3-043-741 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Klipdrift, at the Diamond Diggings, South Africa, 1872. 'The South-African Diamond-fields, of which the settlement at Klipdrift may be taken as an example, situated on the banks of the Vaal River, lie to the north-east of the Orange Free State Republic, some eighty miles north of the Cape Colonial boundary. Diamonds are found above and below this station, and numerous diggings are worked along the banks of the river and its tributary streams. At present the number of diggings is fairly estimated at 15,000; but this number is rapidly increasing. The diamond is scattered over a very large extent of the country. Many hundreds of square miles are already known to be diamondiferous, and every week opens up some new spot for diggers...The camps are very orderly, and there is nothing to fear from natives or nature. The climate is healthy, hot and dry as a rule, subject to great changes of temperature from day to night, as in South Africa generally; but it is not injurious, and one is soon accustomed to it...Wild animals are unknown anywhere near; but large game is to be found for the sportsman within a day or two's journey. After all, many of the diggers are unable to find enough to pay for their daily food'. From "Illustrated London News", 1872.