pi* REESE LIBRARY "I THK UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, \ y\ -. \ - GOLD: ITS OCCURRENCE AND EXTRACTION. GOLD: ITS OCCURRENCE AND EXTRACTION. EMBRACING THE GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION AND THE MINERALOGICAL CHARACTERS OF GOLD-BEARING ROCKS ; THE PECULIAR FEATURES AND MODES OF WORKING SHALLOW PLACERS, RIVERS, AND DEEP LEADS ; HYDRAULICING ; THE REDUCTION AND SEPARATION OF AURIFEROUS QUARTZ; THE TREATMENT OF COMPLEX AURIFEROUS ORES CONTAINING OTHER METALS; A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE SUBJECT ; AND A GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH AND FOREIGN TECHNICAL TERMS. BY ALFRED G. LOCK, F.R.G.S. I 4 WITH SIX DOUBLE-PAGE MAPS, AND 185 ENGRAVINGS IN THE TEXT. NIVERSITY LONDON : K. & F. N. SPON, 1 6, CHARING CROSS. NEW YORK: 44, MURRAY STREET. 1882. INTRODUCTION. THE possession of gold has been the aim of all races, in all ages, and of all classes of society. The quest of gold has led men to the ends of the earth, and has been the primary inducement in colonizing hitherto unknown districts. Without the great gold discoveries of the last 30 years, our commerce could not have attained its present vast proportions. The importance of the metal especially to all English-speaking peoples cannot be exaggerated, and every year adds to this importance. On the other hand, the supply shows a waning tendency. The enormous, easily- worked, alluvial deposits of Australia, California, and Siberia, have been exhausted over large areas, though many similar deposits must yet remain undiscovered. In the more difficult operations of extracting gold from mineral veins and complex ores, reliable evidence from all parts of the world shows that most of the processes at present in use, or the methods of carrying them out, are far from satisfactory, as they entail the loss, on the average, of one-quarter to one-third of the gold present in the material operated upon. ' * These facts point unmistakably to the necessity for studying the conditions under which gold occurs, so that new fields may be opened up to supply the places of those which have been worked out ; and they make it the duty of every intelligent miner to avail himself of the experience of others, in endeavouring to reduce the cost of extracting the gold, and especially the loss of metal in conducting his operations, to the lowest possible figures. Recent geological explorations have shown that gold is abundantly present in formations which it was authoritatively stated could never prove to be auriferous, and in the light of our present knowledge it would not be safe to exclude any geological series from the possibility of being gold-bearing. Gold reveals its presence in the earth's crust far less readily than other useful minerals, and many a gold-field has been passed over by generations of men before its riches were dis- covered. Hence the necessity for intelligent search. It seemed to the author of this volume that a great step towards aiding the advance of the gold industry would be to bring together in a concentrated form all available existing information on the subject. The b 2 VI INTRODUCTION. handsome work written some years ago by John Arthur Phillips, F.R.S., the well-known metallurgist, has long been out of print and very scarce, and many new discoveries and inventions have since been made. Gold- mining too has taken a great start of late, many millions of fresh capital having found employment in this sphere. Hence there would appear to be ample room for an exhaustive book on the subject. How far the present work may fulfil the required conditions must be left to the reader's judg- ment. The cordial assistance received by the author from all who had knowledge to impart will be evident from a perusal of the following pages. It remains to pay a tribute of hearty thanks to the many kind con- tributors mentioned in the following list, from whose labours the book derives whatever value it may have. A. B. Ainsworth, C.E., Alexandra, Victoria, for geological and other information relating to his district. J. Allen, Warden in Marlborough district, New Zealand, for numerous photographs illustrating the operations adopted in his district (Fig. 46 and Frontispiece, pp. 884-7), and f r much detailed informa- tion. Appleby Brothers, Engineers, London, for drawings of machinery. George Ashcroft, Railway Manager, Wellington, New Zealand, for account of his patent gold-saving machine. Melville Atwood, M.E., F.G.S., San Francisco, California, for various papers by him. Bailey, Wilson, & Co., London, for information about certain American appliances for gold. H. H. Barton, Mabel Pyrites Works, Ravenswood, for details of his process, and general information and drawings. Rivett Henry Bland, F.G.S., Manager of the Port Phillip and Colonial G. M. Co.'s works at Clunes, for most diffuse information concerning the methods adopted under his management, the success of which places his works second to none in the world. S. A. Brunning, Agent-General's Department for Victoria, London, for loan of various books, papers, and reports relative to that colony. Thomas Buckland, Charters Towers, Queensland, for information con- cerning his district, and for drawings forwarded by the Langlands Foundry Co., Melbourne. The Hon. Horatio C. Burchard, Director-General of the United States Mint, Washington, for the annual Reports of his Bureau. E. H. Carew, Warden in the Otago district, New Zealand, for account of machinery used in his district. INTRODUCTION. Vll C. W. Chapman, United Pyrites Co., Sandhurst, Victoria, for an account with drawings of their method of working Plattner's chlorination process, and other information. John Coles, F.R.A.S., F.R.G.S., Map Curator Royal Geographical Society, without whose cheerfully rendered assistance in all matters of exact geography it would have been impossible to compile the maps illustrating this volume. The Directors of Columbia College, New York, for the ' School of Mines Quarterly.' > Thomas Couchman, Secretary for Mines and Water Supply, Melbourne Victoria, for official map of Victoria, Reports of Progress, and numerous valuable Reports. W. G. Dallas, F.L.S., Assistant-Secretary of the Geological Society, for the kind and hearty assistance he always so willingly rendered. Chevalier Dalla Vedova, Secretary-General ' Societa Geografica Italiana,' Rome, Italy, for information regarding, and map of, the gold-mines of that country. Phillip Davies, 135, Pitt St., Sydney, N.S.W., for description of curious quartz veins, and sketches by De Lacy Richards, R.N. (Fig. 99, P- 945). G. F. Deetken, Auburn, Placer Co., California, for references to works. Charles S. Dicken, Secretary Queensland Government Office, London, formerly Gold-Fields Warden and P. M. at Ravenswood, &c., for loan of papers, and introductions to several persons in the colony. F. Elwyn, Deputy Provincial Secretary of British Columbia, Victoria B.C., for map of that colony showing gold-fields, and reports on them. Martin Ferreiro, General Secretary ' Sociedad Geografica,' Madrid, Spain, for very valuable books on, and map showing, the gold deposits of that country. Edwin Field, Manager Costerfield Gold Mining Co., Victoria, for answers to circular questions and for sketch of special apparatus. George J. Firmin, The Wildernesse, Norristown, Pennsylvania, for information relating to the United States. Montague J. M. Flint, F.R.G.S., Gunnersbury, for map showing gold deposits of Dutch Guiana. Joseph Flude, Superintendent of Laboratories, School of Mines, Ballarat, Victoria, for account of pyrites-furnace (p. 1113). Dr. Clement Le Neve Foster, B.A., F.G.S., H.M. Inspector of Mines in N. Wales, for cordial assistance and advice, most materially con- tributing to the value of the work. The Hon. Malcolm Eraser, Surveyor-General Western Australia, for map of that colony, and account of the gold discovered. Vlll INTRODUCTION. Thomas Gibb, F.C.S., A.R.S.M., of the Grange Metal Extracting Works, Jarrow-on Tyne, for information relating to separating methods used on the Tyne. Edwin Gilpin, Jun., A.M., F.G.S., Inspector of Mines, Halifax, Nova Scotia, for important information respecting the geology, and re- duction processes, of his State, and for drawing of contorted vein (Fig. 119, p. 997). Golden State and Miners' Iron Works, 237 to 25 1, First St., San Francisco, for a sheet of drawings of machinery. Francisco Vidal y Gormaz, State Hydrographer, Santiago, Chili, for the trouble taken by him in procuring official maps and information respecting Chili. Grafton & Avigdor, Great George St., for papers relative to gold-mines in Canada. Frank Guinness, Warden and P. M., Collingwood gold-fields, Nelson, N.Z., for geological and other information relating to his district. J. D. Hague, of the United States Geological Survey, for information respecting the gold industry of the U. S. E. Hahn, Hamburg, Germany, for the loan of papers relative to the El Callao mine (p. 267). Prof. Henry G. Hanks, F.R.M.S., State Mineralogist, San Francisco, California, for papers on occurrence of gold in California. Edward Harrison, Warden of Grant district, Victoria, for information about his district. Dr. F. V. Hayden, Hon. Cor. F.R.G.S., United States Geological Survey, Washington. Dr. James Hector, C.M.G. F.R.S., Director of the Geological Survey, Wellington, New Zealand, for his liberal and valuable present of books and reports which were otherwise unprocurable. Henry F. Holt, Secretary Royal Asiatic Society, for article about gold in China. Major Jed. Hotchkiss, Staunton, Virginia, U. S. America, for information regarding his State. A. W. Howitt, F.G.S., Warden and P. M. Sale gold-field, Gippsland, Victoria, for reports and papers respecting his district. James Irvine, F.R.G.S., Liverpool, for information on the West Coast of Africa. Robert L. Jack, F.R.G.S., F.G.S., Director of the Geological Survey, Brisbane, Queensland, for map of the colony showing the gold-fields, and for various reports concerning its geology, &c. James Jackson, F.R.G.S., Archiviste-Bibliothecaire de la Societe de Geographic, Paris, for French literature on the subject of gold in France. INTRODUCTION. IX J. Jewell, M.E., M.M.S., Manager of the Aruba Island gold-mines, for descriptions of long-torn and torpedo used in Dutch Guiana. W. Rupert Jones, Librarian Geological Society, for assistance when referring to books in his library. Prof. Judd, F.R.S., F.G.S., School of Mines, for his pamphlet on the Schemnitz district. The Kapanga (New Zealand) Gold Mining Company, Limited, for answers to circular of questions. Walter Kennaway, Secretary to Agent-General's Department for New Zealand, for loan of various reports and papers on that colony. Knight & Co., Sutter Creek, for drawings of machinery. New Koh-i-Noor Quartz Mining Company,Ballarat, Victoria, for descrip- tion and drawings of their reduction works, in answer to circular of questions. H. Thomas Lock, Photographer, New Zealand, for some very fine photo- graphs of gold mining, and gold-saving appliances used in that colony. John Lynch, Mining Surveyor, Smythesdale, Victoria, for information respecting his district. Malter, Lind, & Co., 189, Broadway, New York, and 419, California St., San Francisco, for descriptions and illustrations of gold-milling appliances. William Martineau, M.I.C.E., for drawing of stamp suited to mule power. Clements R. Markham, C.B., F.R.S., Secretary R. Geogr. Soc.,for informa- tion about gold in Peru. Farnham Maxwell-Lyte, F.C.S., F.I.C., for his pamphlet on metallurgical processes. C. W. Minchin, for information respecting Bolivia, and for map showing its gold deposits. Morey and Sperry, 145, Broadway, New York, for descriptions, drawings, and electrotypes of machinery. Alexander Murray, Survey or- General of Newfoundland, for his paper on that colony. Reginald A. F. Murray, F.G.S., Geological Survey, Melbourne, Victoria, for information regarding the geology of that colony. Thomas W. Newton, F. R. Hist. Soc., Librarian School of Mines, for assistance when referring to books at his library. E. O'Malley, Clarence Cottage, Grey Street East, Melbourne, Victoria, for details concerning his process. Sir Archibald Michie, late Agent-General for Victoria, for information regarding gold in that colony. X INTRODUCTION. John Patterson, 9, Inverness Terrace, Kensington Gardens, for information concerning his pneumatic stamps (p. 1023), and many other useful statements. Mariano Felipe Paz Soldan, Hon. Cor. F.R.G.S., Lima, Peru, for exhaustive information respecting that country. John R. Peny, M. A., Exeter College, Oxford, for drawing of his hydraulic gravel-elevator (p. 990). Captain Bedford C. T. Pirn, R.N., F.R.G.S., for information respecting Central America. The Chairman, Secretary and Manager of the Placerville Gold Quartz Co., for drawings of their apparatus, and replies to questions. E. H. Plant, Charters Towers, Queensland, for full information regarding the geology of, and the appliances in use in, his district. Pleasant Creek Cross Reef Quartz Mining Company (Stawell, Victoria), for answers to circular of questions. Dr. Thomas Pollard, State Commissioner of Agriculture, Richmond, Virginia, U. S. America, for information regarding that State. W. Delisle Powles^ , - , r , , . _, I Old Broad St., City, for loan of valuable reports and r* r\ $ ' ( papers respecting gold in the U. S. of Colombia. Ed. Probert, Director in Nevada of the Richmond Mining Company, for information respecting the process adopted by that Company. Queen's Birthday Company, Dunolly, Victoria, for answers to circular of questions. Henry H. E. Ralfe, Receiver of Gold Revenue, New Zealand, for descrip- tion and sketch of sluicing box used in sea-beach claims (p. 893). William Rasche, 55, Elizabeth St., Melbourne, for details of his direct- acting battery. Prof. Rossiter W. Raymond, United States Commissioner of Mining Statistics, for replies to numerous questions relating to the American gold-industry. W. H. Revell, Warden in Marlborough district, New Zealand, for drawings and description of method of working sea-beach "claims in New Zealand, and of the gold-saving tables in creeks (p. 904). H. W. Robinson, Warden in Otago district, New Zealand, for drawings and description of covered tail-races (p. 879). Henry Resales, F.G.S., long Manager of the late Walhalla G. M. Co., Victoria, for an account of his process for pyrites (pp. 1119-25), and for many suggestions and facts. George Rouch, M.E., for translations of Spanish documents, and notes on Spanish gold weights. INTRODUCTION. xi F. W. Rudler, F.G.S., M.A.I., School of Mines, for his readiness to give information and assistance whenever applied to. Edward Caldwell Rye, F.Z.S., M.E.S., Hon. F. Neth. Geog. Soc., Librarian Royal Geographical Society, whose extensive knowledge of books of travel was at all times placed at the author's service, and conspicuously aided him in dealing with the geographical distribution of gold. Howard Saunders, F.R.G.S., for information about gold in Peru. Adolph Schmitt-Manderbach, Biebrich-am-Rhein, for particulars of his spiral sieve. The Hon. the Chief Secretary of South Australia, Adelaide, for map showing gold-fields in that colony and reports respecting them. The Hon. the Chief Secretary, Sydney, New South Wales, for map of that colony showing the gold. Alfred R. C. Selwyn, F.G.S., Director-General Geological Survey of Canada, Montreal, for numerous reports and pamphlets concerning that colony. F. A. A. Simons, for information about Africa. William Skey, Analyst to the Geological Survey of New Zealand, for copies of his very valuable papers read before scientific Societies in New Zealand, and his remarks on them. Walter A. Skidmore, U. S. Deputy Mineral Surveyor and Assayer, San Francisco, California, for information regarding certain processes in the United States. W. H. J. Slee, Inspector of Mines, New South Wales, for names of books and papers to consult relative to that colony. Joseph V. Smedley, M.A., F.R.G.S., Chairman of the Aruba Gold Mining Co., for information regarding Aruba, W. Indies. W. *B. Smith, Paramaribo, Surinam, for map of French Guiana showing the position of its gold-fields. Ben. B. Spargo, Jun., Warden of Gibbo subdivision, for an account of operations in his district. Thos. Lett Stahlschmidt, Agent-General for British Columbia, for information respecting that colony. George W. Stuart, Montagu, Nova Scotia, for information on that colony. Frank Taylor, Sandycroft Foundry Co., Hawarden, Chester, for drawings and descriptions of machinery. Prof. G. H. F. Ulrich, F.G.S., Consulting Mining Geologist and Engineer, late Senior Field-Geologist to the Geological Survey of Victoria, for papers, letters, and other valuable contributions too numerous to detail. Robert B. White, Manager Frontino and Bolivia Gold Mining Co., Limited, for pamphlet on gold in U. S. of Colombia. Xll INTRODUCTION. J. D. Whitney, Hon. Cor. F.R.G.S., State Geologist U. S. of America, for valuable information respecting the geology of gold in that country. C. S. Wilkinson, F.G.S., Geological Surveyor in charge, Sydney, New South Wales, for various papers and pamphlets giving information regarding his colony. John Widdecombe, Director Aruba Agency Company, Limited, for loan of books and papers. J. Brooks Wright, Glasgow, for the loan of papers respecting gold in India. Samuel Yardley, Secretary New South Wales Government Agency, for Harcus' ' South Australia,' and the loan of numerous Government Reports and papers on the Colonies of Australia. Lt- General E. Wray, Woolwich, for reports of African Gold Coast Company, Limited. J. M. Ziegler, Hon. Cor. F.R.G.S., Bale, Switzerland, for information respecting that country. Where all have been so liberal with help, it may seem somewhat invidious to particularize, but special acknowledgment is due to E.-Delmar Morgan, F.R.G.S., Dr. Foster, Prof. Ulrich, Dr. Hector, and Messrs. Allen, Bland, Coles, Couchman, Gilpin, Resales, Rye, and Selwyn. Finally, the tedious labour of editing the work and seeing it through the press devolved upon my son, Charles G. Warnford Lock, who came to the task fresh from editing Messrs. Spon's new Encyclopaedia of Manufactures and Raw Materials, and whose knowledge of languages, and experience of mining in Hungary, Turkey, and Iceland, were of great assistance. ALFRED G. LOCK. MERTON LODGE, COWLEY ROAD, BRIXTON. November 9, 1882. CHAPTER I. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION, pp. i to 745. In this chapter the world is divided into 6 sections, each illustrated by a map, and the sections are again separated into countries, as indicated on pp. 1-2. In describing, in turn, every country which produces or has produced gold, or is known to possess gold-bearing rocks, attention is given to the exact localities where the metal or rocks exist, to the general geological features of each field, to the characters of the ores, to the native methods employed for extracting the gold, to ancient and modern statistics of the yield, to the laws and regulations affecting the industry, to the cost of necessaries and rate of wages, to the labour question and the climate, to traditions indicating past or hidden sources of wealth, and, in short, to every point which seems to throw any light upon the subject. CHAPTER II. GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE AND MINERALOGICAL ASSOCIATION, pp. 746 to 845. This chapter embraces three separate subjects : (i) A summary of the theories advanced during the last 20 years to account for the origin and formation of gold in veins and alluvial deposits, and for the occurrence of nuggets ; (2) a systematic epitome of the geological formations in which gold has been found, showing its very wide dis- tribution in strata of almost all ages ; (3) a catalogue of the metallic and other minerals associated with gold and auriferous rocks, with remarks upon the manner in which the ores are affected by them. .. CHAPTER III. SHALLOW PLACERS AND LIVE RIVERS, pp. 846 to 907. Definition, importance, formation, decline, characters, sections of strata, favourable and unfavourable conditions, influence of bed-rock, object in placer-mining ; principle of gold-washing, pans and panning, removing iron-sand, batea, horn spoon, cradle or rocker, Burke rocker, toms, sluices, box-sluices, false bottoms and riffles ; block and zigzag riffles, Rowland's riffle ; amalgamation, copper plates ; cleaning up, multiple XIV SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS. sluices, under-current sluice, Evans and Frey's sluice, ground-sluice ; working results ; puddling-machines ; whips and whims ; draining the workings, Californian pump, Chinese pump, syphons ; modes of working alluvial deposits : stripping, working by shafts and drives, paddocks and paddocking, working reef-washes, sluicing, covered tail-races ; dry washing ; river-mining : lifting rivers, dredging ; beach-mining ; flume for transporting timber ; cost of alluvial mining ; cement, its occurrence, stamping, Drake's cement-mill, Cox's pan, yields ; saving fine, flour- and float-gold, water, copper plates, McDougalPs plan, Sublett's plan, flycatching; yields of shallow placers. CHAPTER IV. DEEP LEADS OR DEAD RIVERS, pp. 908 to 949. Definition ; formation ; sections of strata, showing leads of Miocene, Upper Pliocene, Middle Pliocene, and Lower Pliocene ages, some covered by one or more streams of basaltic lava : modes of working, ventilation, apparatus ; yields. CHAPTER V. HYDRAULICING, pp. 950 to 996. Origin, advantages, essential conditions, water-supply ; miners' " inch," securing water-supply, dams and reservoirs, ditches, flumes, pipes, nozzles ; tunnels and shafts ; sluices, water consumed, erecting sluice, paving, under-currents, drops, grizzlies, general arrangement ; tail-sluices ; blasting ; conduct of operations ; working results ; losses ; seam diggings ; crushing process ; hydraulic elevators ; booming ; utilizing river- currents for sluicing ; drawbacks to hydraulicing, destruction of agricultural land, and silting up of rivers and bays. CHAPTER VI. AURIFEROUS VEINSTUFF, pp. 997 to 1101. Sections of veins. Treatment of the veinstuff : crushing ; stamping, foundations, frames, mortars or coffers, screens or gratings, dies or false bottoms, stamps, weight of stamps, height of drop, speed, order of drop, character of blow, tappets or collars, guides, cams or wipers, cam-shaft, props or studs, feeding, automatic feeders, water, tables of dimensions and duty of stamps, special forms of stamp (Dunham's, Fisher's, Patterson's, Sholl's) ; pulverizers (Rowland's, Jordan's, Lucop's, Thompson's). Arresting the metal : general principles, ways of using mercury, amalgamated plates ; amalga- mating pans, general details, Berdan's pan, Britten's pan, Chilian mill, Denny & Roberts' pan, Dickson's amalgamator, Hepburn & Peterson's pan, Horn's pan, Hungarian bowl or Tyrolese mill, Hunter's rubber, Jordan's pan, McCone's pan, Patton's pan, Peek's amalgamator, Readwin's amalgamator, Wheeler's pan, Wheeler & Randall's pan ; blanket-tables ; roasting quartz. Treatment of blanket-sand : SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS. XV barrel-amalgamation. Treatment of tailings : definition and general principles ; settlers ; sizers, sieves, labyrinths, pyramidal boxes, triangular double troughs ; con- centration, -percussion-tables, rotating tables, buddies, Bradford's jig, Denny's concentrator, Dodge's concentrator, Frue vanner, Hendy's concentrator, Imlay con- centrator. Complete mills : Kite Mining Co.'s, Placerville Co.'s, Port Phillip Co.'s, Rio Grande. CHAPTER VII. AURIFEROUS ORES, pp. 1102 to 1151. Definition. Composition of ores : series of assays. Association of the gold. Treatment of complex ores. Antimonial ores : their characters ; Herrenschmidt's furnace, Cosmo Newbery's process for recovering the antimony, Designolle's process. Arsenical ores : their characters ; Chapman's process, Flude's furnace, Port Phillip Co.'s furnace, revolving furnaces, Resales' process. Bismuth. Cobalt and Nickel. Copper ores : characters ; Claudet's process, Henderson's process, Hollway's process, Hunt & Douglas' process, Mears' process, Monnier's process, Paul's process, Plattner's process, Washoe process. Iron-ores : characters ; Denny's drop-furnace. Lead ores : characters ; Austrian process, Richmond process. Silver : separation from gold alloy. Tellurium ores : treatment. Zinc ores. Retorting amalgam. APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I., pp. 1143 to 1152. Additional notes on Chili and on Peru. BIBLIOGRAPHY, pp. 1153 to 1185. GLOSSARY, pp. 1186 to 1192. GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX, pp. 1193 to 1217. GENERAL INDEX, pp. 1218 to 1229. LIST ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. FIG. SUBJECT. , PAGE Ground-sluicing at Reefton, New Zealand Frontispiece. I. Arab method of utilizing water 9 2. Sketch-map of Zambesi-Lydenburg gold-field ii 3- Gold -panning in West Africa 28 4- Sketch-map of British Columbian gold-fields 39 5- Sketch-map of Nova Scotian gold-fields .. 86 6. Mode of sluicing in S. America 253 7- Sketch-map of Indian gold-fields .. .. 316 8. Gold- washing at Heera Khoond .. 321 9- Gold-washers of Singhbhum 330 10. Dish and scraper used in Singhbhum 330 ii. Sketch-map of Yeniseisk gold-fields 398 ft. Sketch-map of Amur gold-fields .. 414 13- Sketch-map of Ural gold-fields 426 14. Russian gold-washing apparatus 443 15- Agte^'s gold-washing apparatus .. .. 444 1 6. Ural gold-washing apparatus 445 17- 447 1 8. Sketch-map of Turkestan gold -fields 470 19. Sketch-map of New South Wales gold-fields 480 20. Sketch-map of New Zealand gold-fields (Middle Island) .. 518 21. Sketch-map of Queensland gold-fields 575 22. Sketch-map of Victorian gold-fields 632 23- Hungarian gipsies washing for gold 704 24. Rhine gold-washing dish 712 25. > table .. 26. j> }> pan ,, 27. gold-deposits 28. .. .. .. .. .. 29. Sketch-map of Italian gold-fields .. 717 XVlll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FIG. SUBJECT. PAGE 30. Sections showing shallow placers .. .. .. 850 31. >, ,, ,, 32. ,, ,, ,, .. .. .. .. n 33- ' > " 34. Gold-washing pan .. .. .. .. .. 856 35. Gold-washing cradle .. .. .. 858 36. Gold-washing torn .. .. .. .. 86 1 37. Box-sluice, showing false bottom .. .. .. 864 38. Zigzag riffles .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 39. Multiple sluices .. .. .. .. 867 40. Under-current sluice. .. .. .. .. .. 868 41. Horse-power puddling-machine .. .. .. .. .. 870 42. Combined cradle and puddling-machine .. .. .. 871 43. Horse-whim .. .. .. .. .. 873 44. Californian pump .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 874 45. Sluicing through covered tail-races .. .. .. .. .. 880 46. Draining a river claim by Californian pump .. .. .. .. 884 47. Bazin's dredge 888 48. Nozzles for vacuum-dredges .. .. .. .-. .. .. 889 49. Steam-vacuum dredge .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 890 50. New Zealand beach-box .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 894 51. Shetlanders working beach-diggings in New Zealand .. .. .. 895 52. " Flycatching " tables .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 905 53. Lifting the blankets from " flycatching " tables .. .. .. 906 54. Section showing reef-wash .. .. .. .. .. .. 911 55. Sections showing erosive action of rivers .. .. .. .. 912 50. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, .. .. .. .. .. 57- ?> ? " ' j> 58. Deeply-silted gutters far from present stream .. .. .. .. 913 59. Gutter hidden by alluvial hill .. .. .. .. .. .. 914 60. Gutter completely capped by basalt 61. Gutter beneath eroded basalt hill .. .. .. .. .. .. 915 62. Section showing change of river-bed .. .. .. .. 63. Miocene leads at Tea-tree Creek .. .. .. .. .. .. gig 64. Plan of Murray River leads .. .. .. .. .. .. 921 65. Section of Murray .. .. .. .. .. 922 66. Deep leads in the Daylesford district .. .. .. .. .. 033 07* > j> .. .. 924 68. Basaltic pipe cutting lead .. 69. Leads on Fryer's Creek ... .. .. .. .. .. .. 925 70. Lead on Upper Dargo river .. .. .. .. .. .. 926 71. River-bed filled by basalt .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 027 72. Sections at Stony Creek .. .. .. .. .. .. Q 2 g 73- .. .. 74- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XJX FIG. SUBJECT. PAGE 75. Sections at Glenmaggie Creek .. .. .. .. .. .. 928 77' ,, 78. Upper Pliocene leads .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 929 79. Successive lava-streams .. .. .. .. .. .. .. )} 80. Clay drift between lava-streams . . . . . . . . . . . . 81. Middle Pliocene leads .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 930 82. Relations of Newer and Older Middle Pliocene .. .. .. 931 83. J) ...... 84. Sketch-section of Wallaby diggings .. .. .. .. .. 933 85. Upper Pliocene drift-banks .. .. .. .. .. .. 934 86. Lead hidden by de"bris .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 87. Three pay-channels at different elevations .. .. .. .. 88. Tangillead .................. 935 89. Table Mountain .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 90. Lava-streams at Hawkins' lead .. .. .. .. .. .. 938 91. Durham lead under Mount Mercer plains .. .. .. .. 939 92. Sketch-section of strata at Ballarat .. .. .. .. .. 93. Section across Golden Point gutter and Woolshed lead .. .. 940 94. Blocking-out deep leads .. .. .. .. .. ... .. 943 95- .......... 96. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 97- 98. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ,, 99. Sinking and driving on deep leads .. .. .. .. .. 945 100. Miners' " inch " .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 954 101. Dam for hydraulic reservoir .. .. .. .. .. .. 958 102. Waste dam .. .. .. .. .. .. ., .. .. 959 103. Ditches and flumes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 960 104. .. .. ........ I0 5- .......... .. ,, 106. Scandinavian water-race, New Zealand .. .. .. .. .. 963 107. Head-box .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 965 108. Hydraulic hose nozzles .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 968 109. ...... t .. i i.o. .. .. 112. Paving for sluices .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 974 114. Hydraulic under-current .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 975 115. General arrangement of sluice, drops, grizzlies, and under-currents .. 977 116. Blanket-tables at end of hydraulicing sluice .. .. .. .. 981 117. Cranston's hydraulic elevator .. .. .. .. .. .. 988 1 1 8. Perry's hydraulic elevator at work .. .. .. .. .. 991 c XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIG. SUBJECT. PAC;E 119. Contorted veins in the Caribou district .. .. .. 997 1 20. .. .. .. 121. Elvan dykes merging into quartz veins .. .. 99$ 122. Quartz veins in diorites and granites .... 123. ,, ,, 124. .- 11 125. , 11 jj i> 126. ,, ' 11 127. Sections of veins at Clunes .. .. .. .. .. .. 999 128. Saddle reefs ................ 1001 129. Construction of battery .. .. 130. Details of foundations and frames .. .. .. .. .. 1003 131. Mortars or coffers of various forms .. .. .. .. .. 1005 132. ,, ,, ,, j, j> 133- 11 11 11 n 134. Screens or gratings (actual size) .. .. .. .. .. l o7i 1008 135. Die .................... ioio 136. Stamp-head .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 137. Shoe-fastening .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ,, 138. Tappet or collar .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1013 139. Stamp-guides .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 140. Cam or wiper .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1015 141. Stanford's ore-feeder .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1017 142. Tulloch's ore-feeder .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 143. Hendy's ore-feeder .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1018 144. Dunham's recoil stamp .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1020 145. Fisher's rotating-bed stamp .. .. .. .. .. .. 1022 146. Patterson's elephant stamp .. .. .. .. .. .. 1023 147. Shell's pneumatic stamp .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1026 148. Rowland pulverizer .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1027 149. Jordan's pulverizer .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 150. Port Phillip mercury -troughs .. .. .. .. .. .. 1031 151. Fixing amalgamated plates .. .. .. .. .. .. 1032 152. ,, ,, .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 153. Hepburn and Peterson's pan .. .. .. ' .. .. .. 1041 154. Horn's pan 155. Hungarian bowl or Tyrolese mill .. .. .. .. .. 1042 156. McCone's pan .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1047 157. Patton's pan .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 158. Readwin's amalgamator .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1049 159. Wheeler's pan 161. Wheeler and Randall's pan 162. Wilkinson's quartz furnace .. .. .. .. .. .. 1055 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XXI FIG. SUBJECT. PAGE 163. Settler for tailings .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1062 164. German pyramidal boxes or Spitzkasten .. .. .. .. .. 1065 165. Triangular double troughs or Spitzlutten .. .. .. .. .. 1068 1 66. Rittinger's percussion-table .. .. .. .. .. .. 1071 167. Rittinger's rotating table .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1076 168. Munday's round buddle .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1081 169. Dodge's concentrator .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1083 170. Frue vanner .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1084 171. Hendy's concentrator .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1088 172. Imlay concentrator .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1090 173. Hite Mining Co.'s mill .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1091 174. Placerville Gold Quartz Mining Co.'s mill .. .. .. .. 1093 175. Port Phillip battery .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1096 176. Rio Grande do Sul Co.'s mill .. .. .. .. .. .. noo 177. Herrenschmidt's revolving furnace .. .. .. .. .. 1108 178. Fume condenser .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1109 179. Serjeant & Flude's furnace .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1115 180. Port Phillip Co.'s furnace .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1116 181. Hocking & Oxland's reverberatory furnace .. .. .. .. m8 182. Resales' mechanical process .. .. .. .. .. .. 1120 183. Chlorination as conducted at Sandhurst .. .. .. .. 1135 J 84- .. .. .. 1136 185. Denny's drop-furnace .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1137 LIST OF DOUBLE-PAGE MAPS. Africa .. .. .. to face p. 3 America, North .. .. .. .. 37 South I9 6 Asia n 269 Australasia .. .. .. .. >; 477 Europe , 608 GOLD: ITS OCCURRENCE AND EXTRACTION. CHAPTER I. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. AN account of the localities where gold or gold-bearing rocks are now known to exist, or where their presence has been alluded to in past history or tradition in other words, the geographical distribution of gold will form the first chapter of this volume. The countries yielding gold in workable quantities can no longer be counted upon the fingers, hence the necessity for arranging them in systematic order. For convenience in proportioning the maps accom- panying this chapter, the world is arbitrarily divided into six portions, which will be taken in alphabetical order. Their scope may be readily seen from the following table : AFRICA (Map i) -. Northern Southern AMERICA [North] (Map 2) : Alaska British America Costa Rica Guatemala Honduras AMERICA [South] (Map 3) : Argentine Republic Bolivia Brazil Chili Colombia (United States of) Ecuador Guiana (British) Western Mexico Nicaragua United States West Indies Guiana (Dutch) (French) Paraguay Patagonia Peru Uruguay Venezuela GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. ASIA (Map 4) : Afghanistan Anam, Cambodia, Cochin China, and Siam Arabia Assam Banca Borneo Burma Celebes Ceylon China Corea India AUSTRALASIA (Map 5): New Caledonia New Guinea New South Wales New Zealand Queensland EUROPE (Map 6) : Austro-Hungary France Germany Greece Iceland Italy Roumania Japan Kashmir Ladak Malay Peninsula Persia Philippines Russia in Asia Sumatra Thibet Trans-Caucasus Turkestan Turkey in Asia South Australia Tasmania Timor Victoria Western Australia Russia in Europe Servia Spain and Portugal Sweden and Norway Switzerland Turkey in Europe United Kingdom AFRICA. African geography is in such an unsatisfactory state, and so few African countries possess well-defined limits, that it is impossible to treat it in the same manner as the other great divisions. To facilitate reference, however, it will be discussed in detail under three sections, as follows : " Northern," including the territory lying north of 20 N. lat, and west of 20 E. long., and, on the eastern side of 20 E. long., all north of the equator ; " Southern," embracing all south of the equator ; and " Western," the portion bounded on the north by the 2Oth parallel, on the east by 20 E. long., and on the south by the equator. The gold production of the African continent probably possessed a O IT T H A F RVI C A 10 Meridian of Oreenwicli 10 AFRICA, NORTHERN. greater importance in the I5th century than it has ever attained since, by reason of the more extensive finds of the precious metal in other coun- tries offering less inconvenience to the miner. But it is exceedingly difficult to arrive at any reliable statistics of the total output of gold in Africa, either in ancient or modern times. Figures relating specially to the several colonies or districts will be found under their respective heads, leaving for notice here the opinions of the various authorities regarding African gold as a whole. A writer in the Money Market Review estimates the gold yield of Africa between the years 1859 and 1865 at no less than 1,450,0007. sterling in value per annum, equivalent to about 23,100 Ib. (say 10 tons) of fine gold. Chevalier gives as approximate figures, 4400 Ib. in 1800, 8800 Ib. in 1847, and 22,000 Ib. in 1864. A third authority places the yearly production at 600 Ib. Troy about the year 1800, and 4000 Ib. Troy annually since 1850. Dusgate gives the total annual figure at 3744 Ib., and Birkmyre at 4000 Ib. Professor Suess is of opinion that the present yearly gold-yield of all Africa barely exceeds 4 to 6 million francs in value, or 2554 to 3832 Ib. in weight. Dr. Soetbeer gives the following tabular statement of the approximate export of gold from all Africa in the years 1493-1875 : Periods. No. of Years. Total Ib. Annual Average. Ib. 1493-1520 28 184,800 6,600 418,500 1521-1544 24 I32,OOO 5.500 348,750 1545-1600 56 290,400 4,400 279,000 I60I-I7OO 100 440,000 4,400 279,000 1701-1740 40 176,000 4,400 279,000 1741-1800 60 198,000 3.300 209,250 1801-1850 SO 165,000 3.300 209,250 1851-1870 20 66,OOO 3)3 209,250 1871-1875 5 33,000 6,600 418,500 TOTAL PRODUCTION. TOTAL VALUE. 1493-1850 358 1,586,200 100,579,500 1851-1875 25 99,000 6,277,500 1493-1875 383 1,685,200 106,857,000 NORTHERN AFRICA. Morocco. Morocco figures largely as an exporter of gold, but the bulk of it would seem to be derived from the Soudan (see p. 35). Nevertheless, Morocco is not devoid of gold-mines. Thus Jacob repeats the reports that gold- and silver-mines were formerly worked by the Portuguese in the province of Susa, near to Mesa. More recently, Rohlfs alludes apparently to the same spot, when stating that, according to the natives, the mines in the neighbourhood of Tarudant (at B 2 4 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. the foot of the southern slopes of the Atlas, 4 or 5 miles from the river Sus, on its right bank, and 2 days' march from the sea), produce gold and other metals in great abundance. Leared also speaks of several mines of copper, combined with gold, in the same ridge of the Atlas. Tripoli. Tripoli is officially reported to have exported gold-dust to the value of I5OO/. in 1878, 3OOO/. in 1879, and 5ooo/. in 1880. Part of this, undoubtedly, is brought by caravans from the Soudan, and there is no evidence to show that any of it is produced in Tripoli itself. Egypt. As to the existence of gold-mines in Ancient Egypt, there is abundant testimony. Strabo (book xvii., c. 2, 2 : Bohn's edition, iii. 270) alludes to the mines of gold in the so-called " island " of Meroe. Herodotus (Thalia, iii. 17, 23 : Laurent's translation, I. 206, 208) says " the Macrobian Indians, dwelling on the southern coast of Libya . . took them to a prison for men, where all were confined in golden shackles ; brass, with these Ethiopians, being the scarcest and most esteemed of the metals." Rawlinson, referring to this same passage, states that it is very uncertain where the Macrobian Ethiopians dwelt, and points to the Somali country. He adds that gold abounded in Ethiopia ; it is found on the frontiers of Abyssinia, and even in the Bisharee desert, which is called Edreesee and Aboolfeda, "the land of Bega," a name the Bisharee Arabs still give themselves. There will be occasion to revert to these mines, and to describe them at some length (see pp. S" 10 )- According to Prof. F. E. Engelhardt, Egypt below the Cataracts con- tained no gold-mines ; but on the eastern side of the Nile, in the primitive districts lying between the Cataracts and the Red Sea, were gold-mines which were worked in the times of the Ptolomies, and were probably known also to the Pharaohs. Belzoni discovered very ancient mines in the Zahara Mountains (which are only 6 hours' journey from the Red Sea, in lat. 24 30' N.). Cosmas, who visited Ethiopia about 535 A.D., mentions the country of Sasu, bordering on Abyssinia, as being very rich in gold-mines. The Souakim merchants deal in gold which is brought from the Fazooglu country, and where it must exist in considerable abundance. The Fazooglu country is a large district above Sennar, in the Egyptian province of Khartum, which pays an annual tribute of 650 (others say 1200) oz. of gold. Burton records of this district that as late as Mohammed Ali Pasha's day, an Egyptian expedition, sent up through Fazooglu in search of the precious metal brought down by the eastern tributaries of the Nile, failed because the ignorant Turks expected to pick up ounces where they found only grains. Pinkerton speaks of the gold at Sheibdn, which is the same as the modern Seizaban, on the western bank of the White Nile, in Takale or AFRICA, NORTHERN. 5 Takla, in Kordofan (12 N., 32 E.). "Near this place, in a deep glen or valley, much gold is found, both dust and in small pieces. The natives collect the dust in quills of the ostrich and vulture, and in that condition sell it to the merchants. Luca is another place famous for its gold, which, as at Sheib6n, is the only medium of exchange." Abyssinia. From Abyssinia, gold is one of the principal exports, but it comes from the interior of the continent, forming an article of the transit trade through Adowa. According to Pliny (book vii., c. 57 : Bohn's edition, ii. 225, note), Pangaeus is generally described as a mountain on the confines of Macedonia and Thrace ; but Marcus says that it is a mountain of Abyssinia, near the source of the Nile, and he adduces various passages from the ancients to prove that the Egyptians had an extensive traffic there in gold at a very early period (Ajasson, vi. 191-2). Somali-Land. Of Adel or the Somali country, it is said that gold- dust is exported from Zeila and Berbera. The Bishdree Mines. Having dealt generally with the known sources of gold in Northern Africa, it remains to enter into fuller details con- cerning the mines (mentioned on p. 4) of Bisharee (known also as Edreesee, Aboolfeda, Bega, Ollagee, and Etbaye), which seem to have been by far the most important. Some interesting allusions to these mines are made by Dr. Brugsch Bey. The tributes and taxes, which under the third Thutmes were yearly contributed in rich abundance to the Pharaoh by the conquered nations and his own subjects, seem, from the reign of Seti, to have flowed in less freely, while the wants of the kings were the same, and the erection of costly buildings required a great expenditure. New sources had therefore to be opened up for the requisite means. So they began to devote special care to the regular working of the existing gold-mines in Egypt and Nubia, and, what was of the first importance, to give the needful attention to the formation of wells in the midst of the arid mountain regions, whence the gold was to be won. One of these regions was the expanse of desert on the eastern side of the Nile, opposite Edfou, which at this day bears the name of Redesieh, and contains the remains of an old Egyptian rock-temple. It marks the site of one of the resting-places on the great road of commerce, which in ancient days led straight through the desert from the town of Coptos, on the Nile, to the harbour of Berenice on the Red Sea. The inscriptions on the temple date from the time of Seti. They not only establish the existence of gold ore in the interior of the mountain, but also the position of a well (Jtydreuma, as the Greeks called it), made at the command of the king. They relate how, in the Qth year of King Seti, in the month Epiphi, on the 2Oth day, the Pharaoh 6 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. undertook a journey to the solitary mountain region, as it was his wish to see for himself the gold-mines which existed there. After he had climbed many miles, he made a halt, to take counsel with himself, and to come to a conclusion upon the information he had received, that the want of water made the road almost impassable, and that travellers by it died of thirst in the hot season of the year. At a proper place, a well was bored deep in the rocky ground, and a small rock-temple was made there " to the name of King Seti," by the express order of the Pharaoh. Thereupon everything was done to carry on the gold-washing to success. The people who followed this laborious occupation were placed under the supervision of a hir-pit or " overseer of the foreign peoples," and all other measures were taken to ensure for all future time the keeping up of the temple. But whether, after all, the gold-mines yielded rich produce, whether the gold-washers delivered to the " reckoner of silver and gold of the land of the country of Upper and Lower Egypt, Hi-shera," the shining grains obtained by their laborious employment in satisfactory quantity on these points, the lay of the poet on the monuments is silent. Later on, in order to increase his revenues and fill the treasury of the State, Ramses, following the example of his father Seti, turned his par- ticular attention to the gold-districts which had been discovered, and especially to the Nubian gold-mines of what is now the Wady Alaki (Al-aki), anciently called Aki-ta. But water was wanting in the dreary sterile valleys of this mountainous country, and men and beasts died on the roads to the gold-districts. By a curious accident, the old Egyptian map has been preserved (at Turin) which enables us to recognize the situation of the mountain tracks, the roads, the places where the gold was found, the wells, and all the other appurtenances and buildings. Here, according to the annexed inscriptions, are " the mountains out of which the gold was extracted ; they are marked with a red colour ;" there " the roads which have been abandoned, leading to the sea ;" here " the houses .... of the gold-washing ;" the " well," and the " memorial-stone of King Mineptah I. Seti I. ;" there "the temple of Amon in the holy mountain." Nothing is forgotten which would seem calculated to give the spectator an idea of the state of the region, even to the stones and the scattered trees along the roads. Seti I. (Sethos), the gold-seeker, had first worked the gold-mines, but without any remarkable success, as will be shown further on. He made the well named in the inscriptions, and erected near it the memorial- stone of which the inscription on the map speaks. The shaft of the well had a depth of more than 63 yd. (120 Egyptian cubits), but the water soon became exhausted, and the mine was abandoned. It was not till the third year of the reign of King Ramses that the AFRICA, NORTHERN. 7 works were opened, which are mentioned with such detail in the inscrip- tion which covers a stone that was found at the village of Kouban, opposite Dakkeh, on the eastern bank. of the Nubian territory. Here was situated in ancient times a fortified place, provided with walls, trenches, and towers, destined by the Pharaohs for a bulwark against the irruptions of the Nubian tribes. This place seems at the same time to have been the point of departure for the communication with the gold- mines, in which the prisoners of war and malefactors were forced to carry on their laborious work under the burning rays of a tropical sun. Even to the time of the Greeks, remembrance was preserved of the cruel treat- ment and dreadful condition of those condemned to the gold-workings. The Bishdree mines are mentioned by Agatharcides of Cnidus (about 170 to 1 80 B.C.). He places them "near the mountain Altahi, not far from the ancient Berenice Panchrysos, in lat. 22 N. They were worked by a numerous body of people, including men, women, and children, to each of whom a portion of labour was assigned, corresponding to their strength and skill. The discovery of them was made by the kings of the ancient race. The operations in the mines of Nubia were interrupted by the invasion of the Ethiopians, who took possession of them (700- 800 B.C.), and afterwards by the Medes and Persians. In the passages of the mines were found many tools of brass, iron being then unknown, and vast masses of human bones, of people who had been buried in the ruins. The extent of the subterraneous galleries is so great that they must almost have reached to the sea." These same mines, are pointed to by later writers, as being situated at Ollagee, and lying about 17 or 18 days' journey to the S.-E. of Derow, a village somewhat above Kom Ombo. Wilkinson alludes to them when he says, " Another source of wealth was derived from the gold-mines in the desert of the upper country. Their position, still known to the Arabs, is about S.-E. from Bahayreh, a village opposite the town of Edfou (24 58' N.) or Apollinopolis Magna, and at a distance of nearly 10 days' journey from that place, in the mountains of the Bisharee." The Arab writers Edrisi, Ebu-Said, and Aboolfidda place the mines at Gebel Ollagee, a mountain situated in the " land of Bega." The gold lies in veins of quartz in the rocks bordering an inhospitable valley and its adjacent ravines ; but the small quantity the mines are capable of producing by immense labour, added to the difficulty of procuring water, and other local impediments, would, in Wilkinson's opinion, render the re-opening of them at the present day an unprofitable speculation ; and indeed, in the time of Aboolfidda (or Omad-edeen-Aboolfeda, Ismail- ben-Nasser, who was king of Hamah in Syria, and lived about the year 730 of the Hegira, A.D. 1334), they only just covered expenses, and have never been worked since they were abandoned by the Arab caliphs. s GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. According to Agatharcides' account, the toil of extracting the gold was immense: it was separated from the pounded stone by frequent washings, and this process appears to be represented in the paintings of tombs executed during the reign of Osirtasen and other ancient Pharaohs. There is no positive notice of the first discovery of the mines, but it is reasonable to suppose that they were worked at the earliest periods of the Egyptian monarchy ; and the total of their annual produce is stated by Hecataeus (Diodorus i. 49, on his authority) to have been recorded by a monarch of the i8th dynasty. The Bisharee mines were made the object of very careful exploration (in 1868) by Linant de Bellefonds Bey, who published an exhaustive account of them, accompanied by an elaborate atlas of plans and views. This work, quoted in the bibliography at the end of the present volume, and a copy of which is preserved in the library of the Royal Geographical Society of London, is the source whence the following remarks have been mainly derived. In traversing the Wady Ollakee from its embouchure into the Nile (about 23 N.) the explorer found much quartz debris in the bed, and grains of native gold in the quartz. In the hill bordering the Wady Mourrat, veins of quartz were seen coursing through talcose schists, and showing rare signs of native gold. The scarcity of water in this region had necessitated the adoption of an ingenious method of utilizing it for washing purposes, which is illustrated in Fig. I. At a is a sump or water pit ; b is an inclined plane on which the mineral is washed, and whence the water escapes into the tank c ; d is a conduit for conveying the water back to a, to be used over again ; e is the ordinary Egyptian chadous or lever-pump for raising water. The method adopted for treating the auriferous ore seems to have been as follows. First it was broken into small fragments about \ in. cube, by placing it in natural hollows in the surface of the rocks, and pounding it with rounded blocks of porphyry ; this broken mineral was then reduced to very fine powder in hand-mills, and washed on an inclined plane as shown in Fig. I. The labour incurred was enormous. At Ceiga (22 30' N., 33 50' E.), were found very extensive traces of former workings, which appeared, however, to have been deserted only by reason of the ore being exhausted, as all the hand-mills and other implements remaining were worn out and useless, and no trace could be found of existing auriferous mineral. The mines of Derehib (21 40' N., 35 E.) seem to have possessed the greatest importance. The excavations are immense, and have been prosecuted wherever an auriferous quartz vein showed itself in the schist. Yet no traces of tools, mills, or washing-places were discernible. The explorer quotes (pp. 74-76) at length from Diodorus (book iii., c. 6), AFRICA, NORTHERN. 9 and from the Arab writer surnamed Macrizi, who lived in 1385 A.D., or 1430 years after Diodorus ; the identity of the mines described by these writers with the ruins discovered by Linant de Bellefonds seems clear. Somewhat to the west of Derehib, and on the southern side of the same range, are the deserted mines of Chawanib, where abundant evi- dence was found, not only of the working of the quartz veins which FIG. i. d ARAB METHOD OF UTILIZING WATER. traverse the primitive (schistose) rocks, but also of the washing of auri- ferous sands brought down by the rains from the higher portions of the range. The workings do not appear to have been exhausted by the miners, but abandoned from some other cause. The places indicated on Linant de Bellefonds' map, as possessing deserted gold-mines, are as follows : Oum Guereyatte Ceiga Gebel Offene GebelAbdulla Gebel Matchouchelennaye Gebel om Cabrille Tamille Gebel Essewed Gebel Tellatabd Situate in the country of the Cawatil Arabs, between about 21 30' and 22 40' N., and 32 50' and 34 20' E. IO GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Oum Teyour . . Wady Sohone . . Wady Hagatte Wady AfFawe . , Wady Daguena In the country of the Mansour Melecab Arabs, lying east of the foregoing and west of 35 20' E. Wady Camolit Derehib Wady Chawanib rr ,, , I In the country of the Foukara Arabs, between and 21 N., and about 32 30' E. The veins in nearly all cases have a N.-W. and S.-E. direction. Whe- ther it would be profitable to re-open the workings, and apply modern machinery and methods to the extraction of the gold from the quartz, could only be decided by an expert. But the absence of food, water, and fuel in the neighbourhood constitutes a most serious drawback. SOUTHERN AFRICA. The Zambesi-Lydenburg gold-field. The auri- ferous region lying between the rivers Zambesi and Limpopo, partly in Sofala and partly in or on the borders of the Transvaal, does not admit of piecemeal description, as it really forms one vast gold-field. As such it will therefore be treated. See sketch-map, Fig. 2. In Hartmann's Latin translation from the Arabic of Edrisi, he says, "Omnium praestantissimum aurum in universa Sofala regione ibi re- periri." Capt. Burton considers that the great gold-fields north of and near the Zambesi, and north-west of Natal, beyond the Transvaal, a country consisting of metamorphic rocks and auriferous quartz, will pro- bably be found extending high up in Eastern Africa, throughout the rocks lying inland of the maritime and sub-maritime coralline ranges. The same author narrates that about the middle of the i6th century, the Portuguese determined to seek for the gold in Eastern Africa, of which they had heard, and King Dom Sebastian sent an expedition under the command of Francesco Baretto to Sofala ; he penetrated into Macoronga and Manica, and discovered and made himself master of the gold-mines. Dr. Livingstone says that gold is washed for in the beds of rivers, within a couple of days of Tete,* on the Zambesi, 16 S., 33 50' E. The natives are fully aware of its value, but seldom search for it, and never dig deeper than 4 or 5 ft. Only common wooden basins had hitherto been used. Beyond Senga lies a range of mountains called Mashinga (13 S., 32 E.), to which the Portuguese in former times went to wash for gold. In the neighbourhood of Tete (Zambesi), they call gold in the native language dalama. The Doctor adds that if we consider Tete as occupying a some- * The reader must not confound the Tete Zambesi, or Northern] system, in 16 S., 34 E., with the Tati [Thati, Tatin, Victoria, or Southern] system, in2i S., 28 E. AFRICA, SOUTHERN. II what central position in the [Zambesi] coal-field, and extend the leg of the compasses about 3^, the line which may then be described from FIG. 2. W o' 31 32* 33' 3*' 31' 3S' 3T SKETCH-MAP OF ZAMBESI-LYDENBURG GOLD-FIELD. N.-E. round by W. to S.-E. nearly touches or includes all the district as yet (1857) known to yield the precious metal. We have 5 well-known gold-washings from north-east to north-west. There is Abutuu, not now known ; but it must have been in the west or south-west, probably on the flank of the eastern ridge. Then the country of the Bazizulu, or Mashona, 12 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. on the south, and Manica on the south-east. The rivers Mazoe, Luia, and Luenya in the south, and several rivulets in the north, bring gold into the coal-field with their sands ; but, from much trituration, it is generally in such minute scales as would render amalgamation with mer- cury necessary to give it weight in the sand, and render the washing profitable. The metal in some parts in the north is found in red clay- shale, which is soft enough to allow the women to pound it in wooden mortars previous to washing. At Mashinga,* it occurs in white quartz. Some of the specimens of gold which he saw from Manica, and the country of Bazizulu (Mosusurus ?), were as large as grains of wheat, and those from rivers nearer Tete were extremely minute dust only. He was thus led to conclude that the latter was affected by transport, and the former showed the true gold-field as indicated by the semicircle. Was the eastern ridge the source of the gold, seeing it is now found not far from its eastern flank ? There is thus at present a coal-field surrounded by gold, with abun- dance of wood, water, and provisions. In former times, the Portuguese traders went to the washings accompanied by great numbers of slaves, and remained there until their goods were expended in purchasing food for the washers. The chief in whose lands they laboured expected a small present I/, worth of cloth perhaps for the privilege. But the goods spent in purchasing food from the tribe was also considered advantageous for the general good, and all were eager for these visits. It is so now in some quarters, but the slave trade led to the withdrawal of industry from gold-washing ; and from 130 or 140 Ib. weight annually, the produce has dwindled down to 8 or 10 Ib., which is obtained by independent natives, v/ho wash at their own convenience, and for their own profit. From superstition and from fear of the earth falling on him, no native will dig deeper than his chin ; and on finding a piece of gold, he buries it again, governed by an idea that without this " seed " the washing would ever afterwards prove unproductive. According to James Macqueen, the place for the celebrated fair of Manica is situated between two small rivers, the Revue and the Mucoru- maze, which are tributaries to the Mungora, and joined by the river Mazavios. Descending from the south-west from the mountains of Fura, their united streams are joined below by the Rucuto, and soon afterwards by the combined waters of the Revue and Mucorumaze. The country around is hilly. In early times, the quantity of gold annually found here was large. When Galvao da Silva was there (in 1788), the supply was very much reduced, owing to the insecurity that reigned in the district, and from the sluggish and careless manner in which the natives performed their work, carrying it on chiefly near the surface of the earth. They dig * Not to be confounded with Machanga in 5 N. AFRICA, SOUTHERN. 13 openings about 6ft. in depth, and about 12 ft. in diameter, and by the rudest process separate the ore from the earth. The gold thus obtained is afterwards carried chiefly to Sena and Tete, and thence to Mozam- bique. In the mountains of Fura, the precious metal is very abundant ; and in a state called Manica it is found in white quartz, and is called by the natives white gold. Again, he says that the Arroango divides the lands of Tete from the territory of Sena, and the part of Manica where the fair is separated from Barue. This province (Tete) is rich in gold. Tete carries on much trade with the country of the Maraves, an industrious people inhabiting a fertile and healthy district to the north of the Zambesi, abounding in many places with gold, especially about Java and the river Bua (the river Bua runs into Lake Nyassa). In 1808, Mozambique trade included : gold, 100,000 cruzadoes (i cruzado = 400 reis = is. 9%d.). In a paper read (1875) before the Geographical Society, St. Vincent Erskine expressed an opinion that it was extremely desirable that the country between the Limpopo and the Sabia should be explored, as a part of it is described in old geography books as Sophala [Sofala], or Sophira, or Sophir, and Monomotapa (which last signifies in Zulu " the children of the mines "), and is stated to be very rich in gold, several millions sterling annually having been exported thence by the Portu- guese. Nothing (in Major Erskine's opinion) can more convincingly prove the existence of large gold-mines than the fact that it is death for a native to speak of them or of the ancient ruins. All the chiefs show the greatest jealousy about these mines, and it is therefore extremely difficult to ascertain their whereabouts. Gold can even now be bought in the country from the natives. His own opinion is that it is the ancient Ophir. The Queen of Sheba's real name was Sabia, a name which is even now given to a river there. In some maps, Sofala is called Sophir. The " S " is merely a prefix, and it is therefore reasonable to suppose that the original name was Ophir. In a geography book, 80 years old, in his possession, it is stated that the Portuguese exported annually 3,ooo,ooo/. worth of gold. Umzila aims at keeping the gold produce of Manica to himself. He refused (1878) St. Vincent Erskine permission to visit the fields, and told him that when his ivory was done, he intended to work them for his own benefit. The Matabele [Amandabele] country is one of the richest gold-producing regions in the world, if reports be true. Lobenluga, the chief, promised him (1878) not to allow anyone to prospect in it who is not recommended by the British Government, though the Portuguese had made several attempts to get concessions. Sir John Swinburne, Bart, lecturing in 1870 at Newcastle, stated that the " southern " or Tati gold-field, so far as the actual metal 14 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. had been found, extended from N.W. to S.E., a distance of 40 miles by 14 broad. The Tati settlement is in 21 27' S. and 27 40' E. There are 5 different mines within a mile of the settlement, two at 3 miles to the S.E., one at 13 miles to the N., two at 12 and one at 35 miles up the river to the N.W., making n mines from which gold had been extracted. Several shafts were 50 ft. deep ; one about 100 ft. All these mines are on ancient workings ; no tools have been discovered, but stone mortars, evidently used for crushing the ore, have been found on the banks of one of the mines. They have been worked after the style of quarries, leaving great holes or pits 70 ft. deep ; trees are now growing in these workings, which must have taken 1 50 to 200 years to reach their present size. The reefs consist of quartz between walls of chloritic schist ; the strike is from N.W. to S.E., the dip about 50 to the S.W., and varying from 6 in. to 6 ft. in width. There are two descriptions of quartz, one red and one honey-combed, and containing much oxide, peroxide and some white sulphides of iron ; while traces of sulphuret and carbonates of copper were also found. The gold, which is very fine, is mostly found in the oxide and peroxide of iron, and is only now and then seen in the white quartz without iron. The other kind of quartz is of a bluish-grey appearance, without any iron, and of a finer texture ; but it is only found 3 miles to the E. of the Tati settle- ment, in a vein 6 ft. wide, and the gold therein is coarser and more evenly disseminated than in the red ore. Two shafts have been sunk upon this vein to the depth of 60 ft, without meeting with sulphides or oxides of iron. The Limpopo Co.'s mill was (1870) crushing quartz from one of these mines which produced i oz. per ton. With regard to the " northern " gold-fields, it appears that they lie to the N.N.E. of the Tati, a distance of about 327 miles. The whole of the country between the Inyati and the Ramakoban has quartz reefs and schistose rocks interspersed through it, more particularly in the neigh- bourhood of the Kumalo river, but there is (1870) no evidence of gold having been found in those reefs. About 100 miles east of Inyati is the Bembees, the southern boundary of the northern gold-field, and in this neighbourhood there are numerous quartz reefs in which gold has been found. Some 3 or 4 miles west of the ford at Umfulinoer, a couple of shafts have been sunk to a depth of 35 to 40 ft. upon one of the reefs, that has produced gold in small quantities ; but they have had to be abandoned, as all whites were compelled to leave by the Matabele. The reef was 2\ ft. thick, the quartz very similar to the red quartz containing iron found at the Tati. There are numerous ancient workings all around. The locality is in 18 n' S. and 30 34' E. Tati is 205 miles, and Zumbo on the Zambesi due north, 160 miles distant. According to Macleod (says Burton), the district is called Matouca AFRICA, SOUTHERN. 1 5 [or Manica] the Matuka of Dr. Livingstone's map, and the gold- washing tribes, Botongos. The spots containing the metal are known by the bare and barren surface. The natives dig in any small crevice made by the rains of the preceding winter, and there find gold-dust. These pot-holes are rarely deeper than 2 or 3 ft. ; at 5 or 6 ft. they strike the bed-rock. In the still portions of the rivers, when they are low, the natives dive for nuggets that have been washed down from the hills. Sometimes, joining together in hundreds, they deflect the stream, and find extensive deposits. The richest gold-fields discovered in 1867 by Karl Mauch are said to be in the Manica district, only a little further to the west, down the Swaiswa and Pole. They reach to within 50 miles of the Zambesi. From a letter of Dr. Exton's, it appears that the gold-field pointed out by Hartley, and from which Mauch and Hartley took specimens, lies on the north bank of the river Tati, a tributary of the Shashi, itself running into the Limpopo. The country-rock is green talcose slate, through which the 3 principal veins of quartz run in a south-easterly direction, that being the strike of the strata. These veins are between 1 8 in. and 2 ft. wide, and in two only has gold been found. The dip of the strata is 75. Granite is the prevailing formation, passing, as the Thati is approached, into a schistose sandstone. The auriferous quartz veins are limited to the narrow reefs in the slate north of the Thati. Where the two formations are in contact, there is a fine friable detritus, yielding some gold on washing, the rest of the precious metal being distributed in minute particles through the quartz. It is stated by Dr. Holub that the discovery that only quartz-gold and not alluvial was to be obtained on the Tati field, damped the ardour of the miners. As a general rule, not more than 7 oz. of gold were found in a ton of quartz, though he was told that exceptional cases had been known where one ton of quartz had yielded 24 oz. of gold. Difficulties encountered were the want of pumping machinery, and the great cost of transport from the coast. The following additional localities where gold exists in this region have been copied, by the kind permission of Fred. A. A. Simons, Esq., from his manuscript notes of a journey made there about 4 years ago ; they are : The territories and streams of Macequece, Missale, Cabura- manga, and Macanga, all on the left bank of the Zambesi ; and, on the right bank, some mines at Muzozuros, about 6 days from Tete. Also at Masingua, 10 days from Tete; at Vumba; at Orobezes, Buiroe, and Macha- nacha, in the territory of Changamire, formerly called Monomotapa ; and at Boxa, Nhamucauga, Guenge, Duma, and Pendico, all near Tete. Salt, the Abyssinian traveller, disparages the production of the Sofala region, remarking that the only way by which gold is now (1809) 1 6 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. procured is by washing the sands of the rivers ; " in this manner a consi- derable quantity is still annually accumulated, though it seems to be rapidly decreasing ; for in 1 593 the Governor of Mozambique, George Menzes, collected for himself and the Viceroy of India 1,000,000 crusades, and I do not believe that one third of this amount is now altogether annually produced." Jacob adds that the crusade was probably ^ oz. of gold, value about 2s. 6d. By far the most elaborate and extensive account of the Zambesi- Lydenberg gold-field is given by the painstaking traveller Thomas Baines, from whose volume the following lengthy notes are taken. The country of Monomotapa, a name which in itself signifies a place whence something valuable is derived, lies S. of the Zambesi, which was discovered by Vasco de Gama in 1498. It may be roughly stated as lying between 16 and 20 S. and 30 and 35 E. The country, according to the early historian, abounded in gold, which in great quan- tities was extracted from veins in many of the provinces, especially in the kingdom of Torva. In 1650, an expedition under Francesco Baretto was sent to explore these fields, but from sickness, &c., never reached them. The Portuguese subsequently settled on the Zambesi, and in an ancient work accessible in Natal, it is stated that the quantity of gold sent from their possessions amounted to 2,000,000 metigals, esti- mated at i,ooi,354/. sterling. In later times, 130 Ib. per annum have been sent home ; but in the palmy days of the slave trade, the annual expe- ditions to the Luenya and other rivers in quest of alluvial gold were discontinued. Gold is still brought down by the natives in small quan- tities to the Portuguese settlements along the coast. The Zambesi gold-fields are situated N. of the watershed line, between the Zambesi and Limpopo rivers ; the Tati gold-fields S. of same. On the Tati or Victoria gold-fields, Matabele-Land, H. Hartley, whilst hunting in 1865, observed groups of ancient diggings, and con- necting these with the rumours amongst the Dutch emigrants of gold beyond the Zoutpansberg, invited Karl Mauch to accompany him, who in 1866 announced the discovery of a gold-field 80 miles long by 2 or 3 miles broad. In the next 3 or 4 years, several joint-stock com- panies and private associations were formed to test its richness, but although the yield per ton seems to have been good, no one appears to have made a success. The London and Limpopo Mining Co., headed by Sir John Swinburne, Bart., took with them an expensive equipment, including a traction engine, which, however, was left, and subsequently sold in Natal, there being no road on which it could travel. Some samples sent to London, and assayed by Johnson, Matthey & Co., gave as follows : New Zealand reef, gold, 4*900 oz. per ton of 20 cwt., silver, traces ; New Zealand reef, gold 10 oz., silver 0^900 oz. ; AFRICA, SOUTHERN. Alliance reef, gold 65-250 oz., silver, 3 oz. ; Burrell's reef, gold 0-500 oz., silver, traces ; Pioneer reef, gold 39-725 oz., silver, 3*250 oz. ; Blue Jacket reef, gold 4700 oz., silver, traces ; 5 pieces of quartz, gold 20-250 oz., silver, 1*250 oz.; I piece of quartz, gold 5 2<2 5 oz - \ silver, 3 oz. Another specimen, tested by Claudet, gave 26' 8 oz. gold, and 31^ oz. silver. Early in 1876, Capt. Levert, of the London and Limpopo Mining Co., erected crushing-machinery at Tati, with the following result, as certified by B. N. Acutt : Name of Reef. Quartz crushed. Yield of Gold. Yield per ton. Blue Jacket Australian reef A tons cwt. 19 10 2 IO oz. dwt. 42 o 16 10 oz. dwt. gr. 2 3 I 7 12 o Capt. Levert also certified that 125 oz. had been produced from the reefs at or near the Tati during the same year. A party of 34 Australians, who were equipped in Natal in 1869, and sent to the gold-fields, sank 80 ft. on the vein, but did not find it widen out as they had hoped; they, however, obtained 25 oz. 3 dwt. 12 gr. from 2 ton, 10 cwt. 2 qr. 24 Ib. of quartz. One of the party wrote in 1871 that they had crushed 5 tons of quartz at the end of 1870, and received as proceeds 43 oz. of retorted gold, or over 8 oz. of gold per ton of stone, and that they expected the 40 or 50 tons of stone "raised since would yield the same average. Greite, who was left by Sir John Swinburne to work the Blue Jacket reef, went down 70 ft. on it, and reached water ; he raised about 3OO/. worth of gold, and had 1 50 tons of quartz lying on the surface in assorted heaps, of which the most promising he thought would yield 10 oz. of gold per ton. He showed Baines several picked specimens of quartz of great richness, one estimated at 1 500 oz. per ton. Baines was told on good authority that out of 74 tons of quartz raised by the Australians at Todd's Creek, 226 oz. of gold were obtained, 170 of which were from the first 40 tons. Towards the close of 1872, he was informed by Acutt that between 1500 and 2000 oz. of gold had been sent home from Tati. The northern gold-fields of Matebele-Land were discovered in 1866-67, only a few weeks after those of Tati, from which they are distant 350 miles to the N.E. In the vicinity of Emampanjene or Umbanjin (18 42' 30" S., 29 44' 30" E., height 3900 ft.), Nelson found several large quartz reefs, one, 5 miles N.N.E., 100 ft. wide, striking N. 35 W., with a S.W, C 1 8 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. dip of 70 or 80 ; and, about 4 miles S.W., two large and several small reefs. The first did not look very favourable ; but the others appeared better, and contained much oxide and sulphuret of iron, as well as brown hematite or peroxide of iron. Want of time and means prevented Nelson from breaking up much of this quartz to examine it for gold ; his opinion, however, was that some of the reefs were auriferous. He washed gravel and sand in the Changani and M'Nyami rivers, and readily found several specks of gold in every part. He tried the river (which ?) 35 miles down with the same result, and found gold also in red ferruginous gravel about 500 ft. from the river. From these indications, Nelson thought that payable alluvial gold might be found in the Lhangani or its various feeders. A band of talcose, chloritic, and hornblende schist, with numerous quartz ledges, in which Nelson obtained a fair prospect of gold, lies 8 or 10 miles S.W. of the village. Where the main road touches the Quaequae river, they found extensive slate and schistous rocks, striking N. by W. and S. by E., with numerous quartz reefs, some of which were proved to be gold-bearing. About 8 or 10 miles north of the junction of the Bembesi river and the Sebaque (Sebaque, 1 8 15' 7" S., 30 24' E., height 3420 ft.), many apparently rich quartz reefs exist. Nelson tried the river, and found a trace of gold. Hitherto the chief features of the country had been granite ; but to the north-west of their course, greenstone schist was found, and beyond that a dark slate formation, striking N. and S., and upright enough to enclose the stream between high bluffs. Nelson found alluvial gold in two places in the river ; but it was very fine, and not enough to warrant him in calling it payable. At the drift of the Umzwezwie, he found gold among the stones, and in the sand of the broad bed which only the flooded river could fill ; also subsequently a little gold in the Sarua river, whence they proceeded N.N.W., crossing the Inzinghazi river, forming camp on a large river called the Ganyana (17 44' 56" S., 30 41' 20" E., height 3953 ft., 1195 miles distant from Pietermaritzburg). Here Nelson found several quartz reefs to the west of the road ; one striking N. to W. was 150 ft. wide, forming several hills in line, which were visible from afar. He does not think this gold-bearing, but considers it, nevertheless, well worthy of examination. At 35 miles to the north-west of this camp is Maghunda village (S. lat. 17 33' 30" ; E. long. 30 17' 40", 1230 miles from Maritzburg), where are pits whence the precious metal was, in olden times, extracted. The reef, bordered by clay-slate and other rocks, traverses a valley shut in by rounded hills ; and the pits are in groups of 6 or 8 together, 3 or 4 ft. wide, and some of them 10 ft. deep. As Baines returned, he saw several other quartz reefs and groups of diggings, in all of which gold- bearing stone had evidently been found. AFRICA, SOUTHERN. 1 9 At the junction of the Simbo rivulet with the Umvuli, are extensive old diggings. The reefs seemed to be the greater part of a mile in length, but were so covered with refuse thrown from the old surface workings, that their exact limit could not easily be determined ; the holes were 3 or 4 ft. wide, and sometimes 10 or 12 ft. deep. Here and there a group of holes had been worked into one, forming a large pit, and in many of these, mimosa and other trees, 3 to 10 in. thick, were growing, proving that many years must have elapsed since they were worked, but not establishing for them a high antiquity. A native remembers that a house stood some distance north, and in his father's time it was inhabited, and gold-dust was sold there. Perhaps, it might have been the residence of some one combining the operation of trading with the office of catechist or teacher from the now deserted Jesuit mission, at Zumbo, on the Zambesi. The party marked off these reefs as their first claim. The following is Nelson's official report on them : " Profitable quartz mining depends largely on the facilities for working and crushing ; here these are very good, an unlimited supply on the ground, and a fine stream, the Simbo, within a few hundred yards, with constant water, which can probably be used as a motive power. " The rock strata enclosing these veins are gneiss, and a mixture of talcose and chloritic schists, striking N.E. and S.W., or thereabouts ; and these dip westward at an angle of 70 or 80, judging by the dip and strike of the rocks lying close on both sides of the hill. " Just where the reefs are, the underlying formation is so covered with soil that it cannot be seen. Everywhere in the northern mining district the stratified rocks are so hardened and metamorphosed, that their geological age cannot be ascertained. I believe they belong to the lower palaeozoic epoch. " On the N.E. boundary of the chain are several kopjies, or small hills of igneous rocks Hartley Hills (S. lat. 18 31' 39", E. long. 30 49' 20"; height, 3079 ft, from Pietermaritzburg, 1157 miles) which have burst through the rocks containing the quartz veins, and pressed them aside; hence, though by the line of old workings, the reef No. I appears to have a N. and S. strike, its real course is N.E. and S.W. " I cannot tell the breadth of these veins, as they are hidden by refuse quartz from the old workings ; but I believe it to be considerable. I brought samples of quartz from these mines, and have assayed them ; some gave low results, some high. From one piece of quartz taken from vein No. I, the result was at the rate of 6o| oz. of gold, and 17*1 oz. of silver, to the ton ; but this was taken from a very choice piece. Since my arrival in London, Johnson, Matthey & Co. have made six different c 2 20 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. assays of quartz, taken at various places from the old workings, with the following results : Sample d. 3*150 oz. of gold per ton. e. 3 -500 Sample a. o 225 oz. of gold per ton. b. 1-450 ,. * 3*125 " The samples a and b were taken from vein No. 2 ; c, d, e> f, were from vein No. I. These assays do not afford sufficient ground for estimating the value of the mine ; but they prove, beyond a doubt, there is rich quartz in them." Nearly a mile to the south of these reefs, Sir John Swinburne had two shafts sunk, at 25 ft. deep, from which he obtained some very rich and visibly auriferous quartz, some white and crystalline, some coloured red or yellow with oxide of iron. [The fever appears to be terrible throughout the country, as at pp. 39-40, Baines gives an account of seven persons dying out of a little party of hunters, and says that this was a trifle as compared with the deaths in other places.] About 25 miles from Hartley Hills, down the Umvuli river, are several reefs, formerly worked by the Mashonas; and 21 miles to the N.W. by N. (S. lat. 18, E. long. 30 36') are several groups of very extensive abandoned gold-workings. About 6 miles east of Maghunda village, is a country extensively quartzose, with old workings all round. Some of these the natives Mashonas had within the last twelve months re-opened. They make a heap of the quartz mixed with wood, and burn it. They then crush it between stones, similar to a printer's slab and muller. These workings are 60 miles from Hartley Hills (17 31' 30" S. ; 30 32' 6" E.). The country around bore such evident marks of inundation by the summer torrents, that it seemed absolutely certain that a rich alluvial field must exist at the first plain where the speed of the rivers could abate. The gold-fields of the Transvaal Republic (Maraba-stadt, Eersteling, Lydenburg, Mac-Mac, and Pilgrims' Rest) are next described. Button, proceeding north from Lydenburg, found a little gold in two streams which he crossed before reaching Triegardt's farm, 25 or 30 miles from Lydenburg. He also found fine gold in the crevices of the bed-rock of the river Olifants or Lipalula. His path lay for three days under the Quathlamba or Drakensberg ; he then turned N.E., and in two more days reached the Salati river, on the bed-rock of which he found gold, as well as in a gully half a day beyond the river. A little further west is a reef running S.W. by W. to N.E. by E., and 6 ft. or more wide. A body of Kafirs were at work breaking out quartz, in which the free gold was easily visible. AFRICA, SOUTHERN. 21 On his second journey, Button started from Lydenburg, and came to a range, shortly after crossing the Salati river, which he named the Murchison Hills. They consist of two ranges about 600 ft. high, run- ning parallel, from W.S.W. to E.N.E., with a valley 6 miles wide between them. The S.E. range is of chloritic talcose slate, in a highly crystalline state ; the N.W. is argillaceous of a deep red colour from the amount of iron in it. In the main valley are smaller hills with large quartz veins running through them. Auriferous quartz was found in 3 distinct veins, by crushing it between two stones and washing it out with a digger's dish. One reef was about 10 ft across, another 3 ft., and the third a few inches, but parallel to one 40 ft. wide, capped with cellular quartz full of a red oxide. The months of March, April, and May, are unhealthy, and it would not be safe to enter until the dry season had set in, when water is scarce ; but there would be no difficulty, if dams were made in the beginning of October, in securing a supply during the first rains. Button had on his farm at Eersteling, in the Zoutpansberg dis- trict (approximately S. lat. 24 6' 51", height about 3800 ft.) an auriferous quartz reef, which he named Natalia, and to continue working which he succeeded in forming a company in England, called The Transvaal Gold Mining Co., Limited, with a capital of 5o,ooo/. The reef is in close proximity to clay-slate, and appears to be cased with talcose schist and decomposed sandstone and slate ; its direction is about S.W. by W. to N.E. by N., true bearing, with a dip to the N.W. ; it appears to extend the best part of a mile, and is about 3 ft. wide, in some places 4 ft. ; free gold is visible to the naked eye, in some cases a regular net-work of gold standing out in high relief all over the stone. Two samples assayed by Johnson and Sons, of London, gave 73 oz. 6 dwt. 21 gr., and 59 oz. 10 dwt. 2 gr. per ton of 20 cwt. There are alluvial diggings below this reef, extending 3 miles or more down the Eersteling rivulet ; at the upper part, the deposit is rather thin, and as neither the gold nor stones are water-worn, they are evidently derived from this reef. But, lower down, the nature of the soil changes : at Venters, gold was found in the latest alluvial deposit at 2 ft. deep ; at Dupree's farm, sinkings of about 20 ft. were made, the soil being dark clay sandstone, mica-schist, and alluvial water-worn gravel ; on the bed-rocks of hard sandstone or granite, gold in small quantities was found at every prospect. Karl Mauch, in 1871, discovered the long-sought ruins of Zimbaoe, Zimbabye, or Mazimbaoe, in S. lat. 20 15' 34", E. long. 31 37' 45", and 4200 ft. above the level of the sea. Here he found that the natives had been long accustomed to work for alluvial gold. He reported the gold- field as only half-an-hour north from Pikes Kraal. On the Tugela river, in Natal, gold-bearing veins have been dis- covered and worked. 