The deepest and most regularly worked was the Kimberley mine. The next deepest was De Beer's, which, however, was very unevenly worked. Then followed Du Toit's Pan and Bultfontein. The Du Toit's Pan mine ranked next in importance to Kimberley mine. Diamonds were first discovered in 1867 by Mr. O'Reilley, a trader and hunter, who visited a colonist named van Niekirk, residing in Griqua. The first diamond, on being sent to the authorities, was valued at 500_l_. Considerable excitement was caused throughout the colony, and the natives commenced to look for diamonds, and many were found, among which was one of eighty-three and a half carats, valued at 15,000_l_. In 1868 many enterprising colonists made their way up the Vaal River, and were successful in finding a good number of diamonds. The center of the river diggings on the Transvaal side was Klipdrift, and on the opposite side Pniel. In all there were fourteen river diggings. Du Toit's Pan and Bultfontein mines were discovered in 1870 at a distance of twenty-four miles from the river diggings. The diggers took possession of these places. Licenses were granted giving the first diggers a right to work. In 1871 De Beer's and Kimberley mines were discovered, and in 1872, Mr. Spalding's great diamond of 282½ carats was found at the river diggings. The mines were of irregular shape, and were surrounded by reef. The top reef was a loose shale, and had given great trouble from the frequent slips. Below this were strata of trachitic breccia and augite; the formation was then seamy to an unknown depth. Within the reef, the surface soil was red, and of a sandy nature. The next stratum was of a loose, yellow, gravelly lime, and the third blue, of a hard, slaty nature. This last was the real diamantiferous soil. Large stones had been found in the "yellow," but the working of this generally did not pay. Kimberley mine, however, had paid very well all through. The method of working in deep ground was determined by roadways running north and south. The soil was hauled up to these roadways, and taken to the sorting tables. The roadways decaying shortly after exposure to the atmosphere, a system of hand windlass was adopted, which worked very well for a time until horsewhims were adopted in 1873. The depths of the mines increasing, horsewhims had to give way to steam-engines in 1876. The first diggers treated on an average ten loads per day each party. At the present time the least taken out by any engine, when fully employed, was 250 loads per day. The cost of working, with present appliances, the first one hundred feet in depth, was 3s. 6d. per load; the second one hundred feet (mostly blue) 5s.; the third one hundred feet 8s.; and the fourth one hundred feet 11s. Through scarcity of water a system of dry-sorting had to be resorted to for several years; but it was superseded by the introduction of washing machinery, which was now generally employed.