heres to it; a method which from the superior specific gravity of the gold drives the iron particles before it, and leaves the heavier metal behind just at the edge, where from the contrast with the dull color of the iron, the golden ore appears perfectly distinct, however small the quantity.

I also caused the women to take up some of the earth at the higher places, and having seen it washed as before, a nearly equal quantity of gold was obtained, which evidently shows that the ore is homogeneous to that soil, and not fortuitously driven into the rutts from any distant place by a casual fall of rain.

Soon after, I heard that considerable quantities of that metal were formerly extracted from mines near Marcupam (a village about three miles south of Wurigam): I accordingly moved on the same evening to that place.

On the next day (18th), having collected a sufficient number of the men* who gain their livelihood by this apparently unprofitable trade, I went to these mines, which lie about one mile west of Marcupam, in a thin jungle connected with that near Wurigam, and situated alike with respect to the range of small hills above described.

I descended into the first mine, which was shewn me, preceded by two of the miners with lighted lamps, by means of small holes made in the sides of it for that purpose. I shall not enter at this place into any circumstantial detail of it, having subsequently had an opportunity of examining these mines with more attention than I did at this period; and consequently shall refer the reader to the separate account given of them at the end of this paper; I remained long enough in the present one, to see some of the stones extracted, and passed from hand to hand in baskets by the miners who were stationed at different stages of the mine, for the purpose of conveying them above ground.

Having procured about four cooley load of stones, I removed to a second mine, which proved to be about ten feet deeper than the former, and having caused the people to extract a sufficient quantity of stones from the second pit, I then returned to Marcupam, in order to try the materials I had just collected.

Here the women resumed their part, and having taken charge of the stones, they took them to a large rock, where they pounded them into perfect dust, which being placed in the hollow board above mentioned,

* The extracting of the ore from the bowels of the earth being attended with considerable danger, owing to occasional falls of the earth, which they have neither the means or the skill to support, as is usual in mines; also the bodily strength which the breaking of the stones requires, makes it that men alone attend to this part of the business.

they took it to a well where the stony substance being washed off (as in the first case), a sediment likewise remained, which yielded an equal quantity of gold, as would have been extracted from an equal bulk of the earth near Wurigam. I then tried the earth at the surface at several places, and also that which was extracted along with the stones; the former yielded a small quantity of metal, the latter contained nothing but iron.

Having thus convinced myself that a considerable tract in those parts was impregnated with gold, as had been reported, I returned to Battamangalam on the 19th, where having been met by the Amildar, I inquired of him whether he had heard of those mines before. His answer was" that they had been known many years since, and that Tippú had formerly sent a Bramin (named Rája RAMCHANDER) to examine them; but as it was found after a trial of several weeks, that the produce just balanced the expence, and left no profit to the sircar, it was dropped as a bad concern.”

This account exactly corresponded with that given me by the rayats at Wurigam (near which place the Rája RAMCHANDER had carried on his investigation); having however inquired more particularly of them, how he had proceeded to business, it appeared that he never visited personally any part of the impregnated ground, and that he relied through the whole of his inquiry on the information given him by his servants. The rayats assured me that he never visited the mines at Marcupam.

Having traced this golden ore (however thinly spread) through an extent of about 10 square miles, I thought it probable that more of it might still be discovered at a greater distance. I accordingly continued my inquiries, when an old woman inhabiting a village called Buksagar* gave an account that gold was occasionally found on the banks of the Pal-aur river, near that village, and that she had frequently attended to the extracting of it.

My public calls requiring that I should at some period or other visit that part of the parganah of Colar, I resolved on moving immediately to it, for the purpose of verifying this new intimation.

I arrived at Buksagar on the 22nd of February, and soon collected a sufficient number of persons to carry on the inquiry. They took me to the southern bank of the river, and I saw them gathering the earth at the surface to about the depth of three inches, which yielded a product fuller than that collected near Wurigam. I observed more

* A village on the north bank of the Pal-aur river, five miles east from Battamangalum, eight miles from Wuriam, and under the same parallel of latitude with the latter.

over that the earth being washed off, there appeared hardly any iron mixed with what remained, and I frequently perceived the golden ore (though in very small quantity) adhering by itself to the board into which it had been collected.

Any metal found in dust on the banks of a river may fairly be supposed to have been driven and deposited there by the stream. I was accordingly induced to suppose that this ore was not homogeneous to the soil where it was found, and in order to convince myself of it, I examined the stratum on the course of the river, about one mile higher up towards its source, and found it equally impregnated with the ore. I then returned to the spot where it was found in greatest abundance, and having extracted earth from a hole about two feet deep, the same being tried yielded nothing but iron. Though this experiment was favourable to my opinion, I had cause afterwards to regret not having examined the stratum at this part of the river in a more extensive

manner.

A variety of circumstances compelled me at this time to extend my observations no further; and my want of professional knowledge would have induced me to give up the pursuit, had not it been for the following circumstances :

My preceding observations on this subject having been communicated to several persons high in rank under the Madras Presidency, and the report having gone abroad that gold mines had been discovered in Mysore, it excited the curiosity of some friends, who recommended that I should revisit the impregnated tract and extend my inquiries as far as I was able.