22 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The Lydenburg gold-fields are supposed to extend about 60 miles north and south along the sources of the Blyde river, the Umsaabi,^the Crocodile, and the Umkomatie, and eastward perhaps 50 or 60 miles into the " fly and fever country " in the direction of Lebomba. The Pilgrims' Rest diggings were discovered in September, 1873, by William Trafford ; they extend about 5 miles along Pilgrims' Creek, a tributary of the Blyde river, which runs north to the Olifants or Lipa- lula river, which last in turn empties itself into the Limpopo. Gold was found in the higher lands in the vicinity, as well as in the banks and terraces of the creeks. Writing "in 1878, Fynney says that the Lydenburg gold-fields have been opened for about 4 years; but the feeble government under which they have hitherto existed has precluded all chance of their development, and for the last 1 8 months they have almost been closed, owing to the war with Secocoeni. Still, with all these drawbacks, they have continued to be worked to some extent. The Government returns for the year ending December, 1875, show that the Natal Bank exported in that year over 36,ooo/. worth of gold, and the Cape Commercial Bank's exports for the same period exceeded 70,000!. It is estimated also that at least ioo,ooo/. worth more reached England through private hands. On the authority of Jeppe, the first traces of gold within the limits of the Transvaal were found by Mauch in July, 1868, on the north side of the Olifants river, near the Murchison range, visited two years later by Button. On the 3ist August, 1871, E. Button discovered auriferous quartz and alluvial deposits at Eersteling, between Makapans Poort and Maraba-stadt, where mining operations were carried on for some time. On the 6th February, 1873, the first alluvial gold was discovered near the Blyde river, in the district of Lydenburg, by Parsons, McLauchlin, and Valentine ; and on the I4th of May following, the locality was officially proclaimed as a payable gold-field by the Transvaal Government. Since then, auriferous quartz-reefs have been discovered in different parts of the country, viz. in the District of Waterberg, on the farm Buffelspoort, not far from Nylstroom ; at Blauwbank (Witwaters Rand) ; on the Crocodile river, south of Lydenburg ; in the Amaswazi country, not far from the line of the projected railway which is (1877) to connect Delagoa Bay with New Scotland ; at the sources of the Schoen Spruit, district of Potchefstroom ; in the Dwars Berge, district of Marico ; and, in July, 1875, alluvial gold was found on the town commonage of Pretoria. An alluvial field, distant about 40 miles from Lydenberg, was (1874) giving good prospect of paying, according to Percy Hope. Yankee Dan, an experienced Australian miner, working a claim on wages at 4/. los. a week, found 8 oz. in one week, 7 oz. in another, and 17^ oz. during the AFRICA, SOUTHERN. 23 four days that Hope was on the fields. Many parties' finds averaged I oz. per diem. According to Sir Bartle Frere, great expectations were, at one time, formed of the richness of the Transvaal gold-fields, and a considerable amount of gold is even now extracted from the gold-fields in and beyond the Lydenburg district, about Pilgrims' Rest and Mac-Mac. Much more would probably be worked if the country were settled, but here and in other parts where gold has been worked, as, for instance, in the mountains between Pretoria and Potchefstroom, the gold hitherto found has been, for the most part, in quartz, and cannot be extracted without more machinery and cheaper fuel than the miners have as yet been able to command. The Transvaal gold-fields were alluded to by the Rev. George Blen- cowe, at a meeting (1880) of the Society of Arts, in the following terms : " Pilgrims' Rest, the most important gold-field as yet discovered in the colony, is a valley running up 4 miles, from the Blyde river in an easterly direction, to an elevation of about 2000 ft. at the upper end. The average depth from a mile east of the Blyde is about 1000 ft. The present surface is covered with soil, from which grass and an abundant and various herbage grow. But down below the present surface, in some cases at the depth of 30 ft, there is the site of an old stream, strewn over with fragments of lava, measuring I to 20 ft. square, which have been triturated and ground by the force of the current, till all the smaller ones are rounded and the larger are deprived of their angles. It is here on the upper edges of the larger stones that the gold of the original stream is found. The gold is not confined to the original stream, but has been discovered on the shoulders of the minor ridges and on their tops, where it has not been subject to trituration or any abrading power. On both sides of the Blyde, gold has been found in paying quantities, over an extent of not less than 8 miles square. There has been no registration of the gold found, so that it is impossible to say how much has been obtained. But in January, 1874, the Gold Commissioner, who had been in California, Australia, New Zealand, and other fields, told Blencowe that then more gold had been taken from Pilgrims' Rest than from any "creek" in New Zealand. Similar state- ments were made to him by men who had been gold-digging in various parts of the world during more than 30 years. Immediately over the eastern ridge of Pilgrims' Rest, Mac-Mac, another field is reached, in which there is no trace of the same kind of violent volcanic or aqueous action. The gold is neither molten nor rusty, but bright and angular, as if it had just fallen from its quartz matrix. Many of the claims at Mac- Mac have yielded well, but the extent of rich ground has not been equal to that in Pilgrims' Rest. About 20 miles further on, in the same 24 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. direction, is Spitz Kop, a solitary hill, around whose foot some good finds have taken place ; but full occupation has been prevented by the unsettled state of the country since a few months after digging was fairly commenced. To the north and north-east of these fields, a wide tract of territory extends, which is supposed to contain large quantities of gold, but which has not been examined because of the hostility of the native occupants. More than 100 miles to the north-west, at Eersteling, a rich reef was discovered by Button 8 years since, and alluvial gold was obtained as far south as the Komati. So that there is an expanse of 200 miles east and west, and the same distance north and south, in which gold has been discovered by the imperfect mode of search which has thus far been practised. This part of the Transvaal may, therefore, be regarded as presenting great auriferous promise, which, if fulfilled, will probably make it the most prosperous district in the country." It was recently stated in The Colonies and India, that the Grantully Castle took home over io,ooo/. worth of Transvaal gold, and that in the last 6 years over 2OO,ooo/. worth had been sent through the Cape Commercial Bank alone. When describing the auriferous rocks of South-east Africa, Dr. Sutherland states that in the Insizwa Mountains,. in the basin of the St. John's river along the line of contact of Baines' Dicynodon strata (which there seems to resemble diorite) with the Secondary strata, the former contains various ores of copper, which have been found to yield about 4 dwt. of gold to the ton of ore. The primitive rocks in the valleys where the gold has been found have been very much eroded by the rivers. It would appear to Dr. Sutherland a reasonable assumption that no part of the gold contained in the rocks, that have been eroded and removed in the form of mud and fine sand, has been washed away, but that it remains in the alluvions now traversed by the same rivers. It is obvious that though it may be imperceptibly small in the parent rock, it may be much more abundant in the debris, which constitutes in fact the result of natural stamping operations continued for many centuries. In the early part of 1874, says R. N. Rubidge, gold was discovered near Smithfield, a newly established town, in the Orange River Sovereignty. This author's account of the geological structure of the auriferous trap dykes in the Dicynodon strata will be referred to in the next chapter. Keith Johnston says that the Transvaal has gold, discovered in the north of the state by Karl Mauch and Edward Baines, but also existing much farther north, beyond the Limpopo river. Some of those gold-fields, however, have proved very disappointing ; while great expectations are (1878) entertained of others discovered in 1872 and 1873 at Maraba Town and Lydenberg, at which gold-digging has been carried on with various AFRICA, SOUTHERN. 25 success, and where there appears to be sufficient quantity of the precious metalto warrant continuous effort. The gold is here, he says, of excellent quality, commanding as much as 3/. i8s. per oz. It is mostly alluvial, but nuggets of 4 to 7 Ib. weight are sometimes picked up. The most experienced Australian miners are of opinion that extremely rich deposits must yet be brought to light. About 6 leagues distant from Zumbo, at the confluence of the Loangwa with the Zambesi, west of Tete, are the celebrated gold-mines of Parda Pemba, from which much gold was formerly obtained. These are now abandoned, and the village of Zumbo was deserted by the Portuguese for several years, but reoccupied in 1862. Urua. According to Keith Johnston, silver and gold are known in Urua, a country on the west of Lake Tanganyika. Katanga. Gold is also present in Katanga, west of Lake Moero and south of Tanganyika, in Sekeletu's Dominion. Livingstone heard that the Katanga people are afraid to mine the gold, because Ngolu (which the Arabs translate Satan) has hidden it there. Cameron states that gold is found at Katanga ; also in the copper there. He was shown a calabash (holding about a quart) full of nuggets, varying in size from a hazel-nut to swan-shot, obtained in clearing out a water-hole. The natives do not value gold, as it is too soft. When at Benguela, he was told that gold had been found in such a large proportion in the copper brought there from Katanga, that a company was buying all the copper in order to extract the gold from it. Zanguebar. The natives of the country of Machanga, on the east coast, south of Zanzibar, brought (1881) rich specimens of gold and copper to Capt. T. L. Phipson-Wybrants. And in 1823, the Arabs informed Capt. Boteler that in some rivers in the vicinity of Mombas, gold in small quantities was at times procured. Kalahari Desert. The Kalahari Desert is said to be rich in minerals ; Anderson discovered (1879) gold in two mountain ranges. Madagascar. Copper and silver are known to exist in Madagascar, and gold, long suspected in some of the ravines of the granitic highlands, has also been discovered. But search for the precious metal is absolutely prohibited by the native laws, lest the inhabitants should be overrun by an influx of foreign diggers. Hence nothing has been done towards developing the mineral resources in this direction. Ophir. It would be somewhat out of place to occupy space in this volume with the various and voluminous arguments concerning the claims of certain localities to be considered the site of the Ophir of Scripture. But as it is a subject which may interest some readers, the following list is submitted of the chief publications which deal with it, in addition to the few words on p. 13 : 26 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Sir Roderick Murchison's address to the Royal Geographical Society, in their Journal, vol. xxxviii. p. clxxxii. (1868). Sir R. Murchison in Proceedings, Royal Geographical Society, vol. xiii. p. 300 (1868-9). Livingstone's ' Zambesi,' pp. 2-3. Smith's ' Bible Dictionary,' art. Ophir. Balfour's ' Cyclopaedia of India,' vol. ii. pp. 346-7. Burton's ' Gold-mines of Midian,' pp. 259-63. Robinson's ' Theological Dictionary.' Bickmore's ' Indian Archipelago,' pp. 404-6. Jacob's ' Precious Metals,' vol. i. p. 2. Salt's ' Voyage to Abyssinia,' pp. 99-101. McLeod's ' Travels in East Africa,' vol. i. pp. 211-16, vol. ii. pp. 321-47. ' Notes and Queries,' vols. vii., viii., ix. Pamphlet entitled ' Ophir : or the Indian Gold-mines,' published by W. J. Johnson, 121 Fleet Street, London, 1880. Article by Eastwick in the ' Gentleman's Magazine' (July, 1880). Peacock's pamphlet on the Guinea or Gold Coast of Africa, published by W. Pollard, North Street, Exeter. Angola. According to Monteiro, gold-dust had been (1875) dis- covered in a part of the country called Lombige. [The river Lombige is a small tributary of the Zenza, as the Bengo is called inland.] And at a place called Mayengo, he found two white men with a party of blacks exploring for gold, of which they had already obtained a few ounces of dust from the sand of the river (Lombige). Some 10 miles farther on the river is another place where a little gold-dust was procured, but not more than 2 Ib. were got after many months' working. The formation of the country from Golungo Alto to the auriferous ground of the Lombige is a hard clay-slate, in which are observed only a few small quartz veins. WESTERN AFRICA. With regard to Western Africa generally, the French claim to have imported gold from El Mina (Elmina) as early as 1382. In 1442, Gon^ales Baldeza returned from his second voyage to the regions about Bojador, bringing with him the first gold. In 1471, Joao de Santarem and Pedro Escobar reached a place on the Gold Coast, to which, from the abundance of gold found there, they gave the name of Oro de la Mina, the present Elmina. Leo Africanus says that the King of Ghana had a gold nugget, weighing 30 Ib., which was bored through and fitted for a seat. Similarly, in later times, the king of " Buncatoo " had a solid gold stool, which caused his destruction by the Ashantis. Bosman (letter vi.) says gold is found in three sites. The first and best was " in or between particular hills ;" the negroes sank pits there and separated the soil adhering to it. The second " is in, at, and about some rivers." The third is on the sea-shore, near the mouths of rivulets, AFRICA, WESTERN. 2j and the favourite time for washing is after violent night rains. Bosman estimates the annual export at 7000 marks per annum. At the conclu- sion of his 6th letter, he says, " I would refer to any intelligent metallist, whether a vast deal of ore must not of necessity be lost here, from which a great deal of gold might be separated, from want of skill in the metallic art ; and not only so, but I firmly believe that large quan- tities of pure gold are left behind, for the negroes only ignorantly dig at random, without the least knowledge of the veins of the mines." Some authorities fix the Seecom river as the easternmost boundary where gold is found. This is so far incorrect that Burton panned it from the sands under James Fort. Besides which, it is notorious that on the banks of the upper Volta, about the latitude of the Krobo [Croboe] country, there are extensive deposits, regarded by the people as sacred. The Slave Coast is a low alluvial tract, and appears to be wholly desti- tute of gold. According to the Rev. Bowen, however, a small quantity has been found in the quartz of Yoruba, north of Abeokuta. The Niger, which flows, according to Burton, from the true auriferous centre, has at times been found to roll down stream-gold. The soil of Fanti and the seaboard is, as has been seen, but slightly auriferous. Judging from analogy, Burton expects to find the precious metal in the declivities inland and northwards from Cape Palmas, and in that sister formation of the East African ghauts, the " Sierra del Crystal." The late Capt Lawlin, an American trader, settled on an island at the mouth of the Fernan Vaz, carried to his own country, about the year 1843-4, a quantity of granular gold, which had been brought to him by some country people. He took back all the necessary tools and imple- ments to the Gaboon river, but the natives became alarmed, and he failed to find the spot. Finally, according to the tradition of native tra- vellers, the unexplored region called Ruma (which may be the "Runga" of our maps, with whose position Ruma corresponds), and conjecturally placed south of the inhospitable Waday, is a land of goldsmiths, the ore being found in mountainous and well-watered districts. Mungo Park supplies the amplest notices of gold in the regions visited by him north of the Kong Mountains. The principal places are the head of the Senegal river, and its various influents ; Dindiko, where the shafts are most deep, and notched, like a ladder ; Shrouda, which gives 2 gr. from every Ib. of alluvial matter ; Bambouk, and Bambarra. In Kong- kadu, the " mountain land," where the hills are of coarse, ruddy granite, composed of red felspar, white quartz, and black shale, containing orbi- cular concretions, granular gold is found in the quartz, which is broken with hammers ; the grains, however, are flat. They vary from a pin's head to the size of a pea, and are remarkably pure. This is called sana manko or gold-powder, in contradistinction to sana birro or gold- 28 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. stones, nuggets occasionally weighing 5 drachms. In December, after the harvest home, when the gold-bearing fiumaras from the hills have shrunk, the Mansa or Shaykh appoints a day to begin sana-ku (gold- washing). The error made by these people is digging and washing for years in the same spot, which proves comparatively unfruitful unless the torrent shifts its course. They never follow the lead to the hills, but content themselves with exploring the heads of the water-courses. The richest yield is from pits sunk in the height of the dry season, near some hill in which gold has been found. The most hopeful formation is held to be a bed of reddish sand, with small dark specks, described as " black matter, resembling gunpowder, called by the natives sana mira " or gold- rust ; it is possibly emery. The style of panning described by Mungo Park in no way differs from that now practised on the Gold Coast and Kaffir lands. It is illustrated in Fig. 3, and is conducted as follows. A woman puts about to 2 Ib. of gravel and sand into the calabash shown, covers it I in. deep with water, and crumbles it to pieces and thoroughly mixes it by pulling her hands towards her. She then throws FIG. 3. GOLD-PANNING IN WEST AFRICA. out all large pebbles, taking care not to reject nuggets at the same time ; which done, she gives the sand and water a rotatory motion, so as to make a portion fly over the brim of the calabash. While doing this with her right hand, with her left she throws out of the centre of the vortex a portion of sand and water at every revolution. She then adds a little fresh water, and as the quantity of sand has by this time much diminished, holds the calabash obliquely, and makes the sand move slowly round on the line A B, while she constantly agitates it with a quick motion in the direction C D. The whole operation is completed in about 2 minutes. According to Burton, the great centre of West African gold, the source which supplies Manding to the north and Ashanti to the south, is the equatorial range, called the Kong. What the mineral wealth must be there it is impossible to estimate, when nearly 3,500,0007. sterling have annually been drawn from a small parallelogram between its southern slopes and the ocean, whilst the other three-fourths of the land (without alluding to the equally rich declivities of the northern versant), AFRICA, WESTERN. 2 9 have remained as yet unexplored. Even in Northern Liberia gold is found in the streams. Guinea. One of the earliest modern travellers to visit the Gold Coast was J. L. Wilson. He describes the gold of Ashanti as being procured both by washing and digging. The soil everywhere in Ashanti seems to be impregnated with gold, and large quantities are obtained from the sand even of the streets of Kumasi [Coomassie]. There are besides very rich mines, and especially in Gaman, where the gold is gathered in large lumps. The mines are very imperfectly worked, and some of the richest are sacred to the native fetishes, and so untouched. In several parts of the country, as Akim, Dinkira, Tueful, and Wassaw, according to Dr. R. Clarke, gold-digging is (1860) the occupa- tion of large numbers of people, who resort thither from all parts of the settlements. Apintoe and Essaham are the principal gold-fields in Western Wassaw. At the diggings, marketable goods are sold at greatly enhanced prices, from the difficulty of their transport, in exchange for gold-dust. The yield varies greatly. The metal is procured at some of the " holes " from the auriferous soil, and at others from the crushed quartz. In other districts, it is obtained by washing in the beds of rivers and watercourses after the rains have run off, especially at the base of the hills. At Cape Coast, and along the seaboard, women may be observed washing the sand on the beach, especially after heavy rains. The earnings of these poor women average about lod. sterling daily, but occasionally 2s. 6d. worth of granular gold rewards fheir severe toil. To the granules collected on the beach, a fine, black, and apparently metallic sand is often found adhering. The bulk of the gold exported from this part of the coast comes from Ashanti, and the quantity annually sent to England is estimated at 100,000 oz. After leaving Odoomassie and Akropong, going up to Ahabante, three ranges of mountains are crossed. Capt. Sir John Glover's party (1873) found their great difficulty was to prevent themselves from falling down the gold-pits dug on each side of the road. The natives there have only an idea of sinking a shaft ; they have no notion of working a gallery underneath, so that, in the space of a large hall, some 40 shafts would be sunk ; they only then remove the soil at the bottom of the shaft, which is capable of simply allowing the body of a man to pass down. He is of opinion that, with the appliances of science, there must be a great deal of gold there yet to be produced. The mountains are entirely composed of quartz and granite. The rivers over which the party passed are all dammed up for the purpose of washing gold ; and from Akropong to the river Amoom, the entire line of march is over a country marked by the gold-shafts described. The Berem river is said to be very rich in gold. After the floods 3 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. large boulders are washed down, which break when brought into contact with one another ; and when the river is low, the natives go down and secure a very large quantity of gold from the boulders which have thus been split open by the force of the current. Coming to Odoomassie, and indeed, from the line of the Prah river to Odoomassie, the gold-pits increase in number, and instead of the shafts being sunk 18 and 28 ft deep, gold-pits are found like common gravel-pits in England. The steamers from Liverpool reach Accra in 22 days ; thence a march of 10 miles across a plain, lands the traveller at an altitude of 1600 ft. Europeans have lived at Akropong for 30, and even 35 years, and Sir John Glover saw children going home for the first time to Europe, 6 and 8 years old, born in these mountains. He therefore finds no drawback to the gold being worked by Europeans. Sir Garnet Wolseley, on the other hand, " would not like to search for gold, the climate being too horrid. Few survive." Capt Thompson, who has travelled among the Wassaws, is of opinion that there must be patches of no inconsiderable extent upon the Gold Coast, which exceed in mineral wealth anything that we have known anywhere else in the world. Capt. Butler expresses his belief that if the gold-miners of other and civilized regions had the faintest conception of the nature of the veins of gold which permeate Ashanti, not all the fears of African climate, or of native treachery or cruelty, would prevent an immigration which must ere long completely change the face of these regions, whatever terrible loss of life occurred during the earlier period of settlement. Every little ornament in Coomassie is almost recklessly mended and patched with gold. Common pieces of crockery, which might be perhaps repaired in England by the not very elegant process of sewing in brass wire, are found quite as roughly, or even more roughly, repaired in Coomassie, but with gold instead of brass. Prof. Church analysed some clean fragments of Ashanti gold cut from different nuggets. The sp. gr. was 17 -55, and analysis gave : Gold 90-055 per cent. Copper faint trace. Iron , trace. Silver 9*95 99*945 (?) The entire country of Akim (between 6 and 7 N. lat, and about i W. long.), according to Capt. J. S. Hay, is auriferous in a high degree ; the natives, however, are too ignorant and too lazy to work the gold properly, and content themselves with digging circular holes from 16 to 20 ft. deep to obtain it, in the shape of small nuggets and dust, the latter being also found in the rivers and watercourses, where he has seen them washing it. The country is honeycombed in some parts with these AFRICA, WESTERN. 3! gold-holes, which make walking a difficult and sometimes dangerous operation. The soil is a heavy, tenacious red clay, quartz strata and red sandstone cropping up in every direction. The most detailed account of the Wassaw diggings is given by J. A. Skertchley, who, early in March of 1877, arrived at Cape Coast Castle in command of an expedition whose object was to " inspect the gold-mines of Wassaw (between 5 10' and 5 40' N. lat, and between i 25' and 2 20' W. long.), one of the late subjugated districts of Ashanti." Several English and foreign expeditions had previously been fitted out for a similar purpose, in the hope of establishing a gold-mining company, in order to reap a portion of that rich auriferous harvest a few ears of which were being culled by the native miners. From one cause or another, all these expeditions failed, a principal reason being the attempt to form a mining company upon a plan similar to that on which companies are based in Australia, California, and other civilized portions of the globe. In Africa, however, are difficulties to contend with which are not encountered elsewhere. A climate enervating in the extreme, and which speedily finds out the weak spots in a European constitution ; want of means of transport ; a lack of food suitable to Europeans ; and lastly, the innate and universal laziness of the natives all these difficulties have to be met and overcome, rendering the task by no means easy. Still Skertchley determined to ascertain the practicability of Europeans working the mines of the Gold Coast, not by their own personal labour, as was attempted by the French and Dutch, but under their supervision. On the Western Coast of Africa, however energetic a man may naturally be, the enervating character of the climate is such as to take all the " go " out of the greatest enthusiast in a few months, while it would be impossible for any white man to work day by day in a similar manner to our navvies and miners. At the time of the arrival of the expedition at Tacquah, there were upwards of 6000 men and women engaged in working the gold. The auriferous mineral is found in a series of parallel reefs, descending at about the angle of 45, encased by walls of hard quartz and pseudo-quartz of a ruddy, greasy look. These reefs have been worked from very early times, the country for miles around being honeycombed with holes and washing- pits. Of geology and mineralogy, the natives have not the slightest idea, since the party continually came across shafts put down in the most absurd positions. Indeed, it required a very sharp eye to detect the deserted shafts in many places, for they were sunk close alongside the path, or, indeed, in the old pathway itself, so that one had to travel by a series of zigzags between the pits. These shafts are quite curiosities in themselves, being in some cases as much as 80 ft. deep, and about 2 ft. in diameter, sunk as straight as if they had been bored with a huge auger ; and in not one of them was there a single stick of timbering. The 32 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. mouths of the old shafts were in many cases covered loosely with fallen branches or leaves, so that the unwary traveller stepping upon them would suddenly find himself precipitated to the bottom, or, as was generally the case, into the accumulated water, which, in some cases, rose to within a few feet of the surface. The shafts are dug by means of a small hoe, shaped somewhat like an Indian bassoolah, the iron being about 2 in. broad and 4 or 6 in. long. The workman squats on his hams, and scrapes the sandy earth into a small calabash, which, when filled, is drawn up to the surface by his companions. The shaft is just large enough to allow the miner to turn round in, and means of ascent and descent are afforded by holes cut in the sides, into which the miner inserts his toes, after the fashion of the old chimney-sweepers' boys when ascending a chimney. Having no pumps, and baling, except on a very small scale, being impossible, opera- tions have to be suspended as soon as water is reached ; and indeed but little can be done at all during and shortly after the rainy season. In alluvial ground, the gold is found in and beneath a stratum of blue clay, resting upon a substratum of hard rock, or in a layer of gravel. In some districts, all the sandy gravel below the surface soil is auriferous. Where reefs are worked, they have either been struck by sheer luck when sinking a shaft, or are outcropping reefs worked downwards from the surface to water-level. The latter is the case at Tacquah, where the strike of the reefs runs along the side of a hill, dipping towards the west at an angle of about 45. The head- and foot-walls are composed of syenite, as hard as flint, through which the natives are unable to penetrate, so that, unless the reef itself is wide enough to allow a man to work in it with elbow-room on each side, they can do nothing with it. The shafts run down with the reef at an angle of 45, and at Tacquah are about 40 ft. deep. The tools employed are hammers, generally of European manufacture, about 2 Ib. in weight, and chisels made by native black- smiths from the commonest bar-iron, tempered hap-hazard by being plunged into cold water. Others use chisels fixed into wooden handles like gouges. With these rude implements, aided by the light of a palm- oil lamp, with a piece of rag for wick, they work in gangs of two or three day and night. At Tacquah, there are rude ladders constructed of bamboo as means of access, and the mouths of the shafts are covered with a shed. By working all day, two men can cut out about a cubic foot of the reef. The quartz is placed in a calabash, which is tied in a handkerchief, and sent up to the workman at the surface. These convey it to their homes, and set about the process of pounding it with hammers until it is reduced to powder. This, again, is placed on a slab of syenite or granite about 2 ft. square, resting at an angle sloping from the operator on a crutch of three sticks, held together by what sailors would term a " grommet " AFRICA, WESTERN. 33 of rope. A handful of the pounded stone is placed upon the slab, and rubbed fine with a stone shaped liked a baker's roll, to which a slight rotatory motion is communicated as it is worked backwards and forwards on the slab. The ground quartz is caught in a calabash placed at the lower edge of the large slab, and, as a rule, it takes the whole night to grind down a cubic foot of stone, it being the custom for the miners performing this branch of labour to work all night, enlivening the time with songs and frequent potations of trade gin. The accumulated dust is swept together, and the floor, is carefully gone over, so that every particle of the auriferous quartz is gathered up ; and each 3 months or so, the floor of the grinding-shed is hoed-up and washed or " panned " off. The ground quartz is handed over to the wives of the operators, who invariably perform the operation of washing, and not unfrequently that of grinding too ; and during the whole of his stay in Wassaw, Skertchley never saw a male washing the dust, although female children of 6 or 7 years of age not unfrequently engage in the work. The implements consist of a large wooden bowl about 3 ft. in diameter, cut out of the solid ; one or two similar but smaller bowls ; a few feathers, a few calabashes, and a shell or two of the large edible snail. Taking their stand knee-deep in the creek or one of the numerous water-holes on its banks, the women place a handful or two of the dust in one of the smaller bowls, dip it under water, and pick out any large pieces which appear to contain gold, and which have escaped grinding. The residue is then washed, with exactly the same oscillatory motion -as the Australian miners apply to their prospecting dishes, the bowl being held above the larger one, which floats on the stream beneath, and is prevented from drifting away by the knees of the operator. As the bowl is rocked from side to side, the lighter particles separate from the heavier, and are, after being carefully inspected, thrown on one side. This process continues until nothing is left in the large bowl except a mass of black sand, amongst which a few grains of gold sparkle in the sunlight. This washed sand is then placed in one of the calabashes and subjected to a very careful washing, the calabash being rocked over a larger one, and this again over the largest, so as to catch every particle which might run over the edge. Gradually the amount is reduced until a thin line of auriferous particles is seen glittering along the upper end of the sand ; this is picked out with the feather, and washed in a still smaller calabash, until the dust is cleared of every particle of black sand. The gold is then carefully brushed into the snail-shell with the feather, and thus the operation continues until the whole mass of rock is washed over. Each woman, as a rule, takes her stand in a particular hole ; and when the washing has continued for some weeks, the water is bowled out of the hole, and the mud at the bottom is panned off. D 34 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The results vary considerably. The gold is so exceedingly fine, that in spite of all their care, and the expenditure of unlimited time and patience, the washers lose a very large percentage. Taking a fair average, it may be said that cutting out will occupy one day, crushing a second, and washing two more four days in all ; the return may be 3 dwt, to be divided amongst 4 miners and 4 washers. The reefs belong to the king or to chiefs, who receive or are supposed to receive one-half of the stone cut out ; but in most cases, when any stone is given as royalty, the miner takes particular care to pay the land- lord in stone either utterly barren or from the least auriferous portion of the reef. The discovery of a pocket is the signal for a general debauch among the lucky finders and their friends ; so that, as a rule, they are poorer after their rejoicing than before, for gin costs 4.?. 6d. a bottle at Tacquah, and he is a very poor miner who cannot put away a bottle on his own account before total insensibility deprives him of the power of swallowing. All large nuggets are the perquisites of the king ; but these are seldom found, or, if found, are broken up so as to avoid the claim. The miners come in the dry season to Wassaw from all parts of the Gold Coast, and even as far as Monrovia and Lagos ; while many arrive from the interior. What becomes of the gold-dust is more than Skertchley is able to say ; but it is certain that the quantity which makes its way down to the European factories is no criterion of the quantity raised. A large percentage is buried in the floors of the huts of the miners, who like to accumulate the precious dust in this manner, though its acquisition is of no more real use to them than are the hoards of the miser. It is true the natives have but few wants to supply gin, cloth, tobacco, and powder being their principal articles of purchase ; but it is strange that after the severe toil of the mines, they should be content to bury the gold in jars in the floor of the huts during their life- time, while at the death of the owner the precious metal is interred with him. A " resurrectionist " would be a lucrative profession in West Africa, for there are millions of pounds' worth of gold buried in the graves of the chiefs and principal men, who had lived from hand to mouth in apparent penury. The gold is worth, as it comes from the mines, about 3/. i?s. 6d. per oz. ; but it must not be supposed that it would pay anyone to go there to purchase it, for the " simple " natives are as well up in the art of sophistication as their lighter-hued brethren. Most of the hill ranges in Wassaw are quartzose, more so towards the north, those to the south being basaltic. All transport has to be effected on the heads of men and women, and roads are conspicuously absent. The rainfall is very heavy at certain seasons, and altogether wanting at others ; thus an extensive system of reservoirs and conduits would be necessary to allow of any but irregular work. The country is AFRICA, WESTERN. 35 peopled by a race whose laziness is only equalled by their mendacity, and who, despite their richness in gold, are miserably poor both as regards clothes and food. They are so superstitious as to believe that gold will run away from a man who has boots on ; that if a man works on the king's birthdays (a weekly institution), he will obtain no gold ; that if his lamp goes out, he must do no more work on that day ; and that gold moves about under the ground, and can only be found by a select few. The problem for Anglo-Guinea gold-mining companies to solve, is how to replace the useless native by an efficient labourer who can stand the climate and food. The exports of gold in men-of-war from Guinea, according to the books of the English-African Company, were in : 1808-1814 51,569 oz., value 205, 344/. 1815-1818 3>33 6 125,3807. Total .. .. 81,905 330, 7247. The declared exports from British Possessions on the West Coast of Africa have been approximately as follows : 1858-1860 .. .. loo, ooo/. in value, or about 1584 Ib. fine gold. 1861-1865 .. .. 20,400 ,, 328 1866-1870 .. .. 27,800 449 1871-1875 .. .. 38,700 622^ The total exports from the West Coast, as given approximately in British commercial returns, are : 1858-1860 .. .. 99,6oo/. in value, or about l6ioj Ib. fine gold. 1861-1865 .. .. 91,000 ,, ,, 1467! ,, 1866-1870 .. .. 120,000 ,, ,, 1936 ,, 1871-1875 .. .. 115,500 1852$ Since the preceding remarks were in type, and too late for incor- poration in them, have appeared papers on the subject of their recent journeys to the Gold Coast by Capt. Cameron and Capt. Burton, published in the 'Society of Arts Journal,' vol. xxx., No. 1541, pp. 777- 794, and the ' Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society,' vol. iv. Soudan. Portions of Senegambia, as the Kong Mountains (in Man- ding) and Bambouk, are historically renowned for their gold-diggings. In Bambouk province, gold is said to be so common and accessible that the rudest methods of collection are deemed sufficient. The most remark- able deposit is at Natakoo, where a considerable hill seems to be wholly composed of auriferous strata. There is also a good mine at Kenieba. According to Mungo Park, the gold of Manding is never found in the matrix or vein, but always in small grains, scattered through sand or clay. When the streams have subsided, a day is appointed by the chief, D 2 36 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. and the people dig in the streams. But the most profitable mode of washing is in the dry season, by digging a deep pit, near some hill which has been previously discovered to contain gold. In general, when they come to a stratum of fine reddish sand, with small black specks, they find gold in some proportion or other. The gold is sometimes met with in a brown-coloured clay. During his stay at Kamalia, the gold col- lected by the traders, for salt alone, was nearly IQ8/. sterling, and as Kamalia is a little town, this quantity must bear but a very small pro- portion to the quantity collected in the district. Between Senegal and the Niger, the following localities are mentioned by various authorities as producing gold : Sego (about 12 25' N. lat, and 7 W. long.) ; Buria (Boure or Bure), in the Mandingo Country, Upper Niger (9 W., 11 30' N.), where, out of a population of 6000, about one-sixth are engaged in gold-washing for some months in the year ; Kuma-Khana (between Buria and Bofoulaba, at the junction of the Bafing and Bakhoy, E. Bambouk), where are a large number of diggings ; Sangara (at the sources of the Niger) ; and Serankules. In 1867, R. A. Parrish, of Philadelphia, U.S., petitioned (Amer. Jl. Min., ii. 337) the House of Representatives, asking its intervention in a case of alleged spoliation by the French Government, amounting to 15 millions of francs. The claim rests upon the personal parole of the Emperor given to the petitioner at an extraordinary audience ap- pointed for the purpose, and was to have been embodied in a treaty, of which, together with all 'his other interests, he says he has been fraudu- lently deprived. The sum above named was promised for the claimant's demonstration of auriferous territory similar to that of California, since conquered and annexed to France, situated on the Kong Mountains of Africa, on the western coast, " and from which the Government of France has already derived great mineral wealth, her gold coinage for many years since then having attained the unprecedented sum of more than 100 millions of dollars annually." Writing in 1881, Mitchinson says that the district of Senegambia is rich in minerals, especially gold, and to work the latter, attempts have been made for more than a century by the French to obtain a profitable share in working the mines ; but factories formerly existing at Sansanding, and other places, met with but little success. These failures are, how- ever, fully accounted for by the misconduct and mistakes of the managers and agents, or by wars and accidental misfortunes, rather than risks in- separable from the business. The manager of the first gold company, a rapacious, cruel, and unjust administrator, lost his life at St. Joseph, a victim to the vengeance of the long oppressed natives. The greatest obstacle to success was the instability of life of the agents, who frequently had destroyed both character and constitution in Europe, and accepted their positions in the distant African Colony as a species of honourable OK Till -DIVERSITY - AMERICA, N. : ALASKA. 37 exile. In spite of such failures, there is every reason to believe that, with modern machinery and science, splendid results might be anticipated. The Venetian traveller Cadamosto, who visited Western Africa about 1454, alludes to the gold-field of Timbuctoo (spelt Tombutto, Tambucutu, Tumbutum, Timbuktu, &c.), and declares that the gold coinage of Portu- gal, Spain, and Italy, in the I4th and I5th centuries, was entirely sup- ported by supplies from this region. Most of the gold then exported from the Soudan would seem to have found its way by the slave and ivory caravans to the Mediterranean ports of Tunis, Fez, and Morocco. The large unwalled town of Gyni, in the kingdom of Melli, is specified as a headquarters for the exchange of gold and salt. AMERICA, NORTH. ALASKA. Gold and silver occur, says Dall (1870), in limited quan- tities in Alaska. Talcose and chloritic slate, with veins of quartz, abound in the island of Kadiak. An analysis of specimens of these rocks, by Dr. Newberry, shows only about $i (43. 2.d.} per ton of value in gold and silver. He says in regard to them, however, " These specimens come from a system which at other points is probably much richer. The mineralogical character of the specimens is precisely that of the most productive gold-bearing veins known, although silver will not be found in quantity in such an association of minerals." It is not impossible that the gold-bearing alluvium of Cook's Inlet, first examined by Dor6shin, was originally derived from similar rocks, especially as the island of Kadiak is apparently a prolongation of the peninsula of Kenai, on which the gold-bearing alluvium was found. Another analysis of this quartz, by Dr. John Hewston, jun., afforded $4 I5c. in silver per 2000 lb., with a trace of gold. These specimens were associated with sulphurets of lead and iron. The gold-deposits of the Stickeen [Stikine] River are all situated in British territory. They are only worked in the placers, but gold is said to exist in quartz veins in the vicinity. The head-waters of the Tahco River have afforded coarse gold to the few enterprising miners who have penetrated there. Fine scaly gold, like iron filings, in very small quan- tities, is found in the sands at the mouth of the Porcupine or Rat River, the branch which runs into the Yukon from the north near Fort Yukon ; but there is scarcely a " colour " to the pan, and the country is accessible only for 3 months in the year. The alluvium of the Kaknu River is a yellowish clay, and has not yet been worked by any practical miner. Gold has been found in the bay on which the Taku villages are situated, and in the streams of the vicinity. It averages 5 c. (2\d.} to the pan, in scales or small nuggets. The richest deposit was on the main stream, 4 or 5 miles from the bay, at the foot of a waterfall, said to be 100 ft. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. high. More recently, quartz prospecting has been vigorously carried on here, and quantities of samples of the auriferous mineral have been taken to San Francisco for examination. BRITISH AMERICA. The British territory in North America is now included under Canada and Newfoundland, the latter being the only province which refused to join the confederacy ; but, for the purposes of reference, it will be more convenient to recognise certain subdivisions, as follows : British Columbia, Canada proper, Manitoba and the North- West Territory (formerly Hudson's Bay Territory), New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. British Columbia. To use the words of George M. Dawson, whose several invaluable reports form the principal source of information on this head, and will be liberally drawn upon, " it may be said, without exaggeration, that there is scarcely a stream of any importance in the province of British Columbia in which the ' colour ' of gold cannot be found." The gold discoveries, made known in 1858, led to a great influx of miners in that and the following year ; and gold, the first cause in attracting attention to the country, has ever since been the chief factor in its prosperity. See sketch map, Fig. 4. The annexed table shows the actually known and estimated yield of gold, the number of miners employed, and their average earnings per man, per year, from 1858 to 1880 : Year. Amount actually known to have jeen exported by Banks, &c. Add one-third more, estimate of gold carried away in private hands. Total. Number of Miners employed. Average yearly earnings per man. * 8 1 i I8 S 8 \ (6 months)/ 390,265 130,088 520,353 3,ooo 173 1859 1,211,304 403,768 1,615,072 4,000 403 1860 1,671,410 557,133 2,228,543 4,400 506 1861 I>999 5 589 666,529 2,666,118 4,200 634 1862 \ 1863 / 3,184,700 1,061,566 4,246, 266 I 4, loo \4,400 517 482 1864 2,801,888 933,962 3,735,850 4,400 849 1865 2,618,404 872,801 3,491,205 4,294 813 1866 ,996,580 665,526 2,662,106 2,982 893 1867 ,860,651 620,217 2,480,868 3,044 814 1868 ,779.729 593,243 2,372,972 2,390 992 1869 ' ,331.234 443,744 1,774,978 2,369 749 1870 ,002,717 334.239 ,336,956 2,348 569 1871 ,349,580 449,860 ,799,440 2,450 734 1872 ,208,229 402,743 ,610,972 2,400 671 1873 979,312 326,437 ,305,749 2,300 567 1874 ,383,464 461,154 ,844,618 2,868 643 1875 ,856,178 618,726 ,474,904 2,024 1,222 1876 ,339,986 446,662 ,786,648 2,282 783 1877 ,206,136 402,046 ,608,182 1,960 820 1878 ,062,670 one-fifth 212,534 ,275,204 1,883 677 1879 ,075,049 215,009 ,290,058 2,124 607 1880 844,856 168,971 ,013,827 1,955 518 45,140,889 AMERICA, N. I BRITISH COLUMBIA. 39 The dollar is equivalent to about 4$. 2d., thus the total value of the gold-export from this colony has amounted to something like 9,028, i/S/. The gold-yield shows a fluctuation from year to year, which is due not only to the uncertainty of the deposits worked, and number of miners employed, but depends also on climatic conditions. Thus the FIG. 4. 778 ni Tie" -HS" SKETCH-MAP OF BRITISH COLUMBIAN GOLD-FIELDS. decrease of 1876, as compared with 1875, may be attributed in the Cariboo district to the great quantity of snow falling on the mountains during the preceding winter, and more than average rainfall of the summer, circumstances which prevented the clearing of the deep claims from water till late in the season. In Cassiar, the unfavourable spring 4 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. prevented the miners from reaching their claims till late, and heavy floods impeded their operations during the summer. The very general distribution of alluvial gold over the province may indicate that several different rock formations produce it in greater or less quantity ; though it is only where " coarse " or " heavy " gold occurs that the original auriferous veins must be supposed to exist in the imme- diate vicinity of the deposit. " Colours," as the finer particles of gold are called, travel far along the beds of the rapid rivers before they are reduced by attrition to invisible shreds ; and the northern and other systems of distribution of drift material have, no doubt, also assisted in spreading the fine gold. The gold formation proper, however, consists of a series of talcose and chloritic, blackish or greenish-grey slates or schists, which occasionally become micaceous, and generally show evidence of greater metamorphism than the gold-bearing slates of California. Their precise geological horizon is not yet determined, no geological survey to that end having been made ; but Dawson is inclined to believe that they will be found to occupy a position intermediate between the more distinctive members of the Lower Cache Creek group of Selwyn's first provisional classification of the rocks of British Columbia (Rep. Prog. Geol. Survey, 1871-72, p. 61), and the base of the overlying Mesozoic rocks, called in Dawson's report for 1875 the Porphyrite series. If this be so, they are not improbably the geological equivalents of some of the richest auriferous rocks of California. By the denudation of the auriferous veins traversing these rocks, the gold has been concentrated in the placers. The greatest areas of these rocks appear in connection with the dis- turbed region lying west of the Rocky Mountain Range, known in various parts of its length as the Purcell, Selkirk, Columbia, Cariboo, and Omineca Ranges. Other considerable belts of auriferous rocks, however, probably belonging to the same age, occur beyond this region, as in the vicinity of Anderson River and Boston Bar, on the Fraser ; at Leech River, Vancouver Island, and elsewhere. The Cariboo district, discovered in 1860, has been the most perma- nent and productive. The 53rd parallel of latitude passes through the centre of the district, which has been described as a mountainous region, but is rather to be regarded as the remnant of a great high-level plateau, with an average elevation of 5000 to 5500 ft., dissected by innumerable streams, which flow from it in every direction, but all eventually reach branches of the Fraser River. These streams, falling rapidly about their sources over rocky beds, descend into great V-shaped valleys ; and, with the lessening slope, the rock becomes concealed by gravel deposits, which increase in thickness and extent till the valleys become (J- sna P e d or flat-bottomed, and little swampy glades are formed, AMERICA, N. : BRITISH COLUMBIA. 4! through which the stream flows tortuously and with gentle current. The steep sloping banks of the valleys are densely covered with coniferous forest, of which comparatively little has been destroyed by fire, owing to the dampness of the climate at this great altitude. The surface of the broken plateau above is often diversified by open tracts, affording good pasture in summer ; and the whole country is more or less thickly covered by drift or detrital matter, concealing the greater part of the surface of the rocky substratum. As in all new gold-mining districts, the shallower placer deposits, and gravels in the present stream-courses, first attracted attention ; but, with the experience of California and Australia, it was not long before the "deep diggings" were found to be by far the most profitable. Williams' and Lightning Creeks have, so far, yielded the greater part of the gold of Cariboo. They were known from the first to be rich, but have been found specially suited for deep work, in having a hard deposit of boulder clay beneath the beds of the present water-courses, which prevents the access of much of the superficial water to the workings below. By regular mining operations, the rocky bottom of the valley is followed beneath 50 to 150 ft. of overlying clays and gravels, the course of the ancient stream being traceable by the polished rocks of its bed, and the coarse gravel and boulders which have filled its channel. In the hollow of the rocky channel, the richest " lead" of gold is usually found ; but in following the rock surface laterally, side-ground, rich enough to pay well, is generally discovered for a greater or less width. The old stream-courses of the Cariboo district are found to have pursued very much the same directions as their present representatives follow, crossing often from side to side of the valley with different flexures, and occasionally running through below a point of drift material pro- jecting into the modern channel, but never actually leaving the old valley, or running across the modern drainage system, as is so often the case in the deep placers of California and Australia. As an example of the methods employed, and extent of mining operations required to reach the buried channels, the Van Winkle Mine on Lightning Creek, which is the most successful now in operation, may be taken. This claim covers about 2050 ft. in length of the valley, the deepest part of the old channel of which had been cleared out to a length of 1600 to 1700 ft, in October of 1 876. Much side-ground, however, yet remains ; and the workings sometimes attain a width of 200 to 300 ft, in following this up as far as it can be made to pay. The claim yielded the first dividend in December, 1873, $40,000 (8ooo/.) having been expended before gold was found in the channel. It has since con- tinued to pay handsomely, having produced in one week gold worth $15,700 (3140/0, and on other occasions at the weekly "clean up," sums 42 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. of $14,000 (28oo/.), $12,000 (2400/0, &c. At the date above mentioned, the total product of gold had amounted to $500,964 (100,193/0. In reaching the buried channel, a shaft is usually sunk at the lower or down-stream end of the claim, on the sloping side of the valley, where, after having gone through a moderate depth of clay or gravel, the slaty rock of the district is reached. The shaft is then continued through this till a depth supposed to be sufficient is attained, when a drift is started at right-angles to the course of the valley ; and if the right depth has been chosen, either by rough estimation or calculation based on that required in other neighbouring workings, the old channel is struck in such a way as to enable the subterranean water, collecting in it from the whole upper part of the claim, to be pumped to the surface by the shaft. On cutting out of the slate rock, however, into the gravel, so much water is frequently met with that the pumps are mastered, rendering necessary a cessation of work till the dryest part of the season, or the application of more powerful machinery. When the drift is not found to be at a sufficient depth to cut the bottom of the old channel, it is generally necessary to close it, and after continuing the shaft to a greater depth, to drive out again. The old channel, once reached and cleared of water, is followed up its slope by the workings, to the upper part of the claim, and where paying side-ground occurs it is also opened. In the Van Winkle mine, the average depth of the workings is only about 70 ft, the lowest shaft being placed 300 ft. from the creek, on the opposite side of which the rock is seen to rise to the surface, forming steep cliffs. The water is raised to within 40 ft. of the surface, when it is discharged into an adit 3000 ft. long, which is also used by other claims. There ure two pumps, 10 in. diameter, with wooden pipes, making about 1 2 4-foot strokes a minute, the power being supplied by an 1 8-foot breast- wheel. This does not adequately represent the volume of water pumped, however, as the ground of this claim is partly drained by others lower in the series, in which work cannot be carried on till later in the season. The richest pay is obtained in the rock channel of the old stream, but where this is much contracted, the force of the water has swept the gold away to those places where its width is increased. The harder rocks still preserve their polished water-worn forms, but most of the slates are rotten and crumbling to a considerable depth, and in cleaning up in the bottom, a thickness of i to 2 ft. is taken out with a pick and shovel, and sent up to the surface with the overlying gravel, for treat- ment In the side-work, as in the central channel, the greater part of the gold is found lying directly on the " bed-rock," and only occasionally are paying streaks seen in the gravel a few feet above it. The side ground is worked up from the channel in successive breasts parallel to it. The average yield of the part being worked at the time of Dawson's visit AMERICA, N. : BRITISH COLUMBIA. 43 may be stated at 2^ or 3 oz. to each set of timber, the set uncovering about 35 sq. ft. of bed-rock, with a height of 6 ft. The lowest layers of gravel contain many larger boulders of quartz, and slaty fragments, not much water-worn, which must have come down from the hill-sides ; the appearance is that of deposit by torrential waters to a depth of 4 to 6 ft. in the channel, above which the gravel is generally better rounded, and more evenly spread though still mixed with clay. In consequence of the unconsolidated nature of the gravel, the pres- sure on the supports of the workings is excessive. The sets of timber are in some places only a few inches apart, and the whole of the workings are lined with complete lagging. The timber used is very massive, being i to 2 ft. in average thickness, and consisting of the spruce of the country, simply barked and sawn into lengths. It costs, delivered at the mine, 8 c. (4 *5V Kootenay District. Wild Horse Creek. Discovered in 1863 ; in 1864, ordinary claims paid $20 to $30 (4/. to 61.} a day per man ; work still in progress. Perry Creek. Discovered, 1867. Some good claims, and some work still in progress. Findlay Creek. Good prospects ; but, owing to freshets, never successfully mined. Great Bend Country. (Now almost abandoned.) Games' Creek. Joins Columbia River from E. Heavy gold, some pieces worth as much as $14; mining on bars; the bed-rock not being reached on account of water. For a time, below the canon, the average earnings were $15 (3/.) French Creek. Empties into Downie River about 20 miles from its mouth. This was the richest in the district, and was worked both on bars and to the rock. Average earnings as much as $100 (2O/.) to the hand for some time on the Half Breed claim. Worked out. McCuller's Creek. Joins Downie River 4 miles from French Creek ; working on bars ; the bed-rock not reached on account of water. Pro- bably as high as $100 (2O/.) a day per man taken out in places, but deposit irregular. Fragments of quartz containing gold were found 4 miles up the creek. Other Districts. Parsnip River. Below its junction with the Nation River, draining the Omineca country. This stream carries fine gold, which has proved highly remunerative in some localities. 62 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Findlay River. Fine gold found on all the bars, but the head waters (where richer deposits may occur) have not been prospected. Peace River, E. of the Rocky Mountains. Fine gold is found in some abundance in places. Selwyn thinks it may be derived from the Laurentian axis to the N.E. Fraser River. Fine gold from its sources to the sea. Heavy gold does not extend far below Boston Bar, but is found in many places from here to Lytton, also in spots from Lytton to the mouth of the Chilicotin. Much gold is still obtained by Chinamen and Indians on the Fraser, and it is probable that eventually, many of even the higher flats and benches will pay for hydraulic work. Already much new ground was taken up here in 1880. The heaviest gold pretty nearly coincides in its distribu- tion with that of the slaty rocks of the Anderson River and Boston Bar series. The largest nugget found above Lytton was obtained 10 miles below Lillooet, and was worth $22 (gis. 8d.) McLennan's Creek. (Thirteen miles from Tete Jaune Cache, running into Cranberry Lake and thence to the Fraser). Gold found in 1876. Giving wages of $4 to $5 (i6s. to 2Os.~) a day, but owing to heavy boulders in stream, and expenses of all supplies, will not pay to work. Nechacco River. Colours obtained near Fort Fraser, and abundant near its junction with the Fraser River. Chilacco River. In certain banks near its mouth, 8 or 9 colours to the pan may be obtained. A small quantity of heavy gold found in a lateral creek by one of the men connected with the Canadian Pacific Railway survey in 1876. Chilicotin River. Gold in some quantity is said to have been found near the mouth of this stream. Bridge River. Gold found in heavy pieces, sometimes weighing I or 2 oz., and affording excellent mining on this stream for 10 miles up from its mouth. One nugget is said to have been worth $300 (6o/.) River prospected to its source in early days, and though gold found in several streams, not enough to justify work at that date. Lillooet River. Flowing into Harrison Lake. Some gold found here, and at various points on the portages towards Lillooet. South Thompson River. Colours, it is said, can be obtained in all the streams joining this river. North Thompson River. Colours found along its whole course, and at Louis Creek, 30 miles from its mouth, on the E. side, gold has been found in paying quantities. Tranquille River. Joining Kamloops Lake from the N. Heavy and light gold obtained here ; about 60 Chinamen at work in 1 876 summer, getting good pay ; it is said to have given oz. per diem at the mouth. AMERICA, N. : BRITISH COLUMBIA. 63 Scotch Creek. Joining Shuswap Lake from the N. Coarse gold mined here a few years ago. Main River Thompson. Heavy gold found on this river up to Nicommen, where, it is believed, the first gold in paying quantity in British Columbia was found. This region chiefly worked by the Indians of the country, who have obtained many thousand dollars in specially favourable years. Anderson River. Some heavy gold at one time found 10 miles above mouth, but not enough to pay. Coquihalla River. More or less heavy gold along whole course. Nicola River. " Scale gold " for about 18 miles up from mouth. Buonaparte River. A little mining done on a tributary east of Clinton, but without encouraging result. Hat Creek. Small quantities of gold have been found here. Horse-fly River. Good " prospects " here, and in 1 876 a considerable influx of miners, but without good returns. Skagit River. Colour found in several places in 1858, but no favourable indications. Similkameen River. Gold found in sharp and unwashed particles at mouth in 1853 by Captain McLennan's party. In the canon near the 49th parallel, considerable quantity of gold got in 1858-59-60, the largest piece weighing $22 5oc. (4/. 13^. 9^.). This region, soon abandoned by the whites, was worked for years by Chinamen. Okanagan River. Scattered diggings formed in 1859-60, but soon abandoned, perhaps as much from want of water as anything else. Miners say colours are found in every stream running into this valley. Mission Creek. Joining Okanagan Lake from E., yielded at a spot 3^ miles from its mouth, fine and coarse gold, assaying $18 5Oc. (77 j.) ; paid at one time from 2 or 3 oz. to $2 or $3 a day. Colours occur for 8 or 10 miles above this. Rock Creek. Rising east of Osoyoos Lake, and falling into the Kettle River ; about a mile from its mouth, paid well, in some instances yielding as much as $100 (2O/.) a day, but generally I to 2 oz. Some of the benches also paid, .in one case yielding ^ oz. a day to the hand during the season's work. The best paying ground was where the creek crossed a belt of soft slate rock ; in following it up, the cover was soft and deep. Boundary Creek. Joins Kettle River from E. Some very heavy gold found here, and a good deal of prospecting done, but too much " spotted " to be profitable. Kettle or Nehoialpitkwa River. Colours and small quantities of gold found in several localities on the main stream and on tributaries. Seymour Creek, Burrard Inlet. Some gold got here at one time, but work abandoned on account of water and quicksand. 64 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Prospect Creek. E. branch Homathco River, above Tatlayoco Lake. Some fine gold found here in 1875. Lower Homathco River. Colours obtained in various places. Other Streams flowing from Cascade Range. Details are wanting for most, but it is probable that colours, at least, can be found in all. Kelly's Lake Creek. Specimens of quartz found near Clinton, assayed $25 I2c. (5/. 4s. &/.) in gold, and $3 140. (13^.) in silver, per ton. Vancouver Island. Leech River. This stream has proved auriferous for 4 miles of its length, where it runs along the strike of a belt of slates. Estimated that $100,000 (2O,ooo/.) taken out, but no work now going on. The rich ground was found in the modern river bed, and is supposed to be exhausted, or, what may remain, too much spotted to pay. Banks of drift and cement might possibly pay for working by hydraulic method. Sooke River. Below its junction with Leech River. Only fine gold found here, and probably derived from Leech River slates. Goldstream Brook. Runs on strike of Leech River slates, farther E. ; colours, but no pay, found here. Jordan River. Small quantities of gold have been found here. Nanaimo River. Attracted some notice in 1877, but does not appear to have paid prospectors. Other localities on Vancouver Island. Good colours found by the Vancouver Island exploring expeditions on a stream entering Cowichen Lake, on rivers falling into Barclay Sound, on the south side, and on streams tributary to Puntledge Lake, near Comox. Queen Charlotte Islands. Gold-bearing quartz found at Mitchell's Harbour, lat. 52 25' N. Some work done in 1853, but lode appears to have run out. The annexed table (pp. 66-7) shows the condition of the auriferous industry of British Columbia in 1880. It will be noted that no quartz mining is being carried on. Canada. The gold-bearing region of Lower Canada was made the subject of an elaborate report, from personal exploration, by A. Michel, in 1866. It may be summarized under two heads, alluvions and veins. Alluvions. The auriferous alluvions of Lower Canada cover an extended region ; in 1852, the Geological Commission had already shown their occurrence over more than 10,000 square miles. The gravels, through which the gold is very irregularly distributed, are generally covered by a layer of vegetable earth, and often by a bed of clay. They repose in part upon metamorphic Lower Silurian rocks, consisting of schists, generally talcose, micaceous, or chloritic, associated with diorites and serpentines. But to the southward, these Lower Silurian strata are AMERICA, N. : CANADA. 65 unconformably overlaid by others of Upper Silurian age, which are also covered by gold-bearing alluvions. These upper rocks consist of argillaceous schists, with sandstones and limestones, all more or less altered. The rocks of these two formations, but especially of the Upper Silurian, are traversed by numerous veins of quartz, running in the direction of the stratification, or between N.E. and E. Many of the gold-seekers in the Chaudiere Valley imagine an analogy between the auriferous alluvions of Lower Canada and those of California and Australia ; Michel would compare them with those of Siberia, where, in the Ural and Altai Mountains, the auriferous sands are rarely found reposing on granitic or syenitic rocks, as in South America, but almost always on schistose rocks in the vicinity of diorites and serpentines, which has led Russian mining engineers to consider the gold as having "its principal source in the ferruginous quartz of the metamorphic schists, and in the vicinity of the serpentines and diorites." Alluvial gold has been profitably sought for in the Chaudiere River itself, at its junction with several rapid tributary streams. But it is at the Devil's Rapids, where the Chaudiere makes a sharp turn and runs west- south-west, that gold has been most abundantly found in the cavities, fissures and cracks of the clay-slates, which often form the bed, both of this river and its tributaries, and are here seen running in the direction just mentioned, forming parallel ridges which are uncovered in low water ; at which times the country people are enabled to break up and search these slaty rocks to the depth of several feet. The fissures of these rocks are filled with a clayey gravel in which the gold is met with, and metal to the value of several dollars has been extracted from between the layers of the slate. In one of these bands of slate, which the country people call veins, the gold is tarnished by a black earthy coating of oxide of manganese. This deposit of alluvial gold occupies a distance of about a mile of the river's bed, and is situated below the gold-bearing quartz vein (described in Report for 1853-6, p. 370), and which is known in the locality as the O'Farrell vein ; it has now been broken away down to the level of the slates. Alluvial gold is found in greater abundance and in larger pieces in its vicinity. At the Devil's Rapids, an excavation on the right bank, and about 20 ft. distant from and below the Kennebec road, was opened, having the slate rock for its floor, and continued for about 200 ft. in a hard alluvial conglomerate cemented by clay. The whole amount of gold obtained in this working was only about $150. Gold has also been found in many places in the bed of the Chaudiere at low water, and no doubt companies willing to incur the necessary expenses might work with profit certain portions of this river between the rapids just named and its junction with the Du Loup. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Name of Bar, Gulch, Creek, or River. Com- panies working. Com- panies getting gold. Com- panies pros- pecting. Average number of men employed during season. Rate of Wages. Whites. Chinese. Whites. Chinese. CARIBOO. Barkerville Division : Williams' Creek 25 3 4 IS 4 4 5 20 3 3 13 4 4 5 5 i 2 70 16 13 27 9 XI 29 's 8 20 16 3 $ c. 4 oo 4 oo $ c. 250 2 5 3 oo 2 50 3 oo 2 50 3 oo 2 SO 3 oo 2 SO 2 $0 3 oo 4 oo 4 oo I SO Cunningham Creek Lowtree ,, 4 3 9 3 6 3 7 6 15 Jack of Clubs 4 3 2 3 2 Stout's Gulch Lightning Creek Division : I 2 i i I 2 *6 4 4 3 3 2 I I 3 9 I I 3 7 .. Perkin's Gulch 3 2 3 4 20 22 6 *6 2 16 40 44 38 30 40 4 oo 6 3 6 3 I 3 2 2 4 29 3 14 3 12 H IO 5 5 2 7 12 8 5 5 I 5 2 2 Keithley Creek Division: North Fork, Quesnelle River South ,, Quesnellemouth Division : Fraser River, Quesnelle to Soda Creek i i 9 21 75 So 113 7 2 5 ICO IOO 3 So 5 oo 6 oo 6 oo 3 oo H' If C if r\ T h f ' r> u CASSIAR. Laketon Division : 35 35 ^ . 44 68 35 MS 4 5 McDame Creek Division : 61 LlLLOOET. 3 i 3 X McGilvery Creek, Anderson Lake KOOTENAY. Wild Horse Creek 8 59 6 i '3 i5 4 oo 4 oo 6 oo 3 oo 3 oo I 00 3 oo 4 2 48 KAMI.OOPS. 4 13 4 ; YALE AND HOPE. Fraser River and Tributaries, Hope to 34-mile Bar . . OMINECA. 4 7 4 7 . . 12 8 14 14 747 16 6 3 1,213 Vital 4 373 4 271 28 AMERICA, N. : CANADA. 6 7 Nature of Claims. How worked. Value of Gold per ounce. Estimated value of yield for the year. Total. Bar. Creek Bench Hill. Rocker Sluices Hy- draulic Shaft. Tunne 10 3 6 9 15 i 2 3 14 15 i 5 3 i 3 S c. 16 oo is'Vs 16 50 16 oo 17 oo r 7 25 16 oo 17 oo 16 25 17 oo 17 S 17 oo 17 oo 17 25 17 oo 17 oo 16 75 i? 25 17 oo 17 60 17 oo 17 oo 17 40 16 50 16 50 16 oo iS to 17 50 IS 40 16 oo 17 oo 17 oo 16 oo 16 50 18 oo 16 oo 15 oo 16 oo S 79,000 24,700 9,800 16,500 6,200 21,300 IO|OOO 500 2,500 16,100 8,400 24,000 219,000 79.530 98,000 75.700 133,800 120,000 82,500 19.500 2,000 IO,8OO .. 4 S i 3 i 2 2 i 200 900 400 3.700 1, 800 S>7 i, 800 S.Soo 3,300 400 700 20,745 4.740 945 1,100 2,200 25,400 i 2 2 2 I 2 i i i 2 I I I i i 2 I I I " i 3 3 2 4 i i i 5 2 I " i 2 4 i 2 6 2 2 I 4 6 44,100 19,300 8,200 10,400 11,000 5,000 30,000 7.700 18,000 15,000 5,000 20 H 6 i 3 IS II 41 i 3 5 14 i 19 34 26 ii 60 3 I I I I 5 2 60,900 57.9oo 15,000 120,000 9,100 700 72,700 .. 6 S 12 6 5 12 16,000 2,000 I,OOO 5OO i I I i I 2,OOO IO,8OO 6,OOO 6,500 3 178 50 83 21 205 41 25 21 I2,7OO 5,600 45,800 886,630 F 2 68 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The Guillaume or Des Plantes River is bounded from the upper to the lower fall by high banks, and from its junction with the Chaudiere to the greater fall, more than a mile from the high road, its course is succes- sively over serpentine, diorite and crystalline schists. The bed of this rapid stream, which is rilled with boulders and pebbles of various dimen- sions, has been advantageously wrought for gold by the country people, and Dr. James Douglas also undertook some years since a regular working above and near the little fall. This was, however, abandoned after having yielded $2500 to $3000 in gold. The washing of pans of gravel from the bed of this stream generally yielded grains of gold, with the black sand which ordinarily accompanies it in this region. A com- pany of five, labouring for 20 days at a point a little above the working of Dr. Douglas, obtained between 8 and 9 oz. of gold from the gravel accumulated in the re-entering angles and cracks of the diorite. At the same time, another company working somewhat higher up got little or nothing. At this latter place the auriferous gravel' was found resting not on the bed-rock but on the bluish clay ; and, so far as has been observed in Lower Canada, the alluvions overlying the clay are generally poor. The gravels between the lower fall and the Chaudiere have not been examined, on account of a mill to which the working would be prejudicial. Up to 1866, the Gilbert or Touffe-des-Pins River had been the scene of the most important workings, and had yielded the largest amount of gold. In ascending this stream, which is a torrent at certain seasons, but easily examined during the dry summer, are found the remains of workings undertaken, 16 years before, by Dr. Douglas, which then furnished considerable quantities of gold, and would not have been aban- doned but for the want of skilful management. A company of miners took up this old working in 1866, but their explorations were not long continued, notwithstanding certain satisfactory results, among which may be mentioned a nugget of 6 oz. weight. On the concession De Lery is a rich deposit of alluvial gold which has been recently (1866) wrought. An excavation made by Michel to determine the limits of this deposit was rectangular in form, 8 by 12 ft, and was carried to the bed-rock, a depth of 7 ft. Three distinct layers were met with : first, I ft. of sandy vegetable soil ; second, a yellowish sand with pebbles ; third, a clayey gravel containing gold, the latter layers having each a thickness of 3 ft. The washing by means of a rocker of 100 cub. ft. of this gravel, gave only 17 gr. weight of gold, the greater part of which was extracted from the fissures of the sandstone which formed the bed. About 40 fathoms further up the stream, a company undertook explorations, which employed 6 workmen, cost $300, and gave but 2 oz. of gold ; yet 4 miners AMERICA, N. : CANADA. 69 extracted 3 oz. of gold in a week, from an excavation not 25 ft. to the right of this spot. The rich alluvions of the Gilbert, which were wrought in 1863 and 1864 with considerable success (although the results were exaggerated by the spirit of speculation), are now (1866) considered to be exhausted. They were found on the lots 1 6 to 20 of the concession De Lery. To form a notion of this area, the deposit may be regarded as enclosed in a rectangle, having for its length the breadth of the lots just mentioned, and for its breadth a measure of 180 ft., including the width of the river and a distance of 80 ft. on either side. This area is divided like a chess- board, into squares, each of which is occupied by a working. Many of these squares have been wrought with profit, and some have given results of exceptional richness, while the yield in the adjacent squares has been much less, many not having paid the expenses of excavation ; thus showing both the irregularity of the working and the irregular distribu- tion of the gold over the area. In 1863 there were 100 to 120 gold-miners on the Gilbert, divided into companies of 4 to 10. Their workings consisted of a series of open excavations 10 to 15 ft. deep, and of dimensions varying according to the number of workers. These open pits were sunk side by side, without method or regularity. While large quantities of gold were extracted from these excavations, a great quantity was lost and left behind. The walls, often of considerable thickness, which separate the different pits, consti- tuted in themselves a considerable volume of untouched alluvion ; and to this must be added the gold which was lost by imperfect washings. In 1865, a wooden flume, 1800 ft. long, 4 ft. wide, and 3 ft. deep, was con- structed to carry away from a higher point the waters of the stream, thus leaving its channel dry, and, at the same time, to afford water for washing the alluvions. After an expenditure of about $15,000 (3OOO/.), the owners made an open cutting in the dried-up bed of the stream from lot 16 to lot 1 8, and extracted thence about $2500 (5oo/.) in gold. A fact which is not without importance for the future of gold- mining in Lower Canada, is the subterranean working of the alluvions during the winter season. This was attempted in the winter of 1 864-65 by about 30 miners, divided into companies of 4 to 6. By the aid of pits and galleries, they were able to carry on their search for gold throughout the winter, and to extract and wash a large quantity of gravel, in which the gold was so abundant as to richly repay their energy and perseve- rance. Amongst others was a mass of gold weighing a little over i Ib. The pits on the Gilbert, 1 5 in number, and all on lot 1 8, were opened on the left bank, at distances of 50 to 100 ft. from the stream, and sunk to the bed-rock, a depth of 20 to 25 ft. They were connected by galleries, one of which, draining the whole of the works, carried the water into a 7O GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. pit, whence it was pumped into the river. The auriferous materials were washed in rockers, generally at the bottom of each pit. Some gold was found in the gravel which covered the slates and sandstones, but the greater part was extracted from the fissures in these rocks. The same was true in most of the rich workings on this river, and particularly on lots 19 and 20, where, of two layers of gravel, separated by a stratum of bluish or yellowish clay, only the lower one was auriferous. The bed- rock, formed of interstratified clay-slates and sandstones, is sometimes broken up to the depth of 5 or 6 ft. ; in its joints and between its laminae, where the gravel has penetrated, and often become indurated, gold has been found in the greatest abundance, and in the largest masses. It seems to be established that the rich deposit of the Gilbert River has for its upper or northern limit lot 21 of the concession De Lery beyond which point, so far as examined, the alluvions, although gene- rally more or less auriferous, are not workable. The irregularity in the' distribution of gold in the gravel is noticeable throughout the region, but appears more marked on the Gilbert than elsewhere. Although the greater portion of the gold which has been found here is in small grains and scales, masses have been found from I oz. up to 5 oz., and even I Ib. in weight. It appears, from the smooth, rounded and worn condition of its surface, that the original source of this gold must be somewhat remote. Michel remarked that where the layer of gravel is found resting on the bluish clay with boulders, it is poor, but becomes richer when reposing directly upon the bed-rock ; while in the case of two layers of gravel separated by a stratum of this clay, the upper layer is generally without gold, while the lower is more or less auriferous. The constant absence of gold from these clays, which are associated with the auriferous gravels, was certified to him by numerous miners, and con- firmed by the washing of no less than 100 cub. ft. of the clays taken from his exploring pits at different levels, and even from the surface of the bed-rock itself. These clays, however, contain, besides numerous pebbles and boulders, notable quantities of cubic pyrites, black ferruginous sand, and grains of garnet. Alluvial gold has also been found in the greater part of the streams falling into the left bank of the Chaudiere, and among other places in the townships of Tring, Shenley, and Dorset, and in the river Bras. The district drained by the waters of the Famine and Du Loup, as far as the frontier of Maine, has been the subject of numerous explora- tions. The richness of the alluvions of the Du Loup was shown by the workings at its confluence with the Chaudiere in the years 1850-51-52. All the tributaries of the Du Loup hold the precious metal in their sands ; and it has also been found in many of the tributary streams of the Chaudiere in the townships of Jersey and Marlow. AMERICA, N. : CANADA. 71 The existence of gold has been reported on the River Magog above Sherbrooke, also along the St. Francis valley, from the vicinity of Melbourne to Sherbrooke, and in the townships of Westbury, Weedon, and Dudswell, as well as on Lake St. Francis. It would appear from the results of Michel's examinations, as well as from the information received from the country people who have sought for gold in this vicinity, that although the alluvions of the Magog may be said to be auriferous, the precious metal in them is in too small quantity to warrant working. Exceptionally rich deposits, which are found in all alluvial gold regions, and of which that of the Gilbert is a striking example, may however of course be met with. The rule which appears to govern the distribution of alluvial gold in all other regions where it has been wrought, holds good in Lower Canada. Here, as elsewhere, the layers of alluvion which contain the precious metal are not continuous, but occur in sheets or belts of greater or less extent, and of variable thickness. The proportion of gold in these sheets or belts is also far from uniform and regular, the richer portions being met with in patches more or less remote and isolated from each other. The auriferous gravels appear, from their composition and distribution, to result from a general alluvial action. In the crushed and pulverized veins of the neighbouring hills, which make up the auriferous alluvions of the valleys, the gold is often so capriciously and irregularly distributed that the results of a week's working in some favoured spot will amply compen- sate the miner for months of unprofitable toil in poorer ground. These general facts are illustrated by the rich deposits met with in several places of the Chaudiere region, as at the Des Plantes, Gilbert, and Du Loup, and it can hardly be supposed that in so vast a region, these are exceptional cases. From these considerations, Michel deems it proper to encourage the search for alluvial gold, in the hope of discovering other rich deposits> especially when such workings may favour the discovery of the veins which have furnished the precious metal. Quartz Veins. The old rock formations, upon which the gold-bearing alluvions of Lower Canada repose, contain numerous veins or bands of quartz, which run ordinarily in the direction of the stratification, N.E. and S.W. Although these veins, with their encasing rocks, present numerous outcrops, they are concealed from view, over large areas, by a covering, variable in thickness, of vegetable soil or other superficial deposits, so that trenches or excavations become necessary to follow their course. It is especially in the slates and sandstones of the Upper Silurian series that these veins have been observed in the greatest numbers. The thickness and aspect are very variable. The quartz, however, is generally white, although sometimes coloured by oxide of iron, apparently due to the decomposition of some foreign mineral, which has given to the mass 7 2 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. a cavernous or carious structure. Some of these veins seem almost free from foreign minerals, while others contain metallic sulphurets, such as cubic pyrites, arsenical pyrites, blende, argentiferous galena, and some- times native gold. It appears also from the analyses published by the Geological Survey that the pyrites and blende are sometimes auriferous. The Reports of the Survey have shown the presence of native gold both in the veins belonging to the crystalline schists of the Lower Silurian near Sherbrooke, in Leeds, and in St. Sylvester in the seigniory of St. Giles, and in those traversing the Upper Silurian rocks in the seigniory of Aubert-Gallion (St. George), and in that of Vaudreuil at the Devil's Rapids in the Chaudiere. While thus establishing the presence of gold in the veins of both the upper and lower formations, both of which might have contributed to the auriferous alluvions, the Reports express an opinion that the greater part at least of the alluvial gold of Canada is derived from the Lower Silurian rocks. In support of the facts just cited, several specimens containing visible grains of native gold in vitreous copper have been extracted from a quartz vein which crosses the two concessions known as "The Handkerchief," in the seigniory of St. Giles. But inasmuch as visible gold has also been found in the veins of the Upper Silurian rocks, and as the largest specimens of gold in the gangue yet found in Canada are from the vein at the Devil's Rapids, Michel believes it desirable to explore carefully all this part of the auriferous region, in the hope of favourable discoveries. Although the veins attracting most attention are in the seigniory of Vaudreuil, numbers of similar quartz veins are found all the way south- ward to the frontier ; and many have been discovered in the seigniories of Aubin-Delisle and Aubert-Gallion, and in the townships of Jersey, Marlow, Liniere, and Metgermette. Several outcrops of quartz appear along the Kennebec road ; and at low water many of them can be seen in the beds of the Famine, Du Loup, and their tributary streams, such as the Oliva, the Metgermette, and others. The townships and seigniories which are the subject of the preceding remarks, are on the right bank of the Chaudiere ; but the veins for the most part appear to cross the river, for many outcrops of them occur on the road from St. Joseph to St. George, as well as on the shores and in the bed of the Chaudiere. Several of these have already been followed, and uncovered on the left bank, especially in Vaudreuil and Aubert- Gallion. Other outcrops are seen on the road from Vaudreuil to Lake St. Francis, in the townships of Tring, Forsyth, Aylmer and Lambton. Of the specimens of quartz veins collected by Michel and assayed by Dr. Hunt, the following are worth recording : I. Vaudreuil, lot 21, concession St. Charles: powerful vein, running N.E., with very slight S.E. dip ; 18 ft. wide. Gold, mean of 4 assays, AMERICA, N. I CANADA. 