150 THE DIAMOND MINES OF SOUTH AFRICA
hopelessly
barren. Even in the best placers there were apparent freaks of deposit
that sorely puzzled the diggers, and almost provoked the belief in the
dropping of the gems by whimsical genii rather than by the play of
natural agencies. One man, working side by side with another for weeks
in adjoining claims, would not find one precious stone, while his
neighbor was adding daily to his little sparkling heap. Even when
claims were so split up that a digger could hardly turn about without
brushing against a comrade there was the like insolvable contrast of
gem-studded gravel and worthless pebbles. Often, too, when a claim had
been abandoned by an unlucky miner, the next man who jumped into the
deserted hole would unearth in a day a superb diamond, and, perhaps,
wash out in a week a score more of precious stones.1
The
miners were, as a body, so orderly, so tenacious of their own rights
under the established regulations, and so prudent in restricting the
possible extent of monopolized ground, that there was little "claim
jumping" or bitter wrangling. The provision against loafing or the
holding of unworked claims on speculation was sufficiently sharp. The
neglect to work a claim for three days consecutively forfeited the
holder's license, and the ground was then open for the issue of a new
certificate to the first claimant. For many months all unoccupied
ground in the Klip-drift camp was greedily pounced upon by newcomers to
the fields. So this part of the river basin was continuously covered
with a busy swarm of workers, digging, washing, sorting,
driving carts, and stirring in all the daily occupations of camp life.
Where one man lost heart and went off prospecting up or down the river,
or plodded wearily homewards, another was ready to take his place in a
moment and continue the unflagging round of work.
It
was soon perceived that such diamond placer digging was inevitably a
gambling speculation, and few complained loudly of their hard luck, or
bitterly grudged the success of their neighbors. When an unusually
large stone was found,
1 "Among the Diamonds," 1870-1871, John Noble.
