river diggern.

1806 Times 11 Sept. 3/3 The river-diggers, employed in this neighbourhood, have humanely opened a subscription for his relief.

1878 A. Trollope S. Afr. viii. 154 These ‘river’ diggers have this in their favour,—that the stones found near the river are more likely to be white and pure than those which are extracted from the mines.

1892 Science 5 Feb. 75/2 A magnificent diamond, a perfect octohedron, weighing 205 karats, has been purchased from a river digger.

1904 L. J. Spencer tr. M. Bauer Precious Stones I. ii. 185 The amalgamation of the ‘dry diggings’ to form the De Beers Consolidated Mines, has had the effect of increasing the number of river diggers.

1920 F. C. Cornell Glamour of Prospecting i. 10 A modicum of genuine men of past experience—principally ex-‘river-diggers’—men whose small capital was running away like water..in this miserable dust-hole of creation.

1940 J. W. Hershey Bk. of Diamonds i. 8 For years there has been a feeling among river diggers..that there is a difference between diamonds produced from mines and diamonds recovered from the alluvial diggers.

1983 E. Van Heyningen in L. Bean & E. Van Heyningen Lett. Jane Eliz. Waterston viii. 244 A number of river diggers had been driven from Barkly West when the local Boers rose in support of their republican compatriots.