73 6 dwt. 13 gr. = $6 760. (2%s. 2d.) ; another sample, with visible gold, 4 oz. 1 8 dwt = $101 290. (2 1/. 2J.) ; average of 5 assays, $25 66c. (5/. 6s. lid.} per ton. 2. Vaudreuil, lot 19, concession St. Charles: vein in clay-slate, running N.E. with S.E. dip, 24 ft. thick at outcrop. Gold, mean of 4 assays, 4 dwt. 21 gr. = $5 3c. (2os. lid.); mean of 2 others, with visible gold, 3 oz. 2 dwt. = $64 7c. (i3/. 6j. ii;/.); mean average, $24 7 ic. (s/. 2J. 1 1" on account of the ease with which it is extracted with a thin, long-pointed pick. Its fissile nature probably is due to disturbance at the time the lead was formed. Thin leads have been known to taper out, and what may be called their continuation to start in the side slate, and expand to the original thickness from beyond the termination of the quartz at first worked. While many of the gold-bearing leads are regular and persistent for hundreds of feet, and lie parallel with wonderful uniformity, a careful following shows local troubles. Breaks and disloca- AMERICA, N : NOVA SCOTIA. 89 tions of the strata are not uncommon ; and while many undoubtedly are of later age, some appear to be contemporaneous. The distinctive features of the gold-leads of Nova Scotia, according to Poole, are their general conformability with the slate and quartzite beds, and their regularity, suggesting that they are rather beds than veins. But there are characters that point to their being true veins in spite of these features, and they are the following. The roughness of the planes of contact between quartz and slate and quartzite ; the crushed state of the slate or gouge on some foot-walls ; the irregularity of their mineral contents ; the terminations of the leads ; the effects of contem- porary dislocations, and the influence of stringers and off-shoots on the richness of the leads : characters that, singly or collectively, it would be difficult to account for, associated with a stratified deposit. The experience of all the miners, both native and from Australia and the Western States, is united in calling the lodes true veins. The presence of gold in a Lower Carboniferous conglomerate at Gay's River, would show that some of the veins of Nova Scotia at least are of pre-Carboniferous age. On the other hand, there is no reason why other veins in the province may not be even of Tertiary date, or immediately preceding the formation of the auriferous alluvions. Alluvial gold-mining has not been carried on in Nova Scotia in any degree commensurate with the value of the auriferous deposits which are in a greater or less degree known to exist, and which, in all probability, occur to a much larger extent than is generally supposed. An impression has arisen that the greater part of the gold-districts present nothing but rocky, denuded areas, without any, or at least very small, drift deposits. The contrary is the case in some districts ; and numerous wide-spread surfaces exist where alluvial gold-mining cannot fail to be pursued with great profit, if sufficient capital is embarked in the enterprise. Drift deposits are found at Waverley, upwards of 50 ft. deep ; and at Tangier similar deposits exist, which have already yielded remarkable returns, and have been abandoned on account of want of means to cope with the influx of water. Where rich gold-bearing lodes are exposed near the surface, in the valleys adjacent to such exposures, or in crevices in the rocky surfaces, the gold from the denuded lodes must have accu- mulated by its gravity. It has been alleged that the greater part of the former auriferous drift of Nova Scotia has been carried by recent denuding action into the Atlantic, and now forms the submarine banks of the coast. This has certainly no foundation, and Selwyn confidently asserts that bare rock surfaces are not more prevalent in the gold-districts of Nova Scotia than they are in similar districts in Australia. In the latter country, the gold-bearing veins are invariably accompanied by rich alluvial deposits ; while in Nova Scotia the detrital deposits which 9O GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. certainly occur under precisely similar conditions, are almost invariably said to be unproductive. Perhaps the gold has not yet been sought for with sufficient intelligence and perseverance. Tangier, Oldham, Sher- brooke, Waverley, Renfrew, and many other places, present all the conditions for alluvial diggings, both in the form of old channels and their re-worked condition. The chief auriferous districts of Nova Scotia are as follow : Caribou. This district is situated 6 miles south of the Musquodoboit River, at Hamilton's Corner, about 36 miles from the Shubenacadie Station. Work of a preparatory character was undertaken first in 1867, and has been carried on in an intermittent manner ever since. Several of the lodes have paid well, as the North, Flat, Cross, and Hyde lodes ; of which the Cross lode, at one time, gave quartz carrying 20 oz. A lode on the Bushing area was found to lie for some distance in a horizontal position, apparently in the summit of an anticlinal. In 1877, a lode found on area 629, block 2, i ft. thick, yielded, in 6 months, 1170 oz., and from a stope of 40 ft. and within a depth of 120 ft., the shoot of rich quartz being vertical, and at the junction of a cross-lode. Moose River. The district lies about 7 miles west of Caribou, and is accessible by road from Middle Musquodoboit ; it has only recently received attention. The surface is reported to carry gold, but attempts to wash it proved unsuccessful, it is reported, from improper construction of the flume. Several promising lodes and many rich boulders have been found ; and it is stated that, in Dec., 1879, a lode was discovered yielding over 2 oz. to the ton. Fifteen Mile Stream. This district lies on a tributary of the East River of Sheet Harbour, about 19 miles from the head of navigation. It is very inaccessible, there being no carriage-road to it. Explorations have been carried on here for several years, and have shown the presence of a large number of promising lodes ; and two crushers were built. Its isolation, and the expense of getting supplies, have retarded the opening of this district ; it is, however, again receiving attention. Gay's River. This district is an interesting one, although it has never occupied an important position as far as its yield of gold is con- cerned. It is situated about 6 miles east of Shubenacadie Station, on a tributary of Gay's River. Here the gold slates are overlaid by flat beds of Carboniferous conglomerate, an ancient consolidated drift. The gold occurs in grains and scales at the base of the conglomerate, and in backs in the slates ; small auriferous lodes have also been observed in the slates. The modern drift overlying the conglomerate has also yielded gold, derived from a similar source, or from the natural working over of the conglomerate. The mining has been done by levels, driven in the AMERICA, N. : NOVA SCOTIA. 9! conglomerate at the junction of the two formations ; but no rule has yet been observed indicating the position of the gold. Lawrencetown. This district lies about 12 miles east of Halifax Harbour. In the early days of mining here, a considerable quantity of gold was taken from rich boulders and washings. The chief vein on the Werner property was 8 in. thick, of bluish quartz, showing gold, blende and mispickel. The Capel Townsend property embraces several groups of gold-bearing veins ; that known as the Waddilow group includes 1 3. The quartz, generally enclosed in slates, is somewhat ferruginous, and contains copper pyrites, blende, and a little galena. Some of these lodes are reported to have yielded well. Operations, however, have been almost totally suspended, after large sums have been spent in prepa- ratory work, mills, and machinery. The mining that has been done of late years has been confined chiefly to Crookes' lode, the first opened ; and it yielded well at the junction of cross- veins. A large number of promising lodes are known here, and there is no reason why they should not be worked profitably. Montague. This district lies about 6 miles east of Dartmouth, near Lake Loon, and has maintained an average output for a number of years, greatly increased during 1870 and the three following years. The best known lodes are, perhaps, the Belt, Werner, St. Patrick, and Cross veins. The Belt lode has been worked by several parties, and notably by the Messrs. Lawson, who, in the 5 years ending with 1874, extracted about 10,000 oz., with a handsome profit. The lode is enclosed in slate, sepa- rating it from quartzite, and varies in thickness from 4 to 20 in. The quartz is highly crystalline, and shows, besides gold, iron and copper pyrites, and mispickel. The sulphurets, according to Prof. Silliman, are most abundant near the underlying slate, which also holds gold and mispickel in lumps, sometimes weighing 50 Ib. The richest part of the lode at the surface was at the Main shaft ; in depth it trended to the westward. For many years, the presence of rich boulders in the surface cover of the eastern part of the district, caused the expenditure of much time and money in a search for the parent lode. In the spring of 1879, G. Stuart and his associates found the vein, called, from the colour of the quartz, the Rose lode. It varies in thickness from 4 to 18 in. ; as yet the workings on it are limited, but enough has been done to show a very rich chimney, dipping westward, at an angle of 30. Up to the present date (1880), 292 tons have been crushed, yielding 1086 oz. During the past year, a lode close to the Symonds Mill yielded well at the junction of numerous cross-veins, and promises to become more valuable than even the Rose lode. 9 2 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Waverley. This district lies about 3 miles E. of Windsor Junction Station, on the Intercolonial Railway. It was reported on by Prof. Hind in 1869. In 1865, the returns gave a produce of 14,000 oz. ; but the annual output has since dwindled away to a few hundred ounces- Among the chief lodes that have been worked may be mentioned the Tudor, Brodie, South, and Taylor veins. Large and extensive works were carried on, but they gradually ceased, as the main leads became im- poverished in depth, and varying from 1 50 to 400 ft. Some of the new veins have yielded fairly, as the United, American Hill, New South, and No. 6 lode. The barrel quartz, in the eastern part of the field, attracted much curiosity at one time. Here the lodes follow the strata, as they bend over in an anticline. The corrugations generally have the form of wave-like undulations, rarely that of tight folds ; and at one place, a little to the westward, one of the lodes presents a nearly horizontal sheet The quartz is somewhat banded, and holds calcite, apparently of later date, filling fissures in the lode. This has been worked at intervals for a number of years, and is said to have averaged 1 2 dwt. per ton. Oldham. This gold-field is situated 3 miles east of Enfield Station. Gold was discovered here in 1861, and since that date operations have been carried on, with occasional periods of depression. The worked portion of the district is characterized by a valley, having a nearly east and west course, occupying the crown of a very sharp anticlinal fold, the axis of which is nearly parallel to the area lines. From records obtained by Prof. Hind, it appears that in this district the pay-streak dips east, generally at a low angle. Among the most noticeable lodes, are the Barrel, Ohio, Frankfort, Ritchie, Hall, Britannia, &c. A large amount of gold was extracted in 1877 from a lode on the eastern turn of the measures, the result of 5 months' work being 1280 oz. On areas 101 to 105, the Blackie lode was worked for some time in search of the mispickel nodules, which were found to carry gold up to 5 and 7 oz. per ton. Mention has already been made of the " angling lodes," of which interesting examples occur here. The low angle of dip of the pay-streak has probably been the cause of the comparatively shallow character of the workings carried on, which proves an impediment to systematic mining. This is to be regretted, as preliminary labours in common would have facilitated operations, and the district promises to be one of unusual richness. Renfrew. This district lies about 7 miles west of Enfield Station, near the north end of Grand Lake. Work was begun here about the same time as at Oldham, and the returns show a steady increase to 7904 oz. in 1867 ; and a decrease to but 3 oz. in 1874 ; since that date there has been a slight improvement. Among the more prominent lodes, may be named the Preeper, Sims, North, South, and Brook. The opera- AMERICA, N. : NOVA SCOTIA. 93 tions of the Ophir Company were systematically conducted for several years, and handsome profits realized ; but the workings were abandoned at a depth of 350 ft. Their returns during 5 years were 17,532 oz. 13 dwt. 21 gr. from 21,012 tons of quartz. All the mining has hitherto been confined to the south side of the anticlinal ; the measures on the north side are generally covered by soil, and although rich boulders have been found, the parent lodes remain for future workers. The proximity of Lower Carboniferous measures, and their position relative to the lodes, furnish, according to Prof. Hind's report, favourable conditions for the accumulation of alluvial gold. Sherbrooke. This district lies about 38 miles by stage from Antigo- nish, on the Halifax and Cape Breton Railway, near the village of Sher- brooke, on the St. Mary River, and ranks first in the list of Nova Scotia gold-fields. Up to September, 1866, it produced 19,101 oz., at the rate of i oz. 1 6 dwt. to the ton. In the following year, 5809 tons yielded 8522 oz. of gold. The lodes and associated rocks present no features distin- guishing them from those of other localities. Among the numerous operations, the Wellington may be mentioned. Here work has been carried on ever since the discovery of gold in the district. The Wellington, Dewar, and other veins have been mined to depths varying from 400 to 600 ft. The proprietors have conducted their operations with care and prudence, and received a good return. Between the years 1863 and 1869, they extracted 8984 tons, which yielded 12,215 oz., and similar results have since been obtained. On the adjoining Grape- vine properties, favourable results have been made for a number of years. Other properties that have paid well during the past year are the Dominion and the Wentworth. A very large amount of work has been done by other parties in this district, and it appears, from the continual discovery of workable lodes, likely to afford equally encouraging results for a long time to come. At Cochran's Hill, a little has been done in lodes running in slate belts, and also at the Crow's Nest, 2 miles to the west- ward. The strata here are highly metamorphosed. The yield per ton has been low 4 to 8 dwt. ; but the cheapness of extraction has enabled work to be carried on at a profit. Stormont. This district, also known as Isaac's Harbour, lies east of Sherbrooke. For several years the returns gave an annual yield of about 1400 oz. ; but, during the last few years, the mines have remained almost entirely neglected. Promising lodes have been found in the surrounding country, but have not yet been thoroughly tested. No district has better promise for the future. The extent of mining that was carried on is very small, and limited to a few lodes. The Mulgrave yielded, from two areas, in 1863-4, 621 tons of quartz, giving 1897 oz. of gold ; and the work done since has frequently yielded equally well. 94 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Wine Harbour. This district lies on the coast, about 4 miles E. of the mouth of St. Mary's River, and 12 miles from Sherbrooke. Here the auriferous quartz lodes are met with, over a belt nearly a mile from N. to S., and are in thick bedded quartzites, generally associated with thin layers of finely-laminated, bluish slate, which facilitates mining. The returns show a falling off from the best year, 1864, when 4033 oz. were obtained. Work has been confined chiefly to the ground owned by the Eldorado Company. The property of the Provincial Company has frequently yielded good quartz, the Caledonia Company having mined in 6 months $200,000 (4O,ooo/.) of gold. The Hattie lode has also yielded well. Tangier. This district lies on the Atlantic shore, about 50 miles east of Halifax, and is well known as the earliest opened. In the eastern part of the district, at Strawberry Hill, work has been pursued for a number of years, chiefly on lodes known as Dunbrack and Forrest, and others associated. The strata and the lodes are cut by a granitoid (?) dyke, about 1 5 ft. wide, which can be traced for several miles in a south-west direction. It does not appear to affect the contents of the lodes in any way, nor to have shifted them. A number of lodes extending to the Tangier River have been worked at various times ; among them 'may be mentioned the Field, Leary, Nigger, &c., which have yielded fair returns in the moderate depth they have been worked to. A considerable quantity of gold was found in the alluvion at one place in this district, and a pond called Copper Lake was partially drained : Prof. Silliman states that a layer of tough clay and glacial drift was met with underneath the mud and vegetable matter, and everywhere in the under-clay small round nuggets were found. The work of washing was, however, abandoned, as the drainage was not carried deep enough to allow its proper application. Mount Uniacke. This gold-field lies about 3 miles from Mount Uniacke Station, on the Windsor Railway. A large number of lodes have been exposed over an area having a breadth of about i miles, and a length of 6 miles. The veins are similar to those of other districts, and enclosed in quartzite, frequently with linings of slate. Their thickness varies from one inch to several feet, and the large veins are sometimes (divided into layers by interlaminations of slate. The crystalline quartz, sometimes milky-white, sometimes bluish, the latter being often laminated, fills the greater part of the lodes, and generally the widest ; while arsenical iron-pyrites, or mispickel, is, at the outcrop, the mineral of the narrower lodes. Certain quartz lodes appear to the sight almost entirely destitute of foreign matter, while others con- tain metallic sulphides, such as cubic iron-pyrites (often decomposed), mispickel, and sometimes blende, galena, and copper-pyrites. Hind AMERICA, N. : NOVA SCOTIA. 95 observed in all the selvages of some lodes, a blackish earthy substance which appeared to be oxide of manganese. Great irregularity of formation and structure characterizes the lodes generally. Lodes, hardly impregnated with arsenical iron-pyrites at the outcrop, on narrowing in depth, become converted into veinlets of pure mispickel. Such lodes, measuring several inches at their outcrop, are re- duced to a mere thread at a few feet in depth, while others are subject to successive and sudden contractions and swellings. But the most extra- ordinary case of irregularity, is that of the lodes which assume curiously twisted shapes by branching sometimes to the north, sometimes to the south. The constancy of formation and structure, that is to say, the regularity of the deposits, has been, so far, the rarest case with the lodes in these areas ; but experience has demonstrated in many localities, that the disorders described often disappear at a certain depth. Other Districts. Among other districts, may be mentioned the Ovens in Lunenburg County, where alluvial washings were carried on for a short time ; Gold River, Yarmouth, Stewiacke, Chezzetcook, Ship Harbour, Harrigan Cove, Moose Head, Ecum Secum, &c. Gold has also been reported from the Cobequid and South Mountains. In Cape Breton, the Middle River, Baddeck, was some years ago made a gold-district, under the name of Wagamatcook ; but no profitable lodes have been found, although the slates occasionally yield scales of gold, and it occurs every- where in the beds of the streams. Campbell reported, in 1863, his examination of the northern part of Cape Breton, and the discovery of alluvial gold in the sands of many of the brooks. In Nova Scotia, the dip varies from east to west, and each district has its own experience to guide the miners. It is to be regretted that no records or plans have been kept. The streaks are found to vary in width, and sometimes to be lenticular, and to die out before coming to the surface. It thus happens that frequently the miner finds himself confronted by barren quartz, becomes discouraged, and abandons his work, when prospecting tunnels might have disclosed another streak at no great distance. On this subject, Dr. Sterry Hunt remarks that to abandon a working on account of a momentary impoverishment of the lode is too often done in this region ; and that in a large enterprise, where mining is carried on in several veins at a time, the richness of some may always be counted upon to compensate for the temporary poverty of others. He has stated his opinion that many of the workings now (1866) abandoned as unprofitable, will be again taken up with advantage. This leads to the consideration of permanence in depth of the gold yield ; in some districts, it is considered that no gold will be found in paying quantity beyond a certain depth. This probably is a case of a pay-streak lying in a comparatively horizontal position, and having an 9 6 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. unproved interval of barren quartz below it. Gilpin thinks it will be found that there need be no apprehension of the extinction of the veins in depth being reached at distances less than those through which they are known, from surface evidence, to extend horizontally in directions parallel and transverse to the anticlinal axes ; and that, as these distances are reckoned by thousands of feet, it may very safely be conjectured that there is practically no limit to the depth to which the lodes may be suc- cessfully followed. The quartz is sorted and broken by hand for the stamps. The mills are of the common pattern, with revolving stamps, weighing generally 550 to 700 Ib. ; though a few run with 45, a ills employed. |4 1 v r ater Power. by some high tide which makes a new deposit, while its waves are not violent enough to disturb the previous layers. The concentrating action of the waves upon an inclined beach must be considerable. The configuration is entirely changed after a storm,. 152 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. and the whole area as far up as the cliffs is entirely covered by the surf during heavy weather. The action of the water on the sands is essentially the same as in the miner's pan. The quartz sand has a specific gravity of only 2-5, while that of the magnetic oxide of iron is usually about 5 ; hence the separation of these two materials is tolerably complete. The other heavy materials, as gold and platinum, naturally remain with the magnetic sand. Under the microscope, the black sand shows itself to be composed of more or less perfectly rounded grains of magnetic oxide of iron, with a few silica particles, and occasional fragments of what appear to be garnets. Mixed with the black sand is the gold, which, under the microscope, is almost invariably bright, and in only a few cases presents a rusty appearance. It is always in the form of oblong or elliptical scales, which are doubly concave, and are usually surrounded by a thickened rim. A number measured by Clark gave the following dimensions : 0*0065 in- Largest 0-0060 ,, Smallest < \ Average thickness of the rims of the scales, o'ooi in. Measurements made by Christy gave the following results : Gold O'OioS in., 0-0098 in., 0-0049 in. Platinum occurs also, though not in large quantities. The fragments are usually more compact and less flattened than the gold particles. One specimen measured 0*0044 in. As the particles of magnetic oxide are very nearly of the average diameter of the gold particles, and as, moreover, they are rounded, it becomes a matter of the greatest difficulty to separate them by washing, in spite of their great difference of specific gravities, which are as 5 to 19. The leaf-like form of the gold renders it practically as easily moved by water as the magnetic oxide. It is only by the skilful touch of an old miner that a good " colour " can be shown in the pan. The method of treating the ore, which varies from nothing up to $25 or $30 (5/. to 6/.), per ton, is to either pass it with water down an ordinary blanket sluice, or to use a combination of amalgamated copper plates, riffles, hanging plates, etc., such as the Russel amalga- mator. Both these methods seem to work to the satisfaction of the parties interested. Christy found that the gold amalgamates very freely, as one would naturally infer from its brightness and freedom from rust. The finer AMERICA, N. I CALIFORNIA. 153 particles, when once allowed to dry, seem to become covered with a film of air, so that when again wet with water they float upon the surface. Another curious fact is the great purity of the gold. Falkner and Reese report the gold which they assayed as from 950 to 953 fine. The miners frequently treat their concentration before amalgamating with a little nitric acid to remove the iron rust (which does not seem to be present). It is not probable that this dissolves the silver from the gold, as these concentrations are still wet with salt water. It therefore appears to be more probable that the silver is removed by the long action of the salt water upon the thin scales, which are only a thousandth of an inch thick in their thickest part. However this may be, it is reported to be the purest placer-gold that has been found in California. An estimation of the strata composing the bluffs has been made by A. W. Chase. Commencing at the top, the sections are : 10 ft. loam, 20 ft. yellow clay, 40 ft. coarse yellow gravel, 10 ft. brownish sandstone, 40 ft red and yellow gravel, 5 ft. bluish sandstone containing partially lignitized trees, 5 5 ft. very coarse red and yellow gravel, 5 ft. very fine bluish gravel, 15 ft. indurated sand, 10 ft. deep red gravel, 5 ft. blue sandstone showing lignite, 5 ft. blue sandstone without lignite, 7 ft gravelly beach to low-water mark ; dip, 1 5 N. The fine gold is supposed by Chase to be mainly derived from the topmost stratum. The conclusions arrived at by him are as follows: (i) That the gold evidently comes from the bluffs ; (2) that after " caves," the gold obtained is much coarser in character ; (3) that it is only after a succession of. swells that cut the beach at an angle, that the rich sands are found : when the surf breaks squarely on, let the storm be never so heavy, it simply loads the beach with gravel ; (4) that no one witnessing the power of the surf can doubt its immense grinding force ; (5) that the gold follows the first two or three lines of breakers, and will never be found in paying quantities beyond. Professor J. D. Dana, who examined specimens of the sand, says that the red grains in it are garnets, and that probably the deposit dates partly from the close of the glacial era (i. e. the time of melting of the ice in the early half of the Champlain period, when floods and gravel depositions were the order of the day), and partly from the later half of the Champlain period, when the floods had somewhat abated, and the depositions were more gentle. Gold yield of California for 1880. As "a specially trustworthy contribution to the history of the production of the precious metals of the United States," the Mining Record of New York gives (April i, 1882) the appended table of "the gold product of California by counties for the 12 months ending May 31, 1880," to which is added the equivalent value in pounds sterling : 154 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Bullion produced from ore raised and treated during census Production of hydraulic, placer, drift, and river mines for year COUNTIES. year. ending May 31, 1880. Total. Gold. Gold. oz. $ 4 oz. * S Amador . . 65.332 7 i.35o,547 281,359 1,350.547 281,359 Butte 15.730 3 325,174 67.794 3 2 5.'74 67.794 Calaveras 16,817 5 347.649 72,426 4,665 8 96.451 20,094 444,100 92.521 Del Norte 6,208 o 128,331 26,735 128,331 26,735 El Dorado 4,686 6 96,881 20,178 *24,8 77 7 514.268 107,138 611,149 127,322 Fresno 3.355 3 69,360 14,450 69,360 14.450 Humboldt 3.724 9 77,001 16,096 77,001 16,096 1,243 4 25,703 5.354 S o r 4 Lassen . . i, 680 5 34.739 7.238 ,, , . 25 > 7^3 34,739 jJt 7'233 Los Angelos . . Mariposa 9,096 9 188,050 38,777 .. 188,050 38,777 Mono .. 133,816 6 2,766,235 576,299 1,219 25.199 5.250 2,79 1 .434 58l,540 Nevada . . 43,000 9 888,907 185,188 2,062 3 42,631 8,881 93L538 194,071 Placer . . 2,902 5 60,000 12,500 13,998 2 289,368 60,285 349,368 72,840 Plumas . . 36,536 5 755.276 157.349 7,946 o 164,259 34.221 9*9<535 I9L574 San Bernardino Stanislaus .. .. 3.030 7 62,650 13.052 62,650 13.053 San Diego II, 5o6 237.850 49.552 . . 237.850 49'552 Shasta 4.605 3 95,200 19,838 21,789 7 450,432 93,840 545.632 113,672 Siskiyou .. Trinity . . 9,814 o 1,064 2 203 , 204 22,000 42,339 4,588 23,413 i 37,635 7 483,992 777.999 100,831 162,087 687,196 799,999 H3.I65 166,665 Tuolumne 6,204 5 128,260 26,721 27,081 7 *t559,828 116,626 688,088 I43'352 Yiiba.. .. "50,423 6 1,042,349 217.155 1,042,349 217.155 Total 351,679 4 7,269,861 1,514,156 243,806 7 5.039.932 1,050,085 12,309,793 2,564,284 Additional produc tion estimated from transporta tion statistics . 50,790 i *I, 049, 925 218,784 171,298 3 3,541,050 737.718 4.590,975 956,948 Grand total 402,469 5 8,319,786 1,732,940 415,105 o 8,580,982 1,787,803 16,900,768 3,521,232 Estimated. f Including $300,000 (6o,ooo/.) from "pocket" mines. This estimate is at least $300,000 (6o,ooo/.) below Wells Fargo's for 1879, and $850,000 (170,0007.) below that for 1880; and it is $600,000 (i2O,ooo/.) less than Burchard's figures for the year ending June 30, 1880, whence the editor of the Mining Record is "more satisfied than ever that the gold product is being over-stated." Carolina (North}. Gold occurs in numerous localities throughout the state, generally in quartz veins of the gneissic, granitic and dioritic rocks, also in those of the talcose, chloritic and argillaceous slates ; in beds of the slates themselves ; and in the gravel deposits, the debris of the decomposed rocks and veins. The principal counties in which it has been found in sufficient quantity for exploration are : Franklin, Nash, Granville, Alamance, Chatham, Moore, Guilford, Davidson, Randolph, Montgomery, Stanly, Union, Cabarrus, Rowan, Mecklenburg, Lincoln, Gaston, Catawba, Caldwell, Burke, McDowell, Rutherford, Polk, Cleave- land, Cherokee, Jackson, Transylvania and Watanga. It is generally more or less alloyed with silver, varying from pure gold on the one side to pure silver on the other. Near the surface, it is usually associated with limonite, and, at a greater depth of the deposits, with pyrite, chalcopyrite, galenite, zinc-blende, tetradymite, arsenopyrite, rarely with altaite and nagyagite. Specimens of gold, remarkable for their size, have been found at the Reed mine, in Cabarrus county, AMERICA, N. : CAROLINA, N. 155 the Crump mine and the Swift Island mine in Montgomery county, (at the latter place in plates, covered with octahedral crystals,) at the Cansler and Shuford mine, in Gaston county, the Littlejohn mine, in Caldwell county, and Pax Hill, in Burke county. Very beautiful arborescent gold has been obtained from the Shemwell vein in Ruther- ford county. The variety " electrum," containing 36 to 40 per cent of silver, has been met with in octahedral crystals at Ward's mine, in Davidson county ; also in Union county, at the Pewter mine, and associated with galenite and zinc-blende at the Stewart and Lemmond mines, and in the neighbourhood of Gold Hill, Rowan county. According to Dr. Asbury, very interesting specimens were found at Silver Hill, when the mine was first opened, consisting of lumps several inches in length, one end of which was pure gold, while the other was pure silver. None of them has been preserved. Professor Emmons says that the gold of North Carolina belongs to four different geological periods : (i) The loose quartz grits beneath the surface soil ; (2) in stratified layers which are contemporaneous with the rock ; (3) in connection with seams and joints of the rocks, and pro- bably also diffused in the mass ; (4) in regular veins associated with quartz and the sulphurets of iron and copper : (1) The quartz grits form loose beds, made up mainly of broken- down auriferous veins, in rounded and angular pieces, and resting usually upon a bed-rock, which may be of almost any formation. The origin of this auriferous grit is modern, and due in great part to existing forces. It is everywhere distributed in the state, but varies in thickness and richness. (2) The occurrence of gold in layers and beds contemporaneous with the rock leads Emmons to pronounce it as " a sediment," and he traces it to " the Palaeozoic period." These deposits may be " distinguished from veins by the absence of walls ; there is really no line of demarcation between the auriferous layers and the adjacent ones." Even miners who are perfectly familiar with the bed " are not aware of a change, except by the absence of gold, or until it is proved by panning." These facts, in his opinion, " go to prove most conclusively that a fissure never was formed, and that the layer has become auriferous by the deposition of gold, in company with the sedimentary matter which forms the layer." It. appears to him probable that the gold " may be widely diffused or contained in most of the rocks of North Carolina, which belong to the Taconic system " [the earliest member of the Palaeozoic group, which he divides, in ascending scale, into Taconic, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian] ; but " it should be understood that the strata in which the quantity is sufficient to pay a profit are rare." The chief mines placed by Emmons in this class are : Jones, Davidson county ; Lafflin, Delft, Robins, Sawyer, Randolph county ; Howie, Lawson, Union county. 156 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. (3) This class of deposits partakes both of the characters which belong to the sediments proper, described in (2), and of those in which the metal is distributed in regular veins. The gold of this class of deposit is connected immediately with quartz seams or irregular veins, which do not extend continuously through the rock, but terminate in it, and do not pursue the usual, nor any special, direction. The quartz is subordinate to slate, but Emmons is " not aware that the latter contains gold, except when it is in contact with the former, or is distributed in the natural joints, which usually contain a film of quartz. The distribution of the metal, too, is irregular ; " it " is found in pockets or bunches, some of which are very productive." There is thus " more uncertainty in the results, and the mining operations cannot be conducted in a manner so systematic as when " the gold is " distributed in regular veins." In the Ward mine, of this class, the greatest quantity of gold has been obtained by washing the soil ; the results obtained by panning on several acres show that gold is widely distributed in the immediate vicinity where the principal workings have been carried on. At the Cansler and Shuford mine, both the soil above the rock and the soft reddish rock itself yield the metal ; but the most productive parts of the rock are the natural joints and quartz seams. In proximity to the natural joints, pieces of gold weighing i Ib. have been found, made up of slightly coherent plates, separated by slate or talc. Other mines included in this class by Emmons are : Hoover Hill, now being worked by an English company ; Portis, Franklin county ; Parker, Stanly county ; and Beaver Dam, Montgomery county. (4) True fissure veins need not be defined here. In North Carolina, their direction usually coincides very nearly with the strike of the beds ; but it is rarely, if ever, that it continues to coincide with the beds as they descend with the rock. The extreme variation (in North Carolina) of the direction of the main or right-running veins is from N. 10 W. to N. 70 E., but it is usually N. 45 E. Veins intersecting this line should be considered only as cross-courses, but instances of them are not numerous in this state. The metal in a promising vein, in addition to its distribution in masses through the gangue, is also accumulated upon the foot-wall, and is rarely against the roof or hanging-wall. This is more obvious in the case of sulphurets than in quartz gangues. It is common in North Carolina for veins to extend a mile, and to carry sufficient metal to pay for working the whole distance. The principal mines enumerated by Emmons in this class are : Conrad Hill, Davidson county ; Gold Hill, Rymer, in Rowan county ; Reed, Phoenix, Vanderburgh, Orchard, Earnhardt, Pioneer, all in Cabarrus county ; Phifer, Davis, and Pewter, all in Union county ; Hearne, Stanly county ; Reynolds', Montgomery county ; McCulloch, Fisher Hill, Lindsey, Beason, Harlan, AMERICA, N. : CAROLINA, N. 157 Gardner, all in Guilford county ; Rudersill, Dunn, in Mecklenburg county. Emmons concludes his remarks upon the gold of the state by deprecating the inefficiency of the apparatus employed in its extraction, and the carelessness and ignorance displayed in conducting operations. Professor Kerr, the present State Geologist, endorses Emmons' remarks upon the ore beds described in (2), and says that the width of these auriferous beds varies from a few inches to 60 or 70 ft. The same authority is of opinion that all the auriferous gravels of the state have been formed by what he calls " frost drift " or " earth glaciers," i. e. the effects of repeated frost and thaw in decomposing the rocks, and then, by alternate expansion and contraction, causing their detritus to rearrange its component parts. According to Kerr, there are probably 500 square miles of gold-drifts in North Carolina. They are found through a range of 400 miles east and west, from the lower waters of the Roanoke, near Weldon, to the extreme western border, the county of Cherokee ; and they belong to all the different subdivisions of the Archaean rocks of the state. The two most extensive deposits are found in the middle region on the Yadkin and Catawba rivers, among the low ranges and spurs of the mountains. The schistose and slaty rocks, highly inclined and much contorted and dislocated, are in many places penetrated by innumerable small veins and seams of gold-bearing quartz. In the disintegration and breaking-down of these rocks, and the movements of the debris in the manner described, it is evident that the gold, particles, with the heavier crystalline minerals, will be accumulated near the bottom of the drifts, on or near the surface of the bed-rock, or " slate," as the miners call it. The gold-mining of modern times began 60 years ago in this region, from the accidental discovery of a 28-lb. nugget by a boy in one of these streams. Most of the simple and effective appliances now in use every- where for the separation of gold from such deposits the long-torn, sluice, riffle-box, &c. were devised and used in this locality, and were carried hence to California, when, 25 years later, the trained miners of this region emigrated in a body to that newer and richer field. Since that emigra- tion, there has been but little placer mining done in North Carolina. Still this sort of mining has never entirely ceased, and in some sections, and by a few families, it has been followed continuously to the present. The richest deposits within reach of water have been worked over, but there are large areas still untouched, because inaccessible to water, without considerable outlay for ditching, canalling and fluming, to which, says Kerr, neither the capital nor the enterprise of the region is equal. The gross gold-product of the mines of North Carolina, so far as in- dicated by the Mint returns, from 1838 to 1856, was $4,233,336 (88i,945/.) ; 158 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Dr. Stevens (Amer. Jl. Min., i. 313) puts it at " not far from $30,000,000" (6,25O,ooo/.) down to 1866. From a pamphlet accompanying a memorial from the Sixth Congressional District of North Carolina, asking for a commission to visit the district (Scien. Amer., xxxviii. 212), it appears that the gold-producing area of North Carolina covers about 12,000 sq. miles, containing 140 mines already (1878) developed, and that their gold-yield up to June 30, 1877, was $10,370,492 (2,161,0747.). Carolina (South). Here, according to Tuomey (1848), the gold- mines are of two classes, " deposit " or " branch " mines, and " vein " mines, fulfilling the same conditions as sections (2) and (4) of the North Carolina group. An example of the first-named kind in the Tomassic Valley covered an area of many acres ; and on a branch of the Tyger is one extending a mile in length and having a width of 100 yd. At this locality, the auriferous gravel is 8 in. to 3 ft. thick, and is overlaid by a bed of pebbles 6 to 8 ft. thick, the whole occupying a flat between two hills, and being covered by a fertile soil of considerable depth ; the deposit rests upon mica-slate, having a very irregular surface, and exhibiting unequi- vocal marks of the action of water. As regards age, Tuomey considers that the deposit-mines may be referred to two distinct periods : (1) Those consisting of beds of rounded and waterworn quartz pebbles, of various sizes, but seldom exceeding 6 in. in diameter, constituting the most extensive beds in the State, and " in such positions as to preclude the possibility of the pebbles being rounded and transported by any stream or other aqueous force that could have existed since that region received its present form." The gold in these older deposits can " rarely if ever be traced to its original source in the veins in place, partly, no doubt, from their being transported from a great distance, and partly from the total destruction of the veins by denuding forces." In almost every mine of this class, there are peculiar indications known to the miners as favourable or otherwise : the presence of schorl, of ferruginous matter, etc. The deposits belonging to this category which are particularly mentioned by Tuomey are in the Tomassic Valley, on the Tyger, near the summit of the Blue Ridge, at the foot of Poor Mountain, and at Rankin's, on Little River. (2) The beds of more recent origin are known by the angular fragments of quartz that predominate in them. Nearly all the vein- mines in the state have been discovered by tracing these beds to their sources. Not unfrequently the veins occur at a short distance from the deposit ; but sometimes, while the soil contains sufficient gold to pay for working, when it is exhausted, not a trace of a vein can be seen, a circumstance ascribed by Tuomey to the fact of the original vein having thinned out and disappeared. This class of deposits embraces those AMERICA, N. : CAROLINA, S. ; COLORADO. 159 being worked in the vicinity of veins, such as at Estatoe, in Abbeville ; on Lawson's Fork, in Spartanburg ; and in Cherokee Valley. The gold of the deposit-mines occurs in irregular particles, more or less water-worn, of larger size and greater purity than the vein-product The veins are also divided by Tuomey into two categories: (i) those in which the precious metal is found disseminated in the slates, or in beds between them, and called by the miners " slate mines " ; and (2) those in which the lodes are true veins. In the former class, he includes, for the most part the mines of Chesterfield, Lancaster, and some of the Fair Forest mines, in Union. And to the latter belong Nott's mine, Nuckols and Norris's mine, those near the Limestone Springs, and those on the Broad River, near Smith's Ford. In the King's Mountain range, the first mine towards the north on King's Creek is very remarkable, being a bed of rather poor iron ore (hematite) and common quartz, about 3 ft. thick, in mica-slate. The gold is confined to certain ferruginous portions, in which small quartz veins abound. At other places in this range, the gold is associated with iron as a yellow ochre. Above Easter-wood Shoals, some of the mines consist of talco-micaceous slates, intersected by veins of felspar passing into kaolin, the auriferous veins being coarse crystalline granite ; at Littlejohn's, not far distant, on the contrary, the gold-bearing lodes are quartz, and though granite veins are common in the mine, they contain no gold. Tuomey is " convinced that all the oxide of iron that occurs in the gold-veins was once sulphuret of iron, or pyrites, and that at a depth below the surface which is quite variable, the iron" associated with the gold exists in that form." Colorado. The principal gold-producing mines of Colorado are situated in Gilpin county, and are the subject of an exhaustive report by J. D. Hague, which will be largely drawn upon in the following remarks. Typical veins in this district will be selected for description, choosing those that have been most extensively worked. Concerning the lodes in general, it may be said that they are all enclosed in a rock of one common type chiefly granitic, with gneissic varieties. Their course, with few exceptions, is either due E. and W., or N.E. and S.W., the prevailing line along the prominent lodes being about 5 to 10 N. of E. The Gregory, Bates, and a few others are exceptions ; but the Bobtail, Burroughs, Gardner, Flack, Gunnell, Winnebago, and others, strike about N. 85 E., and more nearly represent the average course of the veins in the district. The dip is generally nearly vertical. The lodes possess the features of true fissure-veins, and are remarkably free from faults or displacements. Bobtail lode. This has the reputation of having been the most productive vein of Colorado. The average course for 800 ft. is due E. I6O GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. and W. ; the dip is nearly vertical, varying from N. to S. ; the width of the vein ranges from a few inches or a mere seam to 10 or 15 ft, but does not exceed 3 to 4 ft. on an average. The enclosing rock is gneiss, sometimes of granitic character. The walls are usually well defined, especially the southern one. The vein matter is a quartzose and felspathic mixture, highly silicious, and carrying much free quartz, but not having the appearance of solid quartz veins ; in many places, it has a granitic look, thus differing but little from the country-rock, and in such cases is usually quite barren. The gangue is soft, whitish or pale-greenish rock, consisting chiefly of decomposed felspathic material, mixed with quartz, and thickly impregnated with iron- and copper-pyrites. The richer ore is concentrated in a seam of solid sulphurets, composed mainly of iron and copper pyrites, with less quantities of galena, zinc-blende, arsenical pyrites, &c. The gold, rarely if ever entirely without silver, is associated with the pyrites, most richly with the fine copper-pyrites, and varying in the iron-pyrites according to the closeness of grain. The productive part of the vein usually carries a seam of solid auriferous pyrites, I in. to 3 ft. wide, an average of 10 to 12 in. being deemed excellent ; this seam is accompanied by a mass of gangue I to 4 ft. wide, with finely crystallized sulphurets generally disseminated through it. The last-named forms the bulk of the vein, and gives 6 to 7 oz. of retorted amalgam per cord (7 to 8 tons) of ore, the value being $14 to $16 (2l. iSs. 4d. to 3/. 6s. 8d.) a ton. The total yield of the lode since its discovery is roughly stated at $2,500,000 (5OO,ooo/.). Gregory lode. This lode is worked over a length of 1 500 to 2000 ft, its general course being N.E. and S.W. The dip is nearly vertical, though sometimes N.W. and sometimes S.E. The country-rock is generally similar to that of the Bobtail, but sometimes abounding in mica. The walls are not very regular, and are liable in places to scale off and fall in large pieces. The width varies from 2 to 5 ft, sometimes expanding to 1 2 or 15. The vein-matter is like that of the Bobtail ; the value of the compact ore seam is generally somewhat less, but its development is greater. The poorer matter gives 5 to 6 oz. per cord. Lumps of free gold worth $50 (io/.) have been found. The yield of the lode can only be partially stated with regard to one portion of it: the Black Hawk mine in 1867 produced 12,193^ oz. of crude bullion ; in the latter half of 1868, 3942^ oz. of amalgam ; in the first half of 1869, 3177 oz. of retorted amalgam. Bates lode. This lies nearly parallel to and several hundred feet north-west of the Gregory ; it has been worked to considerable depth for about 1000 ft. in length. The country-rock has the same features as already described. The veins are somewhat less in width, but regular, well-defined, and promising as to permanence. The ores in some parts AMERICA, N. : COLORADO. l6l are distinguished by a large proportion of argentiferous galena, zinc- blende and silver sulphurets, associated with the iron- and copper-pyrites, giving them sometimes a high value in silver, but rendering difficult, or practically impossible by any simple process known in the district, the extraction of the gold. Illinois lode. The course of this lode is N. 60 E., with a gradual approximation to neighbouring lodes farther south, which run N. 85 E. ; the dip is 84 S., and regular ; the average width is about 2 ft. ; and the walls are generally smooth and well-defined. The vein-matter is chiefly quartz ; sometimes white, hard, and amorphous, carrying little or no metal ; sometimes showing a sparse distribution of crystallized iron- pyrites throughout its mass. But most commonly the vein-matter is a mixture of siliceous and felspathic material, in which occur small seams or scattered particles of pyrites, associated, as before described, with a narrower but solid seam of compact pyritous ore ; the latter is 2 to 12 in. thick. The valuable mineral in the mine consists chiefly of iron-pyrites, with a lesser proportion of copper-pyrites, and, as a characteristic feature, some arsenical pyrites ; with these are associated zinc-blende and galena. The yield of this ore averages about 4 oz. of fine gold and 20 oz. of fine silver per ton. The yield of the poorer material averages about I oz. Gardner lode. This lode is nearly parallel to and 300 to 400 ft. north of the Illinois. Its course is N. 85 E., and dip 75 S., both being very regular. It has been partially developed over about 800 ft. in length. The vein is large and regular, seldom less than 3 or more than 10 to 12 ft. wide, the walls being smooth and well-defined, and costing little for timber. The ore resembles descriptions already given, but carries considerable galena and zinc-blende ; and the valuable mineral is widely diffused. About \ to f of all the vein-matter broken is sent through the stamps, and yields on an average about 6 oz. of bullion or $100 coin (2O/. i6s. Sd} per cord, equal to $12 or $14 (50^. to 58^. 4^.) per ton. Burroughs lode. One of the earliest discovered and most developed lodes in the territory, the Burroughs, lies about 400 ft. north of the Gardner, and almost exactly parallel. Its dip is nearly vertical, or 85 S. It is opened along more than 2000 ft, and worked to depths of 200 to 600 ft. The country-rock differs nothing from the preceding examples, but is narrower, varying from 8 in. to 4 ft. The vein-matter and ore present the same general features ; but the pyrites is ferrous rather than cupreous, and more argentiferous than usual. California, Indiana, Flack, Mercer County, and other lodes. These are ^ mile west of the Burroughs lode which they resemble in 'position, but from which they differ widely in the character of the ore, carrying a much larger proportion of argentiferous galena, zinc-blende, and sulphurets of silver. Ores from some of these mines, assay 7 oz. of gold and 68 oz. M 1 62 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. of silver per ton ; others, 3 oz. of gold and 18 oz. of silver. In the Coaley and Gilpin lodes, gold has quite disappeared, while the silver yield comes up to 2 1 5 oz. per ton. With regard to the total gold-production of Colorado, Hollisted states that from 1859 to June 1866, $12,401,374 (2,583,6247.) worth was delivered to the mint ; and supposing this to represent only one-third of what was actually got, the total would be $37,204,122 (7,750,8727.). Hague computed the output in 1868 and 1869 (combined) at $6,500,000 (i,354,i66/.). Porter gives the total production in the census year (1880) as $3,200,000 (666,6667), and enumerates the following counties : Gilpin, $2,380,000 (495,8337.) ; Boulder, $300,000 (62,4997.) ; Clear Creek, $196,000(40,8337.) ; Custer, $100,000 (20,8337.) ; Lake, $58,000 (12,0837.) ; Summit, $51,000 (10,6247.) ; Park, $50,000 (10,4167.); San Juan, $40,000 (83327.) ; Chaffee, $31,500 (65657). Dakota. The auriferous region of Dakota is comprised within the Black Hills, and occupies a metamorphic range covering an area of 900 sq. miles, extending north and south through the central portions of the hills for a distance of 75 miles, with a breadth varying from 5 to 25 miles. The product, as estimated by the Director of the Mint, for 1880 was $3,600,000 (75,0007.) of gold. The mineral resources of this region have been made the subject of a valuable report by W. P. Jenney, according to which the gold occurs in the following formations : I. In veins of quartz, more or 1-ess ferruginous, traversing the Archaean schists and slates. II. In strata of slate, mineralized and altered by the action of waters depositing silica and iron-pyrites. III. In the conglomerate forming the lower layer of the Potsdam sand- stone, resulting in this case from the denudation of the ledges in the Archaean rocks. IV. In trachyte and porphyry intruded at the time of elevation of the Hills, in the interval between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods. V. In deposits in the slates and sedimentary rocks, produced by the intrusion of the trachyte and porphyry. VI. In placer-gravels resulting from the decomposition and erosion of the above formations, in Tertiary and recent times. The miners, for convenience in making laws to govern the recording and locating of claims, have divided the gold-fields into different districts, which division is followed as closely as possible by Jenney in considering the value and character of the gold-deposits. French Creek. In the French Creek district is embraced all the area of granitic and schistose rocks surrounding Harney Peak, and forming the southern portion of the Hills, bounded by Spring Creek on AMERICA, N. : DAKOTA. 163 the north, and including the placer-gravels in the valleys of Wiwi Creek, Custer Gulch or French Creek, Amphibious, Minnekata, and Red Canon Creeks, streams draining the region and emptying into the south fork of the Cheyenne. The gravel deposits elevated above the present level of French Creek show often a local concentration of gold on the outer edge of the bed-rock, from the repeated washing away of the gravel by floods or heavy rains, leaving behind the gold contained in it. Though giving a very encouraging prospect at first, on driving an open cut a few yards into the bar where the gravel was undisturbed, the richness of the pay- dirt rapidly decreased, until it equalled the true average of the whole deposit, showing that the result first obtained was only a rim-rock " prospect." The richest layer in the pay-gravel was rarely on bed-rock, but usually 10 to 20 in. above it, forming the upper surface of the stratum of compact clayey gravel, mixed with fragments of decomposed bed-rock, which had caught and retained the greater portion of the gold. The gold obtained from the placer-gravels on French Creek was in small flattened scales and grains, quite uniform in size, mixed with very little fine dust, and nearly free from magnetic iron sand. It showed but little action of water, and the garnet crystals associated with it were often quite perfect and scarcely rounded by attrition. The greater portion of the gold seems to be derived from the quartz ledges in the schistose rocks, and not from the intruded granite ; for in side gulches, where the rocks are wholly composed of granite, Jenney failed to detect any traces of gold. The pay-gravel is composed of the heaviest pebbles, with some clayey sand and large quantities of red garnet crystals derived from the schists. It is soft, rarely cemented to a conglomerate, and easily washed in a sluice. The exploration and prospecting on French Creek showed a general diffusion of fine gold in the gravel beds, but little concentrated in the deposits, and found in small quantities throughout the whole breadth of the valley. Above the stockade are localities where the gravel will pay fair wages for sluicing, using the limited water-supply of the creek, and working only the richest places in the beds. Jenney regards the poverty of the French Creek deposits, compared with those afterwards discovered on the streams farther north, to be due to a deficiency in the source of supply, owing to the confined area drained by the stream, the small amount of denudation to which the ledges in this area have been subjected, and to a want of sufficient grade in the valley to cause a concentration of the gold into a pay-channel. Had all the gold diffused through the valley of French Creek been M 2 164 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. concentrated into a narrow lead or pay-channel, it would have made claims as rich as the most enthusiastic miner could desire. Spring Creek. The result of Jenney's prospecting on Newton's Fork branch of Spring Creek seems to show a general diffusion of gold in nearly paying quantities through extensive gravel deposits, which in many respects resemble the bars in Custer Gulch. The water-supply was, however, considerably greater, and the grade or descent of the valley sufficient to enable the deposits to be worked with much less expenditure of time or labour ; so that, were the deposits of equal richness, they would be more valuable here than on French Creek. In the valley of Spring Creek, about 8 miles below Newton's Fork, near where the immense quartz formation known as the Mammoth ledge crosses the gulch, prospecting resulted in the discovery of gold in paying quantities in the placer-deposits of this stream. On examination, the pay-gravel was found to be a deposit about 35 ft. in width, crossing the creek and extending into the banks on either side, resulting from the decomposition of a stratum of soft clay-slate in the bed-rock, which had caught and retained the gold swept over it by the stream. The " pay-streak " is a compact gravel, full of small red garnet crystals, rich in coarse gold, 3 to 6 in. in depth. The gold is derived from quartz ledges of enormous dimensions in a belt of clay-slate and quartzite, 20 miles in width, crossing the Hills in a north-westerly direction at this point. The clay from the bed of the stream near camp yields 4.0. to 8c. (2d. to 4^.) to the pan, and several pieces of about the value of a dollar have been found. The richest layer in the deposit was the lower part of the red garnet gravel, where it rested on the upper surface of the blue plastic clay. Pieces taken from this contact showed, on breaking, scales and particles of gold contained in it. The bed-rock, so far as Jenney's party dug into it (about a foot below the surface), contained coarse gold in small quantities, probably caught in crevices in the rock before it de- composed. This deposit may be described as a strip of plastic clay crossing the bed of the creek, and resulting from the decomposition of strata of soft clay-slate located on the rise of the bed-rock, while both above and below was a hard massive quartzite, smooth and water-worn, but pro- tecting the slate from being rapidly cut away by the current of the stream. The sample obtained, when assayed, showed that the gold from this district is very pure, being 946^5 fine, or 22| carats; just as it is washed from the placers, it is worth $19 44C. to $19 63C. (4/. is. to 4/. is. 9%d.) an oz. The valley below the Mammoth ledge is contracted in width, and appears to have been gradually filled up since it was excavated. AMERICA, N. : DAKOTA. 165 Bed-rock has been reached in only two places, although a number of shafts have been sunk by the miners ; and in these cases the rock was hard, and the gravel poor in gold. Above the original discovery for nearly 5 miles, the gravel deposits are very broad and extensive ; flats, in places mile wide, extend along the banks of the creek ; while elevated bars are to be found at the bends of the stream and sides of the valley, which proved to be very valuable. Stand-off Bar pays $i (4^. 2<3 7 .) in gold per hour per man employed. The gold appears to be derived from the decomposition of the slates and quartzites, as well as from the denudation of the quartz ledges traversing these rocks. The source of supply of the gold is immense. The side valleys and gulches are often excavated for miles along the outcrops of the gold-bearing slates ; and the quartzites, with their enclosed veins, have acted as feeders to the placers of the main valley. Over a very extensive area these rocks have been enormously eroded, and the resulting material swept away. The gold it originally contained has been partly caught and retained in the gulches ; the rest, intermixed with gravel and boulders from the metamorphic rocks, and also from the lime- stone and recent formations in the foot-hills, being carried far out on the plains, and scattered broadcast over their surface, so that very little can ever be recovered. From the results of the prospecting done in this district up to August I, 1875, it would be inferred that the character of the bed-rock strongly influenced the deposition of the gold. Where the bed-rock was a hard, massive quartzite, the water had worn it smooth, and no gold was to be found on its surface, while the gravel above it was loose and poor in the precious metal ; but where the bed-rock was soft, easily-decomposing slates, it had caught and retained the gold swept over its surface by the stream ; and the gravel above, compact from the clay produced by its decay, was also rich in gold. In the flats and creek bed, when a stratum of soft slates is found crossing the gulch below, a high and hard bar with valuable deposits should be sought for. Whiskey Creek. From the fact that the area drained by this stream is almost identical in the character of the rocks with that of the Spring Creek district, although less extensive, Jenney considers that there are good reasons to expect that, at least in some localities, gold may be found in paying quantities in the gravel deposits of Whiskey Creek and its tributaries. Castle Creek. Gold was discovered on Castle Creek, above the canon, on June 12, 1875. It was found in small gravel deposits along the creek, and in the gulches leading into the stream from the south. About 2 or 3 miles below the point where Custer's trail leaves the valley, a bar, covering an area of 2 acres, gave, on prospecting, nearly ic. (^d) to the pan of fine gold. This deposit of gravel was 4 to 5 ft. in thickness, 1 66 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. composed of quartz and slate pebbles, resting on bed-rock of mica-schists, elevated about 6 ft. above the water of the creek, and so favourably situated for working that the gravel could be sluiced with very little expense or trouble. Several pits were sunk in the flats near the channel of the stream, but failed to reach bed-rock, owing to springs of waten which could not be kept down by baling. Small gravel benches were found on the sides of the canon below this bar, which gave 4 to 6 colours of gold to the pan, but were of too limited area to be valuable. The gold from this portion of the stream is in small flat grains, resembling that of French Creek, and probably similarly derived from the quartz veins in the schists. In July, a party of miners discovered gold in paying quantities on Castle Creek, below the north bend. The pay- dirt gave, by several tests, 5c. to I5c. (2\d. to 7| an d from the Virginia mines, $166 (34/. iu. 8^.), which shows largely in favour of the East. Besides, the cost, he 'says, of working sulphurets in California by the chlorination pro- cess is^$io(2/. is. 8d.) per ton, while in Virginia it ought not to exceed $3 5oc. (14^. 7^.) per ton. This difference of more economical working in the East applies to all branches of gold mining, for the average cost of mining and milling in California is between $8 and $9 (33^. \d. to yjs. 6d.) per ton, while in the East it is only a little over $2 (8s. 4<).' After speaking of the great value of the copper and iron pyrites in Vir- ginia, he says : ' I do not know of any other section that offers such inducements to capitalists as our gold mines here in Virginia. What has been done elsewhere in saving the precious metals, and utilizing concentrations, can be done here, and with much less outlay of capital. What would cost here in the way of exploiting mines, would cost from $2000 to $5000 (4oo/. to rooo/.) in Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. No investments in railroads, manufactures, or farming lands, will pay such large dividends for the outlay as will the gold mines of Virginia, when handled with the proper skill and energy.' " Professor Stowe, in an article published in the Piedmont News (Culpeper, Va., August 30, 1877), says : 'The Placer mines of Goochland county are now successfully worked by the hydraulic process, which is so extensively and profitably carried on in California ; and there are several other counties in the State where the hydraulicing could be made to pay well. Much may be expected by the proper employment of this process in Virginia. It can be worked much more cheaply here than in the West. In many places in California, the cost of water alone per year would be a snug fortune, while here it can be had for nothing. It has been asserted that hydraulicing will pay a profit in this State if the soil yields I5c. (j\d.) per ton, provided other con- ditions are favourable. I know, in one place in particular, where the soil would yield that much to the pan, and often more. I have seen as much as $4 (i6s. 8d.) washed from one pan of dust and gravel. There is plenty of water not far distant, but for want of capital and brains this valuable placer mine is idle. Its past history would indicate that there are several fortunes in it. The several years' experience I have had in Vir- ginia teaches me the importance of, and the necessity for, a cheaper ore crusher than we have at present. The apparatus should be portable, and not weigh over 200 Ib. It should require no expensive foundations, and be so constructed as to be run by horse power, if desired, and crush to the requisite fineness 500 Ib. quartz per hour. * * We need also a cheap and effective process for saving the gold after the ore is crushed. This process should be simple, and easily worked by any one of intelli- gence. The gold mining interests of the " Old Dominion " have been seriously affected by a great many costly and useless processes, which have done much more harm than good.' " Professor Stowe, in another article in the same paper, describes some of the gold mines in Culpeper, Orange and Fauquier counties (the Vaucluse, Melville, Old Culpeper, Ellis, Bancroft, Kidwell, Waterman, Franklin and Wykoff), and gives the cost of mining and milling at one of these mines at $2 2OC. (gs. id.) per ton (the Ellis mine) in Culpeper county, superintended for three years by himself, and then compares it with the Taylor mine in California, where the cost, according to the report of the United States Mining Commissioner for 1875, was for mining and milling $9 95c. (2/. is. $^d.) per ton ; and by the same report, the average cost in 27 leading mines in California, mining and milling was $8 26c. (i/. 143. $d.) per ton. Describing one of these mines, the Wykoff, in Fauquier, he says the geological features at the Wykoff present the same general characteristics that prevail elsewhere on the line of the gold belt. The country rock is talcose slate, and the strata are nearly vertical. The 1 86 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. decomposition of this rock forms the excellent soil referred to. After describing the different veins, one of which is 20 ft. thick (the Mill House vein), he says : ' I have made careful analyses of samples, taken by myself from these veins, with the follow- ing results : Mill House vein yielded $41 28c. (8/. 12s.) per ton ; Tunnel vein, the ore of same value ; from the Slate vein the clean sulphurets gave $89 i8c. (i8/. us. jd.} per ton ; in another vein, known only by its outcrop, the clean sulphurets yielded $623 IDC. (i29/. i6s, 3^.) per ton ; another vein, which contains copper pyrites, yielded of pure gold $30 (6/. 5-r.) per ton.' "We find in the Richmond Whig (August 22, 1876), and the Mining Record September 5, 1878), articles from Professor Stowe on the values of the sulphurets of Virginia. He says : ' Nearly all the gold-bearing veins of the State carry the gold in sulphurets, or at least where they have been. In the lower level of our mines the sulphurets will contain at least 80 per cent, of all the gold in the ore, and hence the importance of the capitalist and miner knowing their value in practical mining operations. I have made numerous tests of Virginia sulphurets, and have been taking great pains to get them from every gold-bearing county in the State, in order that I might get at the facts. I have access to the assays of others, so as not to allow myself to be deceived. So far as I can learn, the assays of auriferous sulphurets in this State are higher than the average of like ores in the Western mines. What I mean by " sul- phuret " is pyrites of iron, copper, and galena, which are found on the line of the gold - belt. No antimony has been found in our gold mines, and some experts deny the existence of arsenic. Only traces of zinc are found, and we have no refractory consti- tuents in our sulphurets that are found in the West.' Professor Stowe gives the analyses of the sulphurets of seven Virginia mines and of seven California mines, the former based on his own experience, and the latter taken from the ' United States Mining Commissioner's Report,' and says 'it will be seen from the above that the average yield of gold from the sulphurets of seven Virginia mines is greater by $75 (2$/. us. 6d.} per ton than the average of a like number in California. These averages are not from selected mines particularly, but from those whose yield of sulphurets could be ascertained. There are many mines in the States above mentioned that would furnish sulphurets giving a much higher, and some a much lower, yield than the averages above given respectively ; but I do not believe the ratio would be much changed. * * It is hard to tell with certainty what will be the metallurgical treat- ment of sulphurets in this State. Chlorination is the leading process in California, and will probably be introduced here before the close of the present year (1876). [It has been introduced to some extent]. Several other processes for the treatment of gold ores are to be introduced shortly, and among them there may be something as effective as chlorination, and much easier, requiring less chemical manipulation. In California the cost of working ores by the chlorination process is about $10 (2/. is. 8d.) per ton. In Virginia it ought not to exceed $3 5oc. (14^. jd.} per ton.' Professor Stowe speaks of assays made by him of the sulphurets of the Home Mine, Appomat- tox county. He says : ' I have recently made several assays of the Home Mine, taken from newly opened veins, with the following results : Shaft No. 3, per ton, $206 yoc. (43/. is. 3<) ; shaft No. 4, per ton, $261 68c. ($4/. los. 4^.) ; shaft No. 5, per ton $219 ice. (45 /. 12s. 8d.) ; average, $229 i6c. (47 /. 15^.).' " Professor Stowe describes a mine in Fauquier county on the Mason tract, opened in 1875, an< 3 called the Bancroft Mine. In 1876, when he visited it, they were about to put in operation a Lightning Pulverizer, or quartz mill, and the Lightning Amal- gamator. He describes the former, and says the inventors claim a capacity of 1 5 to 30 tons per day, depending on the character of the ore. Professor Stowe saw the machine operated, and was much pleased with the result. The ore, he says, was rapidly reduced to a very fine powder. ' In comparison with an ordinary lo-stamp AMERICA, N. : VIRGINIA. 1 87 mill this one is cheap, its cost being but $500 (roo/.), and it requires from 6 to 8-horse power only to run it.' He also describes the Amalgamator, and says, ' Should this process prove a success at the Bancroft Mine, it will at once create a revolution in gold mining in the South, as well as elsewhere. Low grade ores can be worked at a profit, where with any other method they would not pay expenses.' This machinery is the invention of Walker Brothers & Co., of Philadelphia. What has been the subsequent success of the pulverizer and amalgamator, we are not advised. "Gold was discovered in Virginia in 1831, and was confined for a considerable period to surface mining, corresponding to the placer mining of California, and the gulch mining of Colorado. It has been pursued with varying success. We have pointed out some of the sources of want of success, and adduced facts sufficient, we think, to demonstrate that Virginia is rich in gold, and that time and perseverance, with improved methods and improved machinery, will make gold mining here very profitable, and eventuate in making this State one of the most productive gold regions in the world." The following is Dr. Gray's letter referred to above : " RICHMOND, VA., May 18, 1881. " DR. THOMAS POLLARD, COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, RICHMOND, VA. : " DEAR SIR, In reply to your inquiries in regard to gold mining in Virginia, in the interest of Alfred G. Lock, F.R.G.S., I respectfully submit : " ist. I am not a practical gold miner, though acquainted with many facts pertinent thereto, having been raised within 7\ miles of the oldest gold-mine in the State. " 2nd. Being more familiar with this mine than any other, I give fuller account thereof, compiling my statements from written affidavits from owners and lessees respectively, since the discovery of the mine. " 3rd. The name of the mine alluded to is the Tellurium Gold Mine. "4th. It comprises 344 acres of land by late survey. About 320 acres are situated in the county of Fluvanna, and 24 acres in the county of Goochland. It is about 5 miles from the James river at Columbia, on the R. & A. Railroad. " 5th. This mine was discovered by George Fisher, sen. (now dead), about the year 1832 ; was leased by him, his sons, and Judge D. W. K. Bowles in 1834, and worked continuously and profitably until 1848, when it was sold to Com. R. F. Stockton. " 6th. George Fisher, jun., now the oldest geologist (practical) in Virginia, states in writing (before me) that there are three developed gold-bearing veins on this property, viz. : the big (sandstone), the little, and the middle veins. They run north-east and south-west, and dip at an angle of 20 to 30 east. The average value of the ores for these 14 years is put down at $100 (2o/.) per ton, the minimum being about $5 (i/.), and the maximum $300 (6o/.) per ton. The vein matrix carrying gold is slate, quartz, oxide of iron (brown), tellurium, etc. ; sulphurets exist in abundance, but not to any considerable extent in the three veins spoken of. " 7th. The average estimate of Com. Stockton's work (for 9 years) is put at about $20 (47.) per ton by his underground manager. He worked the sandstone vein almost exclusively, while his predecessors operated the two others. ' 8th. The deepest shaft on the place is 120 ft., and there is only one of these. Of the remainder 80 or 90 per cent, will not reach an average depth of 45 ft. (water level). " 9th. The property, until lately, has been idle ; but is now leased by its owners (The Columbia Gold Mining Company, Hon. A. M. Keiley, President), to a northern gentleman, for purposes of further development, with partial working of its ores. The 1 88 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. last report we had, some three months since, represented that he was saving $7 (i/. 9-y. 6d.) per ton from the ore furnished by the sandstone vein. " loth. Amalgamation has been the plan of saving the gold in Virginia, and is still, generally ; but I understand chlorination is being tried upon the Sneade mine in Fluvanna. " nth. A lo-stamp California mill is in use upon Tellurium, with amalgamated copper plates to save the gold. I believe this plan will lose at least 40 per cent, of the precious metal. Much of the gold in Virginia is very fine, and cannot be saved by amalgamation. Wet crushing is used generally. What we want is a better saving process than yet known to me, unless chlorination shall serve that purpose. To my mind its chief objection is that it is expensive. I should also advocate dry crushing. Upon a good many properties the gold is lamellated, and so thin and delicate that it will be readily carried off by water. To illustrate how readily this occurs with the fine gold in the Tellurium ore, I will cite a single example : Prof. M. H. Stowe, of Washington, D.C., assayed some of the Tellurium ore as follows, viz. the ore was crushed and passed through a sieve, 60 holes per inch, was then agitated in water and allowed 30 seconds to settle ; the water was then poured off, filtered, rinsed, dried, and assayed, and gave in gold $38 980. (jl. 14^. 5^). The aggregate of this, together with the gold which subsided, made the ore worth $88 o6c. (i8/. 6s. lid.}. " 1 2th. Value of Virginia gold ores : assay of 50 tons Tellurium ore gave an average of $51 22c. (io/. 13-y. $d.) per ton, the highest being $137 SQC. (28/. \is. lid.), and the lowest $4 8oc. (i/.). The best information I can give of the general value of the gold ores in Virginia is to say that the average is somewhere between $5 (i/.) and $15 (3/.) per ton. The ores are abundant, and I have no recollection of seeing any one from one of our acknowledged gold mines run under $4 (i6s. 8d.) per ton. " 1 3th. Cost of gold mining and milling in Virginia. I am indebted to Prof. Stowe for the itemized cost of mining and milling in Virginia, which statement he has made up by a carefully kept record upon the Ellis gold mine in Virginia. He concludes his paper in these words : " Total of mining and milling at the Ellis may be put at, per ton, $2 2oc. (gs. id.}. " 1 4th. The Virginia Burke Rocker, about which you inquire, is a mere cradle like a closed infant's cradle, made water-tight, open at the top and provided with a per- forated sheet-iron bottom (false and above the true bottom), and a chamber below, charged with mercury for purposes of amalgamation. The whole is placed upon rockers for agitation of gravel, etc., with water which is constantly kept pouring upon it. It is a rude fixture, but very popular in Virginia for placer miners, or surface washers. Very respectfully submitted, WILLIAM B. GRAY." Much information concerning the auriferous wealth of South-west Virginia has recently been published by C. R. Boyd, under the heads of the several counties, which may be summarized as follows : Montgomery county : Brush Creek. The south sjde of the county is marked by Huronian strata. These rocks, mainly micaceous, felspathic, and chloritic, banded here and there with heavy dykes of quartz, trend N.E. and S.W., the length of the county on that side. The decomposition of these rocks through many ages has left the gold which is now being found along the streams. Whether any distinct stratum exists, with well-marked veins of the precious metal, has not yet been fully determined. AMERICA, N. : VIRGINIA. 189 The washings so far show the gravel to yield about 33 dwt to the hand per day, with rude sluice-boxes. The same strata cross the south fork of Roanoke River, about the line between Montgomery and Floyd counties, and ought there, in the deeper gorges, to yield more heavily than elsewhere. Three miles east of Pilot House, more gold has been washed from the gravel and other detritus than at any other point. The gold has been found in surface washings over an extent of country 6 to 8 miles wide, chiefly in quartz dykes in mica-slates alternating with granite, which is occasionally porphyritic. The dip of the rocks is N. here, but on the south side of Laurel Ridge the dip is the other way. Gold has been found in very handsome quantities on Laurel Creek. " The rock ledges near Pilot House are granitic next to Pilot Mountain ; near the foot of this mountain, next to Brush Creek, hydro-mica slates come in, showing here and there ledges of quartz, one of which, 6 to 12 ft. thick, holds most of the much-talked-of gold of Brush Creek. Then south of this are the hydro-mica, chloritic, and schistose bands, which are again repeated in Laurel Ridge, giving the gold again." Floyd county. On the Floyd county side of the river there is no stream answering in position to that of Brush Creek. Consequently the formation, though containing, no doubt, the same percentage of free gold, is not so concentrated as to be noticeable like it is where a stream of the size of Brush Creek has worn away much of the rock material, leaving the gold in the sands and detritus along it. It seems that what gold exists is generally very uniformly distributed through the great mass ; but there is no reason to doubt that it is con- centrated here and there in easily defined veins. These Huronian rocks are known to have such characteristics in other places. Carroll county. No well-ascertained information has been obtained, as yet, concerning gold and silver here. Gold is strongly suspected in the Huronian series, occupying the south-western prolongation of the Brush Creek rocks, which are now yielding gold in Montgomery county. Grayson county. So important a statement as that there are immense quantities of the precious yellow metal in the county should, no doubt, be made with a great deal of caution ; yet such is the opinion advanced here, after an investigation of some length. That the gold exists in the present rock in sufficient quantities to pay for extraction is rather a premature statement to make, but that the disintegration of these Huronian rocks has, through ages, left paying quantities in the debris and drift among the streams, is confidently believed. The region of Elk Creek participates in this distribution. In all likelihood, a line parallel with the course of Iron Mountain, about the distance from that mountain that Elk Creek Post Office is, clear GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. through the country, would be in a gold-bearing series. The gold, it may be submitted, results from the decomposition of a pyritous quartz and felspathic band, which seems to follow this line, showing with some distinctness, also, on the bank of New River, a few miles above the old Grayson Sulphur Springs, on the line between Grayson and Carroll. Elk Creek, however, on the north side of Point Lookout, is the district most likely to pay the intelligent prospector. Ashe county. The ores taken in Mulatto Mountain, from what has been commonly accepted as the south-western continuation of the Ore Knob lode, yield on an average as follows : copper, 3 per cent. ; gold, $2 50. (Ss. 6%d.