18 
Vaal, but the finding places are not confined to the Orange 
River and its great branch. The vallej-s of at least two of its 
tributaries have yielded specimens 80 miles south of Pniel, and 
70 miles from the Vaal. But none are so rich as the Pniel 
district—Hebron, an old mission station^ 10 miles up the river 
on its N. bank, has been productive digging ground. The 
Klip Drift, or ford by which the w^aggon track from the S. 
crosses the Bechuana land, gives its name to the rich diggings 
five miles lower down the river than Pniel. Four or five miles 
further down are the Gong-gong diggings on the left bank, and 
new diggings, called Cawood’s Hope, are just opposite. 
This rich district traversed by the Vaal, and now occupied by 
an energetic digging and trading community composed of all 
nations of the world, belongs partly to the Pniel Mission Estab¬ 
lishment, in the limits of the Orange River Free States, but 
the N. side of the valley is claimed both by the chiefs of the 
Korunna tribes, by the Orange Free States, and even by the 
Transvaal Republic, whose main territory is higher up to the 
E. on the N. side of tlie Vaal. In September, 1870, the 
number of British subjects was estimated at not more than 
5,000 persons. In the early part of this year it had increased 
threefold, and advices from the Cape, dated 20th July, 1871, 
report that the population now at the Diamond fields are 
3-1,000 persons, of wdiom 30,000 are Europeans. Newspapers 
are published, and in them appear accounts of the building of 
churches, market-places, theatres, villas, public offices, &c., 
with due attention to sanitary matters, and other evidence of a 
thriving, settled and civilized community. 
Of the Klip Drift Diamond Field our knowledge is the most 
accurate. A plan of this field, by Mr. Cooper, a Government 
Surveyor, appeared in the Mining Journal, (4th March, 1871), 
and gives a good notion of the topography. Froih the same 
authority it is learnt that up to October, 1870, the value of 
diamonds found in only some part of this district was £215,000. 
At or near Klip Drift, the river has an extremely winding 
course, among somewhat flat-topped hills, a mile or so in their 
greater diameter, and varying from 300 to 480 ft. in height, 
wuth gullies or creeks running down between them to the river. 