From a consciousness of my inability, I confess that I did not undertake the task without some hesitation. Having however had an opportunity of meeting the Dewan of the Rája of Mysore at Bangalore, in April, and having found him disposed to assist my exertions as much as lay in his power, I resolved on revisiting the mines at Marcupam, and leaving Bangalore on the 19th of April, I arrived at Cargury on the same day*.

When once a subject has been started, the mind easily follows it up, and a variety of circumstances, originally slightly considered, recur naturally to our recollection, as they tend to support a favourite opinion, and to forward the object of our pursuits.

As I surveyed the pergunnah of Uscotta, in the year 1800, I heard a story told by the Bramins, the purport of which was, that "in pros

* A small village on the west bank of the Poni-aur river, in the province of Uscotta, fifteen miles distant from Bangalore.

perous years, when the gods favoured the zillah of Cargúry with an ample harvest, now and then grains of gold were found in the ears of the paddy which grows under the tank laying close north of that village."

I treated this at the time as a fabrication, and took no farther notice of it. But now that my mind was taken up with inquiries of that nature, on my return to Cargúry, I began to conceive that there might be more truth in the story than I at first had imagined; as it was by no means impossible that the banks of the Poni-aur might be equally impregnated with golden ore as those of the Pal-aur, its sister river, and that the plant cultivated in its vicinity might very well in that case carry up now and then a grain of gold in its growth. I accordingly resolved on trying the stratum on the banks of the Poni-aur near Cargúry; but the natives at that place being totally ignorant of the method of washing the earth, and having no utensils with me for that purpose, I was reduced to collect a certain number of loads from various places at random, and to take them along with me until I could procure gold searchers to examine their contents.

On my arrival at Daseracottapilly*, (22nd,) I soon procured people from Wurigam to attend me, and by my experiments obtained three sparkles of gold from a load collected on the banks of an anicut or dam, which crosses the Poni-aur opposite to Cargúry: so that although the other specimen yielded nothing but iron, this instance alone was sufficient to establish that the Poni-aur, as well as the Pal-aur, rolled gold dust in its stream.

The next object for consideration was, at which place these two rivers so near to their source could have collected this ore : this I thought was a question which came home to myself, as having surveyed them to a considerable distance towards the hills from which they flow, I ought to know best the different tracts over which they went. It then occurred to me that the gold which I had formerly collected near Wúrigam and Marcúpam was generally found near certain small hills, consisting of deep red clay, mostly flat at the top, and covered with that sort of hard metallic stone which in Bengal is called kankar, forming a hard crust, appearing as it were a cover to the hill.

Now, with regard to the Poni-aur, I recollected that there were three small hills of this description about half a mile S. W. of Cargúry, which in the rainy season supply water to the tank which lays north of it, and that this river passed pretty near a long range of this kind

* This village is on the road from Bangalore to the Carnatic by Malure, distant forty-nine miles east of Bangalore, and ten miles west of Battamangalam. + Pattendore Hills.

near Uscotta, Sattiar, Suluvehelly, and Jangamcotta, an extent of nearly twenty miles. Again, with respect to the Pal-aur, I noticed that I had lately traced it through similar hills towards the centre of the province of Colar. From this I concluded that all such hills in this neighbourhood might be alike impregnated with the golden ore, and be the original mines where it was created. I accordingly determined

on following up the tract in which they lay, and examining the stratum near every one of them up to certain high grounds near Rondúr Papanhelly, where they seem to terminate.

The small hill north of Daseracottapilly* being of this description, it naturally became the first subject of investigation. Having now collected a regular working party, consisting of a Duffadar, or overseer, and thirty Dheru women, I began to search the adjacent ground, and the first place which I examined on the N. E. side of the hill, yielded an ample produce of very fine gold dust. I was equally successful when I examined the other sides, and particularly noticed that a sort of red earth generally two feet deep, and succeeded by a white calcareous earth of equal depth, the under-stratum of which is composed of large white decayed stones, seldom failed to contain an ample proportion of metal, —a circumstance which induced me to think that the same sort of earth, though remote from the hills, might be likewise impregnated with ore; and in order to satisfy myself of it, I removed to a rutt, distant about one and half mile from Baterine Hill, and totally unconnected with it, where having collected a few loads of red earth, and washed it, the first load which was examined yielded (a circumstance wholly to be ascribed to chance) as much as twenty from any other impregnated place. This agreeable surprize, however, did not last longer than the time of trying the remaining loads, which yielded exactly the same proportion as the earth near the hill had done.

Having thus satisfied myself of the merits of this red clay, I directed the gold searchers to spread in various directions at a distance from the hills, and to gather in preference wherever they found it. I had the satisfaction to find my conjectures proved invariably well founded, having tried on that day the tract near Daseracottapilly at more than twelve different places, every one of which yielded a satisfactory product.

It will surprise persons unacquainted with the character of Indians to hear, as I inquired of the inhabitants of the village close to which I had discovered gold dust, whether they ever had noticed particles of it on their ground (some of which are actually large enough to be dis

*Baterine Hill.