} per ton ; silver, $2 8oc. (icxr.) per ton. These ores were taken from a vein 51 ft. thick ; but it is barely possible that this vein lies about J mile to the north of a point where the Ore Knob vein should be, if continued. Mulatto Mountain is 10 miles S.W. from Ore Knob. The Copper Knob mine, situated in the Blue Ridge, near the Ashe- Wantanga line, was found, upon a close examination, to agree very fully with Kerr's description, which is as follows : " This is a quartz vein, or rather a group of them ; the principal one carrying variegated copper, with a little chalcopyrite, malachite, chrysocolla, specular iron pyrites, together with visible free gold and silver. The vein is a large body of hornblende slate, though the prevalent rock of the section is a grey gneiss, with a strike N. 60 E., and dip S.E. 40 The vein is a true fissure, with a direction N. 35 W. ; dip, N.E. 45. Dr. Emmons, who visited the mine when it was open, says, ' This is a true vein, and has a perfect regularity in direction, as well as in its walls.' The width is variable, being 18 in. at the surface, and 12 to 24 in. at different depths below ground." The ores, analysed by Manross, gave "gold if oz., and silver 18. oz. per ton of mixed rock and ores." Handsome specimens of purple copper ore from the centre of the vein, showing much free gold to the eye, yielded about $2600 (542/.) in gold to the ton. Elk Knob copper vein, really in Wantanga county, seems to be nearly at a point where the Peach Bottom continued that way would strike ; but it is an entirely different kind of rock from Peach Bottom vein. Elk Knob vein has been well exposed by the owners in several places, and is at different points variable in thickness, in one deep ravine being 7 ft, and at another point 16 ft. thick. The vein seems to be largely composed of mundic (iron -pyrites) ; but yields fine specimens of grey copper-ore, and copper-pyrites, all mixed with a low percentage of gold and silver. Washington. The gold-production of Washington territory was officially stated at " something under $100,000" (2O,ooo/.) in 1879. Wyoming. Rumours of gold in this territory were current long AMERICA, N. I WASHINGTON, WYOMING; W. INDIES: ARUBA. before the country was settled. The most important gold-mining " camps " have been in Douglass Creek ; Medicine Bow Mountains ; near the North Fork and Grace Creek tributaries of the Little Laramie ; the Centennial district ; the Jehu Mountain district ; Rawhide Buttes ; Running Water ; Laramie Peak ; along the sources of the Stinking Water, a tributary of the Big Horn, rising in the Shoshone Mountains ; on the head-waters of Clark's Fork, on the Yellowstone ; in the Red Mountains ; at several points along Sand Creek, a tributary of the Belle Fourche ; in the region between the Black Hills and the Bear Lodge Mountains ; and in Nigger Gulch. WEST INDIA ISLANDS. Aruba. Upon this island, one of the Dutch Antilles, gold was discovered ! in 1824-25, and the mines were worked in a very superficial way till 1838. The only method then pursued was washing the dirt brought down the hill-sides by the rains, in which manner, large quantities of free gold were obtained, including a nugget weighing 44 Ib. In 1838, the natives were granted free right to mine, and carried on operations in a disconnected and irregular way till about 1854, when the depth of their pits generally required better appliances than they could command. From 1855 to 1867, very little was done, though it has been stated that 10,000 oz. of gold were brought to market in that period. In 1867, a 3 5 -years' lease of all the gold-mines in the island was granted to Francisco Isola, and sold by him to an English company, which, under various changes of name, still enjoys the right. The formation of the island is chiefly syenite, but clay-slate, porphyry, dioritic slate, diorite, and granite are also reported. These rocks, or a portion of them, are penetrated by numerous auriferous quartz veins. Over 200 such veins had been discovered by their outcrop in 1872, varying in width from a few inches to more than 30 ft. No less than 158 of these have been examined and fully described. Of samples taken from 47 veins, 10 yielded upwards of I oz. of gold per ton ; 12, from 13 dwt. to i oz. ; and the remainder, between 2 and 13 dwt Assays of the samples from the 10 richest veins gave the following results in gold per ton : Sero Hacha, 4 oz. 15 dwt. ; Picaron, i oz. 6 dwt. 3 gr. ; Matividiri, i oz. 9 dwt. 9 gr. ; Goldstein, i oz. i dwt. ; Sombrero, 2 oz. 6 dwt. ; Bushiribana, 2 oz. 12 dwt. 12 gr. ; Casa Blanca, 2 oz. 2 dwt. 12 gr. ; Mira la Mar, i oz. 19 dwt. 12 gr. Yet despite the abundance of the precious metal, large sums of English capital have been unsuccessfully applied to the development of the industry. This appears to be due to three main causes inefficient apparatus, local peculation, and general mismanagement. The 4074 tons of ore treated have yielded 26.97 oz - 7 dwt. of free gold (equivalent to 13 dwt. 5 gr. per ton), realising in London 82557. I2s. 6d. (or 3/. is. per oz.). The tailings resulting from the treatment of this quantity of ore 1 92 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. and an additional 843 tons previously worked, are estimated to amount to about 4500 tons ; several assays of these average 17 dwt. 11 gr. of gold per ton, bringing the total gold-value of the original ore to about I oz. 10 dwt. 1 6 gr. Cuba. Gold was sent to Spain from this island by the early settlers ; but the colonists seem always to have preferred wresting it from the natives to working the mines for themselves, and the mineral wealth of the country remains but little developed or even discovered. Auriferous sands are found in the Holguin, Escawbray, and some other rivers ; and fine samples have been obtained from the workings of Agabama and Sagua la Grande. Hayti [Santo Domingo, Hispaniold\* Our knowledge of the gold- mining capabilities of Hayti is due almost exclusively to Gabb, ac- cording to whom, almost everywhere the metamorphosed slates carry quartz veins, sometimes barren, sometimes auriferous. These veins are usually small, rarely more than a foot or two in width ; although one instance occurs on the Upper Jaina River, where a width of over 28 ft. is attained. In no case is it supposed that these masses are filled fissures, in the ordinary sense of the term. In every instance where a good outcrop occurs, so that its nature can be clearly made out, the quartz is found interbedded or interstratified with the slate, following its contortions, and intimately united on the sides. In other words, they are true veins of segregation. They are most numerous in the vicinity of the injected masses of crystalline rock. They occur also quite abundantly in the whitish talcose rock of the main ridge, as for instance, on the Bonao road, and again, in the neighbourhood of Jamasa. But one strongly-marked feature has been observed to characterize all the veins. Those nearest to the intrusive rocks are always gold-bearing ; and those at a distance from them are invariably barren. This has been abundantly proved by innumerable examinations. No vein-mining for gold has ever been undertaken on the island, but Gabb caused numerous analyses to be made of specimens from various localities, always with the above results ; and further, as a natural inference, every stream running through the metamorphic rocks in the immediate neighbourhood of masses of syenite carries gold in its sands, while all those running exclusively in the syenites, or at a great distance from them, are without the precious metal. Thus the Nigua and Jaina Rivers are barren at their heads, but immediately on entering the slates they and all of their tributaries are gold-producing. The upper waters of * The island was called Haiti by the Indians, Hispaniola by the Spaniards, St. Domingue or Santo Domingo by the French. Haiti is now the territory of the Haitian Republic in the west, Santo Domingo that of the Dominican Republic in the east. There is at present no integral name for the whole island. (Stuart, Jl. R. Geogr. Soc., xlviii. 274.) AMERICA, N. : W. INDIES, HAYTI. 1 93 the Nizao, Ocoa, and their upper branches carry gold ; while the Majoma, entirely in crystalline rocks, is barren. Not to multiply examples, the same may be said of all the north face of the Cibao range, west of Santiago ; while east of Vega in the north, and east of the Jaina River on the south, that is, east of the eruptive rocks, no gold has ever been reported. Almost everywhere in Savana de las Lagunas, a colour, and some- times a dozen colours to the pan were found. And though, wherever the slates occur in the neighbourhood of the eruptive rocks, there gold occurs in most, if not all, of the included quartz veins, and the streams are always more or less auriferous, Gabb does not think there is sufficient inducement to bring foreigners here with the exclusive object of mining gold. Usually the gravels are not rich enough intrinsically, or where they are, the quantity in any one spot is so limited that mining on any large scale is not likely to be profitable. On the other hand, he does not wish to discourage the detailed examination of the quartz veins. They are numerous ; and some of the pieces examined, while not showing free gold, collected by himself as fair specimens, gave returns that would be considered very encouraging in California. Occasionally a vein can be found that, on account of its thickness, extent, general appearance, and result of assays of its quartz, would certainly be opened in California, and there is no reason why it should not be in Santo Domingo. Still further south, in the savana of Santa Rosa, the gravels with their red sand, angular fragments of quartz, and the little black streaks of iron- sand in every rain-wash, remind a Californian irresistibly of the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada. They are in places slightly auriferous, and though not probable, it is yet not impossible, that here, if anywhere, spots may be found where hydraulic mining might be prosecuted with success. The small amount of gold in the present bed of the river seems to indicate that the quantity would be proportionately still less when spread over so wide an area ; yet the black sand, the invariable companion of placer-gold, is by no means scarce. West of the Jaina, below the mouth of the Mano, is a hilly region of slates, bounded on the west by the syenites, which extend across to the Upper Nigua. These hills are traversed by numerous dykes, and are full of quartz veins. The slates are an inextricable mixture of green, grey, brown, and black claystones, variously coloured jaspery slates, and some more or less talcose. Among the first, Gabb found, a couple of miles below the mouth of the Madrigal, a black rock slightly arenaceous, very compact and full of white grains. This is certainly a metamorphic shale, and yet, from its appearance in hard specimens, might be mistaken for a porphyritic rock. A similar material was found not rare O 194 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. on the Nigua River. The quartz veins are usually very small, hardly ever over a few inches in width, and seem to be limited also in horizontal and vertical extent. A few, however, can be measured by feet rather than inches, and Spear spent some weeks in making an experimental opening on one nearly 3 ft. wide, to ascertain its character. The result of his excavation was to disclose a vertical vein with well-defined margins intercalated in the shale." The quartz yielded a little gold by the ordinary miner's test of grinding in a mortar and washing the powder. It is doubtful, however, whether the quantity would have been sufficient to warrant earnest mining. On the ridge overlooking the mouth of the Mano, at the head of two streams called the Anones and Caballo, which unite and run into the Jaina, a mile or more below the mouth of the Madrigal, is the largest quartz vein on the island. It crops out on the top of the ridge, and its down-hill side is so covered with soil and great blocks of quartz, that it is impossible to ascertain its exact width from a mere surface inspection. It is certainly 20 to 30 ft. thick, and may be much more. Fragments of the quartz are found the whole length of both streams. Gold is found in every eddy in their canons, and Gabb obtained it by washing even the dirt from the hill-sides. The quartz, as it appears on the surface, is more or less cavernous, the cavities lined or filled with peroxide of iron. On crushing it in a mortar and washing it, Gabb obtained bright gold in little flakes. He caused an assay to be made in New York, of a portion which he took with him in 1869 ; but "the returns of the chemist were so high that I shall not record them here, preferring to believe that either my specimens were accidentally an unfair sample, or that the chemist made some mistake." Apart from this, enough is known to prove that the vein is gold-bearing, and Gabb believes sufficiently promising to warrant further examination. Not only is this vein auriferous, but many of the smaller ones must contain their share of the precious metal. Over an area of several square miles of this vicinity, the streams yield gold, and the earth on the hill- sides, and even on their summits, contains it. About La Horca, Gabb's party found gold everywhere ; and throughout the woods are innumerable pits, often 20 to 30 ft. in circumference and many ft. deep, whence the Indians mined the clay and gravel, and, carrying it to the nearest stream, washed it. It is doubtful, however, if placer-mining could be made pro- fitable on a modern scale. Not that the dirt is not rich enough ; but its quantity in any one place is not sufficient to warrant the construction of expensive ditches, and the slow process of carrying the earth to the water in the Indian style is too laborious and costly to be thought of. Although innumerable little streams intersect the hills, none carries sufficient water for sluices. Possibly some of the larger creeks, like the AMERICA, N. : W. INDIES, HAYTI. 1 95 Caballo, Anones, Jivana, &c., might pay moderately to wash their channels ; but they would be exhausted too quickly to make them an object of attention alone. The women constantly wash gold in the creek- beds, and also in those of their tributaries, using the well-known batea or wooden bowl. But they are content with a return of 3 or 4 reals (37^ to 5Oc., or 19 to 25^.) a day. Gabb himself obtained in the Jivana, grains worth as much as roc. ($d.} in the ordinary gold-pan, and saw lumps weighing oz. extracted by women in the same manner. There can be no doubt as to the sources of this gold. It is true that it is usually more or less rounded, but a very little transportation among hard stones will suffice to produce this appearance. It is never found far away from or up stream above the quartz veins. Where quartz is most abundant, the gold is also found in the greatest quantities, and where the one is absent the other does not occur. On the hill-sides, the auriferous earth is clearly derived from the decomposition of the under- lying slates ; and finally gold is nowhere found in those parts of the streams running only in the eruptive rocks, unless a belt of slate crosses still higher up. Nor is it ever found in the earth overlying the syenites. Throughout this region, syenitic dykes are constantly encountered, and the upper half of the Jivana runs throughout the parent mass, while veins of the same rock crop out in several places in the lower part of its course, as well as at the mouth of the Anones, and in the bed of the neighbouring part of the Jaina. Here is thus a further proof of the theory already enunciated, that the proximity of eruptive masses is the cause of the presence of gold in the veins of this country. On the Jivana, there is more than usual variety in the appearance of the syenite. In one place, Gabb found it flesh-coloured, owing to a pinkish felspar ; in another, it is dark-grey and very fine grained ; and in still another, it is white, with acicular crystals of hornblende. Near there, in the Jaina, towards the mouth of the Anones, there is a small dyke made up of white quartz, white and pink felspar, and with little isolated grains of a black mineral, which Gabb could not determine with certainty ; and between the Anones and the river, is another in which the materials are very unevenly distributed, hornblende occurring both in irregular masses and in isolated crystals. South of this region, the quartz veins still occur in the slates, and on the Susua and Medina Creeks some gold is found ; but the eruptive dykes here disappear, and the quantity of gold rapidly diminishes. It is said to be found as far south as the Cuallo, but this requires corrobora- tion. If it does occur there, it is in very small quantities. In the quartz are nests of purple sulphuret of copper, some of them as large as one's fist, and little streaks and threads of the mineral are not rare. On crushing and washing a sample of this quartz, Gabb found a O 2 196 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. minute trace of gold. A little gold, hardly worth mentioning, is found above Monte Mates. Secor, Swan, & Co., found : Sample a. Sample b : 100 Ib. Sample c. Sample d: 9 tons. Copper .. Gold, per ton Silver ,, Sulphur 20 '5 per cent. $12 8oc. (il. 13.5-. 47 metal to the Spanish ton. Gold and silver are also met with in the district of Tontal. The province of Mendoza is rich in gold-mines ; and in that of Catamarca copper is largely extracted, containing a consider- able quantity of gold. Captain Andrews (1827) mentions the lavaderos (alluvial gold-wash- ings) of the Rinconada, and regrets that those of Jujuy, so much spoken of as producing abundance of gold in dust, grains (fepitas\ and scales (lamina), yielding never less than 23 carats, have been abandoned, with- out being a third worked, for want of a pump. A writer in 1830 describes the gold-mines of the Cerro Morado, of the Famatina range, (prov. La Rioja), and the mode of clearing water from the mines by hide buckets, the inefficiency of which has caused several mines of reputed value to be abandoned : (in Mexico, these hide buckets answer well). In the Cerro Morado, vast masses of syenitic greenstone and quartzose rocks are imbedded in, or alternated with, the clay-slate superimposed on the gneiss. The elevations of this Cerro are intersected with broad veins containing a friable and highly ferruginous indurated earth of a composite nature, but exhaling a strong argillaceous odour. This earth contains deposits of auriferous cellular quartz, in which, iron, variously oxidated, but chiefly in scaly oxides, is interspersed, and is apparently the agent in the disintegration going on in the quartz. Large specimens of this quartz, with fine grains of gold here and there visible on the surface, may be ob- tained ; copper- and iron-pyrites, said also to be auriferous, occur in these veins. Veins of pure scaly oxide of iron are also to be. met with, and are likewise regarded by the native miners as creaderos, or indications of the proximity of gold. Some of these auriferous veins attain the breadth of several yards, and, in 1827, yielded I to 20 or more oz. of gold in 50 cwt. of ore. Two of them are worked with profit. Much gold doubtless exists in this district ; and it would perhaps not be difficult to extend the present works without risking any great amount of capital. The highest part of the Mejicana (a portion of the Famatina range) is called the Espina, and contains several mines and veins of silver. The ore of this elevation is a black, or greyish-black earthy sulphuret of silver, either pure or more or less dispersed in a quartzose and hornstone gangue, and con- taining a proportion of gold sufficient to give the silver produced a yellow tinge. The veins of the Mejicana dip 70 to 75 N.E. The inclemency of this region is excessive. More recent information is contributed by Egerton, Secretary of Legation in 1881, who says that perhaps the best known Argentine mines are those of Famatina, in the Mejicana range, in the province of Rioja. The formation is Silurian. The copper ores of this region yield an average of 27 to 30 per cent of copper, and there is always gold or silver generally both present, while gold in veins is distributed in the 2O8 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. ferruginous quartz. As a rule, in this district, the veins are of two classes : in some, there is alternate porous quartz with sulphuret of silver, iron- and copper-pyrites, grey antimonial and arsenical copper, galena, and blende, the mineral becoming more compact and full of sulphuret after a certain depth. Such is the principal vein, the Upulungo and other metalliferous veins are more homogeneous, containing large quan- tities of grey copper, with some gold, but no silver. Of the very great richness in ore of the Mejicana range, there need be no doubt. The main obstacle in the way of mining here is the position of the mines, 16,000 or 17,000 ft. above the sea-level, near the summit of the range, the ores having to be carried into the valley by mules, a descent of more than 10,000 ft, the village of Famatina being 5600 ft. above sea-level. The distance from thence to the nearest station on the Cordova line is considerably over 100 miles. In Jujuy, which is in a very backward state, there is little enterprise and less capital ; and silver and gold are sought for in a very primitive manner. The so-called mines are chiefly in the department of Timbaya, Tilcara, and Cochinaco. There is a vein, the Carmen, in the Rinconada, which is said to be very rich in gold. In the province of Salta, during the Spanish times, gold was found and collected in various districts, chiefly in the Calchequi valley. Gold used in former days to be got at the Gualilan and Guachi mines, in the Pismanti and Jachal valleys. The mines of Carolina, in the province of San Luis, used to be famous, the Sierra of San Luis, near Tomalasta, in which they are situated, abounding in auriferous quartz mixed with pyrites and iron. The mountains of Cordova contain rich silver-quartz veins, copper-pyrites, and argentiferous lead ; and the Sierra de la Pumilla appears especially full of gold, the matrix veins of which are chiefly of white, bluish, or rose-coloured quartz. The districts of El Patacon, Bragada, and Caleca, in this range, are the best known in this respect. According to St. John Wileman (1882), gold-mines are being worked on a small scale and in the rudest manner in the states of San Luis, Mendoza, San Juan, Cordova, and La Rioja. The yield of pure gold obtained from imperfect crushings varies, according to the character of each specific reef and depth of working, from i to 15 oz. per ton of quartz or pyrites. Moreover, the alluvial gold-deposits or " placers " situated in the states of San Luis and Jujuy, give an average yield of T V to oz. pure gold per cub. yd. of pay-dirt passed through the sluices. " Nothing but capital and honest capable management are required to ensure far more durable and lucrative results from gold-mining in this country than can be anticipated in India, even on the assumption that Indian mines will give as high a yield as their prospectuses indicate." AMERICA, S. : BOLIVIA. 2O9 BOLIVIA. Though silver is the staple metal of Bolivia, gold in con- siderable abundance has been found in the mountainous districts ; but the mines have not been worked to the extent of their capabilities, owing to the expense of treating the ores. In these lodes, the gold mostly occurs in admixture with antimony, silver, and other substances, neces- sitating metallurgical processes for its complete extraction. The mountain of Illimani, according to Keith Johnston, is believed to contain great quantities of gold, in consequence of that metal having been found profusely deposited in the lake of Illimani at its base. In the i/th century, an Indian found here, not far from the city of La Paz, a mass of native gold, said to have been detached from the mountain by lightning, and which was sold for $11,269 C 1 / 8 /^-)* an d placed in the Natural History Museum at Madrid. The bulk of the Bolivian gold, however, is alluvial, obtained from the lavaderos or washings in the beds of streams, the most productive of which are the celebrated ones of Tipuani, fed by streams from the snow-capped peaks of the Cordillera of Ancuma, about 60 " leagues " north-east of La Paz, in the province of Larecaja. The precious metal is found in pepitas or grains 10 to 12 yd. below the surface, imbedded in a clay stratum several feet thick. These washings were worked by the Peruvian Incas, whose tools are occasionally found buried in the alluvion, and almost invariably in the richest spots. The placers and quartz veins of Chaquecamata, in the province of Ayopaya, in Cochabamba, are also famous, and their yield up to 1 847 was valued at 8,ooo,ooo/. Several districts in Potosi, Chuquisaca, Santa Cruz, and Tarija are also rich in gold. From Humboldt, it appears that the gold minted in the years 1780 to 1790 was of the following value : Year. 1780 .. 1781 .. 1782 .. 1783 .. 1784 .. 178.5 . 176 80 no 92 76 81 Year. 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 Prof. Soetbeer continues it for the years 1791-1803, thus Year. 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 98 58 88 no 102 H3 203 Year. 1798 1799 1800 i8or 1802 1803 1 20 94 97 ? 1 10 231 142 1 68 175 1 20 140 He also gives a recapitulatory table of the silver and gold production P 2IO GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. of Bolivia from 1545 to 1875, the latter part of which may be translated as follows : Period. No. of Years. Total Gold. Yearly Average. Ib. Ib. . 1545-1560 16 35,2oo 2,200 139,500 1561-1580 20 35,200 1,760 111,600 1581-1600 20 52,800 2,460 167,400 I60I-I620 20 52,800 2,460 167,400 1621-1640 20 44,000 2,20O 139.500 1641-1660 2O 44,000 2,2OO 139 , 5 l66l-l68o 20 44,000 2,2OO 139,500 l68l-I700 2O 44,000 2,2OO 139,500 I70I-I720 20 26,400 1,320 83,700 1721-1740 2O 26,400 1,320 83,700 1741-1760 2O 26,400 1,320 83,700 1761-1780 20 35,200 1,760 111,600 1781-1800 20 44,000 2,20O i39.5oo I8oi-l8l0 10 22,000 2,2OO 139,500 l8lI-l82O IO 13,200 1,320 83,700 1821-1830 IO 8,800 880 55,8oo 1831-1840 IO 13.200 1,320 83,700 1841-1850 10 13,200 1,320 83,700 1851-1855 5 11,000 2,200 i39,5oo 1856-1860 5 11,000 2,2OO 139,50 1861-1865 5 11,000 2,20O i39,5oo 1866-1870 5 11,000 2,200 i39,5oo 1870-1875 5 22,000 4,400 279,000 Total production. 1545-1850 306 580,800 36,828,000 1851-1876 25 66,000 4,l85,OOO , 1545-1875 33i 646,800113. 4i,oi3,ooo/. The following valuable remarks were kindly prepared by J. B. Minchin, a recent traveller in Bolivia, at the request of the author. They form the most important contribution to the knowledge existing on the subject. GOLD-DEPOSITS IN BOLIVIA. " The most extensive gold-region of Bolivia is probably that of the La Paz Cordil- lera ; it is known to extend through the province of Caupolican, and through the Peruvian provinces still further north ; but I am acquainted with it myself only south of the 1 5th parallel. Its southern limit is not definitely known, but it probably extends with some interruptions to the neighbourhood of Cochabamba, where the rich deposits of Chaquecamata have been worked. Gold is met with throughout this region on both sides of the mountains, but the deposits on the north-east side appear to be far richer, both in quantity and quality. On this side, gold-bearing quartz veins are found at great altitudes, and have been imperfectly worked at Yani, a village situated on one of the spurs of the Sorata mountain. " On descending the deep ravines which slope towards the plains of the Amazon, extremely rich deposits are encountered along the river courses. The quebradas of Tipuani and Cajones are notable instances. The gold in these cases is found col- lected on the bed-rock, usually 25 to 40 ft., and sometimes more, below the river level ; also under the playas or level banks occurring at intervals. This bed-rock is occasion- AMERICA, S. : BOLIVIA. 2 I I ally composed of more or less inclined slate strata ; at other places it is a hard ferru- ginous conglomerate, no doubt itself overlying the slate. " In addition to the deposits in the rivers, the hills along each side of the ravines contain in many places gold-bearing strata. These, in the Tipuani quebrada, which I have myself examined, present at some points facilities for being worked by the hydraulic system, by utilizing the water of certain streams which descend from great heights to the main river, and by means of which, employing suitable hose, a vast extent of ground might be washed down at a comparatively low cost. The work has, however, hitherto been almost exclusively confined to extracting gold from the bed-rock below the river, on which it is nearly everywhere met with, at some points in great quantities. The problem has been to reach this depth and extract the water which percolates into the workings. In some cases, this has been done by means of water-wheels, moved by streams brought at considerable cost round the foot of the hills, and working pumps ; in other cases, by actually baling the water out, tiers of Indians being employed to pass the buckets from one to another. " The late Senor Villamil, for many years sub-Prefect of the province, and who had on this account facilities for obtaining Indian labour, worked the Tipuani deposits more extensively than any one else ; and though his operations were conducted in a more or less primitive and imperfect manner, it is estimated that he took out nearly $2,000,000 (4oo,ooo/.) worth of gold. On visiting Europe, when already an old man, and seeing the powerful machinery employed here in mines, he is reported to have exclaimed, in a conversation on Tipuani; ' Con veinte afios mas de vida, y la experiencia que yo tengo, que Napoleon, le compraria su Francia !' "At Chuchiplaya, situated a few miles below the village of Tipuani, a wide pit was sunk with some difficulty to the bed-rock (here about 10 yd. below), and gold-dirt giving 2 and 3 oz. to the batea, or small wooden dish, was taken out ; but the machinery for extracting the water appears to have broken down, and the work was abandoned. " The rugged nature of the country on the eastern slopes of the Andes, the want of roads even for mules, and the consequent difficulty of introducing any kind of machinery, has hitherto proved the chief obstacle to the extensive working of the gold-mines. This obstacle will probably be to a great extent overcome when lines of communication are established by way of the Amazon. The high quality of the gold, its well-known abundance, and the many other valuable products of this region, such as cinchona-bark, coffee, and cacao, offer a great inducement for the investment of capital. " The cultivation of cinchona, which is now becoming of importance in this region, will also have the effect of facilitating communication with the Pacific ; the distance, indeed, across the mountains is comparatively short to Lake Titicaca, the steamers on which connect with the Puno Railway, and by this with the sea-coast. " The climate of the mines is usually good ; that of the quartz-vein region, at a height of say 10,000 ft. above sea-level, is particularly healthy. At certain points of some of the low and deep ravines, intermittent fevers prevail, no doubt due to the rank vegetation and to the hardships suffered by all who now go there, from the want of proper food. Almost everything is at present carried on the backs of Indians from the town of Sorata, from La Paz, or from some point bordering on the high table-land ; most of the passes across this part of the Andes are at a height of rather over 15,000 ft. above sea-level. Besides the mines of Chaquecamata, gold exists still farther south, through the province of Chayanta, and is met with at the Rinconada on the Argentine frontier. "Gold-mines also exist in Eastern Bolivia. The Jesuits are said to have worked extensively among the low hills of San Simon on the river Itenez ; and an experienced Californian miner, who visited the spot, has informed me that he found rich quartz veins, and took away some fine specimens, which attracted much attention in San Francisco. But here again the want of roads, and the fact of the navigation of P 2 212 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. the Itenez being cut off from direct communication with the Amazon by the falls of the Madeira, prevents anything being done to work them. " Further up the Itenez, in the neighbourhood of the old city of Matto Grosso, gold is worked to some extent by the Indians and negroes, who are, however, frequently disturbed by the incursions of savage tribes. San Javier, in the province of Chiquitos, is another extensive gold-region, occupying probably nearly 100 sq. miles of low hilly country. Work is carried on at present in a primitive manner at Santa Rosa, a mining village of some 2500 inhabitants, engaged exclusively in this pursuit. The gold, of a very fine quality, is met with in the wide ravines a few yards below the surface in strata overlying the slate bed-rock ; the distribution appears to be irregular, many of the workings yielding well, while others in the neighbourhood are almost unproductive. Not even cradles are employed ; the dirt is exclusively washed in small wooden hand-basins. J. B. MINCHIN, Assoc.-M. Inst. C.E." The province in which the present city of La Paz is situated was formerly known by the name of Chuquiyapu, which, in the native language, is commonly thought to signify chacra, or an " inheritance of gold," and is locally and corruptly called Chuquiabo. Along the valley De la Paz, flows a pretty large river ; when it is increased, either by rains, or the melting of the snow on the mountain, its current forces along huge masses of rock, with some grains of gold, which are found after the flood has subsided. (Pinkerton's Voyages.) On the Llisa and Condormanana hills, near San Andres de Mochaca, veins of gold have been found, as well as in Vilaquil, 18 miles from La Paz, where ancient winnowing-grounds have been recognized (Nature, v. 412). Mathews (1878) states that a great deal of gold is found in almost all the ravines forming the head-waters of the Beni and Mamore rivers (the two principal affluents of the Madeira), and that most of the streams descending to the Itenez, from the Cordilheira Geral, in Brazil, have auriferous sands. Whilst he was in Sucre, a Chilian expedition returned from the Sierra of St. Simon, with very encouraging accounts and specimens of the gold-quartz found there. Orton (1876) alludes to the Beni as draining " the valleys of Yungus and Apollo, rich in gold." BRAZIL. Gold occurs in Brazil in quartz veins traversing clay-slates, mica-slates, and other metamorphic rocks, among which is the itacolumite ; in certain iron-ores, called itabirite and jacutinga ; and in the drift clays and gravels, and alluvial sands and gravels, arising from the disintegration of the former. The most important auriferous district is in the vicinity of Ouro Preto, in the province of Minas Geraes. The only gold-mine yet opened m northern Brazil is at Tury-assu, province of Maranhao. Con- cessions have been granted for this purpose, in many parts of Bahia, Pernambuco, Parahyba, Piauhy, Goyaz, Ceara, and Sao Paulo, some of which will undoubtedly be productive. Gold is known at Ca^apava, Rio Pardo, Santa Maria, and Cruz Alta, province of Rio Grande do Sul, AMERICA, S. : BRAZIL. 213 southern Brazil ; and many more localities will be added to the list when this gigantic country shall have been thoroughly explored. Touching the gold-production of Brazil from 1691 to 1875, Prof. Soetbeer gives the following summary : Periods. No. of Years. Total. Annual Average. Ib. i Ib. 1691-1700 IO 33,000 3,300 209,250 I70I-I720 20 121,000 6,050 383,625 1721-1740 20 389,400 19,470 1,234,575 1741-1760 2O 642,400 32,I2O 2,036,700 1761-1780 2O 455.400 22,770 1,443,825 1781-1800 2O 239,800 11,990 760,275 l8oi-l8lO IO 82,500 8,250 523,125 l8ll-l820 10 38,720 3,872 245,520 1821-1830 IO 48,400 4,840 306,900 1831-1840 10 66,000 6,600 418,500 1841-1850 IO 52,800 5,280 334,800 1851-1855 5 24,200 4,840 306,900 1856-1860 5 23,320 4,664 295,740 1861-1865 5 26,400 5,280 334,800 1866-1870 5 19,250 3,850 244,125 1871-1875 5 18,920 3,784 239,940 Total production. 1691-1850 1 60 2,169,420 i37,56o,95o/. 1851-1875 25 112,090 7,107,5257. 1691-1875 185 2, 281, 510 Ib. I44,668,475/. According to Dietzsch (Min. Jl., xlix. 347), since the discovery of gold in 1693 to the present time, the quantity extracted in Brazil may be computed in round figures at 2,000,000 Ib. troy. By far the greatest propor- tion of this has been derived from alluvial deposits by river washing. Along the Rio das Velhas, and its tributaries, as well as those of the Doce river, there is ample evidence (in gravel heaps, &c.) of the amount of work performed. The principal period of this washing has been from 1695 to about 1825. The exports of gold from Rio de Janeiro in 1879 were 1,187,638 milreis (i2O,248/.) to Great Britain, 2424 (2457.) to Germany, 38,830 (393 i/.) to France; total, 1,228,892 (124,4247.); in 1879-80, they were 1,926,306 (195,0387.) to Great Britain. Quitting statistics, the most reliable and exhaustive account of the gold-mines and auriferous gravels of Brazil is that given by Hartt, one of the members of Agassiz's scientific exploring party. He discusses the subject under the heads of the several provinces, as follows. Rio de Janeiro. At Cantagallo, during the reign of the first Viceroy of Brazil, gold was discovered by certain seekers' and smugglers (garimpeiros), who, quietly taking possession of the place for many years, extracted gold in secret, and it was a long time before the Brazilian 214 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. government discovered the region whence so much gold found its way to the capital. Mawe says that the rock of the locality is granite, composed of felspar, hornblende, quartz, and mica, sometimes holding garnets evidently gneiss, like that of the Serra do Marto, to the westward. He states that the gold comes from the lowest bed of cascalho or gravel, occurring always in rounded grains, and that he never saw a crystallized specimen. Gold and ferric oxide were the only metallic substances found here. At the time of Mawe's visit (1808), so little gold was extracted, that the quinto or royalty claimed by the government scarcely sufficed to pay the officers and soldiers appointed to collect it. Von Tschudi says that the gold of Cantagallo came from the bed of a stream. Gold was also formerly washed in Santa Rita, a place about 5 Brazilian leagues north- east of Cantagallo. Mawe describes the gold as occurring in a bed of cascalho or quartz gravel, overlaid by earth. The layer of cascalho varies in thickness from 2 ft. to 7 or 8 in., and lies urider a thickness of 4 or 5 ft. of earth. The Cantagallo region was never very rich in gold. Espiritu Santo. In 172 3, the first settlers on the Itapemerim discovered gold in one of its affluents on the north, called Rio do Castello. A decree of the 1 7th September of the following year determined that the auriferous lands should be divided into small portions among all those who wished to employ themselves in the labour of mining, with the condition that they should subject themselves to the laws of the sesmarias and to the impost on the gold. A gold-washing town was established at the confluence of the Castello with the Itapemerim ; but the hopes of a rich yield proved deceptive, and the Corografia Brasilica, published in 1817, speaks of these mines as having been abandoned on account of the incursions of the Indians. It appears that in certain places on the head- waters of the Rio Mangarahy, traces of wash-gold were found ; at least the names California de Dentro (in the colony) and California de Fora (on the southern bank of the Rio do Meio) would indicate it. Minas Geraes. Gold and diamonds occur in the Serra do Grao Mogor. Spix and Martius, who visited it, describe it as being only about 4300 ft. high. The prevailing formation of this region is quartzose slate. Boulders of white quartz are abundantly scattered over the surface, and contain asbestos. The drift, as well as the sand and gravel of the streams in the vicinity of Sucuriu, contains gold, but in small quantities. Hartt saw a few old abandoned workings. The Ribeirao do Meio is a brook emptying into the Capivary, from whose sands gold has been got. In 1727, Sebastiao Leme do Prado, with a band of Paulistas, travelling northward through the province of Minas, discovered gold in the river Bom Successo, and gave it the name which it bears. He established here regular mining operations, and founded the city now known as Minas Novas, which grew to be a flourishing town. The precious metal was AMERICA, S. : BRAZIL. 2 I 5 also discovered elsewhere in the vicinity, and in especial abundance on the hills bordering the Rio Capivary, near the Arraial da Chapada, where it was very extensively mined. The gold was principally obtained from the sands and gravel of the river, and from the gravel sheet under- lying the drift-clays on the slopes and tops of the hills. Very little gold was extracted from the quartz veins, some of which were known to be richly auriferous. The hills are dry, and water is to be found only in the rivers, which, during the greater part of the year, afford a good supply, so that the washing of the gravels on the high grounds was attended with much difficulty. Ditches or regas were dug round the hills to collect rain-water, which was brought into tanks, and in some of the washings all the water used was derived from this source. At Minas Novas and Chapada, washings said to be rich were pointed out to Hartt as abandoned because of the scarcity of water, when 100 ft. below tumbled a dashing stream. Notwithstanding the disadvantages under which these old miners laboured, a large extent of ground was worked over, and an immense quantity of gold was extracted ; according to one authority, 300 arrobas (9711 Ib.) were sent to Bahia alone. Many large nuggets were dis- covered in these mines. In the Lavra do Batatal, a lump weighing 28 Ib. was found. In 1746, diamonds were discovered in the vicinity of Diamantina, and Government prohibited the extraction of gold in order to encourage the search for diamonds. This prohibition put a stop to the gold-mining of Minas Novas, and, though the prohibition has been removed, the blow has been fatal, for little gold-mining has since been carried on, and the present (1870) inhabitants content themselves with agricultural pursuits, or help to swell the number of miners who wash for diamonds on the Rio Jequitinhonha. The gold-mines are to-day practically abandoned, but the idea that they were worked out is very erroneous. At Minas Novas and Chapada, the rocks are slates and quartzites, and resemble very closely those of the gold-region of Nova Scotia. Indeed, it was the strong resemblance borne by the slates of Calhao and the vicinity to the Nova Scotian gold-bearing rocks that aroused Hartt's interest, and led him to turn out of his way to visit Minas Novas. These rocks evidently overlie the mica-slates which flank the gneiss of the coast belt, and Hartt believes they will prove to be Silurian in age, perhaps of the Quebec group. At Minas Novas, their strike is N. 42 to 50 K, and their dip is vertical. They are traversed by great numbers of milky-quartz veins, some of which are well known to be auriferous, and are of considerable dimensions. In an enormous gully cut out by the surface waters in the hillside above the cemetery on the Bom Successo, at Minas Novas, are several fine veins of corrugated quartz, which appear to have precisely the same 2l6 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. structure as the barrel quartz of Nova Scotia. These veins run nearly vertically through the rock, and may be beds instead of veins. As they are exposed in the cliff, they present the appearance of vertical fissures, in which, cylindrical masses of quartz are piled in a single row, their ends projecting like logs. Some of these cylinders of quartz are 2 ft. in diameter. Hartt spent some time in an examination of this vein for gold, but could detect none. The large size of the quartz veins of the vicinity maybe inferred from the dimensions of the quartz boulders scattered over the surface, some of which weigh many tons. Hartt is not aware that any auriferous vein has been worked at or near Minas Novas, but at the Arraial da Chapada several were anciently more or less exploited. A rich vein, according to universal testimony, crosses the pra$a and it is well known that a miner followed it in secret, until he undermined his neighbour's house, when his secret was let out. There one hears the terms " vein " and " gravel " gold, and Hartt saw many beautiful specimens of crystallized gold in the hands of the inhabitants, some taken directly from quartz veins, others obtained from quartz boulders. There can be no doubt that rich auriferous lodes exist in the neighbourhood, which have never been explored, and which one day must be developed ; for all the gold which so richly abounds in the drift, must have come from the underlying rocks. The decomposed rock is immediately overlaid by a sheet of cascalho or quartz pebbles, whose thickness varies from a few inches to 8 or more ft. The pebbles are of all sizes, and are more or less rounded. Hartt observed in several localities that there were large boulders lying in this gravel, just above the rock. The cascalho is often so cemented by ferric oxide as to form a conglomerate, which requires to be broken up before it is washed for gold. Like the drift pebble sheet of the coast, it forms a concentric layer wrapped over the whole rock surface of the hills, and it is found lying on very high slopes and piled up in masses such as water never deposits. It is in the cascalJio that the greater part of the gold of Minas Novas and vicinity occurs. Over this gravel lies a mass of red drift-clay, varying very much in thickness, from a few inches to 50 ft. or more. This is, like the drift-clays of the coast, a homogeneous mass, through which are scattered from time to time angular and rounded quartz boulders of large size. Over large tracts between Minas Novas and the Arraial da Chapada, this sheet of clay is so thin that the cascalho bed lies on the surface, and the country is consequently stony and barren. The clay contains sometimes more or less gold. It is, however, to the cascalho sheets that the search for the precious metal has been principally confined. The gold occurs disseminated through the gravel in flattened grains, and in occasional nuggets of considerable size, which are always in a crushed AMERICA, S. I BRAZIL. 2 I 7 and battered state. The process of extraction is similar to that de- scribed by Mawe, as employed at the mines of Jaragua, in Sao Paulo. It consists in stripping off the clay sheet down to the gravel, which is broken up and washed on the spot in rude trenches, to separate the pebbles, when the auriferous mud and sand are washed in the batea or wooden washing-pan. A large number of the washings are situated on the tops of hills, or slopes at some height above the water of the stream ; and in these cases, washing is performed through the aid of rain-water. In several localities, water is conducted to the washings from streams. Some of the old regas or ditches are still visible, running for miles around the hills. The supply of rain-water is of course sufficient only during the rainy season, so that washing operations had to be suspended for the rest of the year. In the old washings, as in that above the cemetery at Minas Novas, or the Lavra da Santa Cruz, at the junction of the Rios Fanada and Bom Successo, the gravel lies in great piles. At the Arraial da Chapada, the same thing is seen ; but there the whole tops of hills have been deprived of their clay coating, and washed over, so that to-day they are hoary with the quartz boulders that remain, the testimony of a departed industry. Hartt was informed that the custom with the miners was, as a general thing, to wash the gravel on the spot. It seems wonderful that when the washing was near a river or stream, the gravel was not sent down to this stream to be washed. To-day the washings, though owned by private individuals, who to some extent know their value, are unworked, the owners finding it more profitable to pursue agriculture, or wash for diamonds in the Jequitinhonha. The abundance of gold over this region may be seen from the nuggets in the possession of the people, and which have been picked up on the hill-sides or in rain- gullies. After rain, one sees in the ravines the footprints of those who regularly go in search of gold washed out by the surface waters ; and in the streets of Minas Novas and Chapada, little dams are built across the small rain-gullies by the children, to collect water to wash the soil for gold, which they collect in quills, and larger dams are built by the elder members of the population for the same purpose. " No one- who has been over the ground as I have (says Hartt), and has seen the irregular way in which the mining has been performed, and the immense area of drift which has yet been untouched drift rich in gold, as the occasional recent washings testify, can doubt that the region is far from exhausted ; it has only been forgotten." His friend, J. S. Mills, of New York, an excellent geologist, who discussed these observations with him, suggested that the gold probably occurs in bands in the drift, the direction of which might be worked out by a careful topographical survey. With modern mining methods and appliances, they would 2l8 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. undoubtedly prove very remunerative. The system of washing by hose- pipes could be employed successfully in many localities. Gold also occurs in the gravel and sands of the streams, these loose materials being derived in part from the drift, in part from the decom- posed rock. Near the Arraial da Chapada is an outlier of the Tertiary, called the Serra do Macaco, which forms a very picturesque flat-topped mountain, with escarped sides, in which the horizontal layers of red and white clays are beautifully exhibited. Hartt queries whether the lower beds of this series may not be found to be auriferous in some places. Finally, the sands of the Arassuahy, above the Rio Setubal, or there- abouts, are rich in gold. Bahia. Some of the hills in the Serra de Itardca must be 3000 ft. high or more ; and Prince Neu-Wied says that gold is found here. The mountains in the vicinity of the fazenda of Joazeiro are of granite and gneiss-granite. Gold occurs in veins in the rock, and also in the sands and gravels of the Brumado and other streams, where it is found in grains and nuggets. Spix and Martius speak of one nugget having been found weighing 8 Ib. Two leagues north of the villa are other gold-deposits. Ceard. Villa das Lavras da Mangabeira is situated close to the Rio Jaguaribe, and takes its name from a number of small gold-washings (lavras) which, from time to time, for many years past, have been wrought in its neighbourhood. Nothing, however, was done to any extent till about 2 years ago, when 2 English miners were sent for by a company in the city of Ceara, the capital of the province. They continued their labours till about 2 months before Hartt passed through the place, having been recalled by their employers. He could not learn what amount of gold they had obtained, but the persons of whom he made inquiries remarked, with apparently much truth, that they did not believe it was sufficient to repay the expense, or the work would not have been abandoned. The gold is here found in small particles, in a dark- coloured diluvial soil, at a considerable depth. At Granja, Baturite, Crato, Termo de Milagres, Ipu, Rio Salgoda, from Missao-Velha to Lavras : in all these places, gold occurs in grains or powder in sands, gravels, or clays ; its source is not known. Maranhao. Gold occurs in the province of Maranhao, and has been worked- by a mining company ; but Hartt was unable to obtain facts bearing upon the nature of the deposits, or their yield. The two principal mines are those of Turf and Maracassume. Goyaz. Gold is found in many localities in the province of Goyaz. The country in the vicinity of the capital is largely auriferous. Castelnau speaks of the occurrence of the precious metal at the following localities : Rio Vermelho, Rio Bagagem, Serra Dourado, Districto de Ouro Fino, Morro do Calisto, Districto da Anta, Thesouras, Rio Claro, Julgado de AMERICA, S. : BRAZIL. 2 1 9 Crixas, Natividade, Trahiras, &c. In the valley of the Paraguay, near Cuiabd and Diamantino, diamonds and gold occur in abundance. Provinces South of Rio. At Itu, a short distance from Sao Paulo, the Rio Tiete is represented by Major James as cutting through horizontal deposits of red sandstone and conglomerate ; and this is the material which is used to pave the streets of the capital : as Fletcher and Mawe have remarked, the rock contains gold. Mawe, speaking of the streets of Sao Paulo, says the pavement is an " alluvial formation, containing gold, many particles of which are found in the chinks and hollows, after heavy rains, and at such seasons are sought for by the poorer sort of people." Westward of Sao Paulo, are some high hills, the most conspicuous being Jaragua, in whose vicinity gold-mines were anciently worked. The occurrence of gold in the gneiss regions of the Serra do Mar, at Sao Paulo and Cantagallo, and in the same Eozoic belt on the Mucury, as reported by the engineer Schieber, is interesting, as these rocks are rarely over rich in the precious metal, and the whole gneiss belt of Brazil is remarkably barren of metalliferous deposits of all kinds. Gold is said to occur in the Villa de Guarapuava, to the west of the River Tibaji, and elsewhere in the province. Pompeo says the gold-mines of Sao Paulo produced up to the beginning of the present century 4650 arrobas (150,520^ Ib.) of gold. The Gold-mines generally. In this section, Hartt endeavours to pre- sent such facts as will enable the reader to obtain a fair idea of the mode of occurrence of gold in Brazil, and of the character of the mines. A great amount has been written on the gold-fields of Brazil, but it is for the most part lacking in scientific accuracy, and much of it has rather tended to obscure than throw light upon their real structure. The Auriferous rocks. The Eozoic gneiss of the coast-belt furnishes gold at numerous localities along its whole extent. Hartt thinks that the auriferous deposits occur in the upper part of the gneiss series. Gold is found in the gneisses of the Itacama Mountains. The mines of Jara- gua in Sao Paulo, of Cantagallo in Rio de Janeiro, and of one of the tributaries of the Itapemerim, are among the most important in this region. Gold also occurs in the gneiss of the Mucury basin, and in the north, as at Pianc6. Over this whole region, the metal is found rather sparingly, and appears to be derived from the quartz veins traversing the gneiss ; but probably the only instance where gold has been extracted from a quartz vein in the gneiss-belt is the mines on the Rio Bruscus in Parahyba. With this exception, mining has been confined entirely to the washing of the cascalho underlying the drift-clays, and of the gravels and sands of the rivers. These washings have all been abandoned. Between the coast gneiss-belt and the sea, are no auriferous deposits ; 22O GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. but in very numerous localities in the interior of the country, the newer metamorphic rocks are rich in gold. In the clay-slates, the quartz veins sometimes show free gold, with very little pyrites associated. The auriferous quartz varies much in character. Sometimes it is compact and milky, at others, as at the Cata Branca mines, it is very granular and sugary. A specimen of vein-quartz with gold, from the mine of Sao Vicente, in Minas Geraes, is composed for the most part of clear, colourless quartz, in rather coarse granules, giving to the rock the appearance of a pure quartz sandstone, or of white lump-sugar (known in Brazil by the name of caco) ; but in the same specimen, the quartz passes into a more compact bluish rock. In the quartz veins, as is elsewhere the case, the rock is not all auriferous, but the gold runs in streaks. The Sao Vicente specimen above described shows well-marked streaks, rich in free gold, which appear to have run parallel with the side of the lode. Where the vein-rock is rich in sulphides, the gold is, as a rule, not visible, but intimately mixed with the rock. This is the case at Morro Velho. The sulphides consist of magnetic iron-pyrites, which is the most abundant, and yields a little gold ; common iron-pyrites is less abundant, and gives more gold ; and mispickel or arsenical iron-pyrites, which is the principal gold-bearer. Of the ferruginous deposits, none is more interesting than the so-called jacutinga formation. Heusser and Claraz (Ann. des Mines, xvii. 290), describe it thus : " L'itabirite est simplement une varied de fer-oligiste schisteux, qui est accompagne'e de quartz et de mica. Elle prdsente quelquefois des couches puissantes et tres- e'tendues, qui peuvent etre exploiters comme mineral de fer. Quand elle est pulve'ru- lente, on la de"signe sous le nom de jacotinga? It is, in fact, a pulverulent variety of itabirite, a name bestowed by Von Eschwege, thus : " Itabirit, Eisenglimmer, Eisenglanz, meist dichter, auch blattriger, hin-und-wieder magnetischer Eisenstein und wenig Quarz erscheinen, entweder als festes, dichtes Gestein, oder haben ein kornigschiefriges Gefiige." This rock is composed of micaceous specular iron ore, compact specular iron, rarely laminated, a little oxide of iron and quartz dis- seminated. It is the rock of which the Peak of Itabira and the Serra da Piedade are formed. Burton describes jacutinga as of iron-black colour, with metallic lustre, sparkling in the sun with silvery mica ; the large pieces often appear dark reddish-brown, but crumble to a powder almost black. The con- stituents are micaceous iron-schists, and friable quartz mixed with specular iron, oxide of manganese, and fragments of talc. Much of it is AMERICA, S. : BRAZIL. 221 foliated. It shows great differences of consistency, some being as hard and compact as haematite, and requiring to be stamped like quartz. In parts it feels soapy, and is not harder than fullers'-earth ; it is easily wetted and pulverized, but hard to dry. Gardner describes jacutinga as a soft, friable, greenish-coloured, micaceous iron-schist. Its gold is free. Castelnau says, that at Congo Soco, the gold is always confined to a little vein, which winds about in the rock. This is never more than 5 to 7 millimetres (cr 195 to 0-273 m -) in width, and sometimes it is as thin as a hair. In the gold-region, is found an auriferous superficial deposit of broken fragments of ferruginous rocks, cemented together, and called tapanhoa- canga or canga. This formation has been minutely described by Von Eschwege, substantially as follows : The rock is composed of sharp-cornered, angular (rarely slightly rounded) fragments of micaceous iron (eisenglimmer), specular iron, and magnetic oxide of iron, held together by a red, yellow, or brown, ochreous cement, the fragments being several lines to 8 in. in diameter. It is often very auriferous, and sometimes contains scales of talc and chlorite, and stray fragments of itacolumite. The cement becomes in places so abundant that the imbedded pieces are not visible ; this then forms distinct deposits of red ironstone in thin layers, containing ordinarily many little flakes of mica. The rock is not only found in the valleys and on the slopes of the mountains, but it covers their most elevated ridges and flanks like a sort of mantle, \ to \\ toise in thickness [a toise equals 6-395 ft] ; it is in general superimposed upon the ferruginous schist and clay-slate. The most important foreign mineral deposits found in it are brown haematite and wavellite, which occur in considerable masses near Villa Rica. The Serra do Tapanhoacanga, near Congonhas do Campo, province of Minas, whose summit rises to a height of 4800 ft, is com- pletely covered with it over an area of several miles ; all the flank of the mountain where Villa Rica is situated is encrusted with it ; the surface is overturned by the mining works. The Campo de Saramenha, opposite, is as if paved with it. It is abundant along the route from Villa Rica to Serro do Frio ; it is probably also found in the province of Goyaz. It is difficult to explain (says Von Eschwege), the origin of this con- glomerate. The angular fragments, the irregularity with which they are piled up one on the other, the manner in which this rock covers, like a coat or glazing, the top and flanks of the mountains, tend to make one believe that it is not the result of the rapid degradation of the ferruginous mountains, which formed only the most elevated points in the country, and of which the peak of Itabira, the Serra da Piedade, and others are the remains ; but that it is due to the extremely prompt drying up of the liquid which sojourned formerly on the mountains, and has brought 222 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. there the fragments which to-day cover them. These could not follow the liquid to the bottom of the valleys, and were arrested like solidified lavas on the midst of the slopes. The disorder with which they are piled up proves sufficiently that the deposit was not gradually made. Castelnau says that the canga is certainly of plutonic origin. Glacial drift seems to have been unknown to these geologists. Sao Joao d'El Rei mine. At Sao Joao d'El Rei and Sao Jose, situated a few miles west of Barbacena, on the Rio das Mortes, are auriferous deposits formerly worked for many years with great profit. In 1830, an English company leased these mines ; but in 1834, they were found unprofitable and were abandoned. Burton says the gold was principally obtained from a lode, which however, he does not describe. The jacutinga formation is said to occur here. Ouro Preto. The country over a very large area in the vicinity of Ouro Preto is very auriferous, and here are situated the richest gold- mines of the empire. The gold occurs primarily in quartz veins traver- sing metamorphic rocks, such as clay-slate, mica-slate, iron-schists, &c. ; also disseminated through the rock in some places ; and secondarily it is found widely distributed in drift and alluvial sands and gravels. Morro Velho. The celebrated Morro Velho mine is situated on the western side of the valley of the Rio das Velhas, not far from Sabara. It was long worked by native miners, but on the failure of the mines at Sao Joao d'El Rei, it was purchased by the " St. John del Rey," company, and has been worked with remarkable success ever since. The gold is extracted from a lode of quartz enclosed in clay-slate. Gongo Soco. The gold-mines of Gongo Soco lie about 20 miles east of Morro Velho, on the opposite side of the valley of the Rio das Velhas. They were very productive, and became famous ; Weddell says that the old miners once took out 100 Ib. in 3 hours ; but through bad management, the company that worked them failed. The income of the company during the 30 or more years of its existence was, according to Moraes, 1,388,4167., of which, 375,1637. was profit. Gardner says, on the authority of Helmreichen, that at the Gongo Soco mines there is the following succession of rocks : a bed of itacolumite, underneath which is a bed of auriferous jacutinga 50 fathoms thick [while Castelnau says that \he. jacutinga here is ordinarily only 16 centi- metres (6J- in.) in thickness], then a thick layer of ferruginous itacolumite^ with a dip of 45, lying on clay-slate, containing masses of iron- stone. Underlying the slates is granite. Castelnau says that these beds dip S. The gold occurs free in the jacutinga, and is separated by washing. Weddell describes the Gongo Soco jacutinga as black and friable as coal ; it was said to be very soft, so as to admit of being worked with a AMERICA, S. : BRAZIL. 223 pick, and blasting was unnecessary. When the gold was not visible, the ore was stamped and washed without using mercury. When the precious metal was visible, it was treated first in a mortar, and then washed in a batea or wooden washing-bowl. The Congo Soco gold is deep-yellow in colour, and is said to contain palladium. The gold of Brazil is always alloyed with silver, and occasionally with platina ; sometimes it contains a considerable percentage of iron, when it is very dark in colour. Iridium and irid-osmium occur in the gold-washings of Minas. Burton has seen specimens " of a bright brassy tint, and sometimes dingy red, like worked unpolished copper." Rossa Grande. The Rossa Grande Gold-mining Company owns a tract of land 21 sq. miles in area, not far from the mines of Morro Velho. The gold occurs in a mixture of quartz, sometimes associated with iron- ore, at others with arsenical pyrites, or ferric oxide. Some of these ores are said to be very rich, producing even as much as 50 oitavas (5 oz. 15 dwt 7 gr.) to the ton. Besides the vein-rock, gold occurs mjacutinga and in alluvial washings. Burton visited the mine, and reported it as looking very much like a failure. Morro de Santa Anna. The Morro de Santa Anna, where the " Dom Pedro North del Rey " Company was established, is a mountain about 4000 ft. above the sea and some 2000 ft. above the neighbouring valley . Near Santa Anna is another mine, called Maquine, worked by the company owning the Morro Santa Anna, which has been abandoned. " Out of all the gold-mines of Brazil (says Hartt) only two have paid, Morro Velho and Maquine. The rest have failed, some of them after a more or less prosperous career, and notoriously in most cases from bad management, and an imprudent outlay of funds." Cata Branca. In 1843, D'Osery, geologist of the expedition of Count Castelnau, visited and examined the Cata Branca mine. He reported the rocks to consist of itacolumite and clay-slates alternating, and in strata almost perpendicular. He describes the auriferous vein as running nearly N.-S., and traversed by fissures or faults in which the gold occurred. It was also found in the fissures for a distance of 2 or 3 palms on each side of the line of the faults, together with bismuth. Sometimes gold was found where the vein-quartz came into contact with the enclosing rock ; the interior of the vein was very barren. D'Osery thought that originally the vein was composed of pure quartz, which was afterwards disturbed, and the gold and bismuth introduced by sublimation. The mine proved a failure, because of bad working and want of economy. Exhaustion of the Mines. The generally received impression that the gold-mines of Brazil are exhausted is, in Hartt's opinion, a very great mistake. There are still surface deposits of wide extent which, with modern appliances, could be successfully worked. The underground 224 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. wealth of the country is almost untouched. In this belief he is sup- ported by Burton ; and Liais, in treating of the head of the basin of the Sao Francisco, says : " Quant aux filons pyriteux qui abondent dans les regions montagneuses circon- scrivant le bassin du Sao Francisco, et ou ses divers affluents prennent leur source, Us ont ete" a peine attaque's. C'est Ik cependant que reside la grande richesse aurifere de la province de Minas Geraes, car c'est de la surface de'compose'e de ces filons pyriteux qu'e'tait provenu 1'or qui fut jadis retire' des depots meubles." Glacial Drift. In South America, from Tierra del Fuego northward to at least 41 S., glacial phenomena have been observed and reported by Darwin and others ; and these phenomena appear identical with those so well studied in the northern hemisphere. Drift occurs in the Falkland Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. The antarctic continent is buried in ice and snow. No doubt can exist that a drift period prevailed over the southern part of the southern hemisphere. D'Archiac called attention to the fact that no mention of either striae, furrows, or polished surfaces had been made by those who studied the drift of South America ; and he suggested that it might be perhaps owing to want of attention on the part of travellers. When Professor Agassiz claimed, in 1865, to have found glacial drift in the vicinity of Rio, scientific men were astonished, and doubted the correctness of his deductions ; and when from under the equator he reported the discovery of glacial moraines, the statement seemed past belief. In connection with a careful description of the Brazilian coast, Hartt noted with much detail the occurrence of certain surface deposits northward to Pernambuco at least, which deposits he claims to be glacial drift. The glacial origin of the tapanJwacanga or canga has been already (p. 222) discussed. To this scientific account of the Brazilian auriferous deposits, may be added the testimony of various travellers, foremost among whom is Mawe He first alludes to the old gold-mines of Jaragua, the first discovered in Brazil, and distant about 24 miles from the city of St. Paul. They were famed for the immense treasures they produced nearly two centuries ago, when at the ports of Santos and St. Vincent, whence the gold was shipped for Europe, this district was regarded as the Peru of Brazil. The face of the country is uneven and rather mountainous. The rock, where it is exposed, appears to be primitive granite, inclining to gneiss, with a portion of hornblende, and frequently mica. The soil is red, and remark- ably ferruginous, in many places apparently of great depth. The gold lies, for the most part, in a stratum of rounded pebbles and gravel, called cascalho, immediately incumbent on the solid rock. In the valleys, where there is water, occur frequent excavations, made by the gold-washers, to a considerable extent, some of them 50 or 100 ft. wide, and 18 AMERICA, S. : BRAZIL. 225 or 20 ft. deep. On many of the hills, where water can be collected for washing, particles of gold are found little deeper than the roots of the grass. The mode of working these mines, more fitly to be denominated washings, is simple, and may be easily explained. Suppose a loose gravel-like stratum of rounded quartzose pebbles and adventitious matter, incumbent on granite, and covered by earthy matter of variable thickness. Where water of sufficiently high level can be commanded, the ground is cut in steps, each 20 or 30 ft. across, 2 or 3 ft. broad, and about I ft. deep. Near the bottom, a trench is cut to the depth of 2 or 3 ft. On each step stand 6 or 8 negroes, who, as the water flows gently from above, keep the earth continually in motion with shovels, until the whole is reduced to liquid mud, and washed below. The particles of gold contained in this earth descend to the trench, where, by reason of their specific gravity, they quickly precipitate. Workmen are continually employed at the trench to remove the stones, and clear away the surface, which operation is much assisted by the current of water which falls into it. After 5 days' washing, the precipita- tion in the trench is carried to some convenient stream, to undergo a second clearance. For this purpose, wooden bowls are provided, of a funnel shape, about 2 ft. wide at the mouth, and 5 or 6 in. deep, called gamellas. Each workman, standing in the stream, takes into his bowl 5 or 6 Ib. weight of the sediment, which generally consists of heavy matter, such as oxide of iron, pyrites, ferruginous quartz, &c., of a dark carbonaceous hue. They admit certain quantities of water into the bowls, which they move about so dexterously that the precious metal, separating from the inferior and lighter substances, settles to the bottom and sides of the vessel. They then rinse their bowls in a larger vessel of clear water, leaving the gold in it ; and begin again. The washing of each bowlful occupies from 5 to 8 or 9 minutes ; the gold produced is extremely variable in quantity, and in the size of its particles, some of which are so minute that they float, while others are found as large as peas, and not unfrequently much larger. This operation is superintended by overseers, as the result is of considerable importance. When the whole is finished, the gold is borne home to be dried, and at a convenient time is taken to the permutation office, where it is weighed, and a fifth is reserved as royalty. The remainder is smelted by fusion with muriate of mercury, cast into ingots, assayed, and stamped according to intrinsic value, a certificate of which is given ; after a copy has been duly entered at the mint office, the ingots circulate as specie. The gold-washing at Santa Rita is distant from Cantagallo about 5 leagues in a north-east direction. The washing is in a deep ravine. The stratum of cascalho, which lies under a bed of soil 4 or 5 ft. deep, 226 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. is very thin and uneven, being nowhere more than 2 ft. thick, and in many parts not more than 7 or 8 in. The incumbent soil is removed at great labour and expense, being dug out and carried away in bowls ; and the cascalho is conveyed with great care to a convenient place for water, where it is washed by the most expert among the miners, in a way similar to that practised at the mines of Jaragua. When the cascalho is below the bed of the river, means are required for drawing the water from the pits. The hydraulic machines employed for this purpose are constructed as follows : A trough or spout, made of 4 stout planks, forming a cavity, say 6 in. square, is placed in an inclined position, with its lower end in the pit, where a roller is properly secured to a pile driven into the ground ; an iron chain, with peculiar links, on every one of which is fixed a piece of wood, nearly answering the interior dimensions of the spout, is passed through it, then under the roller, and over the outside, up to the axis of a water-wheel, which, being put in motion, causes the discharge of a column of water equal to the cavity. These machines are calculated to raise a great deal of water, but they are liable to be thrown out of repair. Caldcleugh (1819-21), speaking of the Paraibuna, says that it flows down from the back of the Serra da Mantequeira, under the name of the Rio Preto, which is in fact a mere translation of the Indian word Paraibuna. It is here about 50 yd. across, and flows with a turbid but rapid current, half a degree farther to the east, where it joins the Paraiba. Its sand is eminently auriferous, and in front of the registro many canoes were at work. By means of a windlass and an iron scoop, the gold-washers dredge up into the canoe a portion of the bed of the river, and when they have procured as much as they can carry, they move to their washing-place, which is a kind of platform projecting over the river ; the cascalho or gravel and sand is then shovelled into a large trough, and upon it a neighbouring stream is conducted by means of large bamboos. The canoes are very large, and formed out of a single tree. There were usually three blacks in the canoe, and two on the platform, who received a patach or 320 rets (8 '6$d.} per diem each, which, for 5, amounted to 1600 reis ($s. 9j DUt tne amount really found is difficult to ascertain, as parties conceal the results of their explorations. No export duty being leviable thereon, the total value exported otherwise remains unknown, as would that shipped by the French steamers, were it not done through the intermediacy of the Surinam Bank, which advances a certain amount to the parties for their gold, to enable them to continue their expeditions, and ships the same to Holland. The sum advanced by the bank nearly amounts to the value of the gold, and the commission charged for its interference is I per cent For the year 1879, the. export thus recorded reached 700,000 florins (58,333/.). The nominal rental received by the Govern- ment was 19,760 florins (1646!.') in 1878, and 34,678 florins (28897.) in 1879." GUIANA (FRENCH) OR CAYENNE. What little information exists concerning the auriferous wealth of French Guiana is mainly due to our Consular Reports, and to the accounts given by mining experts sent out AMERICA, S. : GUIANA, PARAGUAY, PATAGONIA. 247 for the purpose by companies. One report stated the average yield of gold per month during the year 1875 at 9427 oz., a mine at Sinnamary having produced a nugget weighing nearly 2 Ib. New finds were being recorded at Iracoubo, Mana, and Maroni ; and the streams called Oyac, Orapa, and Comte were reported to have numerous placers along their banks. A consular report for 1878 said that Mana produced 21,747 grammes (say 48 Ib.) of gold in March 1877, and 39,662 grammes (say 88 Ib.) in April. The diggings at Pas-trop-t6t, in the district of Mana, afforded over 300 Ib. of gold in the 6 months ending Aug. 31, 1879. Crevaux considers that the Tumac Humac range is not the only source of the gold, but that the lower chain running through the colony contains most of the gold which is found in and along the creeks. The following details are gathered from a report by Oliver Pegler, A.R.S.M., upon the Pas-trop-t6t placer, addressed to the Mana Gold Co. The concession is situated in the south-west portion of French Guiana, between the rivers Mana and Maroni, at a distance of about 125 miles from the coast. The geological character of the country is meta- morphic Silurian rocks, abounding with trap and more recent eruptive formations. The gold-bearing deposits at present known and worked are of very limited area, being confined to the deeper beds of the ravines and creeks, which in extent may be estimated at I per cent, of the total area of the concession. The system employed for extracting the gold from the auriferous earth, by the natives, consists in an extremely rude process of washing ; no machinery is necessary, and plenty of timber abounds for constructing the sluices. The bed of auriferous earth rests mostly upon a stratum of clay, and is of varying thickness, from 2 or 3 in. to 3 or 4 ft, the average thickness being 1 3 in. The over-burthen, or superincumbent crust, consists of clay covered with a layer of decayed vegetable matter, and is also of varying thickness. The average may be taken at about 5 ft. This auriferous bed is composed of quartz fragments, and other mineral resting on the clay, with fine sand above ; thus the gold, owing to its high specific gravity, is found in greater quantities in the deeper and coarser portions of the bed. PARAGUAY. According to Keith Johnston (1875), gold has been found in Paraguay, but in quantities too small to repay working, though sought for diligently by experienced men in all likely districts. PATAGONIA. Gold is washed in Patagonia in a stream near Punta Arenas, the capital of the Chilian colonial territory of Magellan, in Brunswick peninsula, Straits of Magellan. The natives offer it for sale in laminated grains and scales, against its weight in sovereigns. Assays of it by C. L. Claude, of Valparaiso, gave : Gold, 91 -760 ; silver, 7-466 ; copper, o 248 ; iron oxide, 1*224; total, iocr69S. 248 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. PERU. The gold-production" of Peru in the years 1533-1875 is thus stated by Dr. Soetbeer : Periods. No. of Years. Total. Annual Average. Ib. Ib. IS33-I544 12 18,480 1,540 97,650 1545-1560 16 10,560 660 41,850 1560-1580 20 II,OOO 550 34,850 1581-1600 20 11,000 550 34,850 l6oi-l620 2O 22,000 , IOO 69,750 1621-1640 2O 22,000 , IOO 69,750 1641-1660 20 22,000 ,100 69,750 I66l-l68o 2O 22,000 , IOO 69,750 1681-1700 2O 22,000 , IOO 69,750 1701-1720 20 22,000 ,100 69,750 1721-1740 20 22,000 ,100 69,750 1741-1760 2O 22,000 ,100 69,750 1761-1780 2O 26,400 ,320 83,700 1781-1800 2O 28,600 1,430 90,675 I8oi-l8l0 10 I7,l6o 1,716 108,810 l8ll-l820 IO 9,900 990 62,750 1821-1830 IO 7,040 704 44,640 1831-1840 10 9,900 990 62,750 1841-1850 IO 13,200 1,320 83,700 1851-1855 5 4,400 880 55,800 1856-1860 5 3,850 770 48,800 1861-1865 5 4,4OO 880 55,800 1866-1870 5 3,960 792 50,220 1871-1875 5 3-960 792 50,220 Tola. 1533-1850 3i8 339,240 21, 5IO,900/. 1851-1875 25 20,570 1.304.325* 1533-1875 343 359,810 22,815,2257. According to Markham (1862) upwards of $1,500,000 (3OO,ooo/.) came into the department of Puno yearly, either as payments for wool, or in salaries for officials, without counting the expenditure for the troops ; and it is calculated that more than half this sum eventually finds its way into the hands of the Indians, who bury it. Thus, in considering the mineral wealth of Peru, the enormous quantities of coined money, the vases or other articles made of the precious metals, which have been buried by the Indians, must be taken into consideration ; for this practice has been going on since the time of the Incas. Now that the currency consists almost entirely of the debased half-dollars of Bolivia, if a Spanish dollar or any other good coin is accidentally received by an Indian it is immediately buried. In the beginning of the last century, a Jesuit found gold in a hill called Camante, in the Marcapata valley, situated between two ravines, in one of which, called Garrote, a Spanish company established gold- washings. The leading man of this company, named Goyguro, employed hundreds of Indians, and extracted gold from the Camante hill in lumps ; AMERICA, S. : PERU. 249 but one day an immense landslip fell into the Vilca-mayu, the chief stream of Marcapata, and all the workmen ran away and could not be induced to return. This was in or about the year 1788. In 1836, a company was formed by several young adventurers, the chief of whom were Jose Maria Pacheco of Cuzco and Jose Maria Ochoa of Huara, with the object of again discovering the long-lost golden hill of Camante ; but their expedition led to no practical results. In 1851, Colonel Bologenesi became the manager of an expedition for collecting cinchona-bark in the forests of Marcapata, during which, indications were met with of the ancient gold-washings. Extending for a distance of 180 miles, from Marcapata to the frontier of Bolivia, is the watershed along that part of the eastern Andes known as the Snowy Range of Caravaya, where the numerous streams take their rise which unite to form the Ynambiri. The Madre de Dios, Marca- pata, and Ynambiri are thus the great sources of the Purus. The tribu- taries of the latter drain the province of Caravaya. The first mention of this region, continues Markham, is to be found in the pages of the old Inca historian, Garcilasso de la Vega, who says that " the richest gold-mines in Peru are those of Collahuaya, which the Spaniards call Caravaya, whence they obtain much very fine gold of 24 carats, and they still get some, but not in such abundance." The Jesuit Acosta also mentions "the famous gold of Caravaya in Peru." After the final overthrow of the younger Almagro, in the battle of Chupas, in 1542, some of his followers crossed the snowy range, "and descended into the great tropical forests of Caravaya, where they discovered rivers whose sands were full of gold. On the banks of these rivers they built the towns of Sandia, San Gavan and San Juan del Oro ; large sums of gold were sent home to Spain, and the last-named settlement received the title of a royal city from Charles V. In 1553, these settlers received a pardon from the Viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza, in consideration of the gold they sent home to the Emperor. It is said that they sent him a nugget weighing 4 arrobas (i29^1b.), in the shape of a bullock's head ; and that afterwards another nugget, in the shape of a bullock's tongue, was sent to Philip II., but that the ship which carried it was lost at sea. Eventually the wild Chuncho Indians of the Sirineyri tribe fell upon the gold-washers, and overpowered them. In the following century certain mulattos occupied the gold-washings in Caravaya, and the king, as a reward for their labours in extracting treasure, offered to comply with any request they might make. The mulattos asked to be called Senores, and for the privilege of entering every town on white mules with red trappings, and the bells ringing. The Spaniards long continued to extract gold from the rivers of Caravaya, and established coca-farms and coffee-plantations in some of 250 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. the ravines formed by spurs of the cordillera. Gold, however, was the product for which Caravaya was most famous. In 1615, the viceroy Marquis of Montes Claros spoke of the rich lavaderos or gold-washings of Caravaya ; and his successor, the Prince of Esquilache, wrote a long report upon them in 1620. It appears that, at that period, the richest of the Caravaya mines was called Aporuma, and that it had then been worked for 1 5 years by a company of adven- turers. These men, the chief of whom were named Quinones, Frisancho, and Perez, had excavated very extensive works to drain off the water ; and they petitioned the viceroy to grant them a mita of Indians to complete the works, for that thus the royal fifths would be augmented. In 1678, the yield of the royal fifths from the Caravaya gold-washings was at the rate of $806 (i68/.) in 3 months. The town of San Gavan, with 4000 families and a large treasure, was surprised and entirely destroyed by the Carangas and Suchimanis Chunchos, on the I5th of December, 1767. In 1849, Caravaya attracted notice as a land rich in the precious metal, and it soon became the California of South America. In July of that year, two brothers named Poblete, in searching for cinchona-bark, discovered great abundance of gold-dust in the sands of one of the Caravaya rivers, and the news soon spread far and wide. Up to 1852, crowds of adventurers, among whom were many Frenchmen, continued to follow in the footsteps of the Pobletes, but most of them returned empty, and the excitement has now died away. In the warm valleys are to be found all the wealth and population of Caravaya. The population consists of 22,000 souls, almost all Indians ; and the wealth, besides the flocks of sheep on the western table-land, is created by the produce of coca, coffee, sugar-cane, and aji pepper plan- tations, fruit-gardens, and gold-washings. Markham could obtain no reliable statements respecting the yield of gold. It is supposed that the old Spanish town of San Gavan was situated near a river of the same name, about 20 miles from Aragon's estate. The site is now overgrown with dense forest, and it has never been visited since its destruction ; yet it is believed that vast treasure lies concealed amongst the tree-covered ruins, because the attack of the Chunchos was sudden, and at once successful ; they care nothing for the precious metals, and San Gavan contained a royal treasury, and was a central deposit for the gold of Caravaya. Phara is a ravine on the eastern slope of the Andes, about 35 miles from Crucero. Here many gold-mines were worked by Senores Mulattos, and at no great distance is the famous gold-mine of Aporuma, in the ravine of Pacchani. Phara is on the road to the gold-diggings which were discovered by the brothers Poblete, and which attracted so many AMERICA, S. I PERU. 251 luckless adventurers between 1849 and 1854. They are at a distance of 15 leagues to the northward. The path lies along a long ridge, gradually descending for 6 leagues to a little hamlet called La Mina. Thence to the banks of the river Ynambiri, here called Huari-Huari, is a distance of 3 leagues, down a very dangerous road, covered with huge blocks of schist, and skirting along fearful precipices. For this distance the road is passable for mules. The river is 70 yd. broad, and is crossed by an oraya, or bridge of ropes, traversed by a sort of net or cage. On the other side, at the junction of the Huari-Huari and the golden river of Chaluma, there is a place which has been named Versailles by some French adventurers. From Versailles to the lavaderos, or gold-washings, is a distance of 6 leagues up a narrow forest-covered ravine ; and, in this distance, it is necessary to wade across the river Chaluma no less than 53 times. At the end of this perilous journey is a place called Alta-garcia, where the administr adores of the company of first discoverers were established in 1850. Thence to Quimza-mayu (3 rivers) is \ league, and here the lavaderos commence. In this part of its course the river is called T*accuma. Many of the gold-seekers have been formerly engaged in the cinchona-bark trade, and know the country thoroughly. The tributaries of the Chaluma, called Quimza-mayu, rise in hills completely isolated from the Andes, and their sands are full of gold, both in dust and nuggets. Immediately above the lavaderos rises a hill called Capacurco, and by the French adventurers, Montebello, formed of quartz and other primitive rocks, with rich vein's of gold. Here Manuel Costas of Puno erected a house, and brought out machinery for crushing the quartz ; but the undertaking failed through the badness of the machinery, and the immense cost and difficulty of transporting materials through such a country. A few adventurers, however, still continue to wash for gold in the Chaluma or Taccuma. In the part of its course above the lavaderos^ this river descends rapidly from an isolated range of forest-covered, precipitous hills ; and in one place its waters plunge down in a cascade, with a sheer fall of 40 ft. The region known as San Juan del Oro, was once famous for its gold- washings ; and here the royal town of the same name stood, founded by the fugitive Almagristas, and afterwards tenanted by the Senores Mulattos, but long since destroyed and abandoned. The geological formation of Caravaya is composed of non-fossiliferous schists, micaceous, and slightly ferruginous, with veins of quartz. It is a portion of the extensive system of rocks which Forbes has grouped together as belonging to the Silurian epoch, and which extends almost continuously over an extent from north-east to south-west of more than 700 miles, forming the mountain chain of the Eastern Andes, continuous from Cuzco, through Caravaya to Bolivia. 