whole hillock,
like the prolific " Natal kopje," and another would occupy a hundred
feet or more of shore line. There was no apparent need of jostling one
another, when any square rod for miles along a river bank was as
thickly sprinkled with diamonds as another, so far as any of the
prospectors could judge. Still, the known yield of the Natal kopje
drew preference to locations around it, and the product of other
neighboring placers was so enticing that the mass of diggers
concentrated at Klip-drift.
This
massing made it necessary to agree on some denned limits of ground
which a man could reserve for his own working, or combine with the
sections assigned to companions. To fix and make this assignment a
"Diggers' Committee" was chosen by an informal mass meeting of the
prospectors, which made simple regulations controlling the working of
the river diggings. It was agreed that the size of a location should be
thirty feet square, and that title should be conveyed by a certificate
from the supervising committee. The water's edge along the river was
open to anybody wherever it was possible to set a trough or a miner's
cradle without interfering with other ground-washing fixtures already
in place, but locations might begin a few yards from the river.2 So there was soon a close-set fringe of
1 "Among the Diamonds," 1870-1871, John Noble. 2 Ibid.
