of
the stream by means of a dam, or by cutting a flume, the bed of the
river so exposed being then cleared of all its gravel, which is
carefully saved. The stream is diverted when the water is as low as
possible, and the gravel put aside till the rainy weather when work in
the river is no longer feasible; then the gravel is placed on a sloping
table some 5 feet by 2 feet, with a pit at the lower end, in which the
workers stand. About a barrowful of material is treated at a time; the
gravel is placed at the upper end of the table and water thrown over it
to wash away the lighter minerals ; the residue is hand-washed in bowls
in much the same way as in " panning" for gold, and the Diamonds picked
out by hand. In searching the river bed particular attention is paid to
the pot holes, as they often give a rich yield. Thus Dr. Cliffe records
that one such hole in Brazil yielded 10 lbs. of Diamonds and 28 lbs. of
Gold when discovered in 1847.
In
the Kimberley deposits the original method of working was somewhat
similar, but gradually as the claims were worked further and it was
found that the deposit extended to greater depths, other methods had
perforce to be adopted. Different claims were worked with varying
degrees of enthusiasm, and soon the workings presented a wonderful
assortment of rectangular pillars, with corresponding depressions here
and there where some miners had pushed on the work at a greater rate.
The material was hauled up on wire ropes, one for each claim, and the
maze of wires added to the extraordinary appearance. Tracks left
between groups of claims to act as roads began to give way and several
large slips occurred. Soon one gigantic pit resulted, and to add to the
difficulties of the miners still more, water
P.S.
K