252 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The streams flowing from the Eastern Andes to the north-west of the Paucartambo system combine to swell the Ucayali, while those to the south-east of the Pablo-bamba fall into the Beni, one of the chief tributaries of the Madeira. The intermediate streams are the sources of the unknown Purus. They are all more or less auriferous. At Tipuani, in Bolivia, there is a very rich auriferous country, composed of blue clay-slates, with no fossils ; while the beds near Sorrata contain fossils, and consist of blue clay-shales, micaceous slates, grau- wacke, and clay-slates, with gold-bearing quartz, metallic bismuth, iron- ore, and argentiferous galena. The whole of this Silurian formation is eminently auriferous, and contains everywhere frequent veins of auriferous quartz, usually associated with iron-pyrites. Raimondi (Proc. California Acad. Sci., iii. 359) states that there are two principal ranges of the Cordilleras in Peru. The Western, or Cordillera of the Andes, divides the waters running into the Pacific on one side, and the Amazon on the other. The other chain is the Eastern Cordillera, which appears to be entirely composed of micaceous and talcose schists, metamorphosed by the elevation of the granites, and contains numerous veins of quartz, which in some places are quite rich in gold. Along the whole length of the coast, at a distance of I or 2 leagues, rises a small chain of hills, called Lomas (" the Hills ") formed of granite, syenites, and porphyries, and containing in scattered spots a little gold. The same authority (Jl. R. Geogr. Soc., xxxvii. 134) states that the sand of the river Piquitiri is auriferous, and higher up, works were commenced having for object to give the water another course, so as to extract gold from the bed with greater facility. The owner of the farm of San Jose, having discovered the remains of these works, was induced to continue the search for gold in this river ; but, in consequence of the great difficulties that presented themselves, and the little profit, the work was discontinued. There is no doubt that the Piquitiri contains gold ; for his followers, having washed some of the sand, took out particles of the metal. Forbes gives the following description of a local method of sluicing here adopted. The valley is, in the first instance, completely closed up, and the course of the river stopped by a rude wall or dam of stones, provided with sluices, and having a portion of the wall somewhat lower, in order to carry off any overflow of water, which otherwise might disturb the workings. A longitudinal excavation is then made close up to the one side of the valley, and of such breadth as can be conveniently carried on by the number of hands at disposal ; and, in making this, the large boulders and stones, too heavy to be carried off by the rush of water, are piled up to one side, whilst the earth, gravel and clay are merely loosened AMERICA, S. : PERU, URUGUAY. 253 and flushed off, by the water turned on from the sluices, allowing the force of the stream to carry them down the river. On arriving at the several successive auriferous beds, which are known from previous trials, and which are denoted by the dark bands running horizontally across the excavation, as seen in Fig. 6, more care is taken ; but the whole of the auriferous earth is likewise flushed off, and, being so much heavier than FIG. 6. MODE OF SLUICING IN S. AMERICA. the rest, deposits itself at but a little distance from the workings, where it is collected and subjected to repeated washing in a trough until nothing but the gold-dust remains behind. See also Appendix A. URUGUAY. Our knowledge of the gold-fields of Uruguay is entirely due to Bankart, who, having in 1867 had his attention called to some Jesuit reports of the existence of gold south of Brazil, in the territory now known as the Banda Oriental, determined to carefully examine the northern portion of the Republic. Starting from the highest revenue port (Salto) on the Uruguay, he took a nearly due east course, passing through the department of the same name for about 160 miles, without obtaining traces of anything but copper, lead, and iron. Thence he pursued investigations in the neighbouring department of Tacuarembo, between the 3Oth and 33rd parallels of latitude, and 54th to 56th degrees of longitude, where he met with a complete change. Granite and quartzose rocks of the primary formation, intersected by slate reefs in immense ranges, met the eye on all sides running into Brazil, most of them bearing in a northerly direction, and dipping to the east On examining the sands and detritus at the 254 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. bottom of the rivers Tacuarembo, Grande, and Chico, he found a little very fine gold ; and, proceeding farther on the other side, came upon some alluvial deposits washed down from the surrounding hills, consisting of gravel, rounded quartz boulders, decomposed slate, sometimes 30 ft. deep, resting upon syenitic granite ; this would, in many places, yield well with proper appliances. And at a place called Corralles, originally (from appearances) a lake having all around lirnestone, auriferous quartz, and slate reefs, he learnt that small pepitas or pieces of the precious metal are constantly met with, clinging to the roots of the palm-grass used for thatching purposes. No trial had as yet been made as to the probable deposits of gold below, for it is always a swamp. He heard that some years ago a Brazilian, with the aid of his slave, had washed out over 50 Ib. weight of free gold, after 3 months' labour, from a dry creek not very far from this. Proceeding to the spot indicated, he there saw the remains of their workings through the drift ; and on searching the neighbouring hills, found several fine quartz lodes bearing N.N.W., and dipping E. He met with free gold here and there plainly visible to the naked eye, from which he took many samples, also occasionally auriferous pyrites below the surface ; these lodes vary from 3 to 1 5 ft. in width. A piece of solid gold, weighing over I Ib. (of 16 oz.), has been taken out of the quartz on the surface, and is in the hands of the Uruguayan Minister of War. Here Bankart entered an open cutting about 6 ft. deep, and descended into a shallow well cut into the quartz, and was able to pick down rock which contained gold of a superior quality. Between these gullies and the quartzose hills, lay several flats, composed to some depth of gravel, rounded quartz, and slate ; they will probably prove richer in metal than the adjoining creeks, which appear to be of more recent formation ; but in all the gravel of the deep ravine which had been torn open by the floods, Bankart noticed an entire absence of small pieces of quartz, such as are found covering the slopes of the mountains or in the lower deposits of gravel. The quartz lodes are generally traversed by slate reefs, and sometimes run into or cease, when brought into contact with granite. Here and there Bankart found shepherds squatting on the ground, engaged in turning up the surface for about 1 5 in., and breaking up the pieces of quartz with a hammer upon a stone mortar, setting aside such as contained visible gold, and rejecting the rest. By thus working for a few hours, they managed to collect a small heap of specimens, which they carried home ; and, after accumulating a sufficient quantity, they calcined and pounded them, and amalgamated them with mercury in a batea. By this operation they obtained only the heavier gold, throwing away the rest AMERICA, S. : URUGUAY, VENEZUELA. 255 as useless ; the result gave them on an average about ^ oz. per working day. The gold thus extracted finds its way sometimes into Montevideo, but more generally to the Rio Grande, where it is no uncommon thing to meet with purchasers of I to 200 oz. at a time. The gold is of 4 qualities, ranging from 15 to 23 carats. The ground here answers to the surface diggings of Australia and the placers of California, only the order of things is slightly reversed. In those countries the gravel was invariably washed to obtain the free gold, the quartz being thrown away ; whilst in Uruguay the quartz alone is crushed, and the gravel is disregarded. No doubt some of the richest deposits lie in these accumulations, for wherever Bankart washed this drift, he invariably found gold in company with a large proportion of magnetic iron. His investigations led him to inquire if there had been- no excavations made in the quartz-reefs ; and in reply, he was shown various spots where shafts had been commenced, but relinquished after going 2 or 3 fathoms deep, on account of water. In all cases the rock had proved extremely rich, but the miners had no appliances whereby they could get rid of the water. Bankart devoted some weeks to testing the accuracy of their statements, and was enabled to return with a plentiful supply of very good stone. He pursued his researches for about 90 miles in length on the course of the lodes, and stretching 1 8 miles across them. Several lofty hills of magnetic iron were encountered, bounded by trap, and running into slate. And both in the gossan, and in the gravel at the base, he washed more or less gold in every pan. Various assays made in England of picked specimens, gave the following results : CT O. OZ. QWt. gr. Jf \\ t L f 1 Gold 87 16 16 fa 2 Fine Gold 76 o o jFineGold 81 16 14 \l \FineSilver 18 8 14 V^- Q ' 4 Fine Gold 2992 n o >fc /&/*., 5 Fine Gold 6512 18 o Bankart anticipates an average of 2 oz. of gold per ton from the reefs. He discovered large and strong lodes of iron- and copper-pyrites associated with gold, evidently from the quartz and slate reefs that traverse them, extending for many miles, giving unmistakable evidences at the surface of the riches hidden below. The ancient workings have been abandoned evidently from excess of water, and from paucity of capital. These are situated only about 90 miles from the seaport of Maldonado. VENEZUELA. The following valuable tables concerning the gold- production, and general state of the gold-industry of Venezuela, are due to J. M. Munoz (En. and Min. Jl., Apr. 12, 1879). GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. WAY-BILLS OF THE MUTUAL UNION TRANSPORTATION COMPANY OF THE MINING COMPANIES IN GUAYANA, VENEZUELA, FROM ORGANIZATION TO DECEMBER 3IST, 1878. Date. No. of trip. 25 stamps. El Callao. 25 stamps. Nacupi, O. Ex. and Mg. Co. 20 stamps. Hail a. 20 stamps. Potosi. 10 stamps. Chili, Mo- cupia and New York. 10 stamps. Caratal I8 74 . oz. oz. OZ. oz. oz. oz. oz. May .. I .. 520* 95* 763! June . . 2 5851 .. 222! 89* 5 2 8f .. July .. 3 . . 778* 336 i64i 1 ,014 .. Aug. .. 4 589 658 2 4 8f 3 12 * 204 1,382 .. Sept. .. 5 795 583 125 222J 1491 903* Oct. .. 6 640^ 476 376 1921 443 Nov. . . 7 338* 573* 175 840 Dec. .. 8 622 1,032 . , 214 968 1875- Jan. . . 9 399* 827! . . 1351 805 .. Feb. .. 10 444 ,606 962 205 803 .. Mar. .. ii 1,480 ,317 414 165 272 .. Apr. . . 12 1 ,239 ,203 433* May .. 13 1 , 173 ,328 123 I74 8 June . . i , 36oJ ,042! J 3 2 * I6 4| % .. July .. 15 1,280 1 20 265 Aug. .. 16 r X 35 ,201 281 271! 299 Sept. .. 17 1,331 820 3 12 * 355f 322 .. Oct. .. 18 1,421 931 .. 39 368 245 .. Nov. .. 19 1,382 1,023 325 231 Dec. .. 20 1,402 1,061* 262 1876. Jan. . . 21 1,387 940 30 stamps. 193 242 Feb. .. 22 1,462 1,281 Panama 333* 270 .. Mar. . . 23 1,681 862 S.A.Mg.Co 280 374* 230 .. Apr. . . 24 1,604 1,492 301 380* 261 .. May .. 25 1 ,536 1,522 .. 660 246! 434 .. June . . 26 1,424! 843* .. 1 86 442| 498 .. July .. 27 946 611* 601! Aug. .. 28 '574* 461! 33 238* 512 .. Sept. .. 2 9 2,594* 845* 458! 150 347* 620 .. Oct. .. 30 3,994 1-334* 664* 4 26| 268 Nov. .. 31 2,793 623! 325 .429! 39 .. Dec. .. 32 1,6821 258* 957* 364* 332* *4 2 i .. 1877. 40 stamps. 50 stamps. 20 stamps Jan. . . 33 3,122! 785* 424 225 .. Remington Feb. .. 34 3,598* 430 402 Mg. Co. Mar. . . 35 3,726* .. 380* i,345 458 132 319* Apr. . . 36 2,167 19 1,212 1,003! 607 420 May .. 37 1,413! 3,021! 208 493 5591 June . . 38 558* 753* 1,444* 486* 299! July .. 39 1,103 6i 9 f 626* 1,738* 481* 382! Aug. .. 40 1,017 4371 1,415 156 585* Sept. .. 41 I , 202* 1,611 261! .. Oct. . . 42 2 , 096! 382 .. 902 223 .. Nov. . . 43 2,300 586! .. j 1050 454* Dec. .. 44 2,156 46l* *i,8oo 33* 197* 1878. 20 stamps 20 stamps Jan. . . 45 941! 342 494f 957 326 249* Nueva Feb. .. 46 i,377* 269 452* 808 401* 39f Hansa Mar. .. 47 i ,532 24 448* 348 316* 90* 27* Apr. . . 48 1,905* stopped 33 1 353 245 .. May .. 49 4,204 work. 346* 562! Sio 8o| June . . 50 5,034 ,, 924 1,003! 644 .. July . . 6,117! 77* 468 805* 100* .. Aug. .. 52 5,428 663 639 42lf 1 20 Sept. .. 53 4,968 102 420 868 879 * Oct. .. 54 3,964 174 209 756 632! .. Nov. .. 55 5,071!- 621 Ill* .. Dec. .. 56 5,465* " 1,009 774* 503 AMERICA, S. I VENEZUELA. 257 Remarks. This is simply the ounces sent by the companies in bars, averaging 91 5 thousand fine, or almost English standard, and worth, say $18 (3/. 15^.) net per oz. Much gold is carried every month for merchants and others not belonging to the Union, amounting to about on an average 500 oz. per month, not put down in the list above. Most of this is stolen from the mills by workmen ; rest from hand- workings and placer. Callao Co. From the first trip up to the May trip No. 49, they ran a "middle mail," on their own account, on a contract that only expired April 1878. Therefore, it is but fair to calculate from trip No. i to 48 at one-third more oz. for their probable product in any given month. Nacupi Co. Sold occasionally a few hundred ounces here for present needs after November 1876, when they began to be financially hampered. They finally went into bankruptcy, March 1873, an d have been closed up ever since. But the foregoing pretty fairly represents their product. Hansa Co. Made little more than shown here ; some went by private hands to Bolivar ; none sold here. They stopped milling, November 1874, and did not reorganize until October 1877. Panama Co. Began milling, August 1876; really began, November 1875 ; but exploded both boilers following December, and water-works and new boilers not finished until July 1876. They frequently sell all their gold in Caratal ; sometimes a part only. Since their failure last March, owing to poor quartz, all sold in Caratal. Full time for them is about 1000 oz. per month. Potosi Co. Never sold any gold here ; therefore this represents their full product. The blanks are stoppages for breakdowns, repairs, or alterations. Remington Co. Only ran 6 months. Quartz good, but vein too small. Mocupia and New York Co. This represents their full product. Variations represent fewer hours by breakdowns, &c. Caratal Co. This also is full product. Their year's stoppage, 1877, was to pull down old mill and build new 2O-stamp mill. Nueva Hansa. Just begun ; was drowned out by the river. The aggregate production, as per accompanying table, is 288,678 oz. of fine gold ; and if to this is added the number of ounces that are carried by merchants and private conveyances, estimated at about 40,0x30 oz. more, we have a sum total of 328,678 oz. which, at the round value of $20 (4/. 3^. 4^.) gross per oz., makes $6,573,560 (1,369,4917.) produced by the mining region of Venezuelan Guayana in 4 years and 8 months ; a surprising result, considering the immense difficulties of every kind that S 258 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. REMARKS. Ran about a month only, and failed. Has been moved away. 25 stamps to 1877; then 50 till shut down, April 1878. Still idle. 15 stamps to 1875 ; then 25 till 1877 ; then 40 stamps. ^ u!i, u! i ', O ,; >, ' V C u "dTD T3l3 c p. 8 ft.g^o c % MrtfeS, tie <"q > rt s^ sMg^t rs gSS-s^g ; gs -g S S^ 1|^ ,;fe 3 d*ih'l 2S ;s is| S|ji*f. g l ^g .2 1 h- g|1*o 4ii||l|l1 & ^r .rf 1 j Sljl* !f!^I r il I Lil^fKi-rililll lilii !, i: Ni!Ifl"liI 3 a ^6 a- 9 Z "S'TuS 4) | | s | s e I : : : : ** "** l> HJ^ H H|d t* 2 UI3A JO 33JUJS JO UOIJ03JIQ a w ' 1 ^ & o fc o^ O w " o^ * III?: ooooio o B S3 o" OOOOMOO n- 10 SS|yo 5z5 ^' ^' Jzi ^ !?' ^ fc UI3A jo xiJpiM aSBJSAy d a * .So m fe o T3 B ^^SvS'iS S>oo^! 22 ^ i UJ3AJO dlQ w g w ^ 2 >o ^ w5cnW ai W c/5 v o c/5c/io ooo o o o .2 . 2 o o i2 io 10 10 in "^'cs OO loio^j-io^ m & Jf oo Q Oo OOO tomO'O t^ o moo 5 M vo M s Q .5 .a VO'O'O >O >0 H ogJ3 ,C. B 2 1 " 5 5 1 " 1 ^-Y-^ *J u ^ 6 4) P -' >* >> +1 >> > S bio g 3 3 w *3 ^ H- H- 1 1 t O >-> I-^H-,^ qj oooz jo uoj * U NO 00 o H H H He ^- in rn M en M rn ** H ooo o o o oo o jo ppiA aSejPAy -* -* * *S"M *** * K H* sanoij te J3d paijsnjo zjaenf) t) + mm o f* " >^^ mo M 'O V-y~/ r~*~* owjOTt- o 10 ooo m S^y*w sduiBjs jo dojQ g >o g MOOO O^O O OOONO^-" saip 9AoqB SU3340S jo jqSiafj _c *o \o *0 M cnoo <7vo oo ooo o*3 w M H H ^o sdure:)s jo iq3i3AV 8 J3 lr\ 10 O -*^O e. \o ooooo o ooo* 4 lOO"") lO O iO 1OO O4>* \OVOVO VO VO \O irjvo VOX" 9JUUIUI 13d sdOJQ >0 O O 55 m io>o o \o IO\OIO\O IO lO \OVO vO^t ** sduiBjg .0 "> >n o ^ ^v^v ~^xN^- ^ m c >H C4 T .^^-v-^ hgsTgg a ^g s < /~^^ 1 ~v~' x~A^, WW ^~^-> t >< o r S : : : a : : -js : : : : 1 J H z; O g W ^-. "u n MlU g 8 S"S i J-gl J|s Venezuela London STS -2 .2 Hi & js J2g sS if ^ |g g 1 Igll dfeOi* " ki fe > 4> 4) uSSS j l> 1 |o | |S | | |l | | M- ial SS I^T" 5 rt g< i 1 K ^ ,~' J "rt CJ -t3 ^^Y--' ^ /*N^ *-^v^' : II -j : t - : ^i i i 1 i ill i i II i 1 1 2 i* 3 a a 1 ^ 1 .IS AMERICA, S. : VENEZUELA. 259 the companies have had to contend with in a wild, tropical region, difficult of access, and far removed from civilization and its advantages. According to the Report of the British Consul at Ciudad Bolivar, for 1880, gold is the chief and almost, it may be said, the only industry of the State, on which both public and private incomes more or less depend. Absorbing, as it does, almost all the labour of the State, by offering superior inducements, it renders every other enterprise entirely hopeless. Gold-mining is the sole pre-occupation of all minds. In this vice-con- sular district, as an industry, it only dates, it may be said, from 1866, when companies were formed for working this hitherto undeveloped source of wealth. But whether from the enormous expenses which have to be incurred in importing and setting up suitable machinery, the trans- porting of it to Caratal, a distance of about 150 miles from Port Las Tablas, by bullock-wagons, or the exceptional dearness of labour, pro- visions, and fuel, which latter has to be procured from the adjacent forests at great outlay, for the working of steam machinery, the fact is that until now only one, the Callao Company, has returned dividends to its shareholders. A fair average of the yield of the quartz of the different companies is 2\ oz. per ton. A new gold-field, said to be of vast extent and richness, has been recently discovered at a place called Cicapra, about 1 50 miles from this city, and 50 miles N.E. of Caratal. A good deal of placer-gold has been obtained lately from this locality. According, however, to the opinion of experienced mining engineers, who have visited that district, it is likely to become, if properly developed, amongst the richest of these auriferous regions. SPECIFICATION OF THE GOLD-MINING COMPANIES ESTABLISHED AT THE DEPARTMENT Roscio, STATE OF GUAYANA, 1879. Names. Capital. Stamps. Observations. bolivars. Callao . . I,288,OOO 40 In activity. Potosi Private 30 , Mocupia and New Y ork 1,200,000 2O ) Caratal Gold .. 520,000 2O i Independiente .. 500,000 5 , Union 975,000 Nueva Providencia 700,000 20 Closed. Nueva Hansa .. 800,000 20 ,, Concordia 900,000 2O Closed for want of funds. San Luis .. 980,000 2O i> Eureka 540,000 20 > Orinoco Exploring .. 40 Bankruptcy Court. South American 30 ,, San Salvador .. I ,000,000 Prospecting works. San Antonio del Arbolito 600,000 ,, Porvenir 1,000,000 ii The bolivar is equivalent to I fr. ; 25 bolivars I/. S 2 260 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. As the Union Company has got no stamps, it makes use of the mill of the Nueva Providencia. STATEMENT OF THE MONTHLY REMITTANCES OF THE GOLD-MINING COMPANIES, STATE OF GUAVANA, VENEZUELA, DURING THE YEAR 1879. Name of Company. Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total oz. oz. oz. oz. oz. oz. oz. oz. oz. oz. oz. oz. . oz. Callao.. .. 3>77'*4 5,839-31 4, 447-17 4, 715-12* i>75-59 1,344-041,635-46 2,235-60 3,542-123,491 3>367-75 3, 831-62 39,861- Potosi . . 609 'IO 1,223 i,i34 1,576-9 1,491-70 550*50 919-10 [,2OO 1,283*10 9 6 5 1,335-10 1,290 *3>S77' Mocupia & ) New York J 497 '25 i,i74-5 965 803 '75 992 T2* 853 'So 870*50 1,108-75 928-18 1,051 1,172*06 1,369-12 ",785- Caratal 35'5 664-50 559-25 392-50 481-75 5*8 764 557-25 846 533 '50 368 518-50 6,563- Nueva Hansa 251-50 79-87 34 ICQ -88 32-25 143 141-19 681- Total . . * 5< l ^3'99 9,152-81 7,185*29 7,488-27* 4,671-16* 3, 469-924, 338-81 '5,101 "60 6,599-406,040-50 6,385-9' 7,150-43 72.748' STATEMENT of the gold from the Caratal Mines, State of Guayana, shipped at the Port of Ciudad Bolivar from January 1866 to December 1879- 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 Ounces. 15,587 30,142 29,050 25,941 32,747-25 41,649 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 Ounces. 55,698-04 79,496-69 86,529-66 100,988-69 95,204-79 107,722-76 Total .. 770,026-26 This important and rich gold-field has been ably and minutely described by Dr. Clement Le Neve Foster, from whose valuable account the following facts are taken. The Caratal gold-field is situated about 160 miles in a straight line east-south-east of Ciudad Bolivar, or Angostura, the capital of the state of Guayana, in Venezuela. It lies 100 miles south of the river Orinoco, some 75 miles up from the principal mouth. The country between Ciudad Bolivar and Pastora consists almost entirely of gneiss, with some mica-schist, and hornblende-schist, and a little granite. All three varieties are seen at Ciudad Bolivar itself. From here to the Caroni is a gently undulating savannah, showing out- crops of gneiss as far as the neighbourhood of the Arasiama ridge, which is formed of itabirite (see p. 220). About Arasiama and on both sides of the Caroni near Guri, the strike of the gneiss is, roughly speaking, east and west. Beyond Charapo is some hornblende-schist, striking E. 1 5 N., in land which forms the watershed between the basin of the Orinoco and that of the Essequibo. Where the road crosses it, the watershed is not more than about 1 100 ft. above sea-level. Further east, at Limones, is granite ; but the greater part of the country consists of gneiss, which now gets a AMERICA, S. : VENEZUELA. 26 1 strike of N. 18 W. to N. 15 E. Both east and west of the Oranato, Dr. Foster found hornblendic schist, striking N. 10 E., N. 45 W. And in crossing the Guatapolo, he noticed a dyke of porphyrite, resembling some of the Cornish elvans, and remarkable for the well-crystallized quartz which it contains. Before arriving at Pastora, the series of schists and slaty rocks, which continue into the Caratal district, make their appearance ; near Pastora are siliceous schists striking N. 45 W., N. 60 W., N. 70 W. ; and at Caratal itself these rocks are often a fine-grained clay-slate, like some of the Cornish " killas." At other times, the rock is much coarser ; and a talcose variety frequently occurs. As a rule, these slaty rocks are much decomposed. The decomposed schist forms the " bed-rock " in many of the alluvial diggings, and is known to the miners as cascajo. Besides these slaty rocks, there are large outcrops of a felstone, either intrusive or interbedded ; this is the " blue-stone " of Dr. Stevens, a compact grey, bluish-grey, or greenish-grey rock, often containing small crystals of iron- pyrites, the " mica " of the miners. The schistose rocks have, roughly speaking, an east and west strike, with a varying dip. It was only on the north side of the Yuruari, near the Tupuquen Ford and north of Callao, that Dr. Foster noticed outcrops of a rock which he calls " gabbro," on the authority of David Forbes, F.R.S. To the north of the mining district in fact, in the country about Upata, gneiss, mica- schist, hornblende-schist, and granite occur. It will thus be seen that to the west and north the gold-bearing slates are surrounded by gneiss and other metamorphic rocks. No fossils have as yet been found, though carefully searched for by Dr. Plassard ever since he discovered the gold- fields. The age of the rocks is consequently unknown. The gold-deposits of the Caratal district may be classed under 4 heads: (i) Lodes, veins, "reefs," "ledges," or filones ; (2) alluvial or " placer " diggings, or greda ; (3) red earth, or tierra de flor ; (4) gravel and sand of river-beds. i. Lodes. About a dozen lodes have been discovered, and worked on. It is impossible to give any general direction of the strike and dip of these lodes ; but it may be observed, that several well-marked and rich lodes run east and west, while others, equally productive, have strikes approach- ing to north and south. As the lodes are few in number, a short description of each will furnish the best idea of their general nature. The Callao lode lies about if mile N.N.W. of Nueva Providencia. It is a north and south lode dipping west, and is I to 2 ft. thick in many places ; it consists mainly of quartz, with a little iron-pyrites and brown oxide of iron, and a few blackish streaks, due, perhaps, to chlorite. The gold in this lode is very coarse, and specimens of pure white quartz and native gold, without a particle of oxide of iron, are often found. 262 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The surrounding rock or " country " is felstone, with a little iron-pyrites. The miners say that the presence of iron-pyrites is a favourable sign for the productiveness of the lode. The Callao lode has been worked along the strike for a distance of about 200 yd., and it is said to die out south- wards. The deepest workings in the Caratal district are upon this lode ; but they only reach down 36 yd., further progress being prevented by water, and the want of pumping machinery. Very large quantities of gold have been obtained from Callao. The Corinna lode is situated further eastward, on the bank of the Yuruari. The lode is 4 ft. wide in places, and dips west. It consists mainly of quartz, with brown oxide of iron, mammillated pyrolusite, thin streaks of a blackish mineral, and visible gold. This lode has been worked to a depth of about 12 yd., and has been profitable. In the neighbourhood of the Corinna, the American Company has made openings upon other lodes and branches. Some of the quartz shows visible gold, the rest does not, but all is auriferous ; on an average, Dr. Foster was told that the quartz from these openings gives about i oz. of gold to the ton. The "country" of these lodes and of the Corinna consists of decomposed schist. On the hill south-east of Nueva Providencia are numerous abandoned barrancos or pits sunk to work the Tigre lode. Its strike is N. 30 E., and it is said to be about I ft. wide, and very rich. The country is a hard, dark-greenish rock. In Nueva Providencia, numerous blocks of loose quartz containing gold are lying about in one part of the town, probably derived from a lode which crops out here ; and the Prefect of the Department of the Yuruari has been working a lode in his garden just east of the town. In the San Felipe property, to the south of the town, several lodes are said to have been discovered. The Peru lode, situated near the source of a branch of the Mocupia brook, runs E. 5 N., and dips S. at 60. It is 2 ft. wide, and consists of quartz, with brown oxide of iron, the usual blackish streaks, talc, and visible gold. In another little neighbouring valley are the Potosi workings. In one of the adits driven into the hillside are two east and west lodes, dipping 55 in opposite directions, the level being driven just below the intersec- tion. The stuff is very similar to that of" Peru," and there is no difficulty in rinding visible gold. The Chili lode lies about \ mile south of Potosi, and, after Callao, is at present the most important in the Caratal district. The Chili main lode runs about E. 10 N. to E. 15 N., and dips S. at 45 to 60. It varies in width from 2 to 6 ft. It consists mainly of quartz, with brown oxide of iron, the blackish streaks, talc, a white, earthy mineral like kaolin, and visible gold. In many pieces of stuff from this lode are AMERICA, S. : VENEZUELA. 263 cubical cavities lined with gold as if they had been plated, or containing leafy gold ; sometimes also the cavity is filled with brown oxide of iron, in which specks of gold are visible. The cavities seem to be due to the decomposition of iron-pyrites, which originally filled them. The coarse gold which is found at Callao does not occur at " Chili." To the west, the Chili lode splits up into at least three branches. The Chili main lode has been worked to a depth of about 30 yd. The " country " is decomposed talcose clay-slate. In several of the shafts which have been made on this lode, the porfiro or porfido of the miners occurs. This so-called " porphyry," also known at Chili as quartzo morado and piedra morada, is a reddish, pink, or brown ferruginous hornstone, sometimes becoming jasper. It now and then contains crystals of iron- pyrites, or cavities left by their decomposition. At Chili, it forms a sort of lode parallel to the white quartz lode, from which it is separated by a few inches of cascajo. The " Chili " miners told Dr. Foster that they occasionally found visible gold in it, but too little to pay them to work it. A similar rock (porfiro} is found all over the Caratal district, and is regarded by the miners as a favourable indication for gold. A little work has been done on a lode called San Antonio, a short distance from " Chili." Two barrancos, very close to one another, have been sunk upon it; and they show a quartz lode 2 ft. thick, which strikes S. 20 E. to S. 45 E., and dips sharply to the west. The surrounding rock is cascajo. The lode consists of quartz, with black streaks, iron- pyrites, brown oxide of iron, and very fine gold. Lying in the basin of the Yguana, like Chili and San Antonio, are the Panama workings. Much work has been done here upon loose blocks of quartz which strew the hillside, and a small opening has been made on the top of the hill, upon an east and west lode. This lode is 3 ft. wide in places, and dips south. On the opposite side of the valley, a flattish lode 2 to 6 ft. thick has furnished a good deal of quartz. Quartz has also been found and worked at the Lagunta, near Panama, and at the Independiente, between Panama and Nueva Providencia. 2. Alluvial or '"placer" diggings. Excepting a few places on the banks of the Yuruari, the working of auriferous alluvions has at present been confined to the valley of the Mocupia, and its various tributaries, such as the quebradas or valleys known as the Tigre, Peru, Aguinaldo, &c. On leaving Nueva Providencia by any of the paths to the west, the traveller comes upon pit after pit, 6 to 10 yd. deep ; and although this ground was worked as early as 1857 and 1858, it can be pretty well seen what the diggings were like. The following is the succession of the beds : 1. Soil. 2. Red clay, showing no signs of stratification. 264 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 3. Soft clayey moco de hierro. 4. Hard moco de hierro, brown iron ore, with pieces of quartz in it, and a little clay. 5. Blocks of vein-quartz, often auriferous. 6. Greda, or pay-dirt, a yellow ferruginous clay, containing nuggets and small grains of gold. 7. Cascajo, decomposed schist, forming the bed-rock. About % mile from the town, on the road to Tupuquen, are the Planada diggings, said to have been worked with much profit in 1857. The section of one of the Planada pits is as follows : 1. Soil. 2. Clayey gravel. 3. Blocks of quartz. 4. Greda, or pay-dirt. 5. Cascajo, or bed-rock. In a neighbouring pit, Dr. Foster saw about 6 ft. of clay, and then 6 ft. of gravel, the bottom being filled with rubbish. The pebbles found in the gravel are mainly composed of the greenish-grey felstone, known as piedra negra ; subangular and rounded pieces of ferruginous hornstone are also common. Higher up the valleys the placer-diggings are shallower. 3. Tierra de Flor and Moco de Hierro. In many places in the Caratal district, just below the soil, at a depth of 18 in. to 3 ft, is a layer of red earth, often containing pieces of auriferous vein-quartz, pieces of moco de hierro, and grains of pysolitic brown hematite, the "granson" of the miners. When washed, this tierra de flor, or " surface earth," as it is called, furnishes, in addition, decomposed crystals of iron-pyrites, a black magnetic iron-sand called arenilla, and often nuggets of gold. The manner in which the gold occurs appears to be very irregular ; the miner may wash several bateas of earth, and find no gold, or only the color de oro (i. e. merely a few fine grains of gold), and then get several nuggets in the next lot. The largest nugget yet found in the Caratal district was obtained from the tierra de flor, close to Nueva Providencia ; it weighed 1 5 Ib. In the diggings at the south-south-west corner of the town, Dr. Foster saw tierra de flor lying above alluvial ground. The following is the succession : 1. Soil. 2. Tierra de flor, red earth, with loose stones of quartz. 3. Ferruginous clay. 4. Greda, or pay-dirt, yellowish clay, with blocks of quartz. 5. Cascajo, or bed-rock, decomposed schist. From the manner in which this term tierra de flor occurred, Dr. Foster at once concluded that, geologically speaking, it was a " rainwash "; AMERICA, S. : VENEZUELA. 265 but it was only after talking the matter over very frequently that he and Dr. Plassard arrived at the conclusion that the tierra de flor is nothing more nor less than decomposed moco de hierra washed down the hillsides. The name moco de hierro is given to a highly ferruginous rock, which assumes the various forms of : a. Ferruginous conglomerate. b. Ferruginous grit. c. Ferruginous breccia. d. Pisolitic brown iron ore. It always consists mainly of limonite and earthy red hematite, with pebbles or angular and subangular fragments of quartz, schist, and felstone. When it takes the form of pisolitic brown iron ore, it consists of a number of globular concretions of limonite. This moco is found in loose blocks on the surface, and often forms plateaux, sometimes more than 100 (or even 200) acres in extent. The edge of the plateaux is generally marked by a bold rocky escarpment. Here it may be seen that the moco is 6, 8 or even 10 ft. thick at the least ; and the same thing may be observed where a stream has cut its way down through a moco plateau. In searching for quartz lodes, Dr. Foster came to the conclusion that the moco de hierro affords no evidence of lodes in the immediate vicinity ; for his observations led him to infer that it is probably of alluvial origin. He supposes that the ferruginous matter of which it consists so largely is derived from iron-pyrites, which was contained in the alluvial deposit, partly in the form of loose pieces, and partly enclosed in fragments of rock. Some may also have been derived from chalybeate waters coming from other sources than the alluvium itself. In some cases, the moco is of undoubted alluvial origin ; and the miners, finding that where they met with a bed of moco they usually had a good pay-dirt, or greda, came to the conclusion that the moco was a good indication of gold- deposits of all sorts. Dr. Foster adds that the alluvial moco lying above the pay-dirt has occasionally furnished nuggets covered with a black coating of oxide of iron, like some that are found in the tierra de flor. From all this, it will be seen that there is nothing in the mode of occurrence or mineral contents of the tierra de flor to militate against the hypothesis that it is neither more nor less than moco decomposed in place, or decomposed moco washed down the hillsides. Should all the moco be of alluvial origin, we may expect a pay-dirt below it in the higher plateaux, just as we find one in the more recent deposits ; and it is possible that the nuggets in the red dirt are mainly derived from a pay-dirt underlying the moco, and not from the moco itself. Some assays of moco that Dr. Foster made at Caratal gave gold ; some that have been made since, gave either no gold or merely traces. 266 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. There are therefore two points which remain to be settled with regard to the moco : (1) Whether it often contains gold enough to make it a workable deposit. (2) Whether all moco is really a deposit like the moco of the placer- diggings near the town, or, in other words, whether it overlies a pay-dirt or deposit of alluvial gold. 4. Recent Stream-beds. When the dry season commences, the rivers and streams sink rapidly ; many dry up entirely ; others still have a few waterholes left ; while the Yuruari always flows a little, except in seasons of most extraordinary drought. In any case, banks of sand and gravel are left high and dry, or partially so. On digging through them, a gold- bearing bed is often met with, which furnishes nuggets and small grains of gold on washing. The amount of work which goes on with these deposits at the present time (1869) is but small, though at first they were the only ones that were known. The whole of the present (1869) workings are comprised within a circle of 3^ miles radius, with Nueva Providencia as its centre ; but it must not for a moment be imagined that this is the whole of the auriferous region. Two American gentlemen, Davis and Austen, found gold on the river Paragua ; and just before leaving, Dr. Foster heard of the discovery of a lode of gold-quartz in the hills to the south of Pastora. A little gold has been found at Upata. Dr. Plassard also told him that a lode of auriferous quartz traverses the bed of the YuruarL at Cura ; and the same was reported by Senor Carlos Siegert. It is further known that gold has been found, and even worked, on the banks of the Cuyuni, in British Guiana (see p. 245). All these facts tend to prove that the auriferous rocks are spread over a very wide area indeed. The old Spaniards, by following the rivers and searching the ravines, discovered quantities of gold in the rivers Tesorero, Santa Crux, and Guaratarro, which abounded in large nuggets ; the remains of their washings can be seen at the present day. Humboldt, speaking of the rivers which descend N.E. towards the coast of Puerto Cabello and La Punta de Hicacos, says the most remarkable are those of Tocuyo, Aroa, and Yaracuy. In the ravines nearer the sea, the Indians have their gold-washings. Grains of gold-ore are found in all the mountainous lands between the river Yaracuy, the town of San Felipe, Nirgua, and Barquismeto, particularly in the Rio de Santa Crux, in which the Indian gold-gatherers have sometimes found lumps of the value of 4 or 5 piastres (say 12s. to IS-?-)- The gold-deposit of Tesorero is about i^ league from Guaratarro. The Spaniards had several washings here, and the Creoles say quantities of gold in large nuggets were discovered. AMERICA, S. : VENEZUELA. 267 Capt Prince writes (Min. Jl., xlviii. 999) that after spending a fortnight in the Tesorero and Guaratarro districts, inspecting the rivers, valleys, and ravines in the vicinity of Tesorero, which is situated about 3 miles N.N.E. of the Guaratarro, he discovered in all the ravines particles of gold, and this with only a slight surface washing in tolumas and common dinner-plates, particularly in the dry bed of a flood torrent called the Quebrada de Tucana, situated I mile S.S.E. of the hamlet of Tesorero ; in short, for many miles, vast ferruginous alluvial deposits, auriferous in all parts. The placer-gold of Venezuela is said to contain about 8 per cent, of silver. Callao mine. More detailed information regarding the great Callao mine is contained in two recent reports by Hamilton Smith and Charles Oxland respectively, which were very obligingly placed at the disposal of the author by the Hamburg company owning the property, and from which the following observations are derived. Hamilton Smith's report [abridged] : " The country-rock in the district is a compact greenstone or diorite (?) whose character does not materially change for a distance of several kilometres. The principal lodes are of quartz, more or less sugary in quality, and are doubtless true fissure-veins, having the greenstone for both hanging- and foot-walls, with but a small parting or gangue sometimes none separating the quartz from the country-rock. In some places the greenstone is considerably mixed with the quartz, and occasionally carries gold to some little distance from the quartz. " The veins have generally a flat dip or inclination, varying from 60 to 35 from the horizon ; their strike (direction of lode on horizontal plane) is in different directions, being N. and S. at Callao, E. and W. at the Chili and Panama, and N.W. and S.E. at the Orinoco. " Gold is carried by the quartz indifferently through the vein. When found in the pure white quartz, it is exceedingly bright and perfectly ' free ' (readily amalgamates) ; where found in bluish streaks, it is darker and less pure ; and when the vein is mixed with country-rock, the gold is often in close connection with pyrites. " The greatest vertical depth thus far attained has been 130 metres (65 fathoms) at the Callao mine, and nearly 91 metres (45 fathoms) at the Chili lode. To the eye the character of the gold does not appear to change as greater depths are reached. At the north-west corner of Callao No. 4 workings, at a vertical depth of 116 metres (58 fathoms), by far the greater part of the gold carried by the vein is in the pure white quartz. In the Mocupia mine, on the deepest workings of the Chili lode, the same condition exists. At the present time, from the Callao mill, the amalgam yields nearly 47 per cent, of retorted gold, of a fineness of 915 to 925, which also shows that in the Callao ore the gold still continues coarse and free. In these deeper workings, as is the case nearer the surface, where the vein is mixed with country-rock, more sulphurets are present, and the ore is consequently more refractory and difficult to properly reduce. " In the Callao mine, which was the one most carefully studied, this admixture of the country-rock with the vein seems to be chiefly on the northern and southern limits of the ' pay-shoot' of ore, and to indicate approaching weakness or pinching of the vein. " The ore in the district can therefore be assumed to be ' free,' that is to say, the gold can in a great measure be obtained by the mill process as carried on in the 268 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. ordinary and simple gold-quartz reduction-works of California and other portions of the United States. " The reduction machinery in use in the district is of a very primitive nature, con- sisting simply of stamp-mills, with amalgamation in the batteries and on copper plates, but none of the ordinary auxiliary gold-saving appliances. " The placer-gold is extracted by washing with the batea or wooden bowl, the ' rocker ' and ' long-torn ' used in California and Australia, not having been introduced. Owing to the gentle slope of the Yuruari and the rich ravines and flats, it was and still is impracticable to wash these placers by ground-sluices, and cheaper hydraulic methods, such as have been so largely used in the precipitous gold-regions of other parts of the world. " The yield of the Callao mine in 1879 was as follows : January .. 885 tons crushed yielding 4*24 oz. per ton. February 1023 ,, 5-78 ,, March .. 866 ,, ,, 5-19 ,, ,, April .. 872 5-47 Total 3646 tons, average yield 5 '20 ,, ,, " The Callao reduction-works consist of a good stamp-mill, stamps weighing about 650 Ib. (English) ; drop, 9 in. ; 60 drops a minute ; each stamp crushing about i| ton in 24 hours ; screens rather coarse ; amalgamation in batteries and on copper plates. Some of the heavier tailings are treated in revolving iron barrels, which in 1880 yielded nearly 2 per cent, of the gross product. Samples of the tailings running to waste, from batteries 9, 10, u and 12 (20 stamps), gave the following results : 20 large hourly samples Nos. 9 and 10 assay 60 oz. gold, say 900 fine. 20 ,, ,, II ,, 12 82 ,, ,, ,, ,, 42 . 9> ii Hi 12 99 ,, ,, Mean 81 oz. gold, say 900 fine. " Such loss from ore of this class, yielding 2 oz. per ton, is very large ; indeed one- half as much would be excessive. It is probable that the loss from these 4 batteries sampled is greater than from the 8 batteries." Charles Oxland's report [abridged] : " The quartz is compact, and carries the gold coarse and free. But little pyrites is found, equal to about i to f per cent, of the ore, and this appears in streaks that would be likely to lead an expert to believe that it is greatly on the increase ; but after the appearance of the streaks, the lode again returns to its normal character, carrying little or no pyrites. " In the bottom of the workings the lode has increased in size, and the quality of the quartz is excellent. Some of it is exceptionally rich, and will probably yield about 5 oz. of gold to the ton. " The mine has yielded, from the year 1871 to March 1 88 1, the amount of 322,000 oz. of gold (standard), resulting from an estimated amount of 92,325 tons of ore. The number of tons is probably considerably less than this, as no weighing-machine has been used, and consequently the weight had to be estimated. The yield for 7 months in 1 88 1 was as follows : Oz. of gold. April 6726 May 6624 June 6909 July 4750 Oz. of gold. August 5473 September .. .. 6029 October 7314 " THO? KEIi i SON, LITH. 40.KING S T COVENT GARDEN. ASIA : AFGHANISTAN. 269 ASIA. AFGHANISTAN. Col. Yule (1875) says that some small quantity of gold is taken from the streams in Laghman and the adjoining district; and he alludes to a stream in Wakhan, called Zerzumen by Wood, which he thinks may be Zarzamin ("gold ground"). Wood (1841) says that " the Kokcha, like every other tributary of the Oxus, is fertile in gold." Hamilton remarks that gold is said to be found in some of the streams that flow from the Hindu Kush mountains. Vigne (1840) states that the sand of the Kirman is washed for gold. Bellew (1874) gives the following account of a visit to the gold-mine at the foot of the hills lying north of the city of Kandahar. The mine is situated on the S. side of and half-way up in a small creek, running N.E. into an angle formed by a spur projecting on to the Kandahar plain from the Baba Wali range. The hills are of a very hard and compact blue limestone ; but the surface of the creek and the adjoining plain is a coarse gravel, containing fragments of greenstone, hornblende, quartz, and mica-schist. The mine is close to the ridge of blue limestone. It is a wide excavation straight down into the soil, and in a soft easily-worked rock. Bellew examined several of the stones, and found them to consist of particles of greensand, hornblende, felspar, quartz, and mica, bound together in a gritty ferruginous clay. The formation appears to be one of decomposed syenite, and is sufficiently compact to require blasting in the excavation. The process is very rough, and simply this : a vein of quartz, 3 or 4 to only \ in. or less thick, is exposed in the rock, either by the use of the pickaxe, or by the aid of gunpowder. The workmen then examine the vein with the naked eye, and if any particles of gold are detected, they are removed with the surrounding portions of matrix, by means of a chisel and hammer. An immense number of quartz veins traverse the rock in all directions, and in several of them compressed plates of gold are visible, in situ. In some instances the metal was seen by Bellew in thick, lumpy masses, nearly the size of an almond. There must be an immense amount of waste in this rough process, and no doubt the heaps of excavated rock lying about the mouth of the pit would yield to the experienced miner a very profitable return. The mine has now been worked nearly 12 years, but with several intermissions. For the first 2 or 3 years, it is said to have yielded very abundantly. It is now farmed by a contractor, at an annual rental of 5OO/. As the surface gravel of the plain, N. of the city, is of the same character as that of the creek in which the mine is situated, it may be reasonable to suppose that the gold- yielding stratum extends under the alluvium of the plain. According to Griesbach (1881), the gold occurs here in quartz veins (reefs) which traverse the zone of contact between the hippuritic limestone 2/O GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. and the extensive trap outbursts, and, as far as he could ascertain, are confined to the lower beds of the Cretaceous limestone. The quartz veins vary in thickness from the width of a pencil-line to many ft, and most of them strike N.E. and S.W. The contact rock is calcareous, and contains a green mineral, disseminated through the mass. F. R. Mallet has examined the rock, and found that the portion soluble in dilute hydro- chloric acid consists mainly of lime and magnesia, with some iron. The insoluble part is chiefly silica and alumina, with some iron and magnesia. There is also a trifling amount of copper, and scarcely more than a trace of nickel. The rock appears to be an extremely impure (arenaceous and argillaceous) ferruginous magnesian limestone. The green spots evidently owe their colour to the copper and in part perhaps to the nickel. Such is the matrix of the auriferous quartz reefs. The native miners continued sinking their productive shaft, until the sides of it at last gave way, burying those who were working below. Since then, nothing has been done. The shaft is now 60 to 80 ft. deep, and about as wide, filled with rubbish from the sides. The auriferous vein, which was yielding gold in good quantities at the time the mine fell in, is mostly covered with blocks from above. The portion exposed is only about 2 in. thick, but Griesbach was told it thickened lower down to about 2 ft. or more, and some of the nuggets of gold obtained were of the size of a man's fist ; all the larger nuggets were extracted by hand, and only the rest of the quartz crushed and amalgamated. He proposed to the late Wali of Kandahar to sink another shaft about 100 yd. S. of the present position, to strike the same or other auriferous veins ; but his advice could not be carried into effect, owing to the outbreak of hostilities shortly after. It is highly probable that gold will be found all along the line where Griesbach found the trappoid beds more or less altered by the younger traps, and traversed by quartz reefs in profusion. This line extends from the gold-mine to the S.W. towards Kokaran, including the Murghan Hill. Gold is also found and worked in some fashion in the Hazara country, and in various streams of Northern Afghanistan. Comparing Southern Afghanistan with the countries lying W. and N.W. of it, Griesbach notices the vast extent of Cretaceous (hippuritic) limestone connecting them. The features of this formation are very remarkable, and it retains its character uniformly, more or less, over the entire area. In the Hungarian Banat, it is accompanied by a syenitic granite, which Cotta named Banatite ; and the contact zone, which is in those places mostly converted into a crystalline rock, yields various ores, amongst them gold. The gold localities in the Banat also yield minerals of cobalt and nickel, and in some places (Oravicza) they are the leading minerals of the auriferous area. So in Afghanistan, ASIA: ANAM, CAMBODIA, COCHIN CHINA, SIAM. 271 the gold-bearing rock occurs near the junction of the Cretaceous group and the igneous zone, and minerals of both cobalt and nickel occur in traces all over the rock. According to Captain Hutton, gold, which is called pillah, used to be imported into Kabul from Bokhara, where it was found in the river Amur; the best qualities sold for Rs. 17 to 18 (34^. to 36^.) per tola (180 gr.), and an inferior kind for Rs. 10 (20^.). Dr. Balfour states that gold is found with lapis-lazuli at Haladat, near Bamian (34 52' 30" N., 67 45' 30" E.) ; also at Istalif (34 52' 50" N., 69 E.), in the district of Koh-i-daman ; also in the sands of the Kabul river. ANAM, CAMBODIA, COCHIN CHINA, AND SIAM. The geography of these four countries is so little known, and their respective boundaries are so ill-defined, that it is impossible to deal with them otherwise than collectively. According to Richard (1778), the rivers of Tonquin "bring down gold in their sand. Some are employed in finding it in a kind of ditches, into which they purposely turn the course of the water, and find gold at the depth of 5 or 6 ft. in the sands. They find still more in the clefts of the rocks, and the streams of springs which issue from them, which indicates mines not yet discovered : there are even districts where gold should be very plentiful, since they there breed ducks, merely for the profit of the gold they extract from their excrements. There are, be- sides, mines that are open, but which are only worked by the Chinese." According to Sir John Bowring (1857), gold is found in many parts of Siam. The most productive locality is Bang Taphan, in the province of Xumphon, at the foot of the high mountains called the Three Hundred Peaks. Grain-gold and nuggets are collected. The soil containing the gold is crushed and washed in wooden bowls, and, by agitation, the metal is separated from the mass. The gold-mine is guarded by orders from the king, and worked only under special authority. Private indivi- duals are allowed to collect gold, on condition of their paying for the privilege a certain amount per day ; but the climate is most unhealthy, and the yellow fever carries off in less than a month the greatest part of the adventurers. John Campbell, formerly a Californian miner, went gold-mining in Siam in 1856, at Matabong, 35 miles by land from Bangkok. He describes the district as consisting of ravines in an elevated basin, oval in shape, 30 miles long and 18 miles wide, surrounded by craggy walls of rock, the whole covered with dense jungle. The richness of the Mata- bong district he considers as beyond question ; but he complains greatly of the jungle fever, the tropical rains, &c. Mouhot (1864) has many references to the gold-mines of Cambodia. On arrival at Muang-Kabine (80 miles E. of Bangkok), he found great 272 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. excitement prevailing, on account of a recent discovery of gold-mines, which had attracted to the place a number of Laotians, Chinese, and Siamese. The mines of Battambong (190 miles E. of Bangkok), being less rich, are not so much frequented. The tribute of the province of Korat, Laos, consists of gold or silver, and in several districts amounts to 8 ticals (nearly 4 oz.) a head. Lenye is the district of Siam richest in minerals. In several localities Mouhot discovered auriferous sand, but only in small quantity. In some of the villages the inhabitants employ their leisure time in searching for gold, but they told him that they hardly gained by this work sufficient to pay for the rice they ate. There are also many other mines rich in gold in the chains to the east and west of Cambodia. Unluckily, most of these mountains are frightfully unhealthy, and none but those who have lived there from infancy can remain long among them with impunity. Kennedy (1867) says that gold-mines were discovered some few years back in the immediate vicinity of Krabin (14 N., 102 E.). They are the exclusive property of the Chao Phya Umerat of Bangkok, who every year despatches an officer to superintend the works, and collect the duty from those who resort there. The gold is obtained by washing. After the discovery of these mines, one or two parties of Europeans proceeded thither from Bangkok ; but the business is so trying, and the locality so fatal, that few of the adventurers lived to return,, and the practice has consequently been discontinued. It is only in the dry season that the diggings can be worked, and a duty of I fuang (3! d.) for every fuangs weight of gold extracted, is collected from the miners, among whom Chinese, Siamese, Cambodians, and natives from all the neighbouring races are to be found. A writer in the Mining Journal (xli. 187, 203 ; 1871), speaking of the territory of Ligor, and of Quedah and the Pak-Chan river, says that, along with the stream tin, gold is often found in considerable quantities, and frequently in pieces as large as green peas. That the rocks contain gold, in payable quantities, he considers past all doubt. ARABIA. Of Arabia, it is stated byStrabo(B. xvi. c. 4, 18 ; Bohn's Library, iii. 205-6), that "a river flows through their country, which brings down gold-dust ; but they are ignorant how to make any use of it. They are called Debae [the Debae occupied Sockia : the river which flows through the country is called Boetius by Ptolemy]. Near these people is a nation more civilized, who inhabit a district with a more temperate climate ; for it is well watered, and has frequent showers. Fossil gold is found there, not in the form of dust, but in lumps, which do not require much purification. The least pieces are of the size of a nut, the middle size of a medlar, the largest of a walnut. These are pierced and arranged alternately with transparent stones strung on ASIA! ARABIA, ASSAM. 273 threads, and formed into collars. They are worn round the neck and wrist. They sell their gold to their neighbours at a cheap rate." Pliny (iv. 32) speaks of the littus Hammaum in connection with gold, and Capt. Burton would identify it with the modern Hazramaut. Yet Niebuhr declared that " the precious metals are not found or known to exist in Arabia, which has no mines either of gold or silver." And Palgrave (Ency. Brit.) similarly declares that " in mineral products of a valuable description, Arabia is singularly poor, so much so as to suggest that the Arabian gold and jewels of classical writers must have been brought from Yemen as from a mart or depot, not a place of pro- duction. Now-a-days, of gold-mines and precious stones, not a trace can be found." In contradiction of all this unfavourable testimony, Capt Burton (1878 and 1879) announced as the result of his two expeditions on behalf of the Khedive, the discovery of great treasures, and of remains of the seven ancient Midianitic cities, which were built on the sites of the gold-mines once worked by the Copts, the Persians, and the Romans. But evidence of the existence of gold in Midian, in considerable and remunerative quantities, is still lacking. In his journey to Medina, Burton ascertained that gold was found near Muwaylah. ASSAM. According to Ball, Assam has long been famous for the production of gold, and many authorities have stated that all its rivers contain auriferous sands, some, however, limiting this general statement to those which rise in the hills to the north. Putting aside all exaggera- tion, it would seem that there are few, if any, named streams in the districts of Darrang, Lakhimpur, and Sibsagar, which do not yield gold ; while in 8 other districts included in the Chief Commissionership of Assam, viz. Goalpara, Kamrup, Nowgong; Garo, Jaintia, and Naga Hills ; Cachar and Sylhet, there is no gold, so far as our sources of infor- mation go. That it is wholly absent in all is not likely ; but it is not and does not appear ever to have been sought for successfully in any of them. The most interesting early account of the production of gold in Upper Assam is by a Hindu named Muniram, the Revenue Serishtadar of Bar Bandari, whose paper on the subject Captain Jenkins forwarded in the year 1838 to the Coal Committee. Here it is said that before the British took possession of the country, the Sonwals paid a yearly tribute of 4000 tolas (1500 oz.) of gold, or in value, at Rs. 16 a tola, Rs. 64,000 (64OO/.). While the Government had possession of Upper Assam, 400 Sonwals paid a tax ; and at the time of writing (i.e. I 838), the Raja had levied a tax on 150 or 160 jotes (i.e. parties of 4 individuals), of these Sonwal paiks. Colonel Hannay estimates that, in the northern district of Sadiya alone, including Lakhimpur, there were 10,000 of these T 274 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Sonwals who had to pay at least 4 annas weight, or Rs. 4 (8s.) worth of gold each ; the total amount would be Rs. 40,000 (4OOO/.), and since much was probably paid by the Sonwals south of the Brahmaputra, the total revenue may have been 8ooo/. to io,ooo/. ; the total out-turn did not greatly exceed this, since gold-washing was a service performed by those who held land for their subsistence. There appears to be no foundation whatever, says Ball, for the state- ment, first made apparently by Jacob, that the yield of gold in Assam amounted to 30,000 oz. Recently (1881) Hyde Clarke stated that the yield had formerly been 40,000 oz,, i.e. the equivalent of i4O,ooo/. at the very least. Ball suggests that the rupees of the above statement have been mistaken by some one for oz., and that thus the error arose. Muniram states that, besides the above-mentioned tax, the Sonwals of Upper Assam, in the time of Raja Rajeswar Singh, used to present 6000 to 7000 tolas (2250 to 2625 oz.) of gold ; besides which gold was re- ceived from a number of places in Lower Assam, and from the Bhutias. Four methods of collecting gold were practised, according to Muni- ram : (i.) The Kacharis (Cassaris) wait for a rise in the river, and immediately afterwards, on its fall, they scrape up the newly-deposited sand, which they wash for gold. (2.) All other Sonwals wash for gold during the dry season. (3.) The Rydegeea Phukun's Sonwals collect the leaves of the copat in the hills ; these they burn, and collect gold from the ashes. (4.) The gold-washers in the Seedang (? Sittang) get the gold by washing the moss and slime which they scrape from the rocks in the bed of the river. Some remarks are offered by Ball to explain the third method of obtaining gold which is mentioned by Muniram. That gold is ever taken up by plants and deposited in living vegetable tissue is not only improbable, but the fact that it is sometimes found among the roots of plants is considered to be attributable to the circumstance that it is a mineral not assimilated by plants, while the solutions in which it is carried into these positions are. Thus it is supposed that, the solvents of gold being absorbed, the metal itself accumulates by gradual increments. It seemed at first probable to Ball that the copat plant grew on the banks of the streams, and acted mechanically by arresting small particles of gold. But on inquiry, the copat would seem to be a common plant in Assam, and possibly belongs to the ginger family. Its leaves, being thin but strong, are commonly used to wrap up small parcels. Their connection with gold probably was that they were used to wrap up the gold, and the small three-cornered packets may have been burnt in order to save the fine gold adhering to the leaves ; hence may have arisen the fable. Colonel Hannay mentions that the soil found about the roots of ASIA: ASSAM. 275 trees, especially those of the tree-fern, are rich in gold. This calls to mind the fact that skins of animals are laid down in gold-bearing streams in Kashmir, and horns of wild cattle, with the hair attached, in Burma, for the purpose of arresting the spangles of gold. Indeed, the use of blankets in quartz-crushing mills is an application of the same principle. The velvety surface of young sprouting ferns growing on the banks of streams, might serve to arrest some gold, and these, if burnt, would yield an auriferous ash. Colonel Dalton mentions a tradition of a nugget having been found attached to an edible root. This, of course, may have been a chance occurrence ; but, on the other hand, it may be explainable as above. The following is Muniram's account of the method of washing and collecting gold from sand : Wherever the current is strong, with a falling bank above it, ending in a sharp turn of the river, the Sonwals examine the opposite shore where the sand from the falling bank is thrown, and if this should con- tain gravel mixed with the sand, it is accounted a good place to find gold in. Each party consists of a headman (patoee) and 4 assistants (pallees), who wash in one trough (dorongee). When they find a proper place to commence operations, they begin by working about in the sand with a sharp-pointed bamboo (sokalee), to find the depth at which the gravelly sand is ; they then take it up in a piece of split bamboo (bans chola) and examine whether there is any gold-dust in it. If they see 12 or 14 bits, they immediately build their houses and commence operations. They first bund up the deep part of the stream, if it be a small one, with sand, and if large, with stakes and grass : the stream then takes a different direction over the sand ; they allow it to wash away the upper surface of sand, so as to expose the gold sand, when the bund is re-opened, and the stream returns to its original bed. The upper sand is then scraped off, and the gold sand collected with a kind of wooden spade (kater dohtal}. This shovel is i^ cubits long by I cubit in breadth, with a handle 4 cubits long ; the blade is of the form of a crescent, with holes at each corner, through which a string is passed, and 2 men lay hold of and pull this string, while another keeps pressing the spade down in a perpendicular position. The sand is then taken up in small baskets with handles (cookees), and thrown on a bamboo lattice-work or strainer (ban), which is laid over the trough. This trough is made of wood, and is 3 cubits long, i cubit broad, and I span high all round, with a slit 3 fingers wide at one end. Water is now thrown over the sand with a calabash having a large piece scooped out at the bottom, beside a. very small hole on one side (lao) ; the water is thrown on with one hand, while the other hand is employed in moving the sand about, and sweep- T 2 276 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. ing off the larger particles of gravel from the surface of the strainer. In this way, the sand is spread on, and water poured over it ; and as the trough fills, the water and dirty sand run off through the slit in it, while the clean sand and gold remain at the bottom of the trough, the trough being placed at a small angle to assist the water and dirt to run off quickly. When 40 or 50 baskets -of sand have been thus washed into the trough, the Sonwals call it a shia, and if a rati of gold is produced from one shia, they think themselves very fortunate indeed ; for during the long days they get about 30 shias or washings producing I rati each, and during the short days about 25 shias, each party thus making on an average about tola (45 gr.) of gold daily. When they happen to fall on a good old stream that has not been disturbed for 5 or 6 years, they get 2 rafts of gold from every shia or washing, and then each party makes about \ tola (90 gr.) daily. The gold and sand of the last washing is collected into pottles (chongd), by spreading a leaf of copat or some other plant at the end of the trough, and dropping water very gently on the sand through the small hole in the calabash, which causes a parting of the sand and gold thrown on the leaf; when the whole is collected in this way, it is put into the pottle and tied up, and the next washing is commenced. As soon as they have collected enough in the pottles, they give up washing the common sand, but pour out the gold and sand from the pottles into the trough again, and putting in about an anna's weight of quicksilver for each tola (iSogr.) of gold-dust, they pour water over the sand to keep it in motion, while the quicksilver remains below with the gold-dust and forms it into a lump ; this lump is then put into a shell on a fire of na/iar-wood charcoal. When the quicksilver evaporates, the shell be- comes lime ; it is then carefully taken up in a spoon, and thrown into water, when the gold falls to the bottom. If it be of a brass colour, it is wrapped in a paste made of clay from the cooking chulas, mixed with a little salt, and burnt in a fire, which gives it a proper colour. This process causes an absolute refinement of the surface of the gold. It is the same used in gold refining by the natives generally ; but in the latter case, the metal has to be reduced in the first instance to very thin leaves, to allow the muriatic acid fumes to penetrate and unite with the alloy. A very large proportion of the gold which is obtained in Assam is " doubly derivative," coming from the degradation of the Tertiary rocks. In the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra, it is probably directly derived from the crystalline rocks. It is important, says Ball, that this should be clearly understood, and that the prospect of finding gold in its original matrix in the easily accessible parts of the valley of the Brahmaputra is very small. ASIA : ASSAM. 277 Darrang district. In the Darrang district, several of the rivers which join the Brahmaputra on the north are said to contain gold, which is still or has formerly been washed for. They are the Bhoroli, which is perhaps identical with the Bhairavi, the Burigang [Boongawn], and the Bargang [Burrowgawn], The name of the Bhoroli river appears to be repeated in several parts of Assam, so it is uncertain which is referred to. A particular river which bears it, however, is said to have been noted for its gold. It joins the Brahmaputra 5 or 6 miles above Tezpur. Under the name Bhairavi a river in Darrang is stated to yield gold of a superior quality. The name does not appear on the map, but from the indication of its position as rising in the Aka hills, it is probably the proper name of the Bhoroli. The Burigang river, which rises in the Dufla hills, and joins the Brahmaputra near Bishnath, is said to contain gold. The Bargang river rises also in the Dufla hills, and joins the Brah- maputra 3 or 4 miles above the last mentioned. Both for the quantity and quality of its gold, it is said to have been more noted than the Dikrang even. Lakhimpur district. This district appears to include a greater number of named and distinctly auriferous rivers and streams than the whole of the rest of Assam put together. The total yield of gold about 1853 was, according to Colonel Dalton, 20 Ib. per annum, worth about I2OO/. Here too, the Brahmaputra, or, as it is called" above Debong Mukh, the Lohit, contains gold in sufficient abundance to be washed for. The principal tributaries of the Brahmaputra on the north which yield gold are the Dikrang, Borpani, Subanshiri, Sisi, Dihong, Dibong, Digara ; and on the south, the Joglo and the Noa Dihing. Brahmaputra River. Colonel Hannay states that about the year 1838, above Sadiya, a party of gold-washers, consisting of 12 me^ washed for 20 days and realized 7 tolas (1260 gr.) of gold. In the vicinity of Tengapani Mukh, a party of Kacharis, 60 in number, washed for 5 days and realized 25 rupees' weight of gold; also 35 men for one month, who collected tola (90 gr.) or 8 rupees' (i6.r.) worth of gold each. In the year 1853, the total outturn of the Brahmaputra was said to be i to i^ Ib. of gold per annum. In 1855, Colonels Dalton and Hannay were requested by Government to make a further and more complete examination of the auriferous deposits of Upper Assam than they had previously done. They first commenced operations a few miles above the Bhramakhund gorge ; but finding the deposits less rich as they penetrated further into the hills, they returned to Parghat, 8 miles below Bhramakhund. Here the river debouches from the mountains, after cutting through an enormous deposit 278 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. of earth and boulders to the depth of 1 50 ft. The gold obtained above Parghat contained a certain proportion of dendritic and crystalline par- ticles, while below that point it consisted of flattened spangles, evidently the result of attrition. The actual source of the gold was not ascertained. At Bhramakhund are slates and felsites in situ. Travelled boulders of granite, gneiss, &c., were observed there, as also much white, ferruginous, and cellular quartz. The last was possibly the matrix of the gold. Gold from the Brahmaputra, forwarded by Colonels Dalton and Hannay, which was assayed by Dr. T. Boycott at the Calcutta Mint, yielded only 88 '281 per cent, of pure gold. This confirms an opinion of Muniram, that the gold obtained from the Kacharis was of an inferior character, because they always obtained it in the Brahmaputra. This gold was obtained partly in a Californian cradle worked by 4 men at Gurumora, 18 miles below Bhramakhund; 2^ tons of stuff which were passed through it yielded 30 gr., or in value Rs. 2 '8 (5^.). In the native trough (duruni), worked by 3 men, the yield from 18 cwt. of stuff washed in one day was about 12 gr., or in value I rupee (2^.). The natives looked upon this as a poor yield, stating that after a flood they sometimes got double that amount. Other rivers. The Dikrang river has a long course, and enters Lakhimpur from the Dufla hills, if it does not rise in them. It was formerly noted for the quality and quantity of the gold found in its sands. The Borpani river is said to be a tributary of the Pisola, a name not on the map. There is, however, a Borpani, a tributary of the Dikrang. It is said to have been more remarkable for the quantity than the quality of its gold. There is little recorded about the Subanshiri river, but the average yield about the year 1853 was 3 to 4 Ib. of gold. It was thus one of the most valuable. Colonel Dalton estimates the average yield from the gold-bearing sands of the Sisi river to be 1 5 gr. to a ton. About i Ib. of gold was obtained per annum from this stream. The gold from the Dihong river contained 90-234 per cent, of pure gold. It is alluded to as being one of the richest in Assam. In the ex- periments conducted by Colonels Dalton and Hannay, 5f tons of gravel yielded 90 gr. of gold, or at the rate of i6 gr. per ton. If the large fragments which can be removed by hand be excluded, the yield would be 22 gr. per ton. The Californian cradle used on this occasion was found to give proportionally more to each of the 4 men employed upon it than did either the native trough with its 3 men, or the Singpho washing-dish with 2. The annual yield was 2 to 4 Ib. of pure gold apparently, but the name is (? mis-) printed Dibong. ASIA : ASSAM. 279 The annual yield of gold from the Dibong river was estimated in 1853 to be i to i \ Ib. ; another statement is tl\at it is 2 to 4 Ib. In one of these cases, it is evident that Dibong is a misprint for Dihong. About 5 miles from its junction with the Brahmaputra, gold was found by Colonels Dalton and Hannay in the bed of the Digara river, but only in small quantities, and higher up stream washing was not successful. The Joglo [Jugla] river rises in a range of small hills which stretch across from Jaipur to Sadiya. After a very short course, it falls into the Buri Dihing. In the Joglo, the soil and sand is scraped from the banks and washed ; that which has collected about the roots of trees, especially about those of tree ferns, is considered to be most rich in gold. Allusion has been already made to this, and to the tradition that in this tract a native traveller found gold in lumps attached to an edible root. In olden times, it is said that from the richness of the gold here the area through which the river flows was kept as a royal preserve, and Muniram says that the gold brought by the Sonwals of this tract was the best in all Assam. In 1853, it was visited by Colonel Dalton, who states that it had been deserted by the gold-washers, in consequence of its costing more to propitiate the evil spirits of the place who guarded over the mineral treasures than they could afford to pay. As the spirits were not considered to be hostile to Europeans, Colonel Dalton, without any preliminary propitiation, set the washers who were with him to work. The ancient alluvial deposit here appears to be of considerable extent and thickness. A stratum of gravel, about 15 ft. above the highest water-mark, was proved to contain gold. The natives made use of a sluice by forming two embankments with bamboo and rubbish, thus dividing the river into three channels, which enabled them to turn the water in or out of the central channel into which they collected a heap of gravel. By means of sieves, they removed the larger pebbles, while the current carried away the finer sediment. The residue was then washed in pans with much more satisfactory results than usual. Colonel Dalton's rough estimate of the outturn was 18 gr. of gold to the ton of rubble which was washed. This was equal to about 8 gr. per man per diem. He points out that before the yield of this field can be properly ascertained, the base of the deposit should be examined. According to Colonel Hannay, a party of 20 Kacharis, who washed in the Noa Dihing for 3 months, towards the end of 1837, obtained 10 tolas (3f oz.) of gold, which was sold at Sadiya at the rate of Rs. 12 (24$-.) per tola ( 1 80 gr.). Their earnings, therefore, were Rs. 2 (4^.) per man per month. Colonel Hannay remarks on the fact that after the coarser por- tions are removed, the residue includes a number of minute and beau- tiful crystals of quartz. This has not been noticed elsewhere in Upper 280 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Assam. During the examination made by Colonels Dalton and Hannay in 1855, the Noa Dihing was found to contain gold in larger proportions than the Brahmaputra, but only in the form of minute spangles, very liable to be carried away in the washing. The gold was found to diminish in quantity as the hills were neared. Traces of platinum were obtained with the gold. Manipur state. The operation of gold-washing as here conducted in the Ningthee river is thus described by Captain Grant (1832). The sand and gravel are first placed in a sieve, and the finer parts fall on to a hollow plank, 4 ft. long and 2\ ft. wide at the upper end, and i^ ft. at the lower, which is open, the top and edges being protected by a rim or margin 1 in. high. The lower half is cut into grooves \ in. deep and wide. The fine sand caught in these grooves is washed in a wooden dish, resembling a shield in shape, which has a polished black internal surface, and a receptacle in the centre ; placed floating on the water, it is revolved till all the sediment is removed, and the iron sand and gold are left. By means of these implements, about I gr. of gold is got in hour. Sibsagar district. The principal rivers whose sands include gold in the Sibsagar district are the Dhaneswari [Dhunsiri], with its tributary the Pakerguri, the Desue [Disoi], the Jangi [Janji], and the Buri Dihing ; but the auriferous deposits on the flanks of the Naga hills extend through- out from the Dhaneswari to the Noa Dihing. For comparison with the yields of other rivers, Colonel Hannay men- tions that he was informed by the chief of the washers that in the Dhaneswari river 15 men obtained 7^ tolas (2 oz. 16 dwt. 4/gr.) of gold in 12 to 15 days. On the Desue river, in Colonel Hannay's time, the gold-washers carried on their operations I days' journey above Jorhat, where the bed is stony. Here the yield was about the same as in the Dhaneswari, 1 5 men having obtained 7^ tolas in 12 days. Montgomery Martin has recorded that the Assam Government re- ceived into the royal treasury 1 500 gr. of gold yearly from a gold-mine called Pakerguri, situated at the junction of the Dhaneswari with the Brahmaputra. There is some obscurity about this, as the Pakerguri joins the Dhaneswari a day's journey from the Brahmaputra. The Desue and the Joglo rivers yielded the best gold in Assam, and the gold ornaments for the Raja's family are said to have been made exclusively from the gold obtained in them. In the Jangi river, according to Colonel Hannay, 15 men washed for 12 days, and obtained 71 tolas of gold. Colonel Hannay mentions that a party of salt-traders, 24 in number, washed for gold for one month in the Buri Dihing river, and realized only 12 annas' weight, or about 12 rupees' (24^.) worth. ASIA: BANCA, BORNEO. 28 1 BANCA. An extract in the Mining Journal (xlix. 743) says that the occurrence of gold is only known in the Kajoe-Bessi valley (in the Pangkal-Pinang district) near Cape Bonga, where it must have been formerly found near the inland head, Mindim. It was, however, not discovered in the sandstones which occur at the place where it is at present found. However, it is possible that here, just as in a few other places, a little gold might be met with. BORNEO. The greatest quantity of Bornean gold is furnished by Sambas, Landak, Montradak, and Borneo proper. Gold is one of the chief productions of Banjarmassin. The amount annually collected in the island cannot be ascertained, but the exports from Brunei have been as follows : In 1870, $5789 (i2o6/.) ; 1879, $2258 (470/0 ; 1880, $3663 (7^3/.). On the other hand, the imports of gold from Singapore into Brunei, in 1880, were $3500, and the foreign imports of gold into Sarawak in the same year were $162, making a total only $i less than the exports. Crawford (1820) says that the practice of mining for gold from alluvial deposits in the Indian Archipelago is pursued by both natives and Chinese; but systematically, skilfully, and effectually, as to production, only by the latter. The chief seat of the Chinese mining operations is Borneo, and of that island principally the territory on its west coast, situated towards the mountains, and lying between the rivers of Pontianak and Sambas. The country is usually denominated Montradak, from the name of the principal town or village) which is situated about 2 days' journey, or rather voyage as it is an inland navigation from the coast. The whole tract is alluvial, and channelled by the beds of numerous rivers, some of them of great size. Crawford's information respecting the economy of the mines was principally got from personal communication with Chinese, who were for years engaged in them. The whole Chinese population of this part of the country amounts to 36,000, of whom 4000 only are women. Part of the latter are of the mixed Chinese and native race, the greater number being natives of the place, purchased or kidnapped. Six thousand of the whole of this population only are directly engaged in the working of the mines, the rest being occupied in trade or agriculture, or in branches of industry subservient to the working of the mines. Like the tin-mines of Banca, the economy and circumstances of which they very closely resemble in many particulars, the gold-mines of Montradak are divided into large and small. Of the first there are 13 at present wrought; of the second, 57. The prin- cipal difference in these consists, not in the amount or the fertility of the ore, but rather in the greater or smaller capital which is employed in working them, and of consequence, in the principle and extent to which the mining operations are conducted. The great mines are wrought by 282 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. companies of persons of property and capital who employ monthly labourers. The smaller mines, on the other hand, are worked by the mere labourers, who at once conduct the operative parts, and share the proceeds on terms of perfect equality. The large mines employ 100 to 200 men, including labourers and overseers ; the smaller, 10 to 50. The economy of the large mines is chiefly worthy of notice. The mode of paying the labourers is by monthly wages, with a supply of food. An inexperienced labourer receives for the first 4 months, 2 Spanish dollars a month ; for the second 4 months, $4 ; and for the remainder of the year, $5- Ever afterwards he receives $6, and if he has capacity and integrity to make an overseer, $8 ; from the mode of making payment, as will be afterwards shown, there is a real advance of 30 per cent, on these wages. In defiance of the climate, the miners labour severely. They work about 12 hours a day, beginning their operations by break of day, or, if there be moonlight, earlier, not ceasing until half-past 6 at night, and taking very little time to their meals. The mine is a longitudinal excavation following the course of the mineral stratum, and its breadth and depth necessarily depend upon the circumstances of that stratum. The situation of the ore is, however, com- monly very superficial, not usually above 5 or 6 ft. from the surface ; 40 ft. is a common breadth for the stratum containing it, and of course for the mine, and 10 ft. for its depth, making 15 or 16 ft. a common depth for the whole mine. The processes pursued for extracting the ore, for clearing the mine of water, and for washing the mineral earth, much resemble the same operations followed with the tin ore. The access to the mine is by the trunk of a forest tree, into which steps are cut. The ore is extracted and brought up by manual labour with spades and baskets. The largest mines are cleared of water by the Chinese wheel, and the mineral is washed in an aqueduct lined with the bark of trees, and supplied by a neighbouring brook with a stream of running water. In the large mines it is the practice to suspend the process of extracting the mineral, and to wash the auriferous earth at the end of every 35 days. A mine wrought by 200 labourers will afford in that time, as the largest produce, about 320 bongkals, or 5553- oz. Troy ; and as the lowest, about 140 bongkals, or 243 oz. Troy. The following detailed statement will point out more fully the expenses and profits of the mining business as con- ducted by the Chinese : STATEMENT OF THE EXPENSES AND PROFITS OF A BORNEO GOLD-MINE, WORKED BY 200 LABOURERS. Expenses. 20 overseers for 35 days, at $8 per month $i 86 67 or 42 o o 180 miners for ,, $6 ,, 126000,, 283 10 o 30 per cent, on wages of 200 men 43400,, 97 13 o ASIA : BORNEO. 