The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-08-05
DIAMOND DIGGERS OF THE TRANSVAAL Where Men With Small Capital
 Hunt for Gems THE WORK IS VERY HARD Pits Dug in the River When Water Is Low-Some of the Largest
 Stones That Have Been
 Found.
From the Pail Mall Gazette.


 Away down in the extreme southwest corner of the Transvaal, in a district which until the opening of the Klerlzs- dorp Fourteen Streams railway lay far out of the track of the ordinary traveller, there exists a curious little industry The diamond diggers of the Vaal are found in a backwater of South African life At long intervals the outer world hears of some exceptional success, but it knows nothing of the failures. The great finan- cial schemers have no time for the men who poke about in the bed of a river to find a few stones.
 The camp of the diggers makes a pie turesque scene in the early morning. In the marvelously clear air and glorious sunshine of the beginnings of a South Af- rican day there is a certain promise of romance; tinge of adventure brightens the most prosaic journey. The breadth of the Vaal between Christana on the Transvaal bank, and Zoutpan,s Drift, on the Orange river shore, is always beau tiful, but in the clear cut brilliance of early morning. as in the softer glow of the setting sun, there is an added attrac- tion.
 The waters though daily growing low CT, so that the white post which marks the height of the flood time now stands three or four feet above the level of the stream. sparkle in the sunshine; few houses nestle among the trees, and away as far as the eye can see stretches the great plain. sun yellowed and almost treeless. part of the expanse of appar- entity wasted land through which the Diamond Express now rushes for hour after hour. A silent. lonely land, strk- ing on account of it's immensity
 Here on the Vaal at o'clock in the morning all is activity The bronzed taciturn ferryman laboriously rows over the heaviest loads of the day, his rough plank craft deep In the water. The river diggers who live In Christiana are cross ing to the Orangia bank those who dwell close to their work in the tented camp, which extends up stream for half a mile from the Drift. are taking a nasty breakfast before commencing on another days gamble, which may leave them with a full purse or only an increased load of anxiety For. after all the dia- mond digger of the Vaal is a gambler. and no gambler ever worked harder for his gains.
 Many Men Digging.
 Cross the placid water by the weir and inspect the little groups now starting work almost in the bed of the river There are probably three or four hun dred men digging in the mud and stones which lie beneath the reeds, A large pro- portion are white men, clad in mud-spat- tered clothes, with Drowned faces and arms They have excavated huge pits in the low ground left dry by the falling river; some are so close to the water that they have had to erect seml-circular dams to keep the stream from flooding the work During the night two or three feet of water has risen in the diggings, and the first task is to bale out the pits. The more enterprising-or, rather, those with capital-have purchased California pumps an innovation introduced by MT. Hamilton. the biggest digger on the field. some months ago
 At first failure was predicted for the somewhat fiimsy looking arrangements of wood and canvas and a throng of men came out to see their predictions veri- fled: but 1t was a victory for science. The new fangled idea caught on, and half dozen are in use today. for they empty a pit in an eighth of the time it would take a bench of boys with buckets. Many of the diggers however. could not afford the outlay. and today you see the white man--Who IS supposed not 10 WOrk in this happy Understanding knee deep in water and mud doing triggers work
 After the pits have been got fairly dry the mud and gravel are dug up and handed in buckets to the baby" From this swinging sieve the finer gravel emerges and this is again carefully washed then comes the sorting. when the keen eye of the digger soon picks out any diamonds which have been brought up But the stones painfully looked for are few and far between. and often the men will plod on for days and even weeks without the slightest reward.
 It is hard work as the sun grows hot ter. and after a run of bad luck even the natural optimism of the river digger fades and he thinks of throwing up his task; but luck has a strange way of coming at the last moment. That mid dle aged digger over there-a man who employees a respectable size gang of bays was only recently on the verge of giv- ing in. run of blank weeks had eaten away his capital. His boys were un- paid He could hardly force himself to- remain on the bank and go through the endless washing, always finding noth- ing. At last he decided to .'chuck it." Some of his gear was actually removed, when suddenly he found a stone which he sold for e120 The gear was put back and the digger Is stll tempting fortune on the banks of the Vaal.
 Some Curious Types. Over there is d Manchester man with his chum. The former is an educated