nt. Many claims were heaped up to such an extent that
further work, pending the getting rid of the rubbish, became
impossible. For those whose holdings lay close to the edge of the mine
the problem was simple enough; all they had to do was to keep one or
two natives, with barrows, removing the sand and gravel as soon as
these had been sifted and sorted. But for those such as ourselves,
whose claims lay more or less in the centre of the mine, the problem
was a very different one. It sounds hardly credible, but after
consultation we came to the conclusion that it would never pay to clear
the ground by removing the rubbish, so we solved the problem by filling
in the "paddock" we had sunk with the ground excavated therefrom, and
opening another alongside. We unanimously decided that the portion of
the claim we had sunk to a depth of about eleven feet was done with as
a paying proposition. However, it was not very long before we were
ridiculing our miscalculations in this respect.

According to the mining regulations, a portion of every claim had to be
left standing. These portions, respectively, lay to the right-hand side
of one claim and the left of another. Together they formed roadways
running right across the mine. There were, I think, fourteen such
roadways. They ran parallel with each other, and provided, for a time,
access to every claim from the edge of the mine.

There were so far no laws regulating the diamond trade, so a swarm of
itinerant diamond buyers were let loose on the community. Many of these
were young men, who were averse to manual labor, but whose business
instincts were acute. "Kopje Wallopers" was the generic term by which
such dealers were known. The equipment of a kopje walloper consisted of
a cheque-book, a wallet known as "a poverty bag," a set of scales, a
magnifying-glass, and a persuasive tongue. In the course of a morning
one's sorting-table might be visited by a dozen of them. Naturally
enough they tried to make the best bargain circumstances permitted, but
on the whole their dealings appeared to be fair enough.

During the summer months the vicinity was occasionally visited by
violent thunderstorms, with deluging rain. Such were always welcomed,
for they laid the almost intolerable dust. Considering the severity of
these storms there were but few accidents from lightning. However, I
recall one occasion when three fatalities resulted from three
successive flashes. One almost unbearably hot