283 70 picuh ordinary rice, at $ I per picul 17^ ,, salt fish, at f>2 per //// 4 salt, at fjij ,, 2 ,, edible oil, at $15 ,, Interest of dead stock, and repairs of tools and machines Interest upon capital of $2000 67c., at 25 per cent, for 35 days Total charges $70 oo or 15 IS 35 00 7 17 6 5 00 i 2 6 3 oo ,, 6 15 o 35 00 7 17 6 49 II ii I $2104 78 4-73 II 6 Produce, 2000 bongkah of Montradak gold-dust, worth .. $4848 oo or 1090 16 o Gross profit for 35 days 2743 22 ,, 617 4 6 Annual profit ',607 89 6436 15 6 The gold of the Indian Islands, whether obtained from veins or mineral deposits, always appears in the commercial transactions of the country in the form of coarse sand or dust, that of the alluvial deposits being, from attrition, always smooth, and is of intrinsic value usually in pro- portion to the size and coarseness of the grains. In commercial language, gold-dust is designated by the name of the country which produces it, and that of the same country is pretty constantly of the same touch or fineness. Independent of the quantity of copper or silver always in combination with the ore, it invariably contains a considerable mixture of earth, iron, and other adventitious matters. The most productive mines, it may be remarked, afford gold of the lowest test, and that which contains the largest portion of mechanical admixture. The following table presents at one view the assay and value of some of the most common descriptions which appear in the markets : TABLE EXHIBITING THE VALUE AND ASSAY OF THE GOLD-DUST OF SEVERAL PARTS OF THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. In 100 parts of Gold-dust. In 100 parts of the metal. Fineness, estimated. m Name of Gold, taken Country 1 8 5 3 Value per "^ * from the District where 8 1/1 & 2 o oz. of > 4-> which produces it. situated. o S U gold-dust. rt 3 B o. i 6 t> U s a If u l B tc 3 >i B ,o a -(3 ^" P O O W pq > s. d. ft c. Gold of Ombak . . Borneo 3'75 96-25 88-19 8-5I 3'3 11-81 21-17 8-82 3 12 if 27 81 Sanga ,, 4-96 95 '04 90-97 3^5 5-38 9-0321-83 9- 10 3 13 5* 28 33 Larak 3-83 96-17 86-11 5 '90 7 '99 13-8920-67 8-61 3 10 4l 27 13 Banjar-Laut f t 2-66 97'34 90-45 4'34 5-21 9-5521-71 9 - o5 3 "4 9* 28 84 Pontianak H 14-0585-9582-99 16-14 0-87 3 o 7 J 23 37 Jambi Sumatra 5 '47 94 '53 91-84 8-i6'22-04 9-18 3 13 9 28 44 Sambas . . Borneo 9-00 91 -oo 83-68 16-32 20-08 8*37 3 4 8i 24 95 Palembang Sumatra 2*11 97-89 93 "75 ... 6-2522-50 9-38 3 17 Hi 30 06 Montradak Borneo I2'O2 87-98 84-09 15-9120-18 8-41 3 2 icf 24 24 284 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The chance of an increased produce from the mines of the Archi- pelago, says Crawford, will depend upon the share of tranquillity which the country enjoys, and the degree of freedom secured to its commerce. " Nothing further is requisite, for the ore, from all accounts, exists in inexhaustible abundance. This is most particularly applicable to Borneo, the immense alluvial tracts round the whole circumference of which everywhere contain rich deposits of this metal, from whence it necessarily follows that the primitive mountains of the interior must contain veins of it. From the abundance of the ore and the usual fascina- tion of all mining projects, especially those in quest of the precious metals, the search for gold will be the first object to engage the atten- tion of any enterprising and industrious people settled in the country, of whatever race. Amidst a great deal of anarchy and disorder, mining has of late years been prosecuted by the Chinese with surprising spirit. It is (1820) not above 8 or 10 years since considerable capital and the use of machinery have been applied to it, and in that time there has been a vast increase of produce." According to J. H. Moor (1837), g^ is found in almost every part of the Residency of the N.W. coast, in the areng strata. The gold of Sintang, Sanga, and Landak is about 9 touch ; of Muntuhari, about 8J ; of Mandor, a shade below 8 ; these are places under Pontianak. That found at Montradak, under Mampawa, is about 8 touch ; under Sambas, of 9 touch ; at Sapan, of 8 : at Larak, of 8 ; at Siminis, of 8 ; and at Salakao, of *]\, The mines are worked thus : A shaft barely sufficient to permit the miner to turn round in, or at most 2 ft. in diameter, is sunk to the areng strata a kind of yellowish gravelly earth mixed with various sized pebbles, and which also contains, at times, diamonds. This stratum is I to 3 ft. thick, and is dug out to the extent of 7 or 8 ft. from the sides of the shaft, under the upper strata, which sometimes are propped up ; but this precaution is often neglected, which is the cause of frequent accidents. The areng is hoisted up in small baskets by bamboos, on the ends of which part of a branch is left, and forms a small hook. Small dulans (circular trays slightly converging towards the centre) are nearly filled with areng, and the workman (a Dayak, Malay, or Chinese), sitting himself in the nearest stream, immerses the dulan, and works the earth by hand until the earthy particles begin to separate ; the dulan is then brought to the surface, and a rotatory motion is given to it, until the water it contains, being saturated with earthy matter, is poured off. This is continued till such time as the water comes away clean : the gold from its greater gravity collects in the centre. The Sultan of Sambas has a lump weighing I2-| bongkals, and says he has seen some weighing 25 bongkals (i bongkal=$32 gr.). In Coti, says Moor, gold-dust is not procured in any very large ASIA : BORNEO. 285 quantities, although the country abounds in it. Coti gold-dust is con- sidered equal in quality to that of Passier, and it might be got in large parcels ; but the gathering of the nests in a great measure impedes the usual supplies. All the people conceive that where gold is sought after the birds invariably disappear ; therefore, as birds'-nests are a much more profitable article than gold-dust, the Sultan has prohibited the searching for it under severe penalties. The Bugis, notwithstanding, contrive to get considerable quantities: in 1827, two prows only carried away 92 catties (276 Ib. Troy). The usual price is 25 reals per bongkal. The Sultan had (1837) m m ' s possession at Bongan, an immense quantity of gold, formerly the property of his uncle, Per Batti Sari, who died in Jan. 1828. This Pangeran came to Coti about 30 years before with 15 piculs (2100 Ib.) of gold-dust, and thenceforward accumulated it from all quarters. By the Sultan's account, he left 18 piculs (2500 Ib.) of gold, besides an immense sum in dollars and jewels ; but the brothers of the Sultan and the Pangeran Seripa say the weight of gold-dust must be near 25 piculs (3433 Ib.). The whole of this treasure belongs to the Sultan, and is buried in the ground at Bongan (according to the Bugis custom) in three different places, one of which only has hitherto been opened ; it was found to contain that portion brought from Passier ; the Sultan would not permit the other two depositories to be touched. Hunt (1837) says that the principal gold-mines of Borneo are in the vicinity of Sambas. There is a mountain called Guming Pandan, about 80 miles inland ; from this branch out rivers ; one leads to Mampawa, one to Batu Bulat, near Tunjong Mora, and one to^Landak ; the whole inter- mediate area between the rivers is a firm, yellow, argillaceous schist or a ferruginous quartz, interspersed with vitreous ores, of a remarkable dark-reddish colour, abounding with the richest veins of gold, and equal if not superior to any mine extant. There are only 50 parets or mines now wrought in the whole kingdom of Sukadana, 30 of which are in the Sambas district, each mine having at least 300 Chinese employed. Their pay, one with another, is $4 (i6s. 8d.) per mensem. The mines are rented from the Raja at the rate of 50 bongkals (86J oz.) of gold per mine per annum, besides a capitation tax of $3 (i2s. 6d.) per head on every Chinaman. There are 30,000 Chinese in the Sambas district, and they feel themselves strong enough to oppose or evade this tax ; it hence becomes a perpetual contest between greedy extortion on the one side and avaricious chicane on the other ; there are besides about 12,000 Malays and Dayaks. The Larak gold-mines are situated to the eastward of the town of Sambas, and are particularly rich and productive. The mines of Siminis are a day's journey from Sambas, up a small creek leading to 286 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Sambas river, below the town ; and the mines are abundant. Salakao is up a river, 1 5 miles south of the Sambas river ; it lies nearly 40 miles up, but communicates with Sambas by another river ; here the metal is found more abundant than anywhere else ; and 20,000 Chinese are in this district. Montradak is 3 days' journey up the Mampawa river ; it is under an independent Malay prince. Some accounts make the popula- tion of this district great, near 50,000 Dayaks, Malays, and Chinese ; but perhaps half the number may be nearer the truth ; these are chiefly employed on the gold-mines and in producing food for the miners. These mines, however, do not produce that quantity which they might under Chinese management. Mandor is about a day's journey from Pontianak, and belongs to the Sultan ; it is reckoned a very rich mine, though but recently wrought. There are as yet only 1 2 parets of about 200 men each ; but it is capable of extension. Numbers of Chinese are settled in this district, and the population is annually increasing. About 3 days' journey up the Pongole river, lies the district of Sanga, with a population of 25,000 souls, Dayaks, and a few Chinese, under a Malay independent prince. The population is chiefly employed on the rich mines of gold in the neighbourhood, which is particularly pure and abundant ; but the mines are not wrought with the same industry as those under the Chinese management. The Dutch thought it of so much consequence as to keep a force at Sanga, and to place the present Rajah on that musnud. About 2 days' journey farther up, lies another gold district, called Sintang, the inhabitants of which are principally Dayaks. Beyond Sintang, and higher up on the same river, lies the town of Sukadana, abounding in gold, the inhabitants of which are also Dayaks. The Matan mines of gold are abundant, and capable of becoming highly productive. About 3 days' journey from Pontianak, lies the celebrated mountain of Landak, which, " after Golconda, is the most valuable diamond mine in the world." Here also much gold is produced, and much more might be had under proper management. There is a very valuable gold-mine in the north of Borneo, at a place called Tampasuk, situated in the diitrict ceded to the English by the Sultan of Solu ; but having become the principal pirate port on the coast, the working of the mine has been discontinued. The whole produce of the gold-mines of Sukadana is said to be annually about 20 piculs (3433 lb.), or $1,000,000 (2oo,ooo/.), at $25 (5/.) a bongkal (832 gr.) ; but no calculation of this sort can possibly be correct. Living, as the Chinese dp, under the rapacity of despotic and ferocious freebooters, who are actuated by no one principle of honour, justice, or good faith, it is their interest to conceal the riches they amass, not only to preserve themselves from the clutches of these tyrants, but ASIA I BORNEO. 287 as the most compact substance to transport to their native shores, to which they repair with the fruits of their industry, by the annual junks that arrive at Pontianak, leaving the mines to new settlers ; 200 or 300 leave Pontianak every year. The standard of Salakao gold at Pontianak is fixed at 23 Spanish dollars the bongkal of $2 weight. The Sanga and Larak is $25 the said bongkal. Not having had an opportunity of inspecting any of the gold-mines personally, Hunt does not know if the ores readily melt of themselves, or whether they require the aid of any fluxes before they yield the metal ; but he believes the principal attention of the miners is directed to the rich veins of pure native gold, and that no operation is performed beyond that of pulverizing, and simple washing ; all the gold about Pontianak being in dust, though some he met with in Borneo proper was run into bars. At Manday, on the north-east coast of Borneo, in the province of Mangidara, is a very rich mine of gold. Passier and Coti, in the Straits of Macassar, produce considerable quantities of gold ; and gold and diamonds are brought down by the river to Banjarmassin. Dr. Leyden (1837) enumerates among the productions of Banjar, gold of a finer touch commonly than that of Sambas, which is only 7 touch, whereas that of Banjar is often 8 or 9. The gold-mines at Banjar are said to lie very near the surface, at the depth of about 3 fathoms. Those at Kirsan and Duku, which are very rich, lie in a red marl ; above the mine generally lies an incrustation like ratan-wood, beneath which the gold-dust is found in a red earth. J. Brooke (1842) says that the quantity of gold yearly procured at Sambas is moderately stated at 130,000 bongkals, which, reckoned at the low rate of 20 Spanish dollars a bongkal, gives 2,600,000 Spanish dollars, or upwards of 5oo,ooo/. sterling. The most intelligent Chinese are of opinion that the quantity in Sarawak exceeds that at Sambas. Capt. Sir E. Belcher (1848), alluding to the gold-mines at Selingok, about 8 miles inland from Kutching, on the river Sarawak, says the gold is obtained by washing, from a very loose disintegrated granitic debris, containing detached crystals of quartz dodecahedrons, or 6-sided pyramids, base to base pyrites, antimony, and traces of tin. Much of the light gold is lost in the washing. Logan (1856) mentions several gold-mines on the Kapuas, the princi- pal river on the W. coast ; the gold is found at 15 to 30 ft. below the surface, and the gold-bearing stratum is about 4 ft. thick. The earth containing the gold is piled up, and washed once in 3 or 4 months ; the earth is thrown into a ditch, planked for the purpose, about 2 ft. wide 288 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. and i ft. deep, water is turned on, and the earth is stirred with spatulas .or hoes ; the water carries away the earth and sand, the gold and pebbles remain, and are separated by the dulan. Spenser St. John (1862) remarks that washing only is employed, no deep sinkings have been attempted, nor quartz discovered in large quan- tities, and it is not likely to be whilst most of the country is clothed with forest. Nearly all the gold-working in Borneo is done by kunsis or com- panies, which sometimes number several thousand men, generally, how- ever, only a few hundred. He thus describes the mode of working by the Chinese at Bau. They dam up the end of the valley, forming a large reservoir of water \ mile long. The dam is completely faced with wood, towards the water, and partially on the outside, to resist the tropical rains. A ditch 4 ft. wide is cut from the reservoir to the ground selected to be worked ; a sluice-gate in the dam regulates the supply of water to the main ditch, and minor sluice-gates to it regulate the supply to the smaller ditches. When this is all prepared, the sluice-gates are opened, and the earth in its neighbourhood is thrown into the ditch ; the rushing water carries off the mud and sand, and allows the particles of gold to sink to the bottom. After 3 or 4 months, they clean out the ditch, and carefully wash the residue, which generally yields them sufficient to make a tolerable division among the workmen after all the expenses are paid. It is a most wasteful mode of working, for by rewashing the tailings, the women and children obtain as much gold as the men. That there is an abundance of gold to be found there, St. John adduces as an instance, that in Nov. 1848, a great landslip took place, and the face of the Trian mountain was laid bare. Thousands of Chinese washed it all in about 6 weeks, and none got less than \\ oz. per month of gold. He saw a nugget picked up weighing 7 oz. From Siniawan to Bau, 10 miles, are a constant succession of reservoirs and gold-workings. On the limestone hills of Fiat, he found a large party of Malays seeking gold in the quartz which lines the crevices and caves of these hills. Boyle (1865) says that a considerable amount of gold-washing is done at Bow [Bau] on the Sarawak river, and, as every flood brings with it a fresh supply, it is evident that it exists in greater quantity in the high lands through which the head-waters of the river flow. According to Crocker (1881), many years ago Rajah Brooke en- couraged some Kay Chinese to try the gold-field at Marup, about 100 miles up the Batang Lupar river. Since then an extensive area ha s been proved, and for many miles an alluvial deposit is found, yielding gold in paying quantities, and sometimes in pockets. Sarawak. The following notes on gold in Sarawak are taken from Everett's pamphlet quoted -at the end of this volume, by the kindness of W. M. Crocker, Esq. ASIA : BORNEO. 289 Gold occurs in the form of fine sand or flattened plates in alluvial deposits over a great part of Sarawak. Washings are carried on in Upper Sarawak, at Bau, Paku, Gambang, and in Samarahan, at Sirin, in Sadong, at Malikin, and in the Batang Lupar, at Marup. The opera- tions are wholly superficial, although at Bau and Marup, the principal Chinese washings in the country, the stratified clays belonging to the sandstone formation, and containing at the former locality decomposed porphyritic dykes, have been cut into to some extent ; but the precious metal has never been regularly mined for, nor, indeed, has it been dis- covered in situ, except in the case of the gold contained in the veinstones and quartz reefs of the antimony district, and associated with a lode of argentiferous arsenic at Bidi. The alluvion of the limestone caverns and fissures, and especially the sands in the beds of streams, have yielded sufficient to induce the natives to work in such spots. The washing is carried on partly by Malays, but chiefly by country-born Chinese from Sambas. Nuggets are of extremely rare occurrence and of small size ; but if the Chinese are to be credited, some of considerable weight -have occa- sionally turned up in the adjacent Sambas district. St. John mentions having seen one of 7 oz. taken from the auriferous clay at Trian, near Bau, and this is probably the largest ever found in Sarawak. The gold- dust is usually in a state of the finest comminution ; but samples from Kunpang, near Marup, are composed of fine dust intermixed abundantly with thin flat plates of the metal of % to \ in. diameter a form which has been ascribed to some original laminated structure in the parent matrix. Similar lamellae are said to have been detected in the siliceous veinstones of the antimony lodes ; but where Everett had the oppor- tunity of seeing the gold in these situations, it appeared in sparsely scattered specks, without a sign of running into plates or veins. The veinstones are now and again found to contain a very profitable per- centage, and the Chinese quarry the stone in a superficial way, and pound it in wooden mortars with iron rammers. One block of siliceous matrix (about 1 5 Ib.) at Paku, containing some 20 per cent, of grey antimony, yielded when thus crushed about $12 (50?.) worth of gold ; but this result was considered quite exceptional. At Jibong, both white quartz and black siliceous veinstone are crushed, and, of these two, the latter is thought to yield the higher percentage of the metal. Both in crushing, and in washing from the alluvial clays, the find is very uncertain, and good " hauls " seem to be few and far between. Marup, Bau, and Paku have afforded remunerative washings, and Sirin in a less degree. The succession of the superficial deposits in the last named locality is as follows: (i) vegetable mould, (2) unstratified felspathic clay, (3) clayey gravel, (4) uptilted indurated clay-shale. The whole section to the basement-rock U 2QO GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. of clay-shale is only 5 ft. in thickness, and it is in the gravel stratum that the gold is found associated with small rolled fragments of cinnabar, and with the clay-ironstone which abounds all over the gold and anti- mony districts of Sarawak. The components of the auriferous gravel are quartz, sandstone, impure agate, porphyrite, &c. The surrounding country is made up of steep low hills of indurated clay-shale and clayey sandstone, with yellow felspathic clays overlying, and is seamed with dykes of hornblendic trap- rock ; at a short distance to the S., limestone hills appear. The quality of Sarawak gold varies with the locality in which it is found. Thus Marup dust sells at $32 (61. i$s. 4^.) or even $34 (//. u. &/.) per bongkal (i oz. 14 dwt. i6gr.), according to the supply, Sadong gold at $26 (s/. Ss. 4d.\ whilst Paku gold is quoted at $28 (5/. i6s. &/.). the difference being estimated by the whiteness of the metal, which is dependent on the amount of silver existing in natural alloy in it. No scientific analysis of Sarawak gold has been made. With regard to the annual production of gold in the territory, there are no reliable data for even approximating the total amount. Low puts the yearly export at 7000 oz. in 1840. Although nominally all gold carried out of the country must be declared, it is beyond doubt that quite as much is exported in a private way as is declared at the export office in Kutching [Sarawak], whilst a large portion of the total yield is bought up in the country, and does not show in the trade returns. In connection with the consumption of gold in the territory, it is a noteworthy circumstance that none of the savage tribes of this part of Borneo seem ever to have made use of this metal, notwithstanding their intercourse with Malays, and in a less degree with Chinese, during so many centuries past. Everett never knew an instance of a Sea- or Land- Dyak, a Kayan, Bakatan, or native of other wild tribe, seeking gold on his own account, or manufacturing it into any description of ornament, however rude. In tracing the origin of gold in Sarawak, it is evident that the imme- diate source of the metal is in the alluvial clays and gravels, and in certain of the clay-shales which so thickly mark the older formations in N.W. Borneo; out of these it is being swept continually into the streams. But Everett, from observation of a considerable number of sections in different parts of the country, comes to the conclusion that the auriferous strata of Sarawak Proper have been derived immediately from the waste of porphyritic and especially siliceous dykes, associated with the system of arsenic and antimony lodes developed in that neigh- bourhood ; and that in other localities (the Batang Lupar washings for instance), similar strata appear rather to have been re-arranged more than once, so much so that the original home of the gold they contain ASIA: BURMA, BRITISH. 2QI can no longer be guessed at with certainty. The only clue to the pro- blem in these latter districts is to be found in the circumstance that there is invariably evidence of considerable metamorphic action among the constituent rocks of the various localities. It is highly probable that much of the gold originally lay in quartz rock, as is the case in many places in Sumatra and in the Malay Peninsula, and may still be the case in the less known parts of Sarawak. " But, even if auriferous reefs are discovered at a future day, it is open to doubt whether they will afford a field for European speculation, especially since an analysis of the auriferous veinstones at Bau, by a competent metallurgist, has failed to give such a result as to tempt further operations." BURMA [BRITISH]. Within the limits of British Burma, says Ball, gold has been found in the beds of the Irawadi and some of its tributaries, in the Pegu division, and in the beds of the Sittang and tributaries. The Tavoy river, and the Great Tenasserim and tributaries, in the Tenasserim division, also contain auriferous sands ; but the gold-washer's trade appears to be very unremunerative. So far as is known, no gold has been found in the Arakan division. Pegu division. Theobald (1873) says that gold is occasionally washed for in the sand of the Irawadi, opposite Prome (18 47' 53" N., 95 1 8' 1 8" E.), but in such fine dust and so sparingly that few engage in the task of washing for it. He witnessed the process at Shwe-gyeng [Shuay- gyeing] ("gold scratching"), in 19 2' N. and 95 5' E., and not to be confounded with the place of the same name in the Tenasserim division. The gold is found in a coarse gravel bank, left dry by the river when it subsides after the rains. This coarse gravel is dug out and laid on a sort of hurdle, which permits the fine sand to pass through, the coarse pebbles and boulders being rejected. The sand is washed on an inclined board, the lighter portions being gradually swept down the incline by a stream of water directed over it, whilst the heavy auriferous sand remains, and is from time to time collected. This sand is lastly washed in the common wooden hand dish, of circular form, and the gold it contains is collected by amalgamation. The profits are small, not more than 2 or 3 annas (3 to 4%d.) a day per man. Tenasserim division. Capt. Wyndham (1853) visited the gold- washings, which are situated near the junction of the Shwe-gyeng [Shuaygyeen] and Moot-ta-ma rivers, about 10 miles S.W. of the town of Shwe-gyeng (17 54' 40" N., 96 51' 15" E.) on the Tsit-toung [Sittang]. The washings are known to be of great antiquity, and in the time of the native government, there was a farmer-general who paid a certain sum to the royal treasury, and sublet the privilege of washing to numbers of persons. Specimens of the sands obtained by Wyndham were examined by Dr. Oldham, with the result that, in i cub. ft, 0-75 gr. of gold was U 2 2Q2 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. obtained by washing, and an additional O'2Ogr. by amalgamation ; in all '95 g r ' The sand consisted of particles of metamorphic rocks, with schorl and magnetic iron. Two nuggets purchased in the bazaar, and which may have come from the Shan States, were imbedded in quartz. The gold-dust contained 92 per cent, of pure gold and 8 per cent, of silver. The occurrence of gold of fair purity being undoubted, the question remains as to the amount in which it may occur, and the probability of its yielding a profitable return. If the specimen of auriferous sand forwarded by Capt. Berdmore be taken as a fair average sample of the kind of soil, and of the amount of gold contained in it, it would follow from Dr. Oldham's examination (by which means nearly i gr. of gold was procured from about ^ cub. ft. of soil) that I cub. yd. of the same sand should afford about 135 gr. of gold. Or, rejecting from the calculation the portion obtained by amalgamation, viz. 0*20 gr., the yield by washing alone would be ioi'25 gr., or say an average of 100 gr. of gold for each cub. yd. of the sand washed. This sand is stated to be the surface soil, and being therefore readily accessible, 2 men could with great ease raise and wash i cub. yd. in a day. There would therefore be 100 gr. of gold as the remuneration for i day's work for 2 men, or 50 gr. per man per day. This gold would be worth about 3/. per oz. ; that is, the produce per man per day would be equivalent in value to T \ u of 3/. or 6s. $d. per day an ample remuneration for ordinary workmen, but scarcely sufficient to tempt many adventurers to visit the locality. Dr. Oldham concludes by stating his belief that at least half the gold present is lost. This locality was subsequently visited by Theobald (1863), who says that the auriferous beds presented much resemblance to those containing gold in Russia, and described by Murchison in his ' Siluria.' From the marked scarcity of quartz pebbles, he concluded that quartz was not the sole matrix ; he believed that the gold was derived from the rocks near the sources of the Moot-ta-ma, and his estimate of the daily earnings of the washers was only 5 annas (7%d.} per man. Later on (1866) some Chinese tried washing here, but did not find the work sufficiently remunerative, so they gave it up. Abernethy (1867) an Australian miner, aided by the government, penetrated further than the Chinese usually worked, but was unable to make the undertaking pay. He condemned the sources of the gold as being steep and rocky, and having a hard smooth ledge, upon which gold is seldom found in paying quantities. He also examined the sources of the Baw-ga-ta with much the same result. None of the accounts quoted state whether there are any quartz reefs in this region or not. Mason found gold in the streams which fall from the granite ranges between Yay [Re] (15 15' N., 97 53' E.) and Monmagon [Moung-ma- ASIA : BURMA, UPPER. 293 gan] ; and states that gold was found by O'Riley with the tinstone at Henzai (14 48' N., 98 10' E.) Gold is also said to occur with the tin ores which are found east of Tavoy (14 5' N., 98 10' E.) The richest deposit is one of red earth and pebbles near the source of the Tavoy river. On the eastern side of the range, at the base of which this deposit rests, the Siamese Government, according to Dr. Morton, who is quoted by Mason, employ several hundred men permanently to wash for gold ; each man is expected to find one tical(2^2 gr.) weight, or about 20 rupees' (40^.) worth of gold per annum. In former times, the Burmese Government exacted a similar service on the Tenasserim side. A native officer in Tavoy obtained about 10 rupees' worth of gold in 9 days' washing. The composition of this gold, according to an assay at the Calcutta mint, was gold, 87 ' 895 ; silver, 9*241 ; base metal, 2-864; total, 100. According to Dr. Heifer (1839) almost all the tributaries of the Tenasserim river contain gold. Near the old town of Tenasserim (18 8' N., 98 55' E.), there are, or used to be, pits sunk in the alluvium from which gold was obtained. It is stated that the workers sometimes obtain i or 2 annas' weight during the season. BURMA [UPPER.] The use of gold in Burma, says Ball, both for the purpose of ornamenting buildings and decorating the person, is universal throughout ; but it is perhaps more prominently brought to notice in the cities and towns of Upper Burma. A portion of this gold is obtained from washings in the country, but by far the greatest amount is imported from China. Spears, as quoted by Dr. Oldham in 1855, estimated the average imports at noo lb., and the indigenous gold which was brought to the capital at 360 lb., making a total consumption of 1460 lb. Except when manufactured into leaf, the export was prohibited. It seems probable that the gold of Upper Burma is more frequently "doubly derivative," like the gold of Assam, than is that of Lower Burma, which in some instances certainly comes directly from the crystalline rocks. Captain Hannay enumerates gold with other products of the Hukong valley. It is found both in dust and in pieces of the size of a large pea. The rivers which produce the greatest quantity are the Kapdup and Nam Kwan ; pits are dug on the banks of the former, and the gold is found in the old alluvial deposits. In quoting the above account, Dr. Anderson adds to it that he was told by a Kamthi Shan, and by the Chinese at Momein [Moulmein], that gold is abundant near the supposed junction of the two main streams of the Irawadi, in the Kamthi country. Placer gold is found in some streams entering the Kyen-dwen river from the west, near Kannee Myo (22 30' N., 95 E.) The mode of collecting the gold is very curious. Horns of the wild cow (Bos sondaicus), 2Q4 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. with the hair on, are planted in the beds of the rivers to arrest the gold and, when charged with the spangles, are sold for 12 or 13 ticals (\l. \2s. 6d. to i/. 15-r.) each. In the upper parts of the Irawadi, both at Bhamo [Bamo, Bamoo, Banman] and near Thingadhaw, where the coal-mines are, gold is obtained in the sands. Near the coal-mines of Ket-zu-bin, which are some miles due south of those of Thingadhaw, Dr. Anderson states there is a small rivulet which is auriferous ; he was informed that a single washer could earn the equivalent of 3^. a day. A few miles nearer Thingadhaw, the Ponnah creek contains gold ; but the washers are described as being miserably poor : they stated that much larger quantities were obtained at Shwe-gyeng, 2 days' journey northwards. Dr. Anderson also records that when at Bhamo he was shown a small quantity of gold, in grains as large as peas, which he was told came from a hill to the north of the village of Ponline. Yule (1858) says it is brought to Bhamo from the Kyen-dwen river; and (1875) that the Kakhyens do not now bring gold for sale to Momein, though it is found to some extent in their hills, more especially in the direction of Mogaung, whence it is exported towards Assam. Marco Polo says a good deal of gold was found in the province of Caugigu : great doubt exists as the locality meant, but Pauthier considers Laos the most probable, and Yule agrees with him. Gold is also found largely in Coloman, adjoining. The Laos or Chians occupy territory contiguous to Burma and Siam, and enjoy semi-independence. CELEBES. Tavernier (1678) remarks that the "Island of Celebes or Macassar produces gold also, which is drawn out of the rivers, where it rowls among the sand." According to Stavorinus (1759), it appears that Celebes contains much gold, and that in the neighbourhood of Pavigi, which is situated upon the Gulf or Bay of Tomini, gold is found by digging about 4 ft. under the surface of the earth. J. H. Moor (1837) indicates the auriferous wealth of Mamoodjoo in Mandbar, on the west coast of Celebes. One of the principal rajah's brothers told him he would within 5 days produce 10,000 bongkals (17,354 oz.) of gold, 5000 of which should be in lumps of I, 2, and 3 catties each, if he would in return give muskets, Palembang-made cannon, gun- powder, and 5 chests of opium ; and in the course of I yr., he would engage any quantity (for similar articles), in pieces of 5 to 10 catties of gold, if they should be preferred to the small lumps or dust. In fact, he said, the quantum of gold which he himself and his brothers could produce would be equal to the payment of the largest importation of arms and ammunition ; and the policy among them was to bring forward no more than was absolutely necessary for such purchase. That such is their ASIA : CELEBES, CEYLON. 295 policy, Moor is almost certain ; and there is but little doubt that large quantities of the present gold could be procured, for particular parts of the country abound in it. Great care is taken to keep strangers from it, so these rajahs have only to shake off their slothful habits, and go with their people to collect it. According to Bickmore (1868), the most valuable export from the Bay of Gorontalo (Tomini) is gold, which is found in great quantities, at least over the whole northern peninsula, from the Minahassa south to the isthmus of Palos. The amount exported is not known, for, though the Dutch Government has a contract with the princes to deliver all the gold obtained in their territory to it at a certain rate, they are offered a much higher price by the Bugis, and consequently sell it to them. No extensive survey has yet been made in this territory, by the mining engineers employed by the Government ; the extent and richness of these mines are therefore wholly matters of the most uncertain specula- tion. The fact, however, that gold was carried from this region before the arrival of Europeans, more than 340 years ago, and that the amount now exported appears to be larger than it was then, indicates that the supply must be very great. The Government has not yet granted to private individuals the privilege of importing machinery and labourers, and proving whether or not mining can be carried on profitably on a large scale. A fragment of rock from this region was shown to Bickmore at Kema, by a gentleman who said he knew where were large quan- tities of it ; and that specimen certainly was very rich in the precious metal. Gold is also found in the S.W. peninsula* of Celebes, south of Macassar. The geological age of these auriferous rocks is not known. CEYLON. According to Dixon (1881), the island of Ceylon is referred to by Ptolemy as containing gold ; and Solinus, a noted historian, makes mention of it in his works, A.D. 238. The early inhabitants of Ceylon were not ignorant of its presence. It is referred to in the Mahdwanso ; while, during the founding of the Ruwanveli Dagoba at Anuradhapura, there was a sudden appearance of sprouts of gold above and below the ground, and of silver in the vicinity ofAdam's Peak. It is also referred to in the Singhalese works entitled Kadayim-pota, as being found in several localities ; and the names of many places either have reference to its occurrence or to their glistening appearance resembling gold, such as Ruwanvella, Ramboda (formerly Rangboda). The Singhalese name for gold is rang; for gold ore, the term amurang, signifying unripe or unextracted gold ; while ratrang refers to melted gold. In 1854, gold was found in the Mahaoya and at Nuwara Eliya, and still later again at Nuwara Eliya. There is a great similarity between the hill regions of Ceylon and the S.E. Wynaad district at the N.W. base of the Nilgiris, which has recently become so prominent on account 296 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. of its auriferous reefs. As to the probable age of these districts, there is uncertainty ; but there can be no doubt that the two regions are contem- poraneous, consisting of granitoid schists or gneissoid rocks, that they are highly metamorphosed, and that quartz reefs form a conspicuous feature. The reefs are often white, occasionally somewhat brecciated, and not unfrequently bound together by haematite or limonite. Although the strike of the rock is peculiar in the Nilgiris to E.N.E., yet the auriferous reefs run N.N.W., corresponding with the gneiss a little further to the N. The general run of the rocks here is N. to N.W. As on the Wynaad, there is an absence of intrusive rock no dykes, porphyritic masses, nor basalts. It has been observed that the auriferous belts are richest where micaceous and chloritic rocks occur. Strange to say, in the cuttings of the railway into the hill district, and the various cuttings on the public roads, no prominent reefs have been crossed. Probably one or more may be met with on the extension of the railway from Nawalapitiya to Nanu-oya. In several parts, the country is traversed by large persistent reefs of quartz, with numerous narrow seams and veins diverging from them, and often traceable into decomposed litho- margic earth. Some good examples of these are to be found in the Balangoda, Pussellawa, Ramboda, and Dolosbage districts. The cha- racter of the vegetation in prospecting for gold is of great assistance in Australia, where each formation is characterized by distinct forms of vegetation ; but in Ceylon there is no such guidance, as the mountainous zone is but one formation. As scattered grains or nuggets, Dixon met with gold in the alluvium of the Deduru-oya beyond Kurunegala. The particles were ex- ceedingly small, and other metallic matters were not uncommon. This must have come from some quartz reefs farther up the hills. Its occur- rence in this river is referred to in the Kadayim-pota. A second instance of its occurrence in this form was in the Galle district, where a small nugget was taken from the alluvium accumulated in one of the ravines ; it weighed over 6 gr., and was associated with fragments of gems, such as sapphire, garnet, chrysoberyl, tourmaline, zircon, as well as of sul- phides of some rare metals, due to disintegration of the matrix in which they occurred originally. Dixon followed up the ravine to its head, with the expectation of finding a quartz reef from which the gold must have been dislodged. He found two small reefs crossing it, and specimens from these gave traces of gold, but not in sufficient quantity to warrant its being worked. He had further specimens from this reef of a much better character. In grains and leaves as free gold, from quartz, it occurs in the Ramboda district, Central Province, where several remarkable reefs strike across the valleys. In one of Dixon's tours, he gathered numerous specimens of quartz of various hues, chloritic and micaceous rocks. On ASIA : CHINA. 297 breaking them up and examining, he found in the quartz traces of gold, but is unable to give the precise locality. It occurs in the pyrites of the gem-pits in the Ratnapura-Rakwana districts, but only in very small quantity. From the little Dixon saw, it is his opinion that considerable quantities will yet be brought to light. It is elsewhere stated that the richest specimen of gold-bearing quartz yet discovered in Ceylon was on the Theberton estate, in the Maskeliya district, where are frequent outcrops of quartz reefs, and where gold has been washed since time immemorial. Sir J. Emerson Tennent (1860) says that gold is found in minute particles at Gettyhedra, and in the bed of the Maha-oya and other rivers flowing towards the west. Ruanwelle, a fort about 40 miles distant from Colombo, derives its name from the sands of the river which flows below it (rang-welle = " golden sand "). Rang-galle, in the central province, is referable to the same root " the rock of gold." But the quantity hitherto discovered has been too small to reward the search. The early inhabitants of the island were not ignorant of its presence. CHINA. Pumpelly (1867) gives the following table of gold-washings and -mines in China : TABLE OF GOLD-WASHINGS AND -MINES IN CHINA. Province. Department. District. Place and Circumstance of Occurrence. Chi-li.. .. Shun-tien-foo Mi-yun-hien Gold-mine 8 le* E. of city. (Peking) Yung-ping-foo . . Tsien-ngan-hien Gold-washings in the Kae-ho river. Do. Lu-lung-hien .. On Mount Tsoo. Shen-si Si-ngan-foo.. Lin-tung-hien On Le mountain, 2 le W. of the city. Shang-chow Lo-ngan-hien .. Coarse wash-gold at Hwang-lung-shan, 80 le N.E. of city, and rich washings at Yang-hwa-shan. Han-chung-foo . . Si-heang-hien . . Gold. Hin-ngan-foo Han-ying-ting Coarse gold in the Han river. Kan-suh . . Lan-chow-foo Coarse wash-gold. Kung-chang-foo . . Min-chow Do. Keae-chow Do. Wan-hien - Do. Si-ning-foo .. Si-ning-hien .. Do. Suh-chow .. Gold 70 le W. of the city at Tung-ting-shan. Chinsi (Barkaoul) ,, 60 le E. at Kin-shan. Shan-tung . . E-chaou-foo Lan-shan-hien Gold and silver mine 90 le S.W. at Paou- shan, and gold 60 le N. Do. Kii-chow Gold loo le N. at Chi-paou-shan. Tsing-chaou-foo . . Lin-kli-hien Gold-sand 60 le S.W. at Sung-shar. Tung-chaou-foo . . Gold. Hu-pih Hwang-chaou-foo Hwang-kang-tien . . Wash-gold 140 le N. at Tang-king-shan. Do. Hwang-ngan .. Gold E. at Tsang-kia-shan. King-chaou-foo . . Gold. Shi-nan-foo . . Kien-che-hien Coarse wash-gold 15 le W. at Shi-jou-shan. Sze-chuen . . Ching-tu-foo Kien-chow Coarse wash-gold. Do. Wang-kiang-hien . . Do. Tsung-king-hien . . Do. Pang-hien Do. * i le 486' 176 yd., or 444-423 metres. 298 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. TABLE OF GOLD-WASHINGS AND -MINES IN CHINA. continued. Province. Department. District. Place and Circumstance of Occurrence. Sze-chuen Miew-chow Coarse wash-gold. contd. Do Ngan-hien Nugget-gold N.E. at Kin-shan. Ning-yuen-foo . . Yen-yuen-hien Gold 30 / g per ton. W J3 rt m 6 oz. dwt. gr. Alpha Company's works 6 6 o 9 16 Skull reef workings 7 10 17 3 3 10 ; i out of the 1 7 cases had no gold. Wright's level Prince of Wales' reef . . ii 6 7 18 6 18 9 i o 3 12 ("Out of the 18, 2 showed fine specks of \ gold and I assay was lost. Cavern reef 13 i 14 o 18 21 Korumba reef i 8 9 i 3 i Out of the 9, i had traces of gold. Bear ,, 4 4 8 o ii 18 (Out of the 8, i had no gold and I had \ a few minute specks. Hamslade ,, i 4 5 o 6 13 Out of 5, i had minute particles of gold. Dawson's ,, 3 3 o 12 9 Karambaut ,, 4 4 12 15 Out of 4, i had specks of gold. 5 40 90 2 13 2 If from the above, an exceptional sample from Wright's level, which gave 204^ oz. per ton, be omitted, and also picked specimens from the same workings which gave 25^ oz. per ton, there remain 88 samples yielding an average of i oz. 8 dwt. 22 gr. per ton. As to the quality of the gold, it has been found to be unequal, that from the soils (alluvial) being finest. Two samples of surface-gold obtained by King were assayed in Calcutta and yielded Gold 93'oo Silver .. 7-00 No. 2. 90-90 8-67 loo'oo 99'57 The average of 6 assays of reef-gold gave Gold 86-86 Silver 10-96 Dross .... .. 2*18 lOO'OO The very important question of mineral rights is now believed to be on a more satisfactory footing, the Government having determined to ASIA : INDIA. 339 make the terms of the mining leases as simple and liberal as possible. It is not proposed to levy any royalty or other tax on the industry for the present, because it is deemed most important to attract capital to the gold-fields. The pioneers will have to buy their experience in many directions, and it is undesirable that the first ventures should be unsuccessful. Brough Smyth, in his special report to Government, discussed the cause of failure of the Alpha Company. The machinery and the management were both unsuited to the requirements of an economical system ; yet, in spite of these, the gold obtained was, from 779^- tons, 2 dwt. 9 gr. and, from 32,266 tons, 10 dwt. 12 gr. per ton. In his con- cluding remarks, he speaks with confidence as to the future of the industry, and says that failure can only result from want of care and forethought, as the resources are large. The following estimate of the cost of working a company, by Ryan, is stated to be based on actual experience ; but no means of confirming its accuracy or otherwise are available, and all the figures relating to cost will necessarily vary in every instance. It being assumed that a concession of value cannot be now obtained at a less cost than 6o,ooo/., the following is taken to represent the first year's expenditure : Price paid for concession 60,000 Cost of machinery, loo stamp-heads at 2OO/. each .. .. 20,000 One year's working expenses 12,000 Contingencies, law charges, &c 8,000 Total amount of capital jioo,ooo Taking the value of gold at 3/. 15^. an oz., the return from 25,000 tons of ore, containing 3 to 10 dwt. of gold per ton, would be as stated below ; the cost of production is assumed at 9^. 6d. per ton. Total. Value. Cost of production. Profit. Percentage on capital of ioo,ooo/. oz. * * If yield is 3 dwt. per ton 3.750 14,062 10 n,875 2,187 10 2'19 4 5,000 18,750 o ",875 6,875 o 6-87 5 6,250 23,437 11,875 11,562 o 11-56 6 7,500 28,125 ",875 16,250 o 16-25 7 8,750 32,812 10 11,875 20,937 o 20-93 8 10,000 37,5oo o ",875 25,625 o 25-62 9 11,250 42,187 o ir,875 30,312 o 30-3I 10 12,500 46,875 o n,875 35,000 o 35-00 Mysore province. In the year 1802, Capt. Warren, then engaged in the survey of the eastern frontiers of Mysore, in the Kolar district, Z 2 34 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. hearing of a rumour that gold had been found attheYerra Baterine Hill, instituted inquiries which led to the discovery that there were gold- washings near the village of Wurigam [Urigam, Ooregaum], and actual mining at Marcurpam, the quartz which was taken out being pounded into dust by women, and then washed. An Amildar informed him that Tipu had formerly sent a Brahmin to work the mines, but as the cost equalled the outturn, they were given up. But the rayats said that this Brahmin had never personally visited the mines. He mentions that in 1800 he had been told in the village of Cargury, on the Poni-aur, that in prosperous years, when there was an ample harvest, grains of gold were sometimes found in the ears of paddy growing below a tank. This sounds like a metaphor and suggests chaff. Capt Warren regarded it as a fabrication at first, but subsequently, his attention having been drawn to the existence of gold at the other localities, he proved its presence here by the aid of washers from Wuri- gam, and thought there might have been something in the story. Paddy, however, has not ears like wheat or barley, and it seems incredible that the rising plant should be able to carry up grains of gold from the soil. It would appear from his descriptions that the laterite is auriferous, a very probable contingency where it is of detrital character. Over an extended area, about the Manigatta, Wullur, and Yeldur Hills, from Budikote to Ramasamudra, Capt. Warren proved the presence of gold in the surface soil and in the beds of rivers. The people who washed were Dherus or Pariahs, and he seems to think that agriculture was for them a more profitable profession. The description of two mines then follows, one at Kembly, 30 ft. deep and with a gallery of 50 ft. ; the other west of Surunpally, which was 45 ft. deep and 56 ft. in extent. It is evident from the sections given that these were not in solid rock ; but masses of quartz in an ochreous matrix were taken out to be crushed. Heyne alludes to Warren's researches, but speaks of the gold as being only found in small quantities. Specimens of gold in situ from this region appear to have been collected from time to time by Capt. Arthur, Lieut. Puckle, and Dr. Orr. Owing to accidents in these deep alluvial mines, Gen. Sir Mark Cubbin, when Commissioner of Mysore, is said to have prohibited any more being sunk. Recently it has been asserted that Tipu had a mint for gold coin in the neighbourhood of Ooregaum. If he had, it is strange that Capt. Warren did not refer to it. The recent growth of the gold-industry in this province can only be gathered, in part, from the following statements in successive Adminis- tration Reports. In 1868, it was stated that alluvial gold was occasion- ally found near Betmangla, but in too small quantities to repay labour. In 1870, it is said that washers earn 4 annas (6d.} a day by washing at ASIA : INDIA. 341 the foot of the Hemagiri Hill, in the Huliyurdurga taluk of the Nandidrug division. In 1872-73, 4\b. of gold was found in the Betmangla taluk. In 187374, 6 Ib. of gold was obtained in Kolar, and an opinion is expressed that a proper system of working would prove the existence of a considerable quantity of gold in certain districts. In 1874-75, 3 Ib. of gold was obtained in Kolar, and 20 rupees' (2/.) worth in the Honnali taluk of the Shemoga district. Permission to prospect for gold and other metals was granted to Lavelle for 3 years. Leases for 20 years would be granted to him for blocks not exceeding 2 square miles each in extent, and 10 in number. The report for 1875-76 states that the terms of the leases had been modified, and that prospecting was progressing. In 1876-77, the Urigam [Ooregaum] Company is referred to as not then having commenced operations. In the reports for 1877-78 and 1878-79, there is no information, and in the table on mines and quarries the statistics of iron, stone, and gold are lumped together. In the last report (1879-80), gold is not alluded to, except in a similar table, though it is stated that iron and potstone are the only minerals worked in the province. Some information on the gold of Mysore will be found in the Gazetteer of Mysore and Coorg, but most of the facts are derived from the sources of information given above. It is stated, however, that platinum has been found with the gold in the washings, and that the experimental crushing of some quartz was reported to have given a return of 6 oz. of gold to the ton. It is known that the rocks of Kolar, and probably of the whole of Mysore, belong to the metamorphic or crystalline series ; but there has not yet been any detailed geological survey. It is stated that there are numerous quartz reefs, and that 17 tons of quartz, crushed on the property of one of the companies, yielded 2 oz. 8 dwt. of gold per ton, the silver alloy in the gold being 7^ per cent. If this rate of production, or perhaps even half of it, should continue, says Ball, it is possible that those among the half-dozen companies which have recently been started in Mysore, whose management is good and whose preliminary expenditure has not been too heavy, have a profitable career before them. The climate, at the average elevation of 3800 ft, is said to be equal to that at Bangalore ; there is a line of railway close by, and labour and water are abundant Salem district. Heyne refers to some gold-mines which were at Suttergul, near Pangumpilly, in the year 1802. He was prevented from visiting them, owing to a rebellion. They appear to have been either on the borders of Mysore, or in the Salem district ; probably the latter, but the names are not on modern maps. They were perhaps not far from Royacottah. 34 2 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. According to Capt. Campbell, gold used to be found at the base of a hill called Kanjah Mallia, on the road from Salem to Sankerrydrug. After the rains, a number of people washed for it in the streams. The earnings of a washer never exceeded 8 annas (i s.~). Travancore state. The excitement caused by the recent operations in the Wynaad has led to attention being directed to adjoining areas in Southern India where crystalline rocks occur, and in which it was thought auriferous reefs might possibly be found. Among these areas, the Travancore state has to some extent been prospected, and in Wyld's map of the gold-bearing regions of Southern India, it is represented as an auriferous tract, upon what authority, says Ball, is not stated, but it may be claimed for this discovery, if true, that it is also new. Travancore does not appear in any of the early accounts as a gold-producing region, and the trade of the gold-washer seems to be there unknown. W. King has recently (1881) reported on the subject to the Travancore Government. He states that the so-called quartz reefs of Peermerd and the adjoining country are not really reefs, but are the outcrops of beds of quartzite including felspar, which run with the gneiss ; only in one case is the outcrop sufficiently large to promise a good tonnage of stone. Although a close assay has detected traces of gold, the amount would not justify the application of the term " auriferous quartz." In the Annamalais, King did not observe any reefs so far as he had examined the area ; and throughout the northern parts of Travancore, he saw nothing to justify a hope that regular auriferous rocks would be found. A sample from one of these outcrops, which was assayed in Madras, was only about 2 Ib. in weight, so that the amount of gold per ton (2 dwt I gr.) was calculated from the TrW tn - Until a number of assays of large samples have been made, no safe conclusions can be arrived at as to the average amount of gold contained in this quartz rock. King states that an expert was engaged on behalf of one of the Gold Companies in exploring the southern part of the province, and that it was expected that the question would soon be settled for that area. Nepal, Darjiling, and Sikkim, Although gold is not known to be washed for in Nepal, Sikkim, or Darjiling, there is reason for believing that it exists in these areas under similar conditions to those prevailing in the N.W. Himalayas. In an account of the mineral productions of Nepal, by B. Hodgson, gold is not mentioned ; and in a description of the process of refining gold in Nepal, Dr. Campbell states that the gold which is subjected to this process is imported from Thibet, to the value of 2 lakhs (2O,ooo/.) per annum. The fact that there is no published record of the occurrence of gold in Nepal is doubtless due to the notoriously scanty information ASIA : INDIA. which we possess regarding the minerals of that country. Minera productions are precisely what Native Governments are most particula, to conceal ; but we are not left to hypothesis alone for arriving at t conclusion that gold does exist, since, in one of the British districts at the foot of the hills, it is actually washed for ; and though, politically speaking, it may be incorrect, yet, from the geological point of view, it will be most convenient to describe this source of gold here. A number of rivers and streams which take their rise in the outer ranges of Tertiary (Siwalik) rocks, on the borders of the Champaran district and Nepal, are known to be auriferous, and gold-washing takes place annually, at the commencement and termination of the rains, in the Pachnad, Hurha, Balwi [Dhar], Achni and Kapan rivers. In the Statistical Account of Bengal, from which this information is derived, the opinion of a Revenue Surveyor is quoted without a suggestion of dissent to the effect that since the streams rise in these outer hills, the drainage of Nepal being cut off by a high range, and since the former have a rugged and precipitous aspect, therefore veins of gold might be found which would amply recoup the Government for any outlay it might incur in working them. That veins of gold occur in these rocks is, however, in Ball's opinion, most improbable. The gold included in them is almost certain to be of detrital origin, and, like the materials generally of which the beds are formed, it was brought down from the higher ranges of crystalline rocks inside, which, therefore, contain the veins or other original matrix. The gold-washers of- Champaran belong to a race called Tharu, and are, it is said, evidently of Mongolian origin, having similar features to those of the Mechs and Kacharis of Assam and the Bhutan Duars. Their earnings, it is believed, vary from 4 annas to a rupee (6d. to 2s.\ which gives a higher average than in almost any other part of India ; it is possibly an over-estimate. On the other hand, the gold must be of very inferior quality, if it be true, as is stated, that it only fetches Rs. 12 (24^.), or three-fourths of the ordinary price, per tola (180 gr.). Nuggets of gold are said to occur there sometimes in stones which bear the imprint of fossil shells. It is probable that this supposed form of the gold is only iron-pyrites. During the time the revenue survey was in progress, the amount of gold collected was very much less than it had been formerly, when, according to report, the Raja of Ramnagar collected several thousand rupees' worth annually. In a somewhat speculative paper published in 1848, Dr. Irvine starts the hypothesis from a priori considerations, that gold and the ores of other metals probably occur in the rocks forming the hills near or rather above Darjiling ; that such is the case, has been proved with reference to the latter, and the discovery of traces of gold-dust in the streams would, says Ball, only be the fulfilment of a most reasonable anticipation. 344 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. North-west Provinces. Gold-bearing sands occur in some of the rivers of Kumaun and Garhwal, and, as in the case of the Punjab, in some of those which take their rise in the outer ranges of hills formed of Tertiary rocks. Several of the rivers in the Moradabad district used formerly to be washed, as described below, if they be not still. The earnings of the washers, as stated to Capt. Herbert, did not exceed 2 annas (3 mentioned in general terms. A prospector wished to test some auriferous gravel. The common pan was tried, but the gravel, though washed in small quantities at a time, yielded on some occasions little or no gold, on others it gave very promising results from poorer looking samples. The cradle was tried, but did not recover nearly so much gold as the Japanese method. A sluice could not be used, as it would take too long to construct, and would be too cumbersome to move to different parts of the field in order to test it. The long-torn, though inferior to a sluice, as its shortness causes much waste of fine gold, is nevertheless better than the cradle, and was therefore selected for a trial 3 5^ GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. against the Japanese method. The experiments were made under con- ditions the least favourable to the torn, the gravel being poor and the gold fine. The results were surprisingly discreditable to the torn. In one case, washing with a limited supply of water, one cubic metre of gravel yielded 30*8 milligrammes of gold by the native process, and only 2 ' 6 milligrammes or about ^ part by the torn. In a more favourable locality, treating 3 cubic metres of gravel in each case, the former gave at the rate of 68 milligrammes per c.m., the latter but 18, or J. In suitable spots and with more practised workmen, undoubtedly much better results might be obtained, but the experiments sufficed to show that for prospecting in poor gravels the Japanese method was certainly the better as well as the more convenient. It requires but few tools, viz. : a tsuru or pick for occasional use in loosening the gravel ; two or three specially shaped kua or hoes, for working the gravel in the stream or washing-ditch ; a joren, or scoop-shaped bamboo basket for re- moving the coarse gravel ; two or three nekoza, or straw mats, specially made for collecting the gold ; and an ita or board, slightly warped and dish-shaped, used as a pan, for separating the gold from the concentrated sand. To these were added a masu, or measuring-box made to hold exactly c.m., and provided with a board floor to ensure accuracy ; also a couple of shovels were used for filling and emptying this box. To test the gravel of any desired locality, a place was selected on a small stream, combining if possible, the following conditions: i st. An exposure of the bed-rock below the gravel at least 6 in. or I ft. higher than the level of the stream. 2nd. The whole thickness of the gravel-bed accessible. 3rd. A velocity of at least i to 2 ft. per second, either in the stream itself, or produced in a washing-ditch 1 5 to 20 ft. long by a dam or other expedient. 4th. Sufficient water for washing : 60 to 80 cub. ft. per minute is the most convenient quantity, but much less may be made to do. A suitable place having been found, the bank is cleared of grass, roots, and soil -for a width of about 3 ft. and from the bed-rock to the top of the bank, exposing the whole thickness of the gravel bed. The measuring-box is then placed in position on the bank of the stream and filled with gravel, only boulders of exceptional size being omitted. In the meantime the gold-washers form a washing-ditch by cleaning the bed of the stream for a width of 2 to 3 ft. and a length of 15 to 20 ft. When the stream is large, it is divided, only the volume of water requisite for washing being admitted to the ditch. In thus dividing a stream, care must be taken that the stones of the partition-wall are so placed that all leakage of water shall be from the main stream into the ditch, and that there may be no flow in the opposite direction, otherwise much of the ASIA : JAPAN. 359 measured gravel with its gold will be lost. These preparations completed, the gravel is shovelled from the measuring-box into the head of the washing-ditch, and the box is refilled with gravel. At the same time the men wash and throw out the large stones by hand, and separate the smaller stones , from the gravel with the joren and kua. The rapid current washes out all the clay and fine sand, leaving only the fine gravel in the stream. Riffles are built of flat stones across the lower end of the ditch, to arrest the gravel and to prevent any gold being carried down- stream. When 4 to 6 boxes of gravel have been shovelled into the water, forming a bed of fine gravel about I ft. thick, the washing on mats begins. Two or three mats, each I ft. wide by 2 ft. long, slightly narrower at the lower ends, are placed side by side across the stream about 2 ft. below the upper end of the gravel. The upper edges of these mats are buried a little in the gravel and held in position by the foot of the gold-washer, usually one man to each mat, the number of men being regulated by the width of the stream. These men now carefully hoe the gravel to the head of the mats, so that it shall be carried over their surface by the force of the current. The heavy gold and iron-sand sink between the thick twisted strands of straw forming the mat, while the lighter gravel passes down-stream. The lower ends of the mats are lifted from time to time and folded over the upper portion, to transfer the gold to the head of the mat and to keep the lower part clean. When all the gravel in front of the mats has been hoed over their surface, the men move them about 2 ft. down stream, and begin to work in a similar manner on the new portion of gravel thus exposed. Finally, after 25 to 30 minutes' work, the mats are removed one by one from the bottom of the stream, folded in both directions under water to transfer the material to the middle, and then bent into the shape of a trough and " jugged " with a longitudinal motion under the water to separate the lighter sand and gravel which still remains. One of the mats is then held in the stream, between the ankles of the gold- washer, and folded lengthwise as a trough, through which the water is allowed to flow quietly. A second mat is then seized by the ends, inverted and folded transversely, the fold being allowed to dip just below the water in the trough of the mat below. The mats are so woven that this folding opens the crevices between the large transverse strands, allowing the gold and iron-sand to be washed out by the water. By alternately raising each end of the mat while depressing the other, the whole surface is successively washed by the stream, and the various strands of the mat being opened and loosened by the folding, the gold and iron-sand are very completely transferred to the lower mat. In a similar way the concentrated material from all the mats is collected on one, and from this is finally transferred to the shallow wooden washing-board. This last transfer is made with great care in a 360 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. quiet pool of water, in which place the final concentration on the board is effected. The separation of the gold from the iron-sand on this board requires great skill and caution. The board is first floated on the water, and by a few oscillations, the material is washed to the centre. Then it is raised from the water with a number of smart longitudinal jerks, the effect of which is to bring the heavier material to the end next the gold- washer, while the lighter sand flows off gradually with the water at the lower end. The board is now brought to the surface of the water, the lower end dipping a little below, and with one or two gentle swings, it is again covered with water, while a small quantity of the light sand is washed from the lower end. The board is then raised with the same dextrous shakes as before, the washing being conducted with great care, and but little iron-sand being allowed to pass off each time. After 5 or 6 minutes, most of the gold will have been brought to the head of the board, the light-yellow grains showing very distinctly in the black sand. The gold may be brought more clearly into view by allowing a little water to trickle down the inclined board, which washes off the black sand and leaves the gold exposed. The first portion of gold, with some of the adjoining iron-sand, being removed, the remaining sand is washed a few times, usually yielding one or two grains in addition. Finally, the gold, and the small quantity of iron-sand taken from the board at the same time, having been dried, is submitted to a careful separation by blowing, the iron-sand is carried off, and the gold remains ready for weighing. In this last separation, a small magnet is sometimes of assistance for removing the large grains of iron-sand, too heavy to be blown away. KASHMIR. There is reason to believe that gold used to be sought for in parts of Kashmir proper ; but notices concerning it are very scanty. The ' Ain-i-Akbari ' says that gold was found in a river called Padmatti, and at Puckely and Gulkut (? Gilgit), which came from the country of the Dards. The principal localities where gold-washing is carried on in the territory of the Raja of Kashmir are apparently situated in Ladak. Dr. Bellew mentions having seen an old deserted mine in auriferous sands at Kargil (34 34' N., 76 10' 30" E.), which has been abandoned since some of the workers were killed by a portion falling in. LADAK. According to Cunningham (1854), gold-washing in the beds of the Indus and Shayock was carried on only by Mahomedans from Balti, as the Buddhists of Ladak had long been prohibited from the search, probably with the object of preventing their neglect of agriculture. Lydekker recently visited a locality named Kio (34 N., 77 18' E.), on the Markha river, where operations were being vigorously carried on. The gold is believed to be derived from certain veins of yellow quartz, which are very. abundant in the Carboniferous limestone of that neigh- "ASIA : KASHMIR, LADAK, MALAY PENINSULA. 361 bourhood. In Ladak, a common form of pickaxe used by the miners consists of the horn of the wild sheep (Ovis Vignei) tipped with iron ; this is mounted in a wooden handle, and is said to be an efficient implement. A remarkable method of obtaining gold, which was formerly, if not now, practised in these regions, is to peg down the skins of animals with the hair on them in the beds of auriferous streams. The hair, pre- sumably set against the current, acts the part of the modern miner's blanket, arresting the small particles of gold, which can be collected by drying and shaking the skins. Thus, it is said, the gold was gathered at Puckely. And the same practice is reported to have been anciently in vogue in Savoy. MALAY PENINSULA. One of the earliest modern writers on the Malay Peninsula was Lieut J. T. Newbold (1833-39). Describing the gold-mine at Battang Moring, on one of the many so-called Mounts Ophir [Gunong Ledang], he says the mine is situated on the flat marshy ground at the foot of the slope on which the Chinese house stands ; in length it measures about 10 yd., by 4 in breadth, and 6 or 7 ft. in depth. It is filled with muddy water, which is drained off by a simple bamboo hydraulic apparatus, somewhat resembling the Indian pukotah. The miners descend for the purpose of digging out the metallic earth, by means of rude ladders formed of the notched trunks of trees. The process is extremely simple. Having dug out a quantity of the earth, which consists of coarse sand, greyish clay and white pebbles, among which crystals of quartz are found, and greenish stones, the miner places it in a shallow funnel-shaped vessel of wood, and carries it to a stream of water, conducted by 2 narrow channels close to the mine. The water, falling from a height of about I ft., washes away the lighter earthy particles and clay, assisted by the rotatory motion of the miner's hand. This done, he carefully picks out the stones and other refuse too large for the water to carry off, whilst the gold-dust in minute portions, sinks to the narrow bottom of the vessel, from which it is extracted, carefully washed, and laid by to be made up into small bags each containing one bongkal (\\ oz. troy). The gold of " Ophir," though small in quantity, is as fine as that of Pahang in quality, being estimated at 90 touch. The earth is probably the debris of the granite forming the summit, the white masses appearing to be felspar in a decomposed state ; the crystals are quartz, and the small grains in the earth are also quartz. The Chinese showed Newbold a specimen of a stratum of clay of a greenish-grey colour, beneath which gold is never found. The Chinese affirm that one mine does not produce monthly more than I tael (\\ oz.) of gold. This is probably designedly underrated. A tribute is exacted from each individual of $i (4^. 2d.} monthly for the privilege of mining here, by 362 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. the .petty Malay chiefs, who levy it in person every 2 months, and in reality are little better than banditti. Newbold gives the following list on the authority of the head Chinese miner at Moung, as the names of the places around Mount Ophir (for the gold is always procured at the foot), where mines have been established : Battang Moung, Kedanon, Rejang, Kaddam, Tanong, Paeedalum, Berinjin, Terring, Kayo Arro, Kamoyan, Jongi, Deddam, Poggi Baru, Chundagon, Ayer Kuning, and Ayer Chamhi. He was also informed that formerly nearly 1000 Chinese worked in these mines. The gold of the Peninsula, according to Newbold's rough estimate, amounts to 19,800 oz. annually. It is chiefly got at Ulu Pahang, Tringanu, Kalantan, Johole, Gominchi, and Jellye ; Reccan, Battang Moring, and other places at the foot of Mount Ophir. He says that Pahang is celebrated for the quantity and quality of its gold. From the jealousy of the chiefs, the mines have never been accessible to Europeans. Gray, a trader who crossed from Malacca to Pahang, ascertained that the gold-mines were about I month's pull from the village of Jellye up the river Braugh, one of the tributaries to the Pahang stream, and 40 days' pull from Pahang. The total produce of these mines exceeds 300 Ib. troy, annually. Gold-dust is found a short distance from the left bank of the river at Bukit Raya, a low hill covered with forest, at the foot of which are gold-mines formerly worked by Malays, who were compelled to quit them through the exactions of the petty chiefs. Capt Hamilton (1727) speaks of lumps of gold weighing 5 or 6 oz. which he saw taken from the Pahang, and states that the natives do not dive below 3 fathoms, though most gold would be found in the deeper parts, which reach 10 fathoms. The following account of the gold-mines at Chimendras was drawn up by Newbold from native information. Bukit Chimendras is a hill situated at Gominchi, a territory subject to the Panghulu of Johole, bordering on the eastern frontier of Naning. It is covered and surrounded by an uninhabited forest of great extent, intersected by numerous rivulets, which have their sources on the hill. Veins of quartzose rock run over it at various depths (generally 12 to 20 ft.) below the surface, forming the matrix, in which the gold is found in small broken streaks. The rock is enclosed in a bed of white clay, indurated more or less, termed napal. The method pursued by the Chinese and Malays for separating the metal from its matrix, resembles that adopted by the Hungarian miners, only that the process of amalgamation is not practised by the former for this purpose. The Malay miners, as soon as the precise spot and minute have been determined by their diviners, Pawangs, or other charlatans supposed to ASIA : MALAY PENINSULA. 363 be skilled in discovering the hidden treasures of the earth, commence clearing the ground of trees, brushwood, &c., and then proceed to remove the roots and vegetable soil, by means of biliongs and chonkoles (the Malayan adze and spade), until the bed of napal is laid bare. These implements are now put aside, 'and a heavy sort of iron crow-bar (perjong) is employed. The first layer of napal is soft and whitish ; the second has a reddish tint. The last is a black incrustation resembling brick in hardness, and hence called by the natives tambikir quali ; this is commonly 2 fingers' breadth in thickness, and, being removed, discovers the white vein of rock, the matrix of the gold, and termed beting. It is generally between 3 and 4 ft. in diameter ; underneath lies a bed of whitish earth, below which gold is never found. The next process is that of breaking up the beting, for which purpose also the perjong is used. From the extreme hardness of the rock, this operation is very laborious and tedious. The coarse pieces are pounded in a sort of large mortar, cut from the quartz rock. The pulverized stone is then passed through sieves (kisye) of ratan, and carried in small baskets to a running stream, where the smaller stony particles are washed away, while the gold-dust, with the grosser pieces, sinks to the bottom of the conical vessel, in which it is subjected to the action of the stream. The refuse is picked out, and the gold-dust is again carefully washed and collected in a coco-nut shell, or leaf of the palas tree (Butea frondosd), and conveyed to the bongsal, where it is dried by means of a red-hot piece of charcoal being repeatedly passed over its surface. After the adherent finer particles of the sand have been removed, it is weighed into quantities, generally of I tael (\\ oz.) each, which are carefully folded up in small pieces of cloth. These packets constitute the bongkals of commerce, which are frequently current instead of coin. Besides Chimendras and Taon, Newbold did not hear of any place on the Peninsula where gold is obtained from the solid rock. At Pahang and Jellye, the gold-dust is procured in the same manner as that in the mines at the foot of Mount Ophir. The mines at Reccan are estimated to produce annually about 20 catties (60 Ib. troy) of gold-dust. The Panghulu of Gominchi first levied a tenth on the produce of these mines ; but in consequence of large quantities of gold-dust being secretly carried off before the tenth had been levied, he substituted a sort of poll-tax, amounting to a miam (52 gr.) of gold per annum, from each person working at the mines. The Panghulu of Johole is in the habit of sending 5 or 6 buffaloes a year to the mines, receiving for every head of cattle 2 taels (2^ oz.) of gold. These heavy drawbacks have caused the mines to become unprofitable to the speculators, and almost deserted. 364 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The former of these imposts could readily be endured ; but the latter exaction destroys all hope of reasonable profit. The following is an estimate of the various degrees of purity of gold- dust produced in the Peninsula. It will be necessary to premise that mutu is a term denoting the degrees of fineness for gold, of which there are 10, as fixed by the native assayers. Gold of 10 mutu is equal, therefore, to gold of 24 carats ; gold not reaching 8 mutu is called mas muda ["young gold "] ; and gold from 8 to 10 mutu, mas tuah [" old gold "] : Gold of Reccan 9^ mutu. Mount Ophir 9^ ,, Chimendras and Taon .. .. 9.3 ,, Pahang Jellye Tringanu Kalantan From Kalantan, gold of 10 mutu is sometimes obtained. The assayers of gold are generally Chuliahs or Klings, who acquire by constant practice the power of determining to the fraction of a mutu the purity of any specimen of gold-dust. As they would be perhaps liable to imposition were this the only trial to which they subjected the metal, they have recourse to the battu-uji or touchstone. This is a roughish black stone, apparently basalt, brought from continental India, and generally set in a small frame of bronze or brass. The assaying needles are commonly 20 to 24 in number, ranged on a string, and alloyed in known proportions of copper and silver, marked on the surface, from 3 to Q mutu. The needle and gold to be assayed are rubbed on the touchstone in parallel streaks in the usual manner ; a lump of the adhesive wax called lilin kalulut is then applied to the surface of the touchstone, which brings off the two thin laminae of gold. The difference between the two is more visible on the wax (which is coloured black for this purpose with a fine charcoal made from the plantain-leaf) than on the stone. This is the reason the native assayers give for the removal of the streaks of gold from the stone to the wax, though to Newbold no difference was perceptible ; possibly the following may better serve to explain the practice of the natives in this particular. The impressions of gold, which would be lost on the stone, go on accumulating in the wax ; a ball of it, which his native informant had used for the last 30 years, he supposed to contain above 2 taels (2\ oz.) of gold. The metal is separated from the wax by means of heat, applied gradually, in such proportions as barely to cause the wax to pass off in the form of smoke ; the residuum is then subjected to the process of amalgamation. Half the gold thus obtained is bestowed in alms upon the poor, or on ASIA : MALAY PENINSULA. 365 religious offerings at the shrine of some favoured saint or wali, generally that of Miran Sahib, in Nagore, on the coast of Coromandel. The calculation of a Malay, long employed in the mines at Chimendras, makes the average quantity of gold yielded from 40 Ib. of the pulverized stone 24 gr. of pure metal. Lumps of virgin gold weighing 5 to 6 taels (5 1 to 6| oz.) have been found in the alluvial soil here and at Taon. In Jellye, a mass weighing upwards of I catty (2." G$ Ib.) has been discovered. According to Moor (1837), the territory of Pahang extends from Sadile in lat. 2 15' to Kamamang in lat. 4 15' ; the gold-yield amounts to about 2 piculs (266! Ib.) yearly. Tringanu, the next state on the E. coast, extends from Kamamang to the river Basut ; its production of gold is considerable. Kalantan extends from the river Basut to that of Banara, and produces much gold. It is said there are 15,000 Chinese engaged in gold-mining in the above 3 states, and that they annually produce 420,000 Spanish dollars' worth. Cameron (1865) records that a Capt. Playfair, when repairing a road at Malacca, discovered in a small recess which formed part of the old Portuguese Government buildings, 40 or 50 earthenware pots, mostly broken, but those which were whole were full of quicksilver, showing that gold was formerly largely obtained, to require so much quicksilver over a ton weight. When gold was discovered in Australia, Europeans as well as Chinese spread themselves over the jungled valleys around Mount Ophir, with the hope of striking some rich lead. No such lead could be found ; but it is worthy of remark that in almost every spot which was tried, gold in small quantities was procured. Bickmore observes (1868) that in the Malay Peninsula, gold "has always been more highly valued than tin, and it is therefore, by all means probable that it was an article of commerce, and was exported to India as early as tin, or at least 500 years before Solomon commenced building his splendid temple." Col. Yule (1875), after mentioning that gold is a staple export of Kalantan, Tringanu, and Pahang, notices that Barbosa says gold was so abundant in Malacca that it was reckoned by bahars of 4 cwt. ; and though Logan has estimated the present produce of the whole Peninsula at only 20,000 oz., Hamilton, at the beginning of last century, says Pahang alone in some years exported above 8 cwt. Leech (1880), speaking of the country drained by the tributaries on the E. (left) bank of the Perak river, says gold is known to exist in the Plus, being found with the stream tin. Tapa is the place of embarkation for a number of tin-mines worked by Chinese, where much gold is also found. Bidor is reached in I day's journey S.E. through the gold-fields. The gold is very pale, and of inferior quality. Daly (1882), from a place called Klubi, surveyed a track, all through 366 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. dense jungle, that led to the Chindrass gold-mines, near Mount Ophir. Here the Malays still wash out gold-dust excavated from gravel deposits ; and they sink short shafts, out of which they get small blocks of stone, which they rudely crush with pestle and mortar, and wash out at a neighbouring stream. The deepest shaft was only 100 ft., and a lode had not yet been discovered. The gold is only found in detached leaders and saddles. Gold was the principal metal met with by him in Pahang, though tin-mines similar to those in Selangor are worked with profit. The gold is found in alluvions, and washed out by Chinese and Malays in a rude manner. No attempt has yet been made to work gold in quartz, nor has any European machinery for either crushing or pumping purposes as yet been introduced. Daly was informed that there were 6000 Chinese working alluvial gold-mines in different parts of the interior. Some Chinamen whom he met said that they had to pay exorbitant royalties to petty rajahs in the far interior, and that they were so "squeezed" by successive rajahs on their way to the coast, that they derived but little profit from their hard-earned and risky labour. At that time, all the gold was supposed to be sold to the Bandaharah of Pahang, who paid a standard value according to his own estimation, or rather inclination. MOLUCCAS. The northern part of the island of Bachian is of sedi- mentary origin of various ages, and gold has been washed since 1774, according to Bickmore (1868). PERSIA. According to Strabo (B. xv. c. ii. 14, Bohn's ed. iii. 128), Onesicritus says that a river in Carmania brings down gold-dust. The mining engineer from Berlin, who was sent in 1877 to examine into the reported existence of a rich gold-vein at Zengan, found auriferous quartz, but no decided vein or deposit. PHILIPPINES. Pigafetta (1519-22) was informed by the king that gold was found in Mindanao in lumps as large as a walnut, and even as an e gg> mingled with the earth, that they used a sieve for sifting it, and that all his vessels, and even many of the ornaments of his house, were of this metal. Sonnerat likewise speaks of Mindanao as an island abounding in gold. Pigafetta also believes gold to be abundant in Massana, from the light esteem in which it is held. According to Bowring(i859), the gold of the Philippines is produced by washing and digging. In several of the provinces, it is found in the rivers, and natives are engaged in washing their deposits. The most remarkable and profitable of the gold-mines worked by the Indians are those of Tulbin and Suyuc. They break the rock with hammers, and crush it between two small millstones, washing the fragments in water, by which the gold is separated. They melt it in small shells, and it is worth generally $8 to 10 (33^. 4^. to 4is. &/.) an oz., but its fineness seldom ASIA : MOLUCCAS, PERSIA, PHILIPPINES. 367 exceeds 16 carats. It is found in quartz, but the nuggets are rarely of any considerable size. The inhabitants of Caraga cut, in the top of a mountain, a basin of considerable size, and conduct water to it through canals made of the wild palm ; they dig up the soil while the basin is rilling, which is opened suddenly, and exhibits for working any existing stratification of gold ; these operations are continued till the pits get filled with inroads of earth, when they are abandoned ; generally, when a depth has been reached which produces the most advantageous returns, the rush of waters conveys away much of the metal which would other- wise be deposited and collected. Gold is also found in the alluvial deposits, which are ground between stones, thrown into water, and the metal sinks to the bottom. The rivers of Caraballo, Camarines, and Misamis, and the mountains of Caraga and Zebu, are the most pro- ductive. Many Indian families support themselves by washing the river sands, and in the time of heavy rains, gold is found in the streets of some of the pueblos when the floods have passed. There can be no doubt of the existence of much gold in the islands, but principally in the parts inhabited by the independent tribes. The Sociedad Exploradora was in Bowring's day engaged in working gold-mines and washing auriferous sands in the province of New Ecija. Gold-dust is the instrument of exchange in the interior of Mindanao, and is carried about in bags for the ordinary purposes of life. The Spaniards say that the province of Caraga (in Mindanao) is the richest of the Philippines ; it is certainly one of the least explored. A Frenchman had been engaged in working the gold-mines ; but Bowring did not learn with what -success. Jagor (1873), speaking of Longos, North Camarines, says that the soil is composed of rubbish, decomposed fragments of crystalline rock, rich in broken pieces of quartz. The workmen make holes in the ground 2^ ft. long, 2^ broad, and 20 ft. deep. At 3 ft. below the surface, the rock is generally found to contain gold, the value increasing down to 1 8 ft. of depth, and then again diminishing, though the proportions are very uncertain, and there is much fruitless search. The rock is carried out of the holes in baskets on ladders of bamboo, and the water in small pails ; but in the rainy season, the holes cannot possibly be kept free from water, as they are situated on the slope of a mountain, and are filled quicker than they can be emptied. The want of apparatus for discharging water also accounts for the fact that the pits are not dug deeper. The breaking of the auriferous rock is effected with 2 stones, one of which serves as anvil, and the other as hammer. The former, which is slightly hollowed in the centre, is laid flat upon the ground ; and the latter, 4 x 8 x 8 in. in dimensions, and therefore of about 25 Ib. weight, is made fast with rattan to the top of a slender young tree, which lies in a sloping position in a fork, and at its opposite end is firmly fixed in the 368 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. ground. The workman, with a jerk, forces the stone that serves for hammer down upon the auriferous rock, and allows it to be again carried upwards by the elasticity of the young tree. The rock is ground in an arrastra. The washing-out of the mud (from the arrastra) is done by women. They kneel before a small wooden gutter filled with water up to the brim, and provided with boards, sloping downwards, in front of the space assigned to each woman ; the gutter being cut out at these places in a corresponding manner, so that a very slender stream of water flows evenly across its whole breadth downwards over the board. With her hand, the workwoman distributes the auriferous mud over the board, which, at the lower edge, is provided with a cross piece ; and, when the light sand is washed away, there remains a stratum consisting chiefly of iron, flint, and ore, which is taken up from time to time with a flat piece of board, and laid on one side ; and at the end of the day's work, it is washed out in a flat wooden dish batea and for the last time in a coco-nut shell ; when, if they are lucky, a fine, yellow dust shows itself on the edge. In only one out of several experiments made in the Berlin Mining College, did gold-sand contain 0*014 per cent, of gold ; and, in one experiment on the heavy sand remaining on the mud-board, no gold was found. During the last washing, the slimy juice of the gogo plant (Entada Purscsthd) is added to the water, the fine, heavy sand remaining suspended therein for a longer time than in pure water, and thus being more easily separated from the gold-dust. It is further to be mentioned that the refuse from the pits is washed at the upper end of the water- gutter, so that the sand adhering to the stones intended for pounding may deposit its gold in the gutter or on the washing-board. In order to melt the gold thus obtained into a lump, in which form it is bought by the dealers, it is poured into a small heart-shell (Cardium sp.}, and, after being covered with a handful of charcoal, placed in a potsherd, when a woman blows through a narrow bamboo cane on the kindled coals, and in one minute the work is completed. A small nugget obtained in this manner, tested at the Berlin Mining College, consisted of: Gold, 77*4 ; silver, 19*0; iron, 0-5 ; flint earth, 3*0 ; loss, 0*1. The result of many inquiries shows the profit per head to be on an average not more than i^ r. daily. Further to the S.W. from here, on Mt. Malaguit, are seen the ruins of a Spanish Mining Co. ; a heap of rubbish, a pit 50 ft. deep, a large house fallen to ruin, and a stream-work 4 ft. broad and 6 ft. high. The mountain consists of gneiss much decomposed, with quartz veins in the stream-work, with the exception of the bands of quartz, which are of almost pure clay earth with sand. The gold is commonly 15 to 16 carats, worth about $12 ($os.) per oz. ASIA : RUSSIA. 369 In Mt. Dallas, gold was mined by a Spanish Co., and is still by the Indians. Gemelli Carreri was informed by the Governor of Manilla (in Morga's time) that gold to the value of $200,000 (40,000/1) was collected annually without the help of either fire or quicksilver, and that Paracali (N. Camarines) in particular, was rich in gold. The produce now is very small, as well on account of the incompleteness of the mode of procedure, as of the irregularity of labour. RUSSIA IN ASIA. The first discovery of gold in Russia was made in 1737, when a peasant named Taras Antonof came upon it near Voitsk, a village in the district of Kem, in the government of Archangel, not far from where the river Vyg flows out of the lake of the same name. The following year, the Imperial Senate issued an ukase or edict, allowing private persons to work the ore. Little, however, was done here, and the mine was abandoned in 1794, richer fields having in the meantime been opened farther east. Lured onward by reports of fabulous wealth, a band of Cossack adventurers, led by that " illustrious brigand " Yermak, laid the foundations of a new empire for the Czars beyond the Urals. But it was not till more than a century and a half later that the first- fruits of their exploit became apparent, and the mineral wealth of Siberia began to be developed. In 1745, 22 years after the foundation of Ekaterinburg, now the most important and thriving centre of the Ural mining industry, gold was found on the banks of the Beriozofsk, a tributary of the Isset, on which Ekaterinburg is situate. Between 1754 and 1847, upwards of a million tons' weight of ore-stuff were raised and washed at Beriozofsk, yielding 26,015 Ib. of gold, in the pro- portion of i Ib. of metal in 40 tons of ore, a result small as compared with other gold-fields in more distant parts of Siberia and elsewhere, but considerable when compared with the low cost of labour and the primitive machinery in use. The rapid development of the gold-industry in Russia during the last 20 years has been due to a variety of causes. Amongst these have been the great demand that has sprung up in both hemispheres for the precious metal as a means of converting the currency, the very in- adequate supply to meet the requirements of all those states desirous of placing their finances on a sound footing, and the immense importance to Russia herself of bringing into circulation the vast stores of wealth hidden beneath her tundras and forests. These considerations induced the Russian government to throw open to individual enterprise the gold-fields scattered over a vast territory. But in the earlier days, only a few privileged persons participated with the government in the industry. The Stroganofs, the Demidofs, and the Yakovlefs laid the foundations of the Russian mining industry, and earned by their immense wealth a world-wide reputation. Their ancestors, born of the humbler ranks, 2 B 37 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. received grants from earlier Czars of extensive tracts, with exclusive rights over the minerals. The Demidofs were the first to take advantage of the permission, conceded only in 1859, to wash the alluvia ; 442 Ib. of gold were annually obtained by them between 1859-63, and as much more in the surrounding district. Neviansk too is remarkable for its leaning tower, said to have been erected by Yakovlef for smelting silver- ore obtained from his mines in the Altai a process illegal in those days, and obliged to be conducted secretly.* Almost due south of Ekaterin- burg, in the district of Zlataust (golden mouth), famed for its steel- cannon foundry and small-arms factory, in the government of Ufa, are the gold-fields of Miask, in the valley of the river Miass. The auriferous tract here extends over 1700 sq. versts (1060 sq. miles) and occupies a belt 100 versts (60 miles) long by 20 to 30 (12 to 18 miles) wide. It is bounded on the east by the Ilmen hills, a ridge running parallel with the Ural, of which it forms an arm, remarkable for a variety of rare minerals found among its rocks. On the south, some detached hills, connecting the Ilmen with the main axis of the range, form the water-parting between the head-waters of the Miass flowing north, and those of another tributary of the Tobol the Ui flowing south. Silurian limestones and schists, penetrated and in some places metamorphosed by granites, porphyries, serpentine, and other igneous rocks, characterize this region. The schists, both argillaceous and talcose, overlie granite and limestone rocks, and are veined with berezite and auriferous quartz. The limestone is in places raised and rent asunder by diorite and serpentine masses, and these mainly compose the valley of the Miass, and distinct ridges, such as Nurali, Kumatch and Aushkul, whilst the Ilmen hills are mostly formed of granite, containing many rare and beautiful minerals. Down the eastern slopes of the main axis of the Ural and the western slopes of the Ilmen, flow numerous tributary streams, all remarkably auriferous. The valley in which they meet is covered with superficial detritus rich in gold, Miask became known towards the end of the eighteenth century, when Ilarion Ivanovitch Luginin erected smelting furnaces here, and called his works Petropavlofsk, after the two saints Peter and Paul, who have long been believed to watch over the destinies of Russia. In 1798, these works were transferred to Government, and the very next year gold was discovered and machinery erected to wash it. At first, operations were confined to quartz, and the quantity of gold obtained was insignificant ; but in 1823, attention was drawn to alluvial deposits, and these produced 50 to 64 puds annually, or about a ton on an average. This gold-field was divided into squares, having each a superficies of I sq. verst (f mile) * The gold-fields of Ekaterinburg, as well as those of Miask, though on the Asiatic slope of the Ural, are included for administrative purposes in European Russia. 1861. 500,000 tons. 1760 1862. 300,000 tons. 1801 1863. 250,000 tons. 1086 cwt. Ib. 118 9 cwt. Ib. 109 36 cwt Ib. 156 8 ASIA: RUSSIA. 371 and distinguished by a separate name. In 1863, 292 of these were worked, with the following results : Earth and sand washed Workmen employed .. Gold obtained In 1876, the Miask gold-fields again became private property, and their productiveness largely increased. When passing through Ekaterinburg in 1880, the writer fell in with the managing director of the company work- ing the Miask mines. He had with him a number of nuggets, the largest of which weighed within 5 zolotniks * of J Ib. Some showed distinctly the crystallization of the gold, others again took curious shapes, giving them a value to collectors apart from their intrinsic worth. Each nugget was * o o accompanied by an official document, issued by the department of mines in Ekaterinburg, describing its weight and appearance, and stating that the Government duty of 20 per cent, had been paid upon it. The Miask gold-fields produced in 1879, 1 30 puds (4680 Ib.) of gold, proving that they fully maintain their reputation of being the richest in the Ural. These three of the principal localities in which gold is found in the Ural have been mentioned because the writer happens to have personally become acquainted with them ; but there are many others to which allusion will be made in the sequel. Suffice it to say here that the whole eastern slope of the Ural, both north and south "of Ekaterinburg, is generally auriferous ; whilst the western slope, abounding in copper and other minerals, is destitute of gold. With this general remark, the reader is referred to the sequel for the most recent information that it has been possible to collect on the gold-production of Russia. In the S.E. corner of the government of Tomsk, between 48 and 52^ N., and 80 and 90 E., on the confines of Western Siberia with the Chinese empire, lies the mountainous and picturesque region of Altai. With an area of 48,000 sq. miles, its vertical elevation averages 4000 to 4500 ft., whilst its passes often rise 1000 ft. higher, and the loftiest peak (Bieluha) attains 11,000 ft. above sea-level. In its mineral and vegetable wealth second to none, this tract may literally be termed a "golden region." Its very name, derived from the Mongol altyn [" gold "], and corresponding with its Chinese nomenclature In-shan ["golden moun- tains "], shows how universally its wealth was known. The word altai with its variants altyn, altun, altan, altangana, &c., is * There are 96 zolotniks in the Russian Ib., which is equal to 14 oz. 7 dr. Eng. avoirdupois. The Russian pud, or 40 Ib. of that country, is consequently equal to 36 Ib. 2 oz. Eng. avoirdupois, or say 36 Ib. 2 B 2 37 2 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. generally indicative of gold in some form. The Tartar altyn found its way into Russian coinage, and represented the value of 3 kopecks silver * (about i33 4278 1866-70 6-8 i 86| 75,849 i5>!7o 5447 1871-73 4-0 2 93* 71,484 23,828 6558 1874 1-03 3 6 4 i 22,252 22,252 21-7 i 86f 244,759 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. It is expected that ere long the Lena gold-fields will produce annually 36,000 Ib. ; indeed the production for 1877 was not far short of this, 34397 Ib. having been raised from the placers in the Lena basin in that year, or considerably over ^ of the whole supply of the year, estimated at 90,078 Ib. The Gold-fields on the Amur. Between 1857 and 1860, Anosof 90 92 94- 96 98 WO 102 ^04- 70ff 108 T10 explored the gold-deposits on the Amur and its tribu- taries, while Basuin under- took those on the Ussuri. In 1870, Bogoliubsky was deputed by Korsakof, governor-general of Eastern Siberia, to report on the mineral resources of Amur country, and following information is mainly derived from his published works. The Amur, both in Russian and Chinese territory, is auriferous. Its head-waters, the Shilka and Argun, within the circuit of Nerchinsk, contain large quantities of gold, as do also its left tributaries, which have their sources in the Stanovoi range, forming a continuation of the the the 708 SKETCH-MAP OF AMUR GOLD-FIELDS. ASIA I RUSSIA. 415 Yablonnoi. It was the chief object of the Trans-Baikalian expedition of 1849, ostensibly sent to define the boundary with China, to discover the placers in the Amur country. Two mining engineers, Nieglitsky and Koranko, with some Nerchinsk workmen, accompanied the expedition. On entering the slopes of Amazar, gold was discovered on the river Tiksan [upper Amazar], and traces of it on the northern side of the range in the Yakutsk circuit, on tributaries of the Utam, an affluent of the Gonama ; descending the basin of the Zehya, gold was found on its tributary the Kapuri at the depth of 7 ft. from the surface, but in extremely small quantities, 20 doilias (13^ gr.) per 100 puds (3600 lb.). Another detach- ment of this expedition under Koranko, while following a spur of high- land running parallel with the Ud, came upon gold on the river Ugakan, an affluent of the Shevli falling into the Ud. Traces of the precious metal were further discovered in the rivers discharging into the Sea of Okhotsk, between the mouths of the Ud and Tugur ; and upon the annexation of the Amur country under the auspices of Count Muravieff-Amursky, all the chief affluents of the Amur were examined by parties of explorers? under the direction of mining engineer Anosof in 1858-60. Gold was also reported to exist in Chinese territory, on tributaries of the Argun, Sungari, and Suifun. In 1866, private individuals were allowed to search for it in the Amursky and Primorsky (maritime) districts. Following is a resume of the localities in which gold has been discovered either by Government or by private persons in the basin of the Amur and along the Sea of Japan. The chief tributaries of the Amur explored under the directions of Anosof are : left tributaries : Urushi" Oldoi, Burinda, Zehya, Zavitaya, Burehya, Bidjan and Kur ; right tributaries : the Ussuri, with the system of lake Hanka ; and the rivers emptying into the Sea of Japan. ist Group. Left tributaries of the Amur : (a) Affluents of the Amazar in the Nerchinsk district : the Lesser Amazar and its tributaries the Tomirol, Kavikta, and Amgun. Left tributaries of the Amazar : Jalinda, Dador, Vassiliefka, Mogocha, with the Ilynika, Greater and Lesser Mogocha, the Greater Chichatka, with its affluent the Kulla. () In the Amursky district, the following have been prospected : (1) The Urka, with its left tributaries the Urulmutti and Omudichi. (2) The Urushi, with 3 locations worked since 1870, yielding 28 lb. per annum, but liable to inundation. (3) The Oldoi, 100 versts (60 miles) from its mouth, divides into the Upper or Greater Oldoi, flowing from N. to S. and rising in some lofty peaks of the Stanovoi range, near the Larba (belonging to the basin of the Olekma) ; and the Lesser Oldoi flowing from N.E. to S.W., rising in the Yankan range. The Greater Oldoi receives on the right the river 41 6 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Mongoli, with 6 locations. In one boring, about f Ib. of gold was found, and the precious metal apparently lay in nests, but the remoteness of these workings made them unprofitable to work ; the river Molodan, with its feeders the Modolakan and Udikit, both discovered by Anosof, with an average yield of I to I \ zolotniks (65 to 90 gr.), but the gold is in nests, and the belt of alluvium is narrow ; the Sivagli and the Shekshaun, with 2 locations. Gold is more abundant on the Lesser Oldoi. Here Anosof found in the Yankan a knot of auriferous rocks from which radiate belts of alluvial deposits along the rivers Krestofka (falling into the Oldoi), the Ura and Gilni, right affluents of the Zehya. The Krestofka falls into the Lesser Oldoi on the left, after receiving its right tributary the Yankan, upon a feeder of which, the Baldijak, are two placers. There are 4 locations on the Yankan ; 2 of these, worked by the Upper Amur Company, yielded in 1871-76, 5400 Ib., in the proportion of 2 zolotniks 59^ doilias (170 gr.) per 3600 Ib. (4) The river Never, with its affluent the Uldigichi, with 6 locations. (5) The Assejina, with 2 locations on each of its tributaries, the Burgali and Depak. (6) The Burgali, with 4 placers, yielding on an average about I zolotnik (65 gr.) per 100 puds (3600 Ib.). (7) The Zehya has a course of upwards of 1300 miles, and receives numerous streams flowing from the Stanovoi range and its spurs, which are liable to sudden floods, when the snows melt in the mountains, and during the rainy season in summer. The Zehya has been very insuffi- ciently explored, and but few borings have been made, though, judging from the discoveries of the Trans-Baikal expedition (in 1849), it is expected that much gold will be found along its northern affluents. The right affluents of the Zehya, between Blagoveschensk and the mouth of the Ur, passing through Tertiary formations, are not auriferous so far as they are known. It is along the upper right tributaries of this river, which have their sources in the Yankan, Tukuringir, and Gilni ranges, that most of the gold has been found. The left feeders are but little known ; but the general rule is the nearer to the mountains, the better the chance of the gold-seeker, e. g. the Djagdu, Burehya, Lesser Hingan, and Ud chains. A. Right tributaries of the Zehya : (i) The Ur or Urkan : auriferous detritus was'discovered on its upper right tributary, the Ingagli, which gave 20 zolotniks 8 doilias (1321 gr.) per 3600 Ib. ; and the Jalinda, upon which 20 locations have been claimed by the Upper Amur Co. Between 1868 and 1876, the Jalinda diggings yielded 3 5,1 24 Ib. of gold, with an average yield of 2 zolotniks 26 doilias (i49gr.) per 3600 Ib. The Jalinda works are considered the best in the country, and not half the gold is exhausted. The other diggings on the ASIA : RUSSIA. 417 Ur are not rich. The detritus on the Jalinda lies on beds of diorite, whilst on some of the neighbouring hills syenite and granites crop out, and farther south, argillaceous and talcose schists, associated with lime- stones, are the prevailing formation. (2) The Gilni : the following right affluents of this river are reported to yield gold, the Mogota and Tanda, with 5 localities ; the Jeltulak, with 4, yielding as much as 3 zolotniks 12 doilias (205 gr.) per 3600 Ib. of sand, and extending for 12 miles in length. (3) The lesser tributaries of the Zehya, between the Gilni and the Brianta, are auriferous, though to what extent is unknown ; their names are : the Ulenkit-Ulaghir, Jakda-Ulaghir, Ushakda-Ulaghir, Kongamun- Ulaghir, Mogota/ Ugana, and Dambikeh. (4) The Brianta is joined on the right by the Ilikana, along which and its feeders, several localities were discovered in 1873, with an average yield of I zolotnik 60 doilias (108 gr.) per 3600 Ib. (5) The Bomnak, with 5 localities, extending 17 miles in length, but too poor and remote to repay the cost of working. B. Left affluents of the Zehya : (1) The Kupuri has poor detritus at its mouth, but higher up on its left affluentj'Tthe Kinlianjaku, alluvium was found by Anosof, yielding i\ zolotniks (99 gr.) per 3600 Ib. Below the Kupuri was no gold as far as the Siliniji, excepting a few traces of the precious metal on the Megu. (2) The Siliniji has several series of deposits on its right tributaries ; these are (a) The Mara, with 12 localities on its left feeder the Burunda giving traces of gold. (b) The lower Mina, with its tributaries : the Tiksiana, 4 localities, average yield, 21 doilias (i4jgr.) per 3600 Ib ; Melannir, with 3 localities, 1 8 doilias (i2jgr.) per 3600 Ib. ; Usiakannir, with 2 localities, 24 doilias (i6igr.) per 3600 Ib; altogether, on Lower Mina, n localities, 33 miles long ; average, 19^ doilias (13 gr.) per 3600 Ib. (c) The Inkan, with its feeders : the Begin, 3 localities, Sabas, 2 localities, and one on the Inkan itself ; in all, 6 localities on the Inkan ; length, 20 miles ; average yield, 18 gr. (d) Upper Mina, with its feeders : right source of the Upper Mina and its affluent the Nika, 4 localities, 12 miles, yield 24 doilias (i6| gr.), Bakadja, 2 localities ; Murtijak, a spring unnamed, and on the left Lukachok, Bagalannak, altogether 1 2 localities, 30 miles ; average yield, 2 if doilias (iSgOj making a total on both Mina rivers and Inkan of .29 localities, 87 miles, average breadth \ verstQ mile), yield, 20 doilias (13 gr.). The placers on the Siliniji are but little explored, and only one, viz. that on the Bakadja, is worked. This yielded in 1875 432 Ib. of gold, and the further development of this gold-field will depend, on future explorations. 2 E 418 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Traces of the metal were discovered near the sources of the Siliniji, on the Maergin, in 4 localities, with an average yield of 94^ doilias (64 gr.). (8) The Burehya. Very rich deposits were discovered on the Niman falling into the Burehya on the right, and its feeders, the Olga, Toen- Olga, Elan-Bira, Topko-Bira, and Utchugei ; also on the Elga and the left affluents of the Olga, e. g. one locality on the Agda, 89 doilias (60$ gr.) per 3600 Ib. ; another on the Konaka, 3 zolotniks 61 doilias (230 gr.) ; one on the Olga, 38 zolotniks 72 doilias (300 gr.) ; traces of gold on the Salara. The Olga is joined on the right by the Olgakana, and its left tributaries, the Utchugei and Artik ; in all, 60 auriferous localities were reported, and further searches have yet to be made on the Niman. Below the confluence of the Burehya with the Amur, exploring parties under Anosof and Basuin found detritus with traces of gold in a defile in the Hingan mountains, on the river Zimoveinoye ; but none on the Dichuna and Bidjan, and only traces of it on the Kukana, a left tributary of the Unma, an affluent of the Kur. (9) The Amgun and its tributaries rise in the lesser Hingan range, but exploration has not penetrated far here, owing to the thinness of the population, chiefly composed of Nigidaltsi, Shamageri and Giliaks. The valley of the Amgun is mostly of recent geological formation, sandstones lying near its head-waters, and granites from its source to the Kerbi. A left tributary of the Amgun, the Herpuchi, is, however, known to be auriferous, and gold has been washed from the detritus on the Talmak, one of its right tributaries. The placers here are owned by Tintinkoff, Benardaki, and Periaslavtsef, and 132 Ib. of gold are annually produced at the mines of Tintinkoff, who has a claim on the Hon, a left feeder of the Herpuchi, with poor detritus. But on the Upper Hon, 3 miles from the Giliak village of the same name, there is a locality from which gold is obtained in the rich proportion of 10 zolotniks (658 gr.) per 3600 Ib. (10) The lake system of the Amur. Below the lesser Hingan range, especially from Khabarofka down- wards, the Amur flows through lowlands, and only enters the hilly country between Lophiisky and the mouth of the Amgun, where it is crossed by the spurs of the Sihotu-alin. Along the whole extent of low- lying land are scattered lakes, all more or less closely connected by channels with the river, e. g. the Jaghini [Shamagher], Ehvoron, Sargu, Bolon, Udil, Chan, Oriol, Chilika, Kizi, Kada, Chlia, and others ; in some of these lakes, gold has been found. (a) Lake Sargu, near Malmijsky village, is joined by the Beha, with detritus yielding \\ zolotniks (99 gr.) per 3600 Ib., located by Sumkin : and the Kupchul, 12 miles from the lake, with detritus averaging 2 zolotniks 58 doilias (171 gr.) per 3600 Ib., located by Cherdimof. (b) Lake Udil, below Soplinsek and above the mouth of the Amgun, ASIA: RUSSIA. 4 r 9 30 miles from the Giliak village of Joloka, is joined by the Alokeha, with detritus averaging 58 doilias (39^ gr.) per 3600 Ib. ; and by the Bitki, with its affluent the Balakai, both located by Luri. (c) Lake Chilika is joined by the Kirgichan, with traces of gold. 2nd Group : right affluent of the Amur ; system of the Ussuri and lake Hanka. The Upper Ussuri was prospected by Basuin in 1861-62, but no gold was found, except on the Imma, where 8 borings were sunk, in one of which a nugget was found. But these searches were not extensive enough, because they did not reach the Sihotu-alin mountains, and they were moreover made under exceptionally unfavourable conditions, owing to the thinly settled population at that time, and the dearness of neces- saries of life. The forests and marshes too are impenetrable in the winter months, owing to the depth of snow. Hence traces of gold were dis- covered only on two tributaries of lake Hanka, in some abandoned diggings surreptitiously worked by the Chinese. 3rd Group : the littoral of the Pacific. (A) The sea coast of Okhotsk and Tatarsky Gulf. Between Udsky Bay and De Castries Straits, the coast-line of the Pacific is upwards of 1000 versts (725 miles) long, and is watered by numerous rivers, the chief of which are the Ud, Tugur, and Amur. It is a belt of territory indented with rocky bays, with steep precipitous cliffs abutting on the sea, and here and there a shelving sandy slip subject to frequent inundations by flood and tide. The population is scarce, consisting of fish-eating Giliaks, who drive their dog-sledges through the deep snow in winter, and in summer urge their light birch-bark skiffs, so-called omorotchi, from island to island. Communications are thus kept up without great difficulty ; specially easy is that from the Tugur to Ukaky t, near Burukunsky chapel, on the Agnekan, a left affluent of the Nemilen, flowing into the Amgun on the left. This was the route followed by Cossacks and hunters to the scenes of their early triumphs on the Amur in the latter half of the eighteenth century. In 1851, detachments of the Trans-Baikal expedition explored the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, and discovered traces of gold along the rivulets discharging into that sea, between the mouths of the Ud and Tugur. Koranko, who took part in this expedition, ascended the Ud from Udsk to the Shevli in a skiff, and found traces of gold on the Ugakan, a tributary of the Shevli. In 1872, 4 placers were located here by Anosof, and traces of gold were also found north of Nikolaiefsk, on the Greater and Lesser Iskai, and on the Shilho, an affluent of the Mindu. (B) Shores of the Sea of Japan as far as the frontier of Corea. That tract of country lying between De Castries Bay and Plastun has never been prospected for gold. At Cape Zolotoi (Golden), visited 2 E 2 42O GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. by the Russians for the first time in 1874, gold was found, and probably the mineral wealth of the whole region will repay a careful survey. In the southern maritime districts, gold was found in old Chinese and Manchu workings, the industry having been carried on by the former people in contravention of the law. It seems, however, that the yield was extremely poor. In 1873, claims were started at several localities along the bays ; but owing to insufficient data, it is difficult to judge of the richness of the detritus. The following is a list of allotted placers : (1) On the Tu-su-uga, and its tributary the Sio-su-su-ta-sio-si-hor, one claim yielded 55 doilias (37 gr.) per 3600 Ib. (2) Ta-vai-tsa Bay, between Ostrof Gulf and Shallow Bay, is joined by the Su-du-ho ; into its tributary the Sian-su-tsz-ho, falls on the left the Chin-tin-kan, with a claim of 37 doilias (25 gr.) per 3600 Ib. The Sian-su-tsz-ho has 4 claims of 25 to 40 doilias (17 to 27^ gr.). (3) The Ching-cheng-su-ai has one claim of 40 doilias (27^ gr.). (4) America Bay is joined by the Suchan : its tributaries are the Eldogu [Erdogu], into which flows the Eldogoga, with I claim 20 miles from the Chinese village of Pinsan, yielding 80 doilias (54^ gr.) per 3600 Ib. The Shu-su-ho has another claim of 68 doilias (46^ gr.) ; the Suchan, with its affluent the Great Sicha, has a claim of 2 zolotniks 48 doilias (164 gr.) per 3600 Ib. ; the Shisa, falling into the Suchan, has a claim of I zolotnik 44 doilias (68 gr.) per 3600 Ib., 17 miles from the village of Pinsan. The Fonga, a left tributary of the Suchou, has I claim yielding 30 doilias (20^ gr.). (5) Nahodka Bay : I claim on the Finsk, of 40 doilias (66 gr.). (6) Vostok Gulf, to the west of America Bay, is joined by (a) The Udmi, with its tributary the Chin-san-sahoi ; into the latter flows S ad ingo brook, with a claim averaging only 20 doilias (13^ gr.). (b) The Ta-Udmi, with its left affluent the Singak, with its tributary the Meskokh, with 2 claims on each. (7) Strelok Straits receive the waters of the Seveiza, on the left source of which I claim has been opened, with 20 doilias (13^ gr.) ; the Tian-tundza with one claim, of 27 doilias (18^ gr.), the Kogotun falling into Abrek Bay, with two placers, averaging 20 to 30 doilias (13^ to 2O 2 g r -)> an d a third on a spring flowing into it. The Tin-ha or Chen-hen, upon which Anosof discovered abandoned workings, with a yield of I zolotnik (66 gr.) per 3600 Ib. The belt of detritus extends for 20 miles, and has been quite recently worked by Chinese. The alluvium continues to the sea, and probably lies beneath it. (8) Ussuri Gulf is joined by The Shitakha, with its tributaries the Pinkan, fed by the Tin-ho, upon which there is a claim. The Endologa joins the Shitakha from the left, and was prospected by Basuin, who also explored the Kongonza, where ASIA : RUSSIA. 42 I he found traces of gold formerly worked ; the Tsimaha, with its affluent the Shitun and Pestsi ; the Maiha or Maeh-ho, with its right tributary the Suidengu, with a claim about 20 miles from the village of Shkotovo, containing gold in small quantities. (9) Amursky Gulf receives a nameless river with I claim averaging 30 doilias (20^ gr.) ; the Suifun : this river rises in Manchuria, in the Chang-pe-ghan mountains, near the Tumen-ula and the rivers debouching into lake Hanka. Near its sources, Chinese engage, it is reported, in the contraband industry ; of 3 placers opened within Russian territory, on the Potaheza, a tributary of the Suifun, Lansky owns one averaging 70 doilias (47^ gr.) ; 2 others on a branch of the Potaheza, called after the Mantsi, yield 55 and 50 doilias (37^ and 34 gr.) respectively ; and a fourth, below the confluence of the Hubutu-Ulatu, on the Manchurian border, has a claim of i zolotnik ^doilias (iO2jgr.). The other streams flowing into Amursky Gulf, viz. the Ili-ho, Ambo-bellu [Amba-bira], and Manguhai, were surveyed by Lopatin, but no gold was discovered. The Yanchi-ho falling into Expedition Bay of Gulf Possiet contains traces of gold. (10) Islands. Between gulfs Olga and Amursky, at a short distance from the coast, are the islands Askold, Putiatin, and Petroff, containing alluvial deposits. These moreover evidently cross Strelok Straits from the Tsimaha to the islands in the Sea of Japan. (a) Askold Island is separated from the continent by Strelok Straits. In 1868, some Mantsi inhabiting the maritime districts washed gold on this island, and 5^ Ib. of the precious metal was taken from them ; 300 of these people worked in 5 trenches or dykes 14 ft. wide, and in 6 pits 10 ft. deep, in the direction of the sea coast. They had built themselves huts, and washed the sand in 5 hand-buddies. From Basuin's report, the auriferous stratum appears to lie close to the shore, and even under the sea ; and Lopatin found it to extend along the south side of the island, where it was met with in Naiesdnik (rider) Bay, and along a dry gully leading from it. The stratum was in one place 5 to IO ft. thick, and contained 14 gr. of gold in 10 puds (360 Ib.) of sand, without any overlying peat. Other borings showed a thinner stratum, and a smaller proportion of the precious metal. (b) Putiatin Island lies north of Askold Island, and was surveyed by Basuin in 1868, when he found some old Chinese workings so completely overgrown with grass and bushes that they were scarcely visible. A chain of hills runs across this island, which is 2 miles wide ; 300 yd. from their foot, at the confluence of some springs, lies a narrow belt of auriferous sand, under a thick layer of peat. The Mantsi reported there were other diggings in the south of the island, which forms a link in the 4 22 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. chain of hills extending from the mainland southward to Askold Island. On the S.W. slope, a claim has been located for a distance of loooyd. in Tulbo-bai ravine, yielding i doilia (o'68 gr.) per 100 Ib. (c) Petroff Island lies near Ta-vai-tsa and Cape Ostrofny, and has one claim. (d) Russky (Russian) or Dundas Island, opposite Golden Horn Bay, is reported to be auriferous. General Summary. The gold industry in the Amur country was first commenced by the Upper Amursky Company, and has been successfully developed along the Zehya, Burehya, and Amgun rivers. Its importance, long checked by the scantiness of the population, promises in the future to become great ; but the necessaries of life have all at present to be brought from Trans-Baikalia, whence they are transported on rafts and in boats down the Shilka and Argun to the residence or dep6t of the Upper Amur mining districts, f mile from the village of Rainovo, on the Amur. Here is a landing place and telegraph station, and hence supplies are carried in winter on camels to the diggings of the Upper Amur Co., distant 70 miles. Between 1868, when this Co. first started, and 1875, their production averaged annually 5060 Ib. of gold, 10 diggings being worked on the rivers Ura and Oldoi by about 2000 men. The belt of alluvium is 7 ft. thick, and the overlying peat varies between 7 and 10 ft. Each of their double-barrelled machines washes 80 cub. fathoms per diem, and there are besides 6 stands. The gold-fields of the Amur basin lie in Trans-Baikalia, the Amur and maritime provinces. Those on the upper Amur, and its tributaries the Shilka and Argun, are included in the Nerchinsk circuit ; farther east, on the central Amur, as far as Kharabofka, they are com- prised in the Amursky circuit ; the remainder, on the lower Amur and its affluents, together with the littoral of the Pacific from Corea to Cape Chukotsky, are included in the Primorsky or maritime circuit, and are distributed over the whole province. These placers are of comparatively recent discovery, but they promise to become at a future day of great importance to the gold-industry, owing to the navigability of the rivers, and their easy access from the sea. They are situate in the mountainous tract margining the basin of the Amur on all sides, as well as in the littoral range of Sihotu-alin. The gold is disseminated along the courses of the chief affluents of the Amur, in numerous though not particularly rich beds of detritus, and is easily worked. Some of the alluvium lies actually on the sea-coast, e. g. on the islands in the sea of Japan, in Strelok Bay, and along the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk. The detritus of the Amur is generally not thicker than about 1 8 ft, but on the other hand it is sometimes nearly a mile in width. The proportions of peat and detritus are equal, and it may be said generally that a thin ASIA : RUSSIA. 423 layer of vegetable mould barely covers the auriferous deposits. This leads to the inference that the disintegration of the rocks -and dissemina- tion of the gold were the result of very violent physical changes assisted by the steep fall of the rivulets and summer floods. The gold-mines of Nerchinsk lie in the spurs of the Yablounovoi range, from the borders of Mongolia and Manchuria to the confluence of the Shilka and Argun. Many of the streams in the Nerchinsk circuit abound in gold of various richness, from hardly perceptible traces to zolotniks (i zolotnik == 65*83 gr.) of it. The constantly frozen state of the soil has doubtless prevented the detritus from being washed away by the rivers ; had it been otherwise, and the climate warmer, all the gold would have been carried down to the Eastern Ocean, and such has doubtless been the case in former times on a great scale. The modern auriferous detritus is therefore a remnant of the ancient placers. The depth of these deposits is not great. Government began the search for gold in 1830 ; washing commenced in 1832. The following quantities were obtained at the Government placers : Washing years. Alluvium washed. Contents per 3600 Ib. Gold raised. Average for the year. million tons. dwt. Ib. Ib. 1832-35 O'OI I* 34 8J 1836-40 0'08 a! 447 8 9 1841-45 O'24 3* 2,184 437 1846-50 0-73 3f 6,484 - 1298 1851-55 1-8 4* 19,881 3976 1856-60 2'2 2j 12,279 2456 1861-65 3-26 2* 17,645 3529 1866-70 4*4 2j 25,718 5H3 1871-73 3-0 2i 16,414 5471 1874 0-85 2* 5,481 548i 16-5 2 106,567 Up to 1863, gold-mining was done by serfs attached to the mining districts ; from that date, by free labour, by which a larger quantity was produced. In the Nerchinsk circuit is a vast extent of auriferous detritus lying idle owing to the poor yield of gold, rendering it impossible for private enterprise to wash with the high taxes now levied. Experience has shown the unprofitableness of washing detritus which yields less than f zolotnik (2 dwt.) per 3600 Ib. The total quantity of auriferous deposits, reckoning them at about 1300 miles in area, 350 ft. wide, and 7 ft. thick, is 50,000,000 cubic fathoms, estimated to contain 940,000 Ib. of gold. The private placers of the Nerchinsk circuit occupy the area from the Yablounovoi range to the Mongolian frontier on the east, to the Argun, 424 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. along the tributaries of the Urunluingui and Central Borzeya, the Unda, Onon, and Shilka, the Kuenga, the Nercha, Urum, and Chacha. Government monopolized the gold-industry only till 1864, when private enterprise was admitted in certain parts of the district with successful results, and it is anticipated that when the whole of Nerchinsk is thrown open to private enterprise, the annual production will reach 18,000 Ib. The quantity now raised, 11,700 Ib., must be considered small for so large and highly auriferous a tract as Nerchinsk. Various causes are assigned for this small production, droughts and flood, damages to hydraulic and other works by heavy rains in July and August. Permis- sion too is much needed to seek for gold on the Achinga, Akna, Baldja, Kirkuna, and Kyr, still reserved for the Imperial private purse. Were these and other localities offered to individual enterprise, much of the poorer detritus now lying idle might be made to produce something. The gold-fields on the Amur are situated on its tributaries the Zehya and Burehya, in spurs of the Stanovoi and Bur^hya ranges. They present no remarkable or distinctive features, but may generally be described as large deposits not very rich in gold, which has been continuously dis- seminated along the valleys and low-lying lands bordering on the Amur. Up to 1875, claims were sent in to the mining authorities for 1000 running miles of placers. Some of the detritus on the Burehya [Niman], Selimdja, Jalinda, and Zehya, is nearly a mile wide, so that the auriferous localities claimed represent an area of 1000 sq. miles. It is estimated that if T T 7 th of this be worked, it should produce 585,936 Ib. The rate of production in 1871-75 was 6048 Ib. per annum at 6 placers, and the quantity raised by each individual labourer was 8 Ib. In quantity of work done and gold produced, the Upper Amur Co. surpasses all others in Siberia. The sea-coast of the Eastern Ocean, from the borders of Corea to the mouth of the Ud, in the Sea of Okhotsk, is auriferous. There is doubtless gold too farther north, along the sea-board of Okhotsk and Behring seas to Cape Chukotsky, on the islands which stud these seas, and in Kam- chatka. But in 1871, there was a great dearth of the necessaries of life in these regions, and this diminished the supply of gold. Up to 1874, 400 Ib. had been raised ; in that year, the only placers worked, viz. those on the Amgun, were neglected probably for the same reason. In 1875 and 1876, searching parties prosecuted their work in several localities along the Sea of Japan; and in 1877, washing was commenced on Askold Island. The same year, the production of gold in the maritime province reached 461 Ib. According to an estimate by Bogoliubsky, the basin of the Amur con- tains 250,000,000 cub. fathoms of auriferous soil, from which 5,859,380 Ib. of gold may be raised ; under more favourable conditions, however, this ASIA : RUSSIA. 425 quantity may be largely exceeded. Between 1832 and 1875, the quantity of gold raised in the Amur basin was as follows : ib. Okrug (circuit) of Nerchinsk, private estates of the Tzar .. .. 106,560 Do do private enterprise .. .. .. 48,054 Do Amur 34.5OO Do Maritime province . . . . . . . . . . 400 189,514 From 1 86 1, gold-washing in the basin of the Amur took a new start, and has proceeded satisfactorily ever since ; whilst on the eastern sea- board, the field for the development of minerals is wide. Kamchatka, Saghalien, the Shantar and Kurile islands, are nearly inaccessible, and their gold-fields cannot for the present be explored ; but with the settlement of the maritime province by an agricultural and industrial population, an abundant supply of the necessaries of life will be assured, and the treasure lavishly scattered along the shores of the Great Ocean will become available. In 1875, gold-washing was begun on the Siliniji by the Central Amur Co., and about 412 Ib. was obtained. In the same year, operations were also commenced on the Burehya, Niman, and Olga ; but no returns are available for that year. In 1871, Tintinkoff opened his diggings along the Herpuchi and Talmak, obtaining on an average 144 Ib. per annum in 1874-75. Altogether, the basin of the Amur had yielded up to 1875, 41,760 Ib. of gold, valued at 15,080,000 metallic rubles, or about 2,5oo,ooo/., but this is exclusive of the production on the Shilka, in the Nerchinsk district, which alone amounted to 16,380 Ib. to 1875, making a grand total of 58,140 Ib., worth about 3,500,0007. This represents the profits derived from the Amur country, and is some return for the outlay in acquiring and settling it ; but it is confidently anticipated that the future will yield far more brilliant results, and it is worth while estimating what there may be, by assuming the auriferous alluvial deposits to extend looo miles in length, with an average width of 350 ft. and a depth of 5 ft, yielding a proportion of zolotnik (16^ gr.) per 3600 Ib.; say, cubic contents of detritus, 25,000,000 ft. of sand, producing 5,953,630 Ib., value 2 milliards of rubles silver, or, in round numbers, 35O,ooo,ooo/. Of course, while the duty remains so high and other conditions so unfavourable, it is impossible to work areas returning a low proportion of gold. But the time will come when the country will be opened up and inhabited by a settled population. When agriculture and industry thrive, it is possible that these estimates may be largely surpassed, for it should be remem- bered that only one-half the basin of the Amur is as yet explored. The Ural Gold-fields.^^ "Arctic Ural" extends from the 6ist 426 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. FIG. 13. parallel northwards for 1000 versts (about 670 miles) to the shores of the glacial ocean. It is for the most part densely forested, almost impassable, and characterized by an extremely severe climate. This tract was explored by the so-called "Northern Expedition," in 1830-43,* and gold was discovered on the head-waters of the rivers Petchora, Vishera, Shigor, and Vychegda, which rise in the Ural, and along the basin of the northern Sosva, where the Pai-hoi range begins. From experiments then made, the average yield was found to be about I zolotnik (66 gr.) per 100 puds (3600 Ib.) of sand and earth. But the region is so remote, inac- cessible, and devoid of the necessaries of life, that miners cannot venture into it, and its gold is therefore practically useless. The following remarks concern the better known colonized parts of the Ural range, southward from the 6oth parallel of N. lat. nearly to Orenburg. When Murchison, Count Keyser- ling, and De Verneuil explored this country in 1841, and published their great work on its geology, gold-mining was in its early stage of development, the alluvial deposits were only beginning to be worked, and washing was entirely done by hand, with the assistance of horses and oxen. In the 40 years that have elapsed since then, many remarkable changes have taken place, to which allusion will be made in the following pages, and it is probable that no part of Russia can show so much progress as the towns, zavods (ironworks), and mining centres in the Ural do at the present day. The Ural gold-mines and placers are of two kinds, those belonging to Government, and those owned by private individuals. To the former category belong the Bogoslofsk, Goro Blagodat, Ekaterinburg, and Zlataust groups ; in the latter, are included all gold-washings and -diggings belonging to private companies and individuals, situate on both flanks of the range, but mostly on the eastern [Asiatic] side, in the governments of Perm, Orenburg, and Ufa, as well as in the Uralsk territory. * Also by Murchison's associate, Count Keyserling, in 1843, who discovered a north- westerly ramification of the Ural, the so-called "Timan " range. URAL GOLD-FIELD. ASIA I RUSSIA. 427 A. The Government gold-fields. (i) Bogoslofsk is the northernmost of the Government mining establishments in the Ural. It was formerly noted for its production of iron and copper, but this source of prosperity declined so materially that in 1837 the works would have been closed, had not rich gold-alluvions been discovered. Sir R. Murchison says that the Peschanka gold-mine, near Bogoslofsk, had yielded from its discovery in 1829 to 1840, i.e. in II years, 250 puds (9000 Ib.) of gold. According to another writer, 112 placers had been opened to 1849, and the annual washings averaged 1 500 Ib., with a proportion of % zolotnik (44 gr.) to 3600 Ib. of sand. The gold lies along the Lozva and Sosva, tributaries of the Tavda, an affluent of the Tobol, and is associated with diorite, serpentine, and sulphur-pyrites. Murchison found the chief under- lying rock to be greenstone, and the richest alluvions lay immediately upon it. No quartz veins have been found here, the gold grains being simply collected by washing the finer sandy gravel. " The inspection of this locality," says Murchison, "led us to believe that the gold had been diffused through the subjacent rock, and that the auriferous epoch, or the close of it, was marked by the scouring and denudation of the surfaces of the rock so impregnated." The following details of production are borrowed from Bogoliubsky's work : Years. Gold raised. Average annual Average for quantity. puds. puds. lb.- 1823-60 I328-3 34-95 1262 1861-65 II4'6 22'9 - 826 1866-70 112-925 *22'6 814 1871-73 64-4 21-275 773 I8 74 i4'925 H'925 54i 1635-150 The falling off in the production after 1860 is attributed to the impoverishment of the placers owing to the removal of the richest sands, the enfranchisement of the mining population, and the introduction of accord-arbeit. * The Bogoslofsk mining district is now rented from the Government by Bachmakof and Co., who have also undertaken the copper-mines there. An approximate calculation has been made by Bogoliubsky of the supply of gold in the 200 placers of the Bogoslofsk district. These he estimates at 1000 versts (725 miles) in length, with a breadth of 350 ft, a depth of 7ft., and contents of 25,000,000 cub. fathoms, yielding 13,020 puds * The accord-arbeit, which might be compared with piece-work as distinguished from time- work, should increase the production and not diminish it. M. 428 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. (468,720 lb.) of gold, in the proportion of 2 zolotniks (131^ gr.) per cub. fathom of sand. Deducting the quantities extracted before 1875, the remainder is n, $&$ puds (409,860 lb.), and supposing half that quantity to be ultimately obtained, the value of the Bogoslofsk placers may be represented by the sum of 1 2,392,0007. (2) The next Government mining district is Goro Blagodat, nearly due south of Bogoslofsk, on the same side of the main axis of the Ural, in the government of Perm. This district, which also comprises some large iron-foundries and gun-factories, first came into notice with the discovery, in 1730, of the rich hill of Blagodat (i. e. bountiful) famed for its magnetic iron-ore, and not less memorable for the tragic event connected with the early settlement of the Russians in this country, mentioned by Murchison. The Kushvinsky gold-diggings in this district brought the Government an annual revenue of 105,803 rubles (13,22$!. ). What has been done there more recently it is impossible to say, for since the admission of private enterprise in 1861, nothing is known of the results, no returns are published, and there is a complete absence of information about it, which is all the more surprising because the region is believed to be particularly rich in minerals, and covers an area of about 2 million acres, including the main axis of the Ural and its branches. Moreover, the position of this gold-field, the proximity of numerous Government and private iron- works, make it much easier to supply with all necessary instruments and machines than the Bogoslofsk okrug, which is out of the way and ill- provided with communications. (3) The Ekaterinburg group occupies the central Ural, and is impor- tant, no less from the town after which it takes its name, than for the zavods or works in the vicinity. Besides, it is easily accessible, being on the great Siberian highway, and for the last few years it has been con- nected with European Russia by a railroad. Within 2 hours' drive of Ekaterinburg, are the gold-mines of Beriozofsk, discovered in 1745, on the Beriozofka rivulet, a feeder of the Pyshma, by a peasant, Dorothy Markof. In those days, gold-washing was not understood, and attention was therefore exclusively turned towards quartz-crushing. In this way, i61b. of gold was obtained to 1754. Not till 1814, was an atttempt made to wash the alluvions. Murchison visited Beriozofka mines in 1841, by which time 679 puds (24,444 lb.) of gold had altogether been obtained from 52,000,000 puds (8,300,000 tons) of ore-stuff. He says they are interesting to the geologist and mineralogist, in offering the only sub- terranean shafts in all this region, by which gold is still extracted from the parent rock. The chief fundamental rocks are talcose and chloritic schists and clay-slates, like those which prevail around Ekaterinburg, and these have been cut through by bands of a felspathic rock, called beresite, which Rose considers to be a decomposed granite a continuation, in fact, ASIA : RUSSIA. 429 of the granites of the Shartash lake and Ekaterinburg. The writer descended this mine in 1861 by a lateral gallery, and saw the process of extracting the alluvium by a shaft only 28 ft. deep. The soil or gravel was poor, much poorer than that formerly worked, yielding only about a third of a zolotnik instead of 2 to 2.\ zolotniks as formerly. Murchison mentions the maximum depth reached in his time as 28 fathoms (196 ft.), but these deeper borings were closed in 1861, owing to water, which made its way in from lake Shartash. Up to that year (1861), but little improvement had taken place in the art of washing the alluvium and quartz crushing ; the machinery was of the rudest kind, and economy of labour did not appear to be studied, though steam power had certainly been introduced, and thus 10,000 puds (360,000 Ib.) of ore-stuff were washed per diem. But the director said that a second and even third washing produced better results than the first. In Hoffmann's time (1843), it took 28 million puds of sand to produce the annual quantity of 30 puds of gold which was formerly obtained from 6 to 8 million puds. From 1814 to 1874, 2201 puds (79,236 Ib.) of gold had been extracted from these mines. But the Ekaterinburg washings were eclipsed by those of Eastern Siberia, where superior energy and enterprise made up for remoteness and other disadvantages. Beriozofsk has, within the last few years, with other Government establishments of the kind, passed into private hands, and is said to be doing well, its production having risen to 2i6olb. per annum. This gold, however, is mixed with a large quantity of alloy, in the proportion of about 12 per cent There is said to be enough alluvium to last for many years in the valleys which join the Pyshma, Reft, and Isset. (4) In the southern Ural lies the highly metalliferous region of Zlataust (golden mouth), amidst ridges of hills, some of which rise to a height of several thousand feet. Zlataust itself (the town and the works) lies in 55 1 1' N. lat, and 77 26' E. long., 1230 ft. above sea-level, surrounded on all sides by hills wooded to their summits. In 1863, the population here numbered 25,708 males, mostly employed in the Govern- ment works. The gold-alluvium is found along the lateral streams which feed the Miass, a river flowing from S. to N. in a valley bounded on the W. by the main crest of the Ural, and on the E. by the Ilmen ridge, remarkable for the minerals and precious stones found there. The Miask digging 3 nave been from the first among the richest in the Ural, both in the quantity of the gold found there and in nuggets. The largest of these weighed 79 Ib., was found at the Tsarevo Alexandrofsk digging ; it may now be seen at the museum of the mining corps at St. Peters- burg. After the discovery of the Miask placers in 1823, their produc- tion rose so rapidly, that in 1827, 64 puds (2304 Ib.) were extracted from them. Between this and 1849, the annual yield averaged about 50 puds 43 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. (1800 lb.), and remained stationary at this for 10 years ; but in 1859, it suddenly fell to 33'57/^afr (1213 lb.). Regulations and Statistics. A serious decline in the prosperity of the Miask works induced Government to try an innovation in the mode of working them ; as this has exercised a great influence on the gold-industry in Russia, and is still generally practised, it will be necessary to say something about it. Up to this time, the workmen at the mines, both Government and private, had their tasks allotted to them by overseers or steigers, as they were called after the German. These overseers were responsible for the conduct of the work, and were entrusted with the supervision of the men, who were paid for their labour by the day. Finding this system did not answer, and that the production of gold unaccountably declined, it was decided to adopt the system of piece-work, that is to say, leaving the men to work the Digging 3 as they pleased, and to give them a small share in the gold washed, irrespective of the amount of work done and the time they took about it. This was called staratelskaya rabota, i. e. " zealous work " (the word staratsa meaning to strive or endeavour), and bore some analogy to the accord-arbeit in agricultural holdings in northern Germany, whence the idea was apparently borrowed. This system, useful as it doubtless was in its results, was not without its disadvantages. And these have always been and are still strongly urged against it. Admitted that the production of gold was increased, and that the work done both in the aggregate and by each individual labourer was vastly in excess of anything previously heard of or thought possible, and this with the rudest implements and the most primitive machinery, it was found on the other hand that it led to an unsystematic working of the placers. The appearance presented by these after a gang of volunteers had been washing was that of confused heaps and holes, which rendered them useless afterwards, though the alluvium may not nearly have been ex- hausted. The steigers who conducted the preliminary work of boring were tempted to conceal the position of the best alluvium, in order that they might work them with the accord-arbeit, in whose gains they took care to reserve a share for themselves. It encouraged gold-stealing, owing to the impossibility of exercising sufficient control over the men, who were often scattered over a wide area, washing in small gangs, or each man for himself. It fostered negligence on the part of the over- seers and immorality among the men, yet in spite of this, no better plan could at the time be devised for restoring prosperity to the diggings, which had become an important element of national wealth. When the Ural placers were first discovered, the search for gold was restricted to owners of zavods or copper- and iron-works, who were allowed to pro- spect for the precious metal on their estates. But as reports of a much ASIA : RUSSIA. 431 wider extent of gold-fields received confirmation, it became doubtful if the exclusiveness hitherto adopted were really beneficial. On the one side, it was said that great evils might result from a large influx of gold in districts so thinly populated as most parts of Siberia ; it was feared that artizans and labourers, of whom there was already a dearth, might be only too ready to leave their employers and seek their fortunes at the diggings, thus depriving the Government of the hands necessary for carrying on their work. Moreover, it was alleged that the gold-fields would be wastefully worked by numerically weak gangs of miners, and that a contraband trade would spring into existence. By those who held these views, Government was advised not to surrender its hold over the minerals, but to keep them until such time as they would be indispensable for the state. On the other hand, it was contended that labour was not so scarce as was alleged, that the iron- works and coal-mines in the Ural and Siberia might take care of themselves, and that only a small proportion of the working classes was employed at the private gold-diggings. It was pointed out that private enterprise and capital had already done much for the gold-industry, and would probably do a great deal more towards developing it, and that the interference of the state did more harm than good. These views found an able exponent in an anonymous writer, who is generally believed to have been no less a personage than Count Canerine, minister of state. He exposed the fallacy of endeavouring to hamper by Government restrictions a new branch of industry. What, he asked, are these gold- alluvia, these masses of earth and sand, but disintegrated fragments of rocks drifted by streams of water into the valleys and widely disseminated. The process which had formed them was still at work, distributing the precious metal over a still wider area, and impoverishing the detritus. By reserving the washings for future use, the state would be the loser, not the gainer, and every effort should be made to utilize them with all possible speed. These arguments prevailed, and in 1826 permission was given to every Russian subject recommended by the minister of finance to prospect for gold. In this way, the merchants Rezantsof, Rezanof, Cherepanof, and Verkhodanof were allowed to prospect the Crown lands in the governments of Viatka and Tobolsk. In 1827, the merchants Korobkof, A. Popof, and W. Popof, received like concessions for the govern- ment of Viatka, Siberia, and Omsk, as well as the governments of Archangel and Vologda, whilst councillor Prince Galitsin was allowed to explore those of Irkutsk and Yeniseisk. In 1828, permits were given to merchants Kuznetsof for Irkutsk, and another Kuznetsof for Kunghur, Balandin for Tomsk, Irkutsk, and Yeniseisk. In 1829, the Semipalatinsk merchant Popof received like privileges for W. Siberia, including the districts round Omsk. Thus, by 1838, 200 persons who 43 2 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. had meanwhile found a corresponding number of placers embarked in the industry. Private gold-workings in Siberia were at first taxed, like those in the Ural, with an ad valorem duty of 0-15, levied in kind, besides 4 rubles (ictf.) per Ib. * or 0-0121 of the value for maintaining a staff of police at the diggings. This was modified in 1838 by a Government edict revising the administration of the Siberian gold-workings. The discovery of extraordinarily rich workings on the Uderey, in the government of Yeniseisk, in 60 5' to 61 N. lat, and 95 5' long. E. of Paris, barely 3 years after the publication of this edict, led to a thorough change in the system. From December 1 840, the washings on the Uderey were taxed with o 24, in all other parts of Eastern and Western Siberia with 0-20, of the value of the extracted gold, besides the 4 rubles per Ib. already mentioned, raising the total amount of the tax to 0-2521 and O-2I2I respectively for these two classes of diggings. The only excep- tion allowed was in favour of those persons who had commenced boring, and who might continue 3 years longer under the old rates. This increase was apparently justified on the ground that there had been no engagement by the Government to make the 0*15 or strictly speaking the 16*2 tax perpetual. With the lower rate, expectations had been far surpassed, and large private fortunes had been realized. Nothing, therefore, could be said against a higher tax, and the authorities overlooked the twofold consideration that the profit derived from any branch of industry is by no means to be measured by the direct revenue it brings to the treasury, and that this immediate gain seldom grows in proportion with the rate at which it is collected, for soon afterwards they appear to have entertained the proposal to increase still further the duty. Thus, in 1843, the permission was granted to prospect for gold in the Verkneudinsk district of the government of Irkutsk with a new imposition of O' 30 of the value obtained ; and at the same time, in order to control more effectually the industry, a sliding scale of police duties was instituted, to be levied at each individual working, of 5 rubles per Ib. on diggings which produced from 2 to 5 puds of alloyed gold. 7 > > 5 ^" > 8 ,, ,, over 10 ,, The ^-ruble duty was henceforward only leviable at washings where the annual production was under 2 puds, and the 4 classes of diggings were then regulated as follows : 0-3121 of the gold obtained. 0-3211 and 0-3241 Not satisfied with this increase, the Government was induced to * I Ib. of alloyed gold was then worth 330 7 rubles. ASIA : RUSSIA. 433 entertain proposals for acquiring a still larger share in the profits. Two individuals, said to have been Germans holding high rank in the Govern- ment service in Siberia, offered to undertake the working of two of the Government washings, returning 50 per cent, to Government. This extraordinarily zealous proposal referred to the Olga and Platonof placers, whose exact position and approximate value were not stated. Apparently it was not accepted ; but it led to the elaboration of a scheme introducing important fiscal changes in the administration of the Siberian gold-fields, which was submitted to a commission presided over by the Duke of Leuchtenberg. After 4 years' deliberations, during which a vast amount of material was collected, the principle was adopted of a movable tax, increasing in proportion with the aggregate contents of each individual placer. This was admitted to be most equitable in theory, but in practice the difficulties in the way of applying it were overwhelming. The very large staff of Government inspectors, without whom not even an approxi- mate estimate of the value of the diggings could be formed, and the dissatisfaction it would cause to the proprietors, were disadvantages which far outweighed the benefits of such a system. But since it appeared that the larger diggings, or those which produced most gold, were beyond comparison more profitable than the smaller, it was decided to adjust the taxation in as equitable a manner as possible, keeping in view the interests of the state. Hence, therefore, the principle hitherto adopted was adhered to, the gradations alone were altered, and the scale of duties was raised. From the I4th April, 1849, a measure of the highest importance received the imperial assent ; private gold- washings in Western and Eastern Siberia, including Trans-Baikalia, and the Kirghiz steppe, were to be henceforward taxed as follows : Annual output. Principal tax on the gross results. Police tax per lb. of the result in rubles gold. Total tax on the yield per n pud of alloyed gold in silver rubles. I pud to 2 /#<& of alloyed gold. 0-05 4 n 826-2 2 5 O'lO 5 n 1528-8 5 ii 10 ,, ,, 0-15 6 n 2231-4 10 IS (o- 17 for the first 10 puds\ (0-25 remainder / 7 / 3595 '4 \- 10582-4 15 20 ,, ,, Jo- 21 for the first i$ puds\ (0-28 ,, remainder / 7 (n 3992-2 \- 13889-1 20 25 Jo "23 for the first 20 puds\ \o'3O ,, remainder / 8 (n 4298-0 \- 18519-8 25 30 Jo "25 for the first 25 puds\ (.0-32 ,, remainder / 8 (n 4562-6 1- 23148-0 3 40 Jo -28 for the first y> puds\ \o*33 ,, remainder / 9 Jw 4736-0 \- 19842-0 40 5 Jo ' 30 for the first 40 puds\ \o - 34 ,, remainder / 9 (n 4868-4 \- 21164-8 above So Jo -32 for the first 50 puds\ \'35 > remainder / 10 (n 5041*8 \- 19842*0 2 F 434 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The result of this impost was still further to increase the revenue of the state from each washing, and almost double it in the case of some of the larger diggings ; whilst those which produced less than I pud of gold paid 300 rubles, whether their production amounted to 36 Ib. or only I lb., and, on the other hand, lessees of Government placers paid besides an additional O'Oi, O'O2, 0^03, 0*04, and 0^05 on the value of the gold raised, according to the category they fell under. The third phase which the Siberian gold-tax entered in 1849 had been in operation but 5 years, when it was found that the industry was seriously diminishing, that many of the placers, from having been originally classed in the highest category, had fallen to those below, and that in fact the Government was killing the goose which laid the golden eggs, instead of merely plucking it. Adjutant-General Annenkof, in his report on his tour of inspection of the Siberian diggings in 1850, called attention to the fact of the constant diminution of profits, caused entirely by the high duties levied. By the end of 1853, most of the diggings were producing a less quantity. It became necessary, therefore, for Government to remodel their fiscal arrangements, if they did not wish altogether to extinguish this industry. Accordingly, in 1854, finance minister Brok introduced a new measure, to be applied in the first instance tentatively for 3 years in the East and West Siberian washings, as well as in the Kirghiz steppe. This was a graduated scale, beginning at 0*05 for those diggings in which the annual production was under 2 puds, and rising to O'2O where the quantity was 10 puds and upwards, with a police tax graduated in the same way from 4 rubles per lb. to 10 rubles, and a slight additional tax of O'O2 and 0*04 payable by lessees of Government workings. Three years' trial of this measure gave most satisfactory results, the production having risen in as marked a degree as it had fallen under the former system ; thus the quantity produced in Siberia : In 1855 amounted to mo puds and the duty 2,745,909 rubles. 1856 1177 2,862,168 1857 1275 3.152,565 , Whereas with the higher scale it had fallen : In 1851 to 1035 fuds duty levied 3,024,865 rubles. 1852 900 2,416,231 l8 S3 8 ?8 2,377,351 A result the more remarkable, because the richest placers were exhausted in 1846-47-48. Indeed lyfipuds of gold had been extracted in 1847 out of only 228 million//^ of ore-stuff, whilst in 1857, 127$ puds were washed from 560 million puds of ore-stuff. These figures showed that although the sand was 2\ times poorer in 1857 than in 1847, only T V less gold was produced. Amends had now been made for the ASIA : RUSSIA. 435 excessive taxation of former years, but further steps in this direction were considered desirable, in order to develop an industry whose importance was becoming every year more apparent, as a means of rendering convertible the Russian currency, more especially as about this time a dearth set in of the necessaries of life in Siberia, and the price of labour consequently rose. These views were expressed in the law of August 4, 1854, which, while preserving the rates hitherto levied, altered the scale on which they took effect ; thus, whereas formerly the owner of a placer which produced upwards of 2 puds, though only a fraction over, was liable to pay o* 10 on his whole production, and, in like manner, if he came under the second category, and his production exceeded the limit to the slightest extent, he became amenable to a duty of 0*15 on the whole quantity raised. Mining proprietors were careful not to incur the higher rate of duty by an excess of production beyond the limits imposed by law for the particular category under which they were taxed. To remove this disadvantage, and at the same time to facilitate the working of poorer sands, the finance minister now decided as to the first class of washings to apply the lowest rate to the first two puds and the O' 10 only upon any excess up to 3 puds, and in the same way in the third class of washings, to charge the o 10 duty on the first 5 puds, and the maximum rate of 0*15 only on the surplus. The rise to 0*20 and the iQ-ruble poundage were altogether abolished, as were also the additional 0*02 and 0*04 on the yield of Government placers worked by private persons. The so-called Siberian committee upheld the view that the reduction of the duty had restored the gold-industry to its former compass, for on the I4th April, 1858, they passed the fifth gold-tax based on the foregoing. According to this, private gold-washings in Western and Eastern Siberia, the outskirts of Semipalatinsk, and the Kirghiz steppe, had to pay : Police tax Total amount of On an annual Principal tax on gross per Ib. of duty on n piid production of production. extracted gold of gold in in rubles gold. rtibles silver. yJ^j to 2 puds O'O5 4 826-2 2 ,, 5 (o~ 5 for the first 2 puds ~\ \o" 10 for anything above/ 6 / I569'9 \- 1322-8 over 5 ,, Jo TO for the first $puds~\ \OT5 for the remainder/ 8 (n 2313-8 I- 3307 'o These rates applied to all washings leased from the Government in Siberia and in the Ural, as well as in the government of Orenburg and the Cossack lands. In Bashkir territory, the maximum duty was fixed at O' 10 whether or no the production exceeded $puds\ whilst in the Verkneu- dinsk gold-field, part of the principal tax belonged to the cabinet of 2 F 2 436 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. H.I.M., or, as we should say, to the privy purse. The only exception was in the Caucasus and in Trans-Caucasia, where the tax of 1854 remained in force. Summarizing, then, the whole period during which the gold-industry has existed in Russia, from 1812 to 1874, Bogoliubsky estimates that of the gold raised belonged to the state and to individuals, who paid about 100 million rubles on all the gold obtained, so that 32 per cent, of the production fell to the share of the Government. When private enterprise was first admitted, in 1812, a lO-per cent, tax was imposed. In 1838, a graduated scale of 10 different rates, ranging from 5 to 35 per cent, according to the yield of gold, was instituted. This was found too onerous by the miners, and was replaced in 1854 by another which divided the diggings for the purposes of taxation into 4 classes with rates varying from 5 to 20 per cent, on the whole quantity raised. But even this was found excessive, so exhausted had the workings become ; and in 1870, a 3-rate tax of 5, 10, and 15 per cent, was confirmed, and this was finally modified in 1876, in order to encourage the industry, which had begun to show symptoms of decline. From the commencement of the gold-industry to 1 860, 893 persons were concerned in the management of washings, of whom, 478 belonged to the class of hereditary and personal nobility, 415 to the mercantile and hereditary honorary burgher class. These persons superintended the working of 2202 placers, of which : 703 were in E. Siberia. 485 W. 241 255 205 Kirghiz territory. the government of Orenburg. ,, Perm, the governments of Great Russia. In 1860, the number of existing placers was increased by 883, situate as follows : 167 in E. Siberia. 19 W. 3 3 63 628 Kirghiz lands. estates of Ural iron-works. lands of Cossacks and Teptiars in the government of Orenburg. private and Government lands in the government of Perm. The striking increase in the government of Perm is explained by the circumstance that the Crown lands in the Verkhoturiye and other districts were then first made accessible to private enterprise, and numbers of gold- seekers were attracted thither by reports of rich finds. In 1860, the maximum yield of any single placer was again, as in former years, in the Northern Yenisei gold-field, at the Gavrilof washing ASIA : RUSSIA. 437 of the merchant Rezanof, which produced in that year 102 '575 puds (3692 "7 Ib.) of alloyed gold, or 3 ^puds more than the maximum attained in 1842 at the Spassky placer of the merchant Miasnikof, on a tributary of the Uderey, which had not been exceeded for a long time. The following table shows the annual production of all the Russian gold- washings, and the amount of duty levied from them. Y___. Alloyed gold obtained in Russia from Duty levied from ear. Government works. Private works. Total. private works in silver rubles. puds. puds. puds. 1814 16-0866 . I6-0866 1815 14-2263 14-2263 1816 IS "7963 . 15-7963 1817 18-1761 18-1761 1818 16-6627 . 16-6627 1819 13-7989 0-4284 14-2273 709 1820 I8-3933 1-2255 19-6188 2,O27 1821 20-4643 7 - 2406 27-7049 ",975 1822 25'0543 28-7489 53-8032 47,548 1823 36-4I59 69-2514 105-6673 136,716 1824 53-4368 152-3963 205-8331 252,331 1825 65-7386 171-6895 237-4281 333,462 1826 69-6834 161-5761 231-2595 317,240 1827 89-5678 192-2627 281-8305 379,031 1828 87-4466 203-4048 290*8514 400,709 1829 100-9103 188-7803 289-6906 369,578 1830 I5I-I973 209-0012 360-1985 404,779 1831 161-8293 206-0170 367-8463 396,234 1832 170-3090 216*1142 386-4232 417,168 1833 148-3428 230-3427 378-6855 442,513 1834 150-2298 224-9109 375-I407 446,269 1835 ISS'I^S 233-0855 386-2048 . 465,753 1836 150-0558 248 7066 398-7617 498,625 1837 I57-0579 285 5032 442-5611 586,212 1838 160-0909 333-0386 493-I295 679,767 1839 166-3836 329-4245 495-8081 666,625 1840 167-9110 390-0750 557-9860 798,679 1841 160-7742 485-6243 646-3985 1,009,764 1842 171-6151 737-46i5 909-0766 *, 570, 527 1843 177-8643 1063-4286 1241-2929 2,488,642 1844 184-4787 1095-4430 1279-9217 2,562,753 1845 176-6189 1130-5817 1307-2006 2,644,614 1846 187-6133 1424-0489 I6II-6622 3,468,749 1847 188-8633 1568-3365 1757-1998 3,9I9,l6l 1848 195-1617 1489-5546 1684-7163 3,674,667 1849 193-7409 1394-3861 1588-1270 4,836,275 1850 241-1302 1212-6807 1453-8109 3,603,388 1851 234-7118 1239-3585 1474-0703 3,413,243 1852 244*7853 II2I -9764 1366-7617 2 .845,370 1853 267-2554 1096-1559 1363-4113 2,815,994 1854 306 ' 2966 1290-3738 1596-6704 3,227,088 1855 264-8303 1384-5136 I649-3439 3,283,528 1856 241-2873 1414-1980 I655-4853 3,210,802 1857 236-0542 I497-5423 I733'5965 3,472,513 1858 248-3876 I439-2I86 1687-6062 2,489,986 1859 210-7042 I33I-I405 1541-8447 2,283,385 1860 214-4992 1242*9005 I457-3997 2,043,270 in \ 47 years/ 6745'0567 28742-1479 35487-2046 66,917,669 Note. The pud may be taken at 36 Ib., the ruble at zs . 6d. 438 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The considerable differences between these figures and those issued by the minister of finance cannot be explained. A comparison of the amount of duty received with the value of the metal raised will illustrate the effects of the consecutive systems of duty adopted on the gold- industry, and the direct results to the imperial treasury. The total pro- duction is derived from three chief sources of production, Siberia, the Ural, the Orenburg and Perm private gold-washings. The two kinds of duty levied, viz. that in kind, or by the weight of the gold produced, and the police tax paid in coin, are added together in the fifth column, the values being reduced to silver rubles. The quotients for the successive years given in the fifth column of the table are derived from the numbers in the third column, taking the average profit by the state from the alloyed gold obtained at private works. It appears then that I pud (36 Ib.) of alloyed gold brought the state on an average In 1820 1830 1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1858 1860 1654 rubles (value about 2s. 6d. each). 1942 1936 1998 1626 2339 2971 1730 1644 The impost on the private gold-industry therefore in the 3 years 1858-59-60 returned nearly to the very moderate value it represented at first, the decline in the production for these 3 years, as seen in the third column, being attributed to the increasing dearness of the necessaries of life and labour in Siberia. But the gold-mining industry had as yet attained a very low development, for during 1860, the works in Siberia were entirely without steam machinery, whilst in the Ural private wash- ings, only 4 steam-engines were in use. All works owned by private individuals for that year employed : Men. Women. Horses and oxen. Steam- engines. In W. and E. Siberia the Ural .. .. Total .. .. 31,796 20,352 919 2181 8,751 8,339 4 52,148 3100 17,090 4 The following summary of statistics is taken from a translation by Koopman (published in the Mining Record} of Koppen's review of the 'Mining Industry in Russia from 1860 to 1877.' " Gold production in Russia was started by the Government in 1745. In that year the first gold and silver were obtained on the Schlangenberg in the Altai, and sent to St. Petersburg. In the same year, 1745, gold ASIA : RUSSIA. 439 was also first found in the Woitzkisch mine (govt. Archangel). The year 1745 was finally made remarkable in the history of Russian mining by a third discovery which laid the foundation for all the later gold wealth of Russia. This was the discovery of the gold mine of Beriosofsk in the neighbourhood of Ekaterinburg, which sent its first gold to St. Petersburg in 1745, namely: 16 Ib. 59 zolotniks and 54 doilias of bullion. " The most important effect upon the gold production was wrought by the abandonment of the Ukas, May 28, 1812, in consequence of which private citizens were permitted to take up gold and silver mining on their own account. The working of the gold-washings, or the so-called gold- dust, was first granted to citizens in the year 1819, and then only to the owners of mining or smelting works. Newjansk on the Ural is where the first gold was washed by private enterprise, and until the year 1828, private gold production confined itself to the district of the Ural mountain range. Later, gold production began to extend generally, reaching further and further eastward into Siberia, and now gold is obtained in all West and East Siberia, in the governments of Perm and Orenburg, and in the Kurghiz steppes. There the Government until very lately, had gold-washings on the Ural ; the Government of his majesty the Tsar now works the gold in the Altai and Nerchinsk mountain district, and, finally, private citizens in all the above-mentioned regions are engaged in gold production. " From the crown and private washings was obtained in 1814-1859, in gold alloy : Years. pud. Ib. Years. pud. Ib. Years. pud. Ib. 1814 16 3J l8 3 360 8 1845 1611 28| 1815 14 9 1831 367 33l 1846 1757 8 1816 15 S 2 1832 378 27! 1847 1684 28! 1817 18 7 1833 375 5i 1848 1588 5 1818 1 6 26 1834 386 8i 1849 1453 32 1819 14 9 1835 398 3i 1850 1474 2f 1820 19 24! 1836 442 22\ 1851 1366 30 \ 1821 27 28J 1837 493 5 1852 i3 6 3 l6 i 1822 53 32 I8 3 8 495 32i 1853 1596 26f 1823 105 26! 1839 557 39l 1854 1649 13! 1824 205 33! 1840 646 1 6 1855 1655 19* 1825 237 17 1841 909 3 18^6 I7S3 23^ 1826 231 10 1842 1241 nf 1857 1687 24 1827 281 33* 1843 1279 26| 1858 1541 33f 1828 290 34 1844 1307 8 1859 1829 289 27! " Since the year 1860, which I have taken for the beginning of my review, there has been obtained in gold-dust from the washings belonging to the crown, to the cabinet of his majesty the Tsar, and to citizens : Years. i860 1861 1862 I86 3 1864 1865 pud. Ib. 1491 17^ 1456 4^ 1460 29 1459 19 1397 37 1576 71 Years. 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 pud. Ib. 1659 19^ 1649 24 \ 1711 i6 2028 31^ 2162 27$ 2400 36! Years. 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 I8 77 pud. Ib. , 2308 12 2O24 38^ 2028 4j . 1995 29i . 2094 3i . 2502 6J 440 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. " From the above figures it may be seen that before 1 860, the out- put of gold was the richest in the years 1847 an d 1857, amounting to more than 1700 puds, "From the year 1857 began a falling off in the gold yield, which amounted in 1860 to only 1491 puds, and in 1864 even fell below 1400 puds. In the seven years following, gold production made a swift advance and rose almost 1000 puds ; in the next four years it sank again to below 2000 puds, and not till the last two years, 1876 and 1877, was a rapid rise again noticeable, when the height of 2500 puds was reached. " Scanning the above tables more closely, we note at once that the recorded shrinkage in the total gold yield of Russia, depended altogether upon the output of private washings. The fall in gold production at that time was chiefly due to weather-conditions ; that is, either to drought which caused a lack of water at the washings, or to excessive rain, in consequence of which the rivers overflowed, preventing a rich yield from the gold-bearing sands ; and finally, not seldom, both these obstruc- tions falling in the course of a summer, first drought and then continued rain, brought work at the gold-washings to a standstill. Moreover, the following must be accepted as causes which influenced the lessening of the gold yield ; the utter exhaustion, not only of separate rich washings but also of the whole district, and the failure of many owners. "Temporary rises in the gold yield were brought about by chance discoveries of exceedingly rich gold-diggings. The sudden rise in figure of the gold-dust obtained in the last two years depends partly upon the increase of the percentage of gold duty, established in 1876, though chiefly upon the high value of our coin, since as is known, for all gold delivered at the mint, account was made in half imperials, these being reckoned at their face value. " According to districts, the gold obtained in Russia is divided as follows : GOLD YIELD IN RUSSIA (IN puds.) Ural. West Siberia. East Siberia. Year. Crown Private Altai Private Ner- chinsk Private Finland private. Total. washings. washings. district. washings. Mt. district. washings. i860 1141 214^ 331 38* 75f IOI4f 1491* 1862 9 6f I 9 6J 20 4 2 i 83! 102 1 1 . . 1460! 1867 3O2 233 86| 142} IOO3I 1649^ 1872 129! 283 I3J 176 153^ 1519! 3i 2308! 1877 13 392* i 130* I 4 2f 1811 i 2502 " From this table it may be seen that : I. At the crown washings on the Ural, the gold production had well- ASIA: RUSSIA. 441 nigh stopped. In the year 1 876, only 63 puds of gold were obtained here, and in the year after barely 1 3 puds. This sudden change arose from the fact that in the year 1876, the crown washings of Miask were given over to private citizens. 2. The figures of the gold yield at the Ural private washings, which made 286 puds in 1876, rise at once in 1877 to ^2^ puds, through the addition of the yield from the washings of Miask. 3. In the Altai district the gold product shows a continual falling off, and hardly amounts to 12 puds in 1877, that is, it has become reduced to one-third in the last eighteen years. 4. Quite the contrary do we find in the gold-washings of citizens in West Siberia, where the gold yield slowly but steadily rises, and has increased three and a half times in the course of eighteen years. 5. In the Nerchinsk mountain district, the gold yield doubled from 1860 to 1872, and in the last year amounted to 153 puds. Since 1872 it has again fallen a little. 6. The private washings of East Siberia furnish the greatest amount of gold, and entirely govern the rise in the total gold yield of Russia. While, in the last eighteen years, the washings worked by private citizens in East Siberia have increased their production by about 800 puds ; all the remaining gold-washings were only in a condition to raise their output of gold to 200 puds. From 1860 to 1877, the gold yield of the private washings in East Siberia, increased about 80 per cent. 7. Finally, it is to be noticed that gold production began in Finland in 1870, and reached its highest point in the year following, when the figures of the gold here obtained made only 3 puds 1 8 Ib. From the year 1872, the gold yield of Finland gradually sinks, and in 1877 comes to less than 20 Ib. "If we consider the year 1877, we see that the percentage of gold yield is shared by the different districts, as follows : The private washings of East Siberia furnished 72^4 percent, of the total yield; the private washings of the Ural 1 5 66 per cent. ; the Nerchinsk mountain district 5 7 per cent. ; the private washings of West Siberia 5 2 per cent. ; the Ural crown washings 0^52 per cent, and finally the Altai mountain district 0*43 per cent. "As the private washings of East Siberia furnish at most three- quarters of all the gold obtained in Russia, we give in the table on page 442 a statement of the yield in the different districts of that Territory. " In the district of Yeniseisk, which was once distinguished for its gold wealth, the yield began to lessen in the 5o's, and from 1860 to 1877 it diminished during the whole period. Especially strong is this falling off in the northern part of the district, which furnished in 1860, 42 5 puds, 442 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. about 42 per cent, of all the gold obtained in the whole of East Siberia. In the year 1877, only 158^ puds were obtained here, that is, not more than 8 '75 per cent, of the total gold yield of East Siberia. GOLD YIELD IN EAST SIBERIA (IN puds). Government of Yeniseisk. Transbaikal. Yeniseisk ^ district. -^ M .5 " _o B 3 Year. j 1 ^ y j ' *J ts c C "" 3 B 'C 3 ' - I j o. j '3 " c Z u 1 3 1 H o d o g .S cj w $3 3 3 1 I < c fc B 'Sj " J3 J5 C x'B o V c 9 id ' "" " I 3 '| 3 C-23O 2 & jj "oj^ 3 rt o Ej o fc W < S M fc > o i860 425* i88f 20 4 8f 3ii 5i 85J 199^ .. 1862 376* i8i| IS 49* 295 16 131! .. 217 .. 1867 324! 119 21 26| 13 941 1051 267 .. 1872 246^ l62f i5f 29* I2f 177 I 630! 196 4 1877 158* 167! 20 37J 371 '3* 27i 227| 928 172 I2| " In the other districts belonging to the basin of the Yenisei, such as Atchinsk, Minusinsk and Kansk in the government of Yeniseisk, and Nijneudinsk in the government of Irkutsk, the mass of gold produced is in the main not large, and has suffered no special change during the last eighteen years. "As concerns the Transbaikal, it is plain that in the district of Verkneudinsk and Barguzinsk, the gold yield continually diminishes. In the latter of these two districts, the total gold product amounted in 1877 to not more than 2*j\puds, which is about one-fifth of that yielded in the year 1862 (13 if puds}. " In the district of Nerchinsk, private citizens were first permitted to work the gold-washings in the year 1864, and here in 1865, began a gold yield (32 puds\ which, very swiftly rising, reached the sum of 227! puds in the year 1 877, that is, increased sevenfold in twelve years. " In the district of Vercko-Lensk, gold production has been in operation since the year 1867, and in extremely narrow compass, goes on without interruption. " Undeniably, the richest and most productive gold-washings are found in the basin of the Lena and its tributaries, the Vitim and the Olekma in the Olekminsk district, in the government of Yakutsk. In the year 1860, the amount of gold produced in this district came to less than 200 puds ; in 1877, 928 puds were obtained here, that is the yield increased more than four and a half times. " In the Amur district, gold production was granted to citizens in the ASIA : RUSSIA. 443 year 1866, but the yield began in 1868 with a sum of 50 puds. In the next year (1869), the yield is doubled, and from that rises generally, and in the year 1872, reaches the figure of 196 puds. In the years following, the yield suffers but little shrinkage and varies between 150 puds (1874) and 173 puds (1875). " In the coast region of East Siberia, gold production began in 1872, continues with interruption, and makes but slow development, which must be ascribed to the lack of skilled labour and the dearth of necessities. "Finally, it must be observed, that in the year 1877, gold production began again in the districts of Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk, in the govern- ment of Yeniseisk, 8 puds 24 Ib. of gold being yielded by the former, and 7 Ib. by the latter." Apparatus employed on Russian Gold-fields. The apparatus employed by the Siberian gold-seekers for washing auriferous sands is of several forms. In operating that shown in Fig. 14, described by Warington FIG. 14. RUSSIAN GOLD-WASHING APPARATUS. Smyth, 8 or 10 men may be employed. The sieve or grating, firmly fixed, is 3^ ft. sq. The tye, into which the fine sand is carried by an inclined plane, is 16 ft. long x 2^ ft. wide, with an inclination varying according to the more or less loose nature of the sand, from 24 in. to 16 in., and having its bottom curved in the arc of a circle. Above the tye, and placed in the direction of its length, is a wooden axis turning in 444 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. gudgeons, and having fixed to it on the under side as many arms as the tye has compartments, each of which arms is fitted with a number of claws or blunt knives ; and by an alternating motion given to the axis by 2 men holding a line attached to it, the claws pass backward and forward in an arc, and keep the sediment in continual agitation. The partitions in the bottom are ribs 2 in. high and 2\ in. wide, held by screw-bolts and nuts ; and are removed every now and then for washing out the concentrated auriferous sand, the more frequently as the sands are the richer in gold. Agte's machine, used at Alexandrof, is shown in Fig. 15 : a, trun- cated cone of perforated sheet iron, fixed by an iron frame c to horizontal axis b, which is made to revolve by a water-wheel about 30 times in a minute ; d, opening at which the cylinder is charged ; i, opening at which large pebbles roll out over the board /; e, inclined plane by FIG. 15. AGTE'S GOLD-WASHING APPARATUS. which the sand that passes through the sieve is carried down to the tye or long trough g, the plan of which is a truncated cone, and whose bottom is concave ; k, axis above the tye, to which are affixed arms carrying iron knives to stir the sediment, and making 20 to 25 oscillations per minute. Phillips describes a similar machine for horse-power, used in the Urals, and shown in Fig. 16 : a, sheet-iron cylinder pierced with -in. holes, and strengthened on the inside by an iron trellis. The cone, which may be about 8 ft. in length, and has a mean diameter of 3 ft. 6 in., is larger at ASIA : RUSSIA. 445 one extremity than at the other, and is fixed on a spindle capable of being set in rapid motion by means of a train of wheels worked by a horse-whim. The auriferous sands are brought in waggons running on iron rails to the hopper c, whence they fall into the movable cylinder through the aperture formed by its smaller circumference. At the back of the arrangement is a double pump d, set in motion by a crank on the shaft, which communicates motion from the whim to the cylinder a. This pump raises water into the cistern e, whence it is conducted by 4 iron pipes into the cylinder a. These pipes enter the cavity of the drum through the two open ends, and are so arranged with regard to length as FIG. 16. URAL GOLD-WASHING APPARATUS. to afford a nearly equal supply of water throughout its whole capacity. When set in motion, the perforated cylinder makes 30 to 35 revolutions a minute, and consequently throws, by its centrifugal action, the water and finer particles of sand and gravel through the numerous perforations which it contains ; whilst the pebbles and other fragments which are too large to pass through the holes, are carried off through the larger end of the cylinder, and then fall into a box (not shown). This receptacle will contain any nuggets which may have been present in the sands ; and as, by passing through the cylinder, they will have been washed perfectly clean, they may now be readily seen and picked out. The sand and water after having escaped through the apertures in the drum, fall on the inclined platform f, which is provided with numerous horizontal bars, for the purpose of separating the heavier from the lighter portions. From this platform, the current flows on to the concave table h, also provided with checks, in the form of wooden bars nailed across at distances of about 3 ft. from each other. The sands which have arrived at this part 446 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. of the table are now kept constantly agitated by the wooden pen- dulums i ,k t provided at their lower extremities with frames made to suit the concavity of the table, and fitted with flattened teeth, like those used in harrows. These pendulums are made to swing by means of the rods /, driven by the crank g, and are so arranged as to move constantly in opposite directions. In this way the operation is continued, until a considerable accumulation of rich auriferous sand has taken place in the upper part of the tables, where, being retained by the horizontal slips of wood, it remains ; whilst the lighter matters are carried off by the current of water to the lower end of the table h, whence they are either made to pass over a fresh series of tables, or if, as usually is the case, they are found to be sufficiently impoverished, they are allowed to run entirely away. Another apparatus, described by Capt. Razguildeyew, is shown in Fig. 17. Its description is as follows: A, upper ring, across which are suspended the iron harrows a b c d e f\ it performs a rotatory motion by means of the two lever arms g h, on the tramway L M N O. B, grinding floor or sieve ; it is a little concave in the centre, and is formed of plates of cast iron joined together : for greater lightness, it might perhaps be made of wood covered with sheet iron. C, lower stage of the apparatus, on which the disintegrated sand can fall from the sieve ; then the sand, borne by water, falls on the washing-tables m n op, which effect the concentration of the auriferous matters, q r s t are reservoirs, for the dirty water and sand. From these reservoirs the sands are either (according to their assay) finally thrown away, or re-washed on a table. D, horsewalk. E, opening for exit of pebbles and gravel. F, auxiliary table for final washing pebbles. It is placed under the sieve to avoid transport ; they should fall of themselves upon the table, and there be carefully washed. The dirty water from this table passes over another one adjacent G, on which finally the minutest particles of gold are deposited. K, general receptacle or box of cast iron fixed to the iron spindle/. The water from this reservoir is spread by the iron pipes i I arranged so as to wet the sands. This same water passes over the washing-tables and thence into the settling-reservoirs. L, sludge-channel for the sands. The apparatus employs 6 horses and washes 10,000 to 12,000 puds (of 36 Ib.) per 24 hours. Tatarinoff gives the following description of the washing operations, as conducted throughout Central Asia. A framework of light willow poles, with a convexity of about 35 to the horizontal plane, takes the place of the usual washing-box. Upon this framework, firmly fixed in the ground, is stretched a blanket or carpet to catch the auriferous alluvium. In order to retain the gold, which has of course a greater specific weight, thick horsehair ropes are sewn along the whole length of ASIA : RUSSIA. 447 the blanket. The frame being now ready, a bag-full of ore-stuff is emptied into it ; water is then poured on and stirred with a small stick, whilst stones are flung aside. FIG. 17. RUSSIAN GOLD-WASHING APPARATUS. When 3 to 4 cwt. of alluvial soil have been treated in this way, the men proceed to collect the sediment adhering to the blanket. For this 44-8 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. purpose, the blanket is taken off the frame, folded in several thicknesses, and subjected to another washing in the following way : A wooden bowl or trough, large enough to contain the folded blanket, is placed in a small bay of the river where the current is slack. The workman then removes the blanket, fold by fold, and washes it, allowing the sediment to collect at the bottom of the trough. Having accomplished this, he takes the bowl in his hands, and moves it rapidly with sudden jerks to right and left, splashing the water and the lighter soil over the sides. From time to time more water is added, and the work Is continued for several hours without intermission. As the gold in the bowl gradually detaches itself from the particles of sand mixed with it, the movements of the workman become more and more artistic and careful, his whole object being to leave nothing but pure gold, however small the quantity, in his bowl. When this has been obtained, he dips a finger into the water, and flicks a drop or two into the bowl, pouring them out together with the gold into a separate porcelain cup. This finishes his day's work. The process at Beriozofsk, in the Ural, as seen by the writer, is carried on in a circular wooden frame or box, some 10 ft. in diameter, with a perforated iron bottom, and open at the top, and in which revolves a heavy 4-handled iron rake, driven by steam-power. Into this box, barrow-loads of ore-stuff from the mine are continually emptied. The clay or sand mixed with water is sifted in this way, the lighter particles being carried away, the heavier dropping through the metal sieve. After a second washing, the gold is finally separated from any remaining adherent particles of soil by hand. For this purpose, skilful and ex- perienced workmen stand on a flight of broad wooden steps, over which flows a thin stream of water, clear as crystal. After manipulating the auriferous sand for a long time, the workman at last produces an in- significant quantity of fine gold-dust in the palm of his hand. In this way, 10,000 puds (about 160 tons) of ore-stuff daily pass through the Beriozofsk works. So imperfect, however, is the process, that the director stated that a second or even a third washing, an interval of 2 or 3 years having elapsed, yielded better results than the first.* The percentage of gold at Beriozofsk in 1861 was very small only 30 gr. in 100 puds whilst in former years as much as 2 and 2^ zolotniks (131^ to 164^ gr.) had been obtained. Across the frame, branches or sticks are set at close intervals ; the whole apparatus stands 4 ft. 6 in. high by I ft. 2 in. wide. The American method of gold-washing, and its adaptation in the Yenisei gold-fields.f The American or Pakulef system of working and * This fact implies, perhaps, not so much imperfection in the process, as the presence of pyrites, which, being oxidized by the exposure during a considerable length of time, gave up the gold on further treatment. t This section should be read in connection with Chapters III., IV., and V. ASIA : RUSSIA. 449 washing gold consists in throwing the auriferous soil into long wooden troughs or boxes ("sluices"), averaging \2\ ft. long, inclined upon wooden frames, and joined one to the other. Into these a powerful stream of water is admitted, which washes the shingle or peat, carrying off the earthy parts and small pebbles into a trench or wooden well placed below. The gold should sink to the bottom, and be retained there by perforated wooden boards, while the larger stones are thrown aside by workmen with iron forks or rakes. The only difference between peat and detritus washing is that in the latter case one end of the vat rests on the shingly wall of the placer, and water is laid on by troughs ; whereas in removing the peat, the boxes are immediately below it, and water is supplied from a trench. This mode of washing is very general in America and Australia, and though Pakulef, its introducer into Siberia, claims to have been its originator in California, and describes it, there are grounds for believing that it existed in America before his time. As long ago as 1850, alluvium was washed in California in rockers, long-toms, and sluices, and the last were nothing more than wooden troughs or boxes fixed on a slope, and paved with stones, fastened to the bottom by laths and planks. Pakulef probably saw them at work, and successfully adapted them in his vats or boxes, substituting woodwork or riffles for the stone pavement* The first adaptation of this method to Siberian diggings was made by Lavrofsky, in 1858, at a claim located by Zotof, of which he was manager, and the trial then made was apparently so successful that it raised hopes and expectations impossible to realize, and led to a warm controversy between the innovators and conservatives. It was finally decided to have a grand trial of the American method, in order to set the vexed question at rest. Works were accordingly arranged by Lavrofsky at three large placers of the Zotofs, where 1800 men were employed. After a year, the results were counted up, and showed a great diminution in the quantity of gold as compared with the average yield of former years. Lavrofsky obtained only 67 puds (2412 lb.), instead of the usual 100 puds (3600 lb.) to 120 puds (4320 lb.). This fatal blow to the innovators was due to over-confidence on their part, and a neglect to take local circumstances into consideration. They had only themselves to blame. Latkin, who was present at these trials, attributed their failure to the unfavourable character of the alluvium, the inexperience of the men, who were moreover too numerous, and their careless, ignorant way of setting about their work. One serious * In Baron Richthofen's work on the metal productions of California there is not the slightest allusion to a Russian invention or to the Russian riffles mentioned by Pakulef in his pamphlet, and claimed as his own invention, though doubtless so important a method of washing gold, and one in such general use, would not have escaped the notice of so good an observer, had it been in existence at the time, and had Pakulef been recognized as its inventor. 2 G 45O GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. mistake was in attempting too much, by washing the detritus and re- moving the peat with the same apparatus. But whatever the errors, after repeated unsatisfactory trials, the thing fell into disrepute, and was thought badly of. Latkin, however, achieved a complete success in experimenting on waste heaps of sand at his Uspensky mine on the Kuntuyakicha ; here the American system was undeniably good, and at other placers, notably those of Golubkof's heirs, equally good results were obtained. At the same time, an adaptation of it at the Uspensky placer to part of the work only, viz. washing alluvium, was successful, and a brilliant future was predicted for it, particularly when much-needed reforms in legislation had been carried out, and the gold-industry was thrown open to the multitude instead of being reserved for the privileged few. The history of Latkin's trials with the American system, or atneri- kanka, as it soon came to be known among miners, is that of the invention itself in Siberia. From 1860 to 1866, he alone used it, and, as a still further proof of its success, it may be mentioned that during this period the annual sum paid to Lavrofsky for the right of working with it amounted in the aggregate to 12,000 rubles (i5OO/.). The general con- clusion arrived at by Latkin was that the American system was advan- tageous wherever the fall or slope was sufficiently steep, and the detritus not too compact or stony ; that the loss or waste in gold was trifling, notwithstanding all that had been said to the contrary ; and that its defects were such as were common to all systems of gold-washing. Good supervision by trustworthy and well-paid overseers is of course as in- dispensable as it is with the buddies ; but even with the strictest watch, it is as impossible to put a stop to gold-stealing as it is to every other kind of theft. Latkin's first trials of the American method were completely success- ful, partly no doubt owing to the looseness of the debris, and partly because sufficient gravel was ready for washing ; the peat had not to be removed, the incline was sufficiently steep, and there were not too many hands in the works. As soon as success was assured, a second apparatus was put up, and then the noise and creaking of the barrel- machines ceased, and the cost of labour was reduced by one half. Next an attempt was made on the peat. Even this was successful ; a cubic fathom of it could be removed for the cost of a labourer's wage for i^ day without horses. But it should be mentioned that the peat in this instance was exceptionally light, and free from stones and boulders ; had it been otherwise, the cost would have been 2 days' labour, or even a little more. Upon the whole, experience proved that the best plan was to keep the two operations distinct, and to wash the auriferous soil with the amerikanka, removing the overlying peat with carts and wheelbarrows. ASIA : RUSSIA. 45 1 The following years, 1 860-61, proved still more the profitableness of the American method, as applied in the Siberian gold-fields, for these were years of scarcity and high prices, both for man and beast. At one placer alone, the saving in forage in 1862 amounted to 6500 rubles (8oo/.), and the cost of each individual labourer fell to 267 rubles (33/.), inclusive of the payment of 10 rubles (25^.) per man to Lavrofsky as royalty for the right of using his patent. In 1861 and 1862, Latkin successfully worked four diggings on the American system, with good results, though at one the alluvium was very strong, and contained a compact kind of clay in its upper strata ; at another, slates with adhering portions of clay caused some difficulty. At these two placers it was found expedient to supplement the amerikanka with buddies. Any portions that remained unwashed passed into the buddies, and were there subjected to a second sifting. But the detritus soon became more friable at one digging, and buddies were dispensed with ; at the other, they were continued through- out the summer. Buddie washing is a simple arrangement. The usual buddle contains 3 rows of vats, and is therefore 6 to 7 ft. wide, so as to contain stony detritus which would not find room in those of ordinary dimensions (21 in.). The length of the buddling-box containing the iron sieves is also 6 to 7 ft, and the inclined platform which receives the auriferous sediment after it has dropped through the holes in the sieve is about 12 ft. long, with a breadth corresponding to that of the box, and a slope of i in 4 or i in 5. The buddle can be moved on wooden rollers, or even without them, to any part of the digging. To one of these, two or at most three lengths of troughs are fastened, the lower end opening into the side of the buddling-box, so that the whole of the detritus to be washed with the stones and water slides straight on to the sieve, where it is finally sifted by the rakes of the workmen, and disintegrated. The shingle is then pushed to either side of the box down wooden hatchways, through which it falls on to the waste heaps, whilst the gold sediment and water pass through the sieves to the sluice or inclined platform, on which are wooden laths or a framework or grooves to catch the gold. The sediment is then carried down the incline by the stream to a wooden well at its foot, whence it filters away into the tail-race, at which stand workmen with spades to throw it up on either side. The shingle, if there should be much, is removed in barrows ; but if little, it remains on the surface. When the detritus is hard or compact, separate workmen stand on either side of the American troughs with forks or rakes, to follow the sand and shingle to the buddling-box. It is remarkable that by the time the detritus, however hard, reaches the buddle, it has parted with most of its gold, which remains in the troughs under the wooden riffles, 2 G 2 45 2 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. and only 25 per cent in extremely difficult alluvium, or 20 per cent, on the average, is collected on the buddling-platform. Of course, where the detritus is loose or gravelly, all the gold remains in the first or second trough, very little, if any, in the third ; and, when there are four lengths, or, as occasionally happens, five or six, placed in irregular lines, the last contain absolutely no gold. This is the best proof of the small waste with the American troughs. Latkin's experiments on waste heaps of sands which had passed through the amerikanka resulted in an infini- tesimal quantity of gold, less than 30 doilias (20 gr.) in 240 tons of sand, a little more than this in the shingle, but the average waste may be set down as not more than 2 doilias (\\ gr.) in 3600 lb., or \ to ^ of the minimum loss with the old machines. The day labour with the combined American and buddle process was reckoned to be as follows : Very hard, stony detritus required 4 or 5 days per cub. fathom ; medium and not very stony, 3 or 3^ days ; gravel and small shingle, 2 or 2-^ days ; sands already washed, i^ day. From this, the advantage of the American method as compared with horses and machinery will be evident. Only in the first case would the ex- penditure in labour equal or even exceed machine washing. The following will give a general idea of the gain effected by this method of working. At Latkin's Alexeiefsky placer, on the Untuguna, worked during the bad harvest years 1861-62 (1863 alone having been better), the uppermost layers were stony and clayey, the middle stratum friable but stony, and the lowermost very loose. The financing was generally on the cash system, though partly on credit, and the average taken for the three years came to 234 rubles (29/.) per man employed. At two other neighbouring placers, belonging to the same owners, worked in the old fashion, the average was 257 rubles (32/.), a convincing proof of the superiority of the American method. And the work is not at all difficult for the men ; the usual hours are from 5 A.M. to 4 or 5 P.M., allowing 2 hours for meals and rest. But some expert hands finish their work by 3 P.M., without knocking off. They are paid by the cubic fathom. Those who fill the boxes work in pairs, and receive at the rate of 80 kopecks (2s.} for the first fathom, called " the master's," and double this for any more, such extra quantity being termed staratelsky. Every labourer may therefore earn I ruble 20 kopecks (3^.) per diem, though some fail to get through their second fathom. Good workmen, however, always accomplish their task. Those on the so-called tail-race earn less, under 50 kopecks (15^.) on ordinary days, and 80 kopecks (2J.) on holi- days ; but their work is lighter and simpler, consisting in merely keeping the trench clear by throwing out the washed sands as they are brought down from the lowest trough. These men, who have to be continually ASIA: RUSSIA. 453 in wet and damp, wear boots of raw, undressed hide over wading stockings. When the alluvium happens to be very gravelly or sandy, the trenches are liable to become choked up ; but this difficulty is over- come by increasing the number of hands. Of course, with the American style of working, the subsoil or bed on which the detritus rests becomes covered over with waste sand and shingle, and ought therefore to be thoroughly cleared of alluvium in the progress of the work. Besides the tail-races, of which there should be one for every 4 or 5 rows of troughs, draining ditches have to be dug, to prevent the beds of alluvium from becoming flooded, and stopping the work. Of course, there must also be a main drain, to receive the discharge of the whole digging. Pumps cannot be used with the American method, one of its chief disadvantages, because it renders it inapplicable to those placers which cannot be drained in the usual way. The lines or rows of troughs are lengthened or moved according to the daily progress of the work, which in a great measure depends on the thickness of the auriferous stratum. Very long lines require too many troughs, and necessitate extra labour to prevent them from silting up. The usual plan is to move them once a week, and this is done with the smallest possible sacrifice of time, so that the task set to the men on such days is only ^ to f cub. fathom less than on ordinary work-days. As soon as the washing is over, the grey sediment containing the gold is collected from the troughs, and the final process of sifting it is effected in hand-bowls by special workmen, of whom there are usually 2 in each digging ; but if there should not be more -than 5 rows of troughs, one is sufficient. All the troughs are then taken off their sup- ports, including the broad one at the tail end, in which all the others unite, and the whole apparatus is moved nearer the gravel wall of the placer, where they are again set up, the straight lines in the centre having 2 or 3 lengths each, the crooked or side lines 3 or 4. On alternate days, as the stratum is worked away, a length is added to each row, and so on, till those in the centre are 5 lengths long, or the distance from the tail is too great, or the reservoir which supplies the water for washing is too close. This reservoir is usually filled by damming the stream, or connecting with it by means of small aqueducts. In 1 866, the American method was introduced at the Petropavlofsk placer, situated on a spring in a more remote part of the Yenisei gold-fields where the detritus was strong and clayey. It took here 3^ days on an average to wash i cub- fathom, but the system was found to work satisfactorily, and has been continued ever since, the aggregate cost averaging 270 or 280 rubles (34 to 35/.) per man for the whole year. Attempts were made to work two placers on the Murojnaia in 1866-67 with the American method, but they failed owing to the slope in this river valley being too gradual ; 454 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. I cub. fathom cost here 31 to 4^ days' labour. As to the wood for manufacturing the troughs, red pine is the best, because it is lighter than larch, but any wood will answer the purpose. Should the timber not be thick enough to saw into wide planks, the bottom of the box may be made of two, and the sides of single deals, securely fastened together with 4 or 5 i-in. nails; for the props or stands, the outer slabs of the tree answer as well as anything. The tail-trough is 4 ft. 8 in. or more in width, by 12 ft long, and has a flooring of laths to catch any gold that may chance to pass. It will be interesting to glance at the results of working on the American system. At the Uspensky and Rojdestvensky placers, no men assisted by 17 horses washed 40,000 tons of detritus and obtained 135 Ib. of gold. The proportions of detritus and peat were as 2 to 5 ; the average yield of gold was 65 doilias (44^ gr.) per 3600 Ib. In 1864, at the same placers, 190 men and 25 horses washed 62,000 tons and obtained 213 Ib. of gold, with an average of 54 doilias (36! gr.), and a proportion of alluvium to peat as 2 to 4 ; and in 1865, 165 men and 28 horses washed 61,000 tons and obtained 220^ Ib. of gold, with an average yield of 58 doilias (39^ gr.), and a proportion of 4 to 7. At the Alexeiefsky placer, in 1863, 90 men with 15 horses washed 30,000 tons, and obtained 8 1 Ib. of gold, the average yield being 42 doilias (28^ gr.) per 3600 Ib., and the proportion of detritus to peat as 2 to 5. At the Sovremionny placer, in 1865, 90 men and 20 horses washed 22,600 tons, and obtained 105^ Ib. of gold, with an average of 73 doilias (49^ gr.), and a proportion of detritus to peat as I to 3. These figures speak for themselves, and show that it was possible to increase the amount of work, notwithstanding unfavourable conditions in the proportion of detritus to peat. The cost of working the Uspensky and Rojdestvensky placers was 266 rubles (33/.) per man all round ; whilst that of other placers located by Latkin came to 270 rubles (34/.), a wide difference, if it be remembered first that 10 rubles (25^.) per man were paid for the privilege of using the American system, and secondly that supplies and forage were 30 to 35 kopecks (gd. to 10^.) per pud (36 Ib.) dearer. The saving may therefore be reckoned at 30 and even 40 rubles (75^. to 100^.) per man. All this proves the advantage of the American method of washing in many localities, particularly with small gangs of men, and there can be no doubt that if the industry were thrown open to all classes, many placers would be worked upon it, because the capital required is small, the risk consequently less, and therefore the margin for profit might also be less than under the old costly and venturesome system, where the miner had often to advance a large sum 8 months before he got any return, and ASIA : SUMATRA. 455 sometimes lost instead of gaining in the end, especially if he worked on borrowed capital, for which he paid a high rate of interest. A placer can be worked on the American system with gangs of 20, 40, 50, 60, 70, and up to 100 men, with 10 to 20 horses to remove the peat and for other work. The capital required would not be more than 5000 to 14,000 rubles (625 to 17507.). If the layer of detritus were thick enough, say half the depth of the peat, the placer might still be profitably worked, even though the average yield were only 40 doilias (27^- gr.). Of course, the smaller the yield, and the thicker the peat, the more labour is neces- sary ; on the other hand, the thinner the peat, and the more favourable the detritus, the more advantageously can the digging be worked. Thus, with equal proportions of peat and detritus, a digging which yielded only 32 doilias (2 if gr.) might still be profitably worked, especially if the detritus were of a loose, easily-washed kind, and water were abundant. If the detritus exceed the peat in thickness, the American system will wash alluvium containing only 24 doilias (16^- gr.) per 3600 lb., whereas with the old method such a poor digging could not have been worked, unless the peat were exceptionally thin, and the detritus very loose and of great thickness. Some additional fragmentary remarks on the Russian gold-fields will be found in the works of the following authors (quoted in the Bibliography) : Atkinson, Chappe, Cottrell, Gmelin, Grant, Lansdell, Murchison, Ravenstein, Rose, Smyth, Strahlenberg ; also in the three periodical publications below: 'Annuaire du Journal des mines de Russie ' (continued as 'Gorny Journal'), ' Bulletin Academic Imperiale des Sciences/ and Erman's ' Archive von Russland.' SUMATRA. Tavernier (1678) relates that in the island of " Achen or Sumatra, after the rainy season, when the torrents are wasted, they find veins of gold in the flints, which the waters wash down from the moun- tains that lie towards the N.E. Upon the W. side .of the island, when the Hollanders come to lade their pepper, the natives bring them great store of gold, but very coarse metal." And in Asiatick Researches (1788), it is recorded that " the country of Limong, 70 to 80 miles inland, produces the finest gold and gold-dust on that island. The gold is found in a species of earth composed of a clayish red loam. On digging the earth, it is found to consist of strata of irregular-shaped stone of a mouldering nature, mixed with a red clay, and hard pebbles mixed with a pale-red clay, of a more dense consistency than that of the first stratum." But the most extended account is given by Marsden (1812), whose work will now be drawn upon at some length. He says that besides vegetable products Sumatra affords many others, the chief of which is gold. This is found mostly in the central 456 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. parts of the island, none (or with few exceptions) being observed to the southward of Limun [Limong], a branch of Jambi river, nor to the northward of Nalabu, from which port Achin is principally supplied. Menangkabau has always been esteemed the richest seat of it ; and this consideration probably induced the Dutch to establish their head factory at Padang, in the immediate neighbourhood of that kingdom. Colonies of Malays from thence have settled themselves in almost all the districts where gold is procured, and appear to be the only persons who dig for it in mines, or collect it in streams ; the proper inhabitants or villagers confining their attention to the raising of provisions, with which they supply those who search for the metal. Such, at least, appears to be the case in Limun, Batang Asei, and Pakalang Jambi, where a considerable gold-trade is carried on. It has been generally understood at the English settlements, that earth taken up from the beds of rivers, or loosened from the adjacent banks, and washed by means of rivulets diverted towards the newly- opened ground, furnishes the greater proportion of the gold found in the island, and that the natives are not accustomed to venture upon any excavation that deserves the name of mining ; but our possession of the settlements that belonged to the Dutch enabled us to form juster notions on the subject, and the following account, obtained from well- informed persons on the spot, will show the methods pursued in both processes, and the degree of enterprise and skill employed by the workmen. In the districts situated inland of Padang, which is the principal mart for this article, little is collected otherwise than from mines (tambang), by people whose profession it is to work them, and who are known by the appellation of orang gulla. The metal brought down for sale is for the most part of 2 sorts, dis- tinguished by the terms amas supayang and amas sungei-abu, from the names of places where they are respectively procured. The former is what we usually call rock-gold, consisting of pieces of quartz more or less intermixed with veins of gold, generally of fine quality, running through it in all directions, and forming beautiful masses, which, being admired by Europeans, are sometimes sold by weight as if the whole were solid metal. The mines yielding this sort are commonly situated at the foot of a mountain, and the shafts are driven horizontally, to the extent of 8 to 20 fathoms. The gold to which sungei-abu gives name, is, on the contrary, found in the state of smooth, solid lumps, in shape like gravel, and of various sizes, the largest lump that Marsden saw weighing 9 oz. 15 gr., and one in his possession weighed 8 gr. less than 9 oz. This sort is also called amas I'lchin or smooth gold, and appears to owe ASIA: SUMATRA, 457 that quality to its having been exposed, in some prior state of the soil or conformation of the earth, to the action of running water, and deprived of its sharp and rough edges by attrition. This form of gravel is the most common in which gold is discovered. Gold-dust or amas urei is collected either in the channels of brooks running over ground rich in the metal, in standing pools of water occasioned by heavy rains, or in a number of holes dug in a situation to which a small rapid stream can be directed. The tools employed in working the mines are an iron crow 3 ft. in length, called tabah, a shovel called chaiigkul, and a heavy iron mallet or hammer, the head of which is 18 in. in length and as thick as a man's leg, with a handle in the middle. With these, they beat the lumps of rock till they are reduced to powder, and the pounded mass is then put into a sledge or tray 5 or 6 ft. long and I J broad, in the form of a boat, and thence named bidu. To this vessel, a rope of iju is attached, by which they draw it, when loaded, out of the horizontal mine, to the nearest place where they can meet with a supply of water, which alone is employed to separate the gold from the pulverized quartz. In the perpendicular mines, the smooth or gravel gold is often found near the surface, but in small quantities, improving as the workmen advance, and again often vanishing suddenly. This they say is most likely to be the case, when, after pursuing a poor vein, they suddenly come to large lumps. When they have dug to the depth of 4, 6, or sometimes 8 fathoms (which they do at a venture, the surface not afford- ing any indications on which they can depend), they work horizontally, supporting the shaft with timbers ; but to persons acquainted with the berg- werken of Germany or Hungary, these pits would hardly appear to merit the appellation of mines. In Sumatra, however, as in Siberia, the hills yield their gold by slightly working them. Sand is commonly met with at the depth of 3 or 4 fathoms, and beneath this a stratum of napal or steatite, which is considered as a sign that the metal is near ; but the least fallible mark is a red stone, called batu kawi, lying in detached pieces. It is mostly found in red and white clay, and often adhering to small stones, as well as in homogeneous lumps. The gold is separated from the clay by means of water poured on a hollow board, in the management of which the persons employed are remarkably expert. In these perpendicular mines, the water is drawn off by hand in pails or buckets. In the horizontal, they make 2 shafts or entries in a direc- tion parallel to each other, as far as they mean to extend the work, and there connect them by a cross-trench. One of these, by a difference in their respective levels, serves as a drain to carry off the water, whilst the other is kept dry. They work in parties of 4 or 5 to 40 or 50 in number, 458 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. the proprietor of the ground receiving ^ the produce, and the entre- preneurs the other ; and it does not appear that the prince receives any established royalty. The hill people affect a kind of independence or equality, which they express by the term of sama rata. It may well be imagined that mines of this description are very numerous, and, in the common estimation of the natives, they amount to no fewer than 1200 in the dominions of Menangkabau. A considerable proportion of their produce (perhaps ^) never comes into the hands of Europeans, but is conveyed to the eastern side of the island ; and yet Marsden was assured on good authority, that 10,000 to 12,000 oz. have annually been received, on public and private account, at Padang alone ; at Nalabu, about 2000 ; Nattal, 800 ; and Moco-moco, 600. The quality of the gold collected in the Padang districts is inferior to that purchased at Nattal and Moco-moco, in consequence of the practice of blending to- gether the unequal produce of such a variety of mines, which in other parts it is customary to keep distinct. The gold from the former is of the fineness of 19 to 21, and from the latter places is generally of 22 to 23 carats. The finest that passed through Marsden's hands was 23 carats i^gr., assayed at the Tower of London. Gold of an inferior touch, called amas muda, from the paleness of its colour, is found in the same countries where the other is produced. Marsden had some assayed which was 2 carats 3 gr. worse than standard, and contained an alloy of silver, but not in a proportion to be affected by acids. He saw gold brought from Mampawah, in Borneo, which was in the state of a fine, uniform powder, high-coloured, and in its degree of fineness not exceed- ing 15 or 1 6 carats. The natives suppose these differences to proceed from an original essential inferiority of the metal, not possessing the art of separating it from the silver or copper. In this island, it is never found in the state of ore, but is always completely metallic. A very little pale gold is now and then found in the Lampong country. Of those who dig for it, the most intelligent, distinguished by the name of sudagar or merchants, are entrusted by the rest with their collections, and carry the gold to the places of trade on the great eastern rivers, or to the settlements on the west coast, where they barter it for iron (of which large quantities are consumed in tools for working the mines), opium, and the fine piece-goods of Madras and Bengal, with which they return, heavily loaded, to their country. In some parts of the journey they have the convenience of water carriage, on lakes and rivers ; but in others they carry on their backs a weight of about 80 lb., through woods, over streams, and across mountains, in parties generally of looor more, who have frequent occasion to defend their property against ASIA : SUMATRA. 459 the spirit of plunder and extortion, which prevails among the poorer nations, through whose districts they are obliged to pass. It has generally been thought surprising that the European Companies who have so long had establishments in Sumatra, should not have con- sidered it an object to work these mines upon a regular system, with proper machinery, and under competent inspection ; but the attempt has in fact been made, and experience and calculation may have taught them that it is not a scheme likely to be attended with success, owing, among other causes, to the dearness of labour, and the necessity it would occasion for keeping up a force in distant parts of the country, for the protection of the persons engaged and the property collected. Euro- peans cannot be employed upon such work in that climate, and the natives are unfit for (nor would they submit to) the laborious exertion required to render the undertaking profitable. A detailed, and in many respects interesting, account of the workings of a gold-mine at Sileda, with a plate representing a section of the mine, is given by Elias Hesse, who, in the year 1682, accompanied the Bergh-Hoofdman, Benj. Olitzsch, and a party of miners from Saxony, sent out by the Dutch East India Company for that purpose. The superintendent, with most of his people, lost their lives, and the undertaking failed. It is said at Padang that the ore proved to be uncommonly poor. Many years later, trial was made of a vein running close to that settlement ; but the returns not being adequate to the expense, it was let to farm, and in a few years fell into such low repute as to be at length disposed of by public auction, at a rent of 2 Spanish dollars. Following is an extract of a letter from Jas. Moore, a servant of the Company, dated from Padang, in 1778 : " They have lately opened a vein of gold in the country inland of this place, from which the governor at one time received 1 50 tials (200 oz.). He has procured a map to be made of a particular part of the gold- country, which points out the different places where they work for it ; and also the situation of 21 Malay forts, all inhabited and in repair. These districts are extremely populous, compared to the more southern part of the island. They collect and export annually to Batavia, about 2500 tials of gold from this place : the quantity never exceeds 3000 tials, nor falls short of 2000." This refers to the public export on the Company's account. The English Company also, having intelligence of a mine said to be discovered near Fort Marlborough, gave orders for its being worked ; but if it ever existed, no trace remained in Marsden's time. Thomas Barnes, who journeyed from Moco-moco to Pakalang Jambi in 1818, generally corroborates Marsden. Crawfurd (1820), who mainly summarizes from the records of others, gives the following table of Archipelago gold imported into Calcutta : 460 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. TABLE EXHIBITING THE QUANTITIES AND VALUE OF THE GOLD OF THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO, IMPORTED INTO CALCUTTA. Year. From the west coast of Sumatra. From Borneo and the rest of the Archipelago. Total. Pure gold. Value at 4!. $s. an oz. Pure gold. Value at 4/. $s. an oz. Pure gold. Value at 4^. 5^. an oz. 1801 1802 1803 1804 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 Total Aver- age. oz. 2,451 692 1 ,008 580 4,538 6n io,57o 6,374 7 , 206 $ c. 46,296 67 13,071 II 19,040 o 10,955 5 6 85,717 78 11,541 ii 199,655 56 120,397 78 i36,"3 33 *. 10,416 15 2,941 o 4,284 o 2,465 o 19,286 10 2,596 15 44,922 10 27,089 10 30,625 10 oz. 23,764 9,844 7,795 8,791 11,863 5,910 16,322 19,540 8,336 $ c. 448,875 56 185,942 22 147,238 89 166,052 22 224,078 89 111,633 33 308,304 44 369,088 89 157,457 78 * 100,997 o 41,837 o 33,128 15 37,36i 15 5o,4i7 15 25,117 10 69,368 10 83,045 o 35,428 o oz. 26,215 10,536 8,803 9>37I 16,401 6,521 26,892 25,914 15,542 8 c. 495,172 22 199,013 33 166,278 89 177,007 78 309,796 67 123,174 44 507,960 o 489,486 67 293,571 II *. "1,413 15 44,778 o 37,412 15 39,826 15 69,704 5 27,7H 5 114,291 o 110,134 10 66,053 10 34,030 }3,784 642,788 89 71,420 99 144,627 10 16,069 14 112,165 12,462^ 2,Il8,672 22 235,408 2 476,7oi 5 52,966 16 146,195 16,243$ 2,761,461 II 306,829 I 621,328 15 69,036 10 To this he adds the annexed comparative table : TABLE EXHIBITING THE ESTIMATED ANNUAL AMOUNT OF THE GOLD OF THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO, COMPARED WITH THAT OF OTHER COUNTRIES. Pure gold. Value at 4 51. an oz. Exports from the east and west coasts of Sumatra - 07. * c . o8n oz. 35,530 88,362 30,973 $ 671,125 1,669,058 585,045 151,003 375,538 131,635 Produce of Achin Total estimated produce of Sumatra Estimated produce of the mines of 10,450 Montradak in Produce of all other parts of the Archipelago, estimated at one-fifth of the whole Total annual produce of the Archipelago . . 154,865 2,925,228 658,176 Moor (1837) says that gold is the only metal which is found in abun- dance in Sumatra, and this is confined to the mountains in the interior or the valleys at their feet. The gold of Jambi and Indragerie is brought from the mountains of Menangkabau, and the little exported from Siak and Dili from the hilly countries of the Battaks. The greater part of this finds its way to the western coast of Padang, Bencoolen, Nattal, and other places. According to Bickmore (1868), in the vicinity of Mount Ophir (o' i' 10" N., 100 E.) gold has been obtained for centuries. The quantity procured in Sumatra is wholly unknown, but, judging from what is used in ornaments, it must be considerable. It is always bought and sold in the form of " dust," and has never been coined for money in any part of ASIA I THIBET. 461 the Archipelago, except at Achin. On the way to Kotanopan he passed along a large foaming brook, in which the opziener of that district assured him the natives were accustomed to wash for gold. And after entering the S. end of the valley of Mandeling, he was repeatedly informed that the natives obtained gold by washing in the vicinity. At Fort Elout, the Resident showed him a nugget as large as a pigeon's egg, which a native had just found in a neighbouring stream, where they had certainly been at work for centuries. In the mountains west of Ran only is the gold taken from the rock. Col. Yule (1875) says Sumatra was long famous for its produce of gold. The export is estimated by Crawfurd at 35,53007. ; but no doubt it was much more when the native states were in a condition of greater wealth and civilization, as they undoubtedly were some centuries ago. Valentyn says that in some years Achin had exported 80 bahars, equiva- lent to 32,000 or 36,000 lb., but this figure is discredited by Yule in the Encyclopaedia Britannica (i. 96). The interesting report (1880) of John Munday, on the gold-mines of the west coast of Sumatra, was referred to in the Mining Journal, \. 732 ; and a review of ancient allusions to gold in Sumatra and of the geology of the island is given by Verbeek (1878-9), in a pamphlet published at Batavia, and summarized in Annales de V Extreme Orient, i. 185-92. Veth's new work, quoted in the Bibliography, may also be consulted. THIBET. Thibet has for ages been remarkable among auriferous countries by reason of the tradition concerning the existence of gold- digging ants. This fable was perpetuated by Herodotus, Strabo, Megas- thenes, Arrian, Ktesias, Ph6tios, and other ancient writers, and has been the subject of much learned discussion, till satisfactorily explained by Sir Henry Rawlinson and Prof. Schiern, independently yet in parallel terms. Megasthenes gives the following account of these ants. Among the Derdai, a great tribe of Indians, who inhabit the mountains on the eastern borders, there is an elevated plateau, about 3000 stadia in circuit. Beneath the surface there are mines of gold, and here accordingly are found the ants which dig for that metal. They are not inferior in size to wild foxes. They run with amazing speed, and live by the produce of the chase. The time when they dig is winter. They throw up heaps of earth, as moles do, at the mouth of the mines. The gold-dust has to be subjected to a little boiling. The people of the neighbourhood, coming secretly with beasts of burden, carry this off. If they came openly, the ants would attack them, and pursue them if they fled, and would destroy both them and their cattle. So to effect the robbery without being observed, they lay down in several different places pieces of the flesh of wild beasts, and when the ants are by this device dispersed, they carry off 462 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. the gold-dust. The Derdai are the Dardae of Pliny, the Daradrai of Ptolemy, the Daradas of Sanskrit literature, and the Dards of to-day. The plateau mentioned is the table-land of Chojotol. Photios relates that gold is also a product of India. It is not found in rivers, and washed from the sands, like the gold of the river Paktdlos ; but is found on those many high-towering mountains, which are in- habited by the " griffins," a race of four-footed birds, about as large as wolves, having legs and claws like those of the lion, and covered all over the body with black feathers, except only on the breast, where they are red. On account of those birds, the gold with which the mountains abound is difficult to be got. Ktesias says that the " gryphon," an Indian animal, is, so far as he can learn, four-footed like the lion, and has claws of enormous strength, closely resembling his. It is described as having feathers on its back, and these black, while the breast feathers are red, and those of the wing white. Its neck is variegated with feathers of a bright blue ; its beak is like an eagle's ; and its head like the representations which artists give of it in paintings and sculptures. Its eyes are said to be fiery red, and it builds its nest upon the mountains, and, as it is impossible to catch these birds when full grown, they are caught when quite young. The Baktrians, who are next neighbours to the Indians, give out that these birds guard the gold found in the regions which they haunt, and that they dig it out of the ground, and build their nests with it, and that the Indians carry off as much of it as falls to the ground. The Indians however, deny that the " gryphons " guard the gold, alleging, what is highly probable, that gold is a thing " gryphons " have no use for ; but they admit that when these birds see them coming to gather the gold, they become alarmed for their young, and attack the intruders. Nor do they resist man only, but beasts of whatever kind, gaining an easy victory over all, except only the elephant and the lion, for which they are no match. The " gryphons " then, being so formidable, the natives of these countries go not to gather gold in the day-time, but set out under cover of night, when they are least likely to be detected. Now the auriferous region which the " gryphons " inhabit is a frightful desert, and those who make a raid upon the gold, select a moonless night, and set out armed, the expedition being 1000 or even 2000 strong. They take with them mattocks for digging the gold, and sacks in which to carry it away. If they are unobserved by the " gryphons," they have a double share of good luck, for they not only escape with their lives, but bear a freight of gold in triumph home, where the metal having been purified by those who are skilful in smelting ores, they are recompensed with overflowing wealth for all the hazards of the enterprise. Should they, on the other hand, be detected in the act of theft, certain death would be their fate. ASIA : THIBET. 463 Ktesias learned by inquiry that they did not return home till after an absence of 3 or 4 years. Heeren identifies Herodotus' pismires, " Indians living near the Caspatyras and the country of Pactyica," with the desert of Gobi, remark- ing that the desert streams which run to the east and lose themselves in the sand or in inland seas, all carry down a quantity of gold-sand, while the lofty mountains which limit the desert are rich in veins of gold. Capt. Turner (1806) alludes to the finding of gold-dust in the beds of rivers, generally attached to small pieces of stone, with every appearance of having been part of a larger mass. Moorcroft (1816), who travelled to Lake Manasarovara, in Hundes [Un-des], a province of Little Thibet, found that the hills (which are stated to be rich in gold) near Mehal, on the head-waters of the river Sutlej, are granite of mixed colours, the red predominating, with horizontal strata of quartz and small fibrous veins of a white material like agate, descending perpendicularly ; where the rock has been exposed to the weather, its surface is broken into small pieces, having little more cohesion than clay burnt in the sun. This decomposition is effected, he supposes, in consequence of the different materials of which the mass is composed, not being intimately united, and water entering the fissures, where it congeals, and bursts the structure. The gold here is separated by washing. The plain is stony, about ^ mile in breadth and length, bounded partly by heights, and partly by the Sutlej. It is full of shallow pits, made by persons who have dug for gold-dust, and left heaps of stones by the sides of the excavations. At 306 paces, he ascended to another flat, which has likewise been dug. At 1835 paces, he reached a small flat where has been cultivation, and saw caves of gold- mines in the rock to the left, now deserted. At 5975 paces, he reached a house near which are two gold-mines with tunnels under the surface. Heretofore the excavations were perpendicular. The earth is dug out and carried to the brook to be washed. At 5 5 5 1 paces, the valley narrows to 600 yd. ; surrounding hills are said to contain gold, which is some- times found in lumps of considerable size. Lieut. Strachey (1846), another traveller in this region, found that the principal gold-mines, Sar Chaka, were farmed by a Sarpun, who paid to the Lhasa treasury 17,000 rupees (i7OO/.) per annum, and had 170 miners at work, to whom he sent supplies from Pruang, as the country was barren. These mines are worked in shafts and galleries underground ; the gold is found in the pure native state in quartz. It undergoes no other process than washing and sifting, before it enters the market, and after that requires little or no refining. The metal is sometimes found in large masses ; the Lama of Gangri is said to have one weighing 5 nega, i. e. nearly I seer (2 Ib. I oz.), and there are problematical stories of other 464 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. masses, of such supernatural size and shape that the Lamas pronounced them spiritually dangerous, and insisted on their being consigned to earth again. According to Capt. Montgomerie (1865-67), 4 miles N. of Lhasa is a hill called Toti-phu, in which gold exists, and also near the monasteries Debang and Ramoche ; but it is not worked. Gold is, however, worked to a very slight extent near the monasteries by the priests ; but should they, in their search, discover a nugget of large size, it is immediately re- placed in the earth, under the impression that the large nuggets have life, and germinate in time, producing the small lumps, which they are privi- leged to search for. To the N.E. of Lhasa, and i^ month's journey from it, at Sarka or Thok, gold is extracted in large quantities, there being no prohibition as to working it. Col. Walker (1867-8) believes from previous information that gold was first discovered to be abundant at Thok-Jalung about 8 or 9 years ago. The Pundit found the part of the gold-field that was being worked to be a great excavation, 10 to 200 paces in width and 25 ft. in depth, access to the bottom being by means of steps and slopes, the earth as dug out being thrown upon either side. The excavation was about a mile long. The digging is carried on with a long-handled kind of spade, and occasionally with an iron hoe. A very small stream runs through the gold-field, and is put to good use for washing the gold out of the soil. The diggers dam up the water and leave a sloping channel for it to escape by. A cloth is spread at the bottom of the channel, and kept down by a number of stones, so as to make the bottom uneven. One man brings earth from the excavation and sprinkles it over the channel, whilst another man drives water down the channel by means of a leather bag. The water carries the lighter soil right away, but the pieces of gold fall into the uneven places, and are easily collected in the cloth by lifting up the stones. The yield of gold seems to be large, and the finds occa- sionally very heavy the Pundit saw I nugget of about 2 Ib. weight (75 tolahs}. The diggers say they can recognize the soil that contains gold at once ; but judging from the large number of gold-fields that have been used at one time around Thok-Jalung, and are now more or less aban- doned, the Thibetan gold-diggings seem to be quite as capricious as those of California or Australia. From what the Pundit heard, there is a whole string of gold-fields extending all the way from Lhasa to Rudok, along the route which must run close to the northern watershed of the Brahma- putra, probably in the depression to the north of it. The gold-fields are carefully watched by the Lhasa authorities ; a gold commissioner, called Sarpun, superintends the whole of them, and each field has a separate master. Any individual is allowed to dig, provided he pays the annual tax of I sarshoo weight of gold, which is about \ tolah or f oz. The ASIA : THIBET. 465 Pundit says that in all his travels he never experienced such intense cold as he did at Thok-Jalung, owing, as he thought, to the high cold wind that was always blowing, more than to the great elevation, viz. 16,330 ft. above the sea. The tents of the diggers are always pitched in pits 7 or 8 ft. below the surface of the ground, so as to keep out the wind. Spite of the cold, the diggers prefer working in the winter, and the number of their tents, which in summer amounts to 300, rises to nearly 600 in winter. They prefer the winter, as the frozen soil then stands well, and is not likely to trouble them much by falling in. A later (1868-9) report of the Trigonometrical Survey says that the district Jung Phaiyu-Pooyu contains several gold-fields, and has a Sarpon or gold commissioner of its own. Whilst marching from Rudok to Thok- Jalung, the Pundit heard minute descriptions of no less than 7 separate gold-fields, viz, : Thok-Sarkong, Thok-Dikla, Thok-Ragyok, Thok- Thasang, Thok-Maroobhoob, Gunjee-Thok, and Thok-Nianmo, besides those of Thok-Sarlung and Thok-Jalung, which he actually visited, and those of Phaiyu-Pooyu, of which he heard vaguely. The Pundit under- stands the word Thok to mean a mine. In marching S. from Thok- Jalung, the Pundit appears to have left the gold-bearing rocks, and from the information he received, the line of gold-fields is continued more to the N. ; but it is evident that this part of Thibet contains an inexhaust- ible supply of gold. Thok-Sarlung at one time had been the chief gold- field of the district, but had been in a great measure abandoned on the discovery of the Thok-Jalung gold-field. Sir Henry Rawlinson's remarks (Pall Mall Gazette, Mar. 16, 1869; Indian Antiquary, iv. 225) on these reports of the Pundit's researches and travels are as follows : " Now, then, for the first time, we have an expla- nation of the circumstances under which so large a quantity of gold is, as is well known to be the case, exported to the west from Khotan, and finds its way into India from Thibet ; and it is probable that the search for gold in this region has been going on from a very remote antiquity, since no one can read the ex-Pundit's account of Thibetan miners living in tents some 7 or 8 ft. below the surface of the ground, and collecting the excavated earth in heaps previous to washing the gold out of the soil, without being reminded of the description which Herodotus gives of the ants in the lands of the Indians bordering on Caspatyrus (or Kashmir) which made their dwellings underground, and threw up sand-heaps as they burrowed, the sand which they threw up being full of gold. " Prof. Schiern points out that the tradition was mentioned in writings of the middle ages, and those by Arabian authors. It survived among the Turks. Strabo and Albertus Magnus treated the whole story as a fiction. Xivrey supposed that the animals had become extinct, owing to the auri sacra fames. Major Rennell supposed that the dwellers in 2 H 466 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. mounds were termites [white ants]. Humboldt's observations in Mexico on the habit of certain ants to carry about shining particles of hyalith was quoted by those who believed that the animals were really ants. Other authorities suggested that they were marmots, jackals, foxes, or hyaenas. Pliny having stated that horns of the Indian ant were preserved in the Temple of Hercules at Erythrae, Samuel Wahl, who maintained the hyaena theory, proved equal to the difficulty by suggesting that the horns might have been a hisus natures. Prof. Schiern ingeniously argues that the horns had been taken from the skins of animals which formed the garments of the miners. It seems possible, however, that they were samples of the pickaxes made of sheeps' horns, which, as is mentioned on p. 361, are used to the present day by the miners in Ladak. Prof. Schiern further points out that ancient writers say that the ants chiefly worked in winter, and connects this with the statement of the Pundit quoted on p. 465. In conclusion, he writes : " For us, the story par- takes no longer of the marvellous. The gold-digging ants were originally neither real ants, as the ancients supposed, nor, as many eminent men of learning have supposed, larger animals mistaken for ants on account of their subterranean habits, but men of flesh and blood, and these men Thibetan miners, whose mode of life and dress were in the remotest antiquity exactly what they are at the present day. " Cooper (1870) found at I day's journey from Lithang, on the road to the Taso Mountains, vast masses of quartz and granite scattered over the sterile surface. A thousand tiny streams trickled across his path, in the sands of which, as the hoofs of his cattle ploughed them up, he saw abundance of scaly gold. But gold, like all else of a yellow colour, in Thibet is sacred to the grand Lama ; at least, so the 2 spies informed him, and he was forbidden even to take up a handful of the golden sand. Col. Yule (1875) says that gold is stated still to be very plentiful in the mountain called Gulan-Sigong, to the N.W. of Yunnan, adjoining the great Eastern branch of the Irawadi, and the Chinese traders go there to barter for it. Capt. Trotter (1877), in giving an account of the Pundit's journey to Great Thibet from Leh in Ladak to Lhasa, says the Pundit found that the gold-fields of Thok-Daurdkpa, in this portion of Thibet, were of much less importance than those he had visited at Thok-Jalung, in Western Thibet, on a former exploration. At Thok-Daurakpa, the diggers mostly dwell in caves excavated in the earth. These habitations, which are locally termed phukpd, are 32 in number, and contain 5 to 25 individuals in each, according to the wealth of the proprietors, who do not appear to select these buildings from choice, but rather from neces- sity, caused by the proximity of the Khampa robbers, who have a habit of cutting down first the tents and then the owners. These underground ASIA : THIBET. 467 caves are naturally far more secure than tents would be, and one man well armed could defend one of them against a large number of assailants. Besides these caves, there were also some 7 or 8 tents belonging to travelling merchants and recent arrivals. The diggers were mostly Changpas, from the Nakchdng district, to the E. and S.E.of the gold-fields ; but there were also others from Western Thibet and from Janglache, a large town on the Brahmaputra, 5 or 6 days west of Shigatze. The proprietors of each phhkpd have also their own gold-pit (while at Thok-Jalung the whole of the diggers work in one large excavation), in which they work in the day-time only. One or two men are generally employed in quarrying the stone in which the gold is found. The pieces of stone are lifted up in baskets to the brink of the pit, and are there pounded into small fragments, which are deposited on a cloth, which is arranged on a slight slope, and kept down by a number of stones, so as to make the surface uneven. Water is then poured over it, and carries away the lighter portion of the soil, leaving the gold in the uneven receptacles that have been made for it. The largest piece of gold seen by the Pundit at Daurakpa was about I oz. in weight. Unfortunately for the diggers, water is not found within a mile of the gold-fields, and has to be brought that distance in skins on donkeys, which are specially kept for the purpose. The gold of Thok-Daurdkpa is said to be whiter and of better quality than what is found further west. It is, however, more difficult to obtain, both on account of the soil, or rather rock, in which it is found being much more difficult to break up than the softer soil of Thok-Jalung, and on account of the distance from which the water has to be brought. At Jalung a stream runs through the gold-fields. The Pundit believes that there are enormous tracts of land where gold is to be obtained by digging, but where the absence of water would render the working of them unremunerative. The Thok-Daurakpa and Thok-Jalung gold-fields are under the same Sarpon, who makes the round of all the Thibetan gold-fields once a year to collect the taxes. It would appear that the importance and value of the Thibetan gold- fields have been considerably overrated. The Pundit states that, besides the half-dozen places where gold-digging is now carried on in the neighbourhood of Thok-Jalung, the only other gold-fields now being worked in Northern Thibet are at Thok-Daurakpa, and two other places, of even less importance, at Tang Jung and Sarka Shyar, both of which are about 6 days' journey farther east. He believes that nearly the whole of the gold collected in Western Thibet finds its way to Gartokh, and ultimately through the Kumauni merchants to Hindustan., He estimates the value of gold brought annually into Gartokh at about 80,000 rupees 2 H 2 468 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. (8ooo/.). The gold-diggers at Daurakpa dispose of most of their gold either to the Khampas of Garchethol on the west, or the Champas of Nakchangpontod on the east, in exchange for the products of their herds and flocks. The rest of the gold is taken by merchants who bring tea from Lhasa and from China. Markham (1879) says there are many gold-mines in the provinces of U, Tzang, Chang, Takpo, Kombo, and Kham. According to Col. Lewin (1879), the gold-fields of Thibet extend along the base of the S. watershed of the Brahmaputra, and the gold-diggers come chiefly from the country round Shigatze". The mountainous region south of Su-chow was explored by Col. Prjevalsky to a considerable extent, and many abandoned gold-diggings were met with. On Dr. Regel's journey (1881) from Sigoshur, southwards up the course of the Tallik to the ravine whence it issues as a torrent, and then along a mountain track, several neglected mines, formerly yielding gold and silver, as it was reported, were passed. TRANS-CAUCASUS. Both flanks of the Caucasus range, from Stavropol and the Terek on the north to Transcaucasia, Turkey and Persia on the south, contain gold. Wherever metamorphic rocks have been upheaved and transmuted by igneous action, there the precious mineral should be sought. But little progress has been made in gold-prospecting in the Caucasus since the time when Jason and his Argonauts went to Colchis (near the modern Rion) in search of the golden fleece. The country has had too troublous a history to admit of peaceful pursuits. The Caucasus is the borderland of Asia and Europe, and was the gateway and barrier, often the battlefield, of the nations who passed to and fro. The inroads of Scyths, Persians, Parthians, Arabs, Russ, Turks, and mountain tribes uprooted the first germs of civilization derived from the ancient kingdom of Armenia and the Graeco-Roman world. Russia, indeed, succeeded, but only after a protracted struggle, in subduing this naturally rich and fertile country. Under circumstances such as these, it could not be expected that mining enterprise should flourish. As early as 1820, gold was discovered in the government of Stavropol, by the Jesuit father Gandry, who obtained it secretly on the left bank of the Terek, opposite the town of Mozdok. Information having been lodged against him, he was banished from Russia in 1828, and carried his secret with him. In 1833, however, a mining engineer of the name of Follendorf was com- missioned to investigate the gold, and he found alluvium on the banks of the Terek, 2 miles from the town, containing gold in the proportion of ^ sol. per 3600 lb., under a layer of peat, sand, and clay, 5 to 8 ft. thick. Deeper borings were stopped by water, and Follendorf was prevented by illness from extending his explorations above the mouth of the Malka and the town of Mozdok. Were careful investigations to be made in ASIA : TRANS-CAUCASUS. 469 this direction, gold would doubtless be found in considerable quantities. But military operations prevented these works from being prosecuted there or in any part of the Caucasus, and it is only within the last few years that gold-seeking may be pursued without hindrance in the government of Stavropol, and on the Terek and Kuban. In the fifth decade of the present century, the well-known mining entrepreneur, chamberlain Astashof, received permission to prospect for gold in the Caucasus. He formed an exploring party, which he intrusted to the leadership of Ivanitzky the Second. But their investigations only resulted in the discovery of traces of gold on the Miskalga, and a poor detritus on the Akstafa, where ancient workings were found, from which were taken a piece of gold beaten out flat, some wire, a silver coin, a lump of scoria, and particles of wood. To what people these ancient workings in the Caucasus are attributable is uncertain ; probably Armenians long ago knew of and worked the gold-mines. In 1865, by permission of the Grand Duke Michael, Viceroy of the Caucasus, General Klemanof explored the deposits on the tributaries of the Kur. He found gold, though in small quantities, 22 miles from the village of Delijan, at Karaklis station, on the Bambak, a right tributary of the Khram, which joins the Kur on the right, and on the streams which take their sources on the highlands on which lake Kokcha lies, such as the Hassan-su, Tanz, Shamkhor, Ganja-chai, Terter and Karbakha. Besides which there is gold in Grusia or Georgia and Imeritia. In 1875, mining engineer Prince Tsulukidze discovered auriferous alluvium on the Dambluda, on the estate of the Dambluda works, with an average of to \\ sol. per 3600 Ib. This was the first important discovery of gold in the Caucasus. Lastly the gold found at the mouth of the Rion doubtless came from the headwaters of this river. In the central Caucasus, no gold-seekers have yet ventured to prospect, for that country is inhabited by wild, predatory tribes. From the preceding, it is evident that the rivers flowing into the Caspian and Black Seas contain the source of much future wealth to Russia, for though the first explorations were unsuccessful, they proved conclusively the presence of gold derived from parent rocks where the detritus is probably much richer, because the gold there is less widely disseminated. When the spurs and chains, especially knots of mountains, come to be thoroughly examined, it will be found that the Kuma, Terek, and Kuban on the northern flank, the Kur, Araxes, and Rion on the southern slope of the range, flow through a region abounding in copper, iron, and silver, and not destitute of gold. But to develop this country it will be necessary to import labour from the Ural, where the population is industrious and experienced in mining, for the inhabitants of the Caucasus share that universal Eastern vice of idleness. 470 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Col. Monteith, in 1833, ascended the Rion or Phasis, some distance to look at the gold-mines ; but only found some shafts and furnaces, with signs of copper. If gold ever existed, he thinks it must have been on the Quirilla, and not on the Rion. These two rivers join 12 miles below Kautais, from whence they take the name of Phasis or Rion. Strabo (Bk. xi. c. ii. 19, Bonn's Library, ii. 229) observes that the Soanes occupy the heights of Caucasus above Dioscurias (on the Cau- casian coast of the Black Sea, near Colchis, and some distance N. of the river Phasis). In their country, the winter torrents are said to bring down even gold, which the barbarians collect in troughs pierced with holes, and lined with fleeces ; and hence the fable of the golden fleece. TURKESTAN. According to W. H. Johnson (1867), gold is chiefly found in the beds of the streams which issue from the Kiun-Lun range, and in very large quantities about Karangotak, Kiria, and Chira. It is said that 3000 men are daily employed in the gold-fields. The ordinary value of gold in Khotan is Rs. 9 to 10 (18 to 2Os.) per tola (180 gr.), while in Kashmir the same quantity sells for Rs. 17 to 18 (34 to 36^.) : this circumstance alone will show how abundant gold is, and how large a quantity there must be at the present time in the country. FIG. 18. SKETCH-MAP OF TURKESTAN GOLD-FIELDS. Lloyd (1867) says the neighbourhood of Khinka lake is rich in minerals, gold, silver, platinum, lead, and coal being found there. The Manchus frequently bring small parcels of gold of fine quality to the ASIA: TURKESTAN. 47 J settlement for sale, but they rate the market value of the precious metal too high to enable the merchants to purchase much of it. Williamson (1869) states that gold is found in many places towards the south of the promontory in greater or lesser quantities ; but the most famous district is that on the E. coast of Manchuria, to the N. of the Py-li river. Here he passed over gold-diggings and a gold-producing country, about 40 miles in length by 10 broad. He also heard of gold at Kinchau (39 10' N., 121 36' E.), which may be interpreted the "gold-district city." Hay ward (1870) asserts that the Karakash river skirts the edge of a vast tract of uninhabited country, and the gold found in that river is said to be washed up from the buried treasures in the Takld Makan desert. Gold is found in the N. slopes of the Kiun-Lun, and extensive gold- washings occur on the banks of the rivers E. of Khotan. The country adjacent to Khotan-Daria and the Karakash furnishes a moderate supply. Shaw (1871) says gold is not allowed to be taken away from Khotan by private individuals, as it is a Government monopoly in the mining country. Khotan is famous for its gold, of which there are several mines under the mountains near Kiria, to the E. of Khotan. This gold-field probably is connected with that to the E. of Rudok and Gartokh, which has lately been visited by one of Major Montgomerie's Pundits. Gold is reported to exist in the mountains between these two scenes of mining operations. At Kiria, the shafts are sunk to some depth to reach the auriferous beds, of which the earth is brought up to the surface, and there washed in cradles. The produce is a kind of coarse " gravel " of gold, consisting of dust mixed with smaller or larger nodules or lumps, none of them, however, being bigger than a broad-bean, and of irregular shapes. Delmar Morgan (1872) observes with regard to Palladius' expedition in Girin [Chuen-chang], that the trade in gold, found in the N. spurs of the Chang-po-shan mountains, although contraband and punishable by law, is extensively carried on by the Tsziu-fehi (" golden gold-miners "), whose organized bands completely defy the vigilance of the Girin officials. Lockhart (1872) found at the lake of Khinka a great quantity of gold brought down by the rivers, and also at Cape Nicolaif. When, during the Russian war, soldiers landed on the coast, the inhabitants brought pieces of gold in exchange for empty bottles. Shaw (1872) says gold-seekers seem to play an important part in these regions ; for he lately heard of something resembling a Californian or Australian rush of diggers in the heart of Asia. There is a newly- found gold-field, named Kappa, some 25 days E. of Kiria, to which 472 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 1000 diggers have already flocked from all parts during the last year. The Russian traveller Prjevalsky (1875-78) observes that, like most other countries, Russia has had its romantic El Dorado, which was the country of Little Bukharia, and especially the neighbourhood of Yar- kand, and Khotan, reported to be rich in gold-deposits. He sent specimens of the gold-dust which had been taken to Tobolsk for sale. At I day's journey from Kiria, gold is obtained in the mountains, and other gold-mines are situated 5 days' march from Cherchen, near the sources of the Cherchen-Daria. The quantity of gold annually produced in these mines is said to be about 19 cwt, which finds its way into Yakub Beg's treasury. Shaw learned that 6 days' journey in an E. and S. direc- tion from Cherchen was a range of mountains resorted to by gold-seekers. The region where the river Ayulla joins the Kaitanak is auriferous, and Printz found a party of gold-seekers prospecting the locality, but gold at that time had not been discovered. From the Chagrin-gol Prjevalsky ascended the valley of the Yarlin-gol, and passed several gold-washings abandoned on account of the Dungan insurrection ; all the streams in the mountains of Kansu are said to abound in the precious ore. The mineral wealth of the mountains of Kansu consists in its coal-fields and gold, which, according to the natives, is found in almost every mountain stream. The natural wealth of the Urumchi district is considerable. In the mountains south of Manas, alluvial gold is found everywhere. Col. Gordon (1876) found a great desire to keep Khotan secluded, on account of its gold-fields, which contribute largely to the state treasury. About the end of his stay at Kashgar the distant governors began to arrive, according to custom, with the annual imperial revenue and offer- ings from their provinces, followed by Niaz Beg of Khotan, who led in 2 arabas (carts), each carrying 1500 jings (equal to about 1800 Ib.) of gold and silver. According to Dr. Cayley, the gold-fields of Khotan are practically inexhaustible, and the gold is obtained from them without any labour or difficulty. Capt Trotter (1878) states that the inhabitants of Kiria go W. towards the Yurung-Kash [Ilchi] river (near Khotan or Ilchi) for gold. Finally, Major Clarke (1880) remarks that it was thought at one time that gold-mining would become an industry, and that Kuldja was destined to be the El Dorado of Central Asia ; but these expectations do not appear to be any nearer realization now than they were in the time of Peter the Great. Mouchketoff, the Russian Government geologist, who has been engaged for some time in mining explorations in Central Asia, reports that gold is found in small quantities in the auriferous sands of the basins of the Hi, the Tekess, and the Zerafshan (the latter name ASIA : TURKEY. 473 signifies " gold-bearing "). In the Hi basin, gold is only found in its right affluents, which issue from the syenitic-granite spurs of the Dzun- garia Ala-tagh ; whilst in the upper waters, or left affluents, which abrade the schistose rocks of the Kara-tagh, there is no gold. Exploring parties of Russian officers, botanists, and others, are being constantly heard of penetrating into China and Thibet, in the hope perhaps of finding the long-sought El Dorado farther eastward. Mouchketoff's pamphlet, from which is borrowed the sketch-map of the Turkestan gold-fields, may also be consulted. TURKEY IN ASIA. The auriferous wealth of ancient Asia Minor is attested by all the old writers. Herodotus (Bk. vii. c. 28), speaking of the wealth of Pythius, says "and of gold four millions of Daric staters, wanting seven thousand." Rawlinson (iv. 30) in a note gives an account of the value of the different staters, and says the Persian Daric was a gold coin very like the stater ; it weighed about 123' 7 gr., and was consequently worth not quite 22^. (say 1 1. is. io^/.). Pythius, therefore, according to the statement of Herodotus, possessed gold coin to the value of 4,339,5467. Again (Terpsichore, v. 101), Herodotus mentions "the Pactolus, a stream which, bringing down gold-dust from Tmolus." On this subject, Rawlinson (iii. 301, Bk. v. c. 101) says two small streams descend from Tmolus, one on each side of the ruins of Sardis : " the western, which comes down the broader valley, and passes by the Ionic temple of Cybele, has generally been considered as the gold-bearing Pactolus (Hamilton's 'Asia Minor,' i. 146-7.) " Like most gold-fields, that of the Pactolus, so celebrated at an early period (Soph. Phil. 393 ; Strabo, xiii. 897 [c. iv. 5]), was soon exhausted. By the time of Augustus, it had ceased to produce gold (Strabo, xiii. 897). Strabo (Bk. xi. c. xiv. 9, Bohn's edition ii. 271) mentions mines of gold in the Hyspiratis (Groskurd proposes Syspiritis), near Caballa. And (Bk. xiii. c. i. 23, Bohn ii. 353) says : " In the Troad, above the territory of Abydos, is Astyra, which now belongs to the Abydeni a city in ruins, but it was formerly an independent place, and had gold- mines, which are now nearly exhausted, like those in Mount Tmolus, near the Pactolus." Also (Bk. xiii. c. iv. 5, Bohn ii. 403), " The Pactolus flows from the Tmolus [modern Bouz-dagh]. It anciently brought down a large quantity of gold-dust, whence, it is said, the proverbial wealth of Crcesus and his ancestors obtained renown. No gold-dust is found at present", Ainsworth (1838) found gold disseminated in the sandy matters resulting from the disintegration of diorites in the hills of Khutel, and in the syenitic granite on the banks of the Divrigi river, in the Dumbu- Dagh. 474 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Hamilton (1842) says that in the reign of Justinian, the gold-mines of Trebizond became a subject of dispute between the Greeks and Chosroes I. He gives a long account of the auriferous silver-mines at Giimischkhana [Gumushane], which produce annually 250 to 300 dr. of gold. Tchihatchef (1864), after quoting Scylax, Herodotus, Sophocles, Virgil, Juvenal, Silvius Italicus, and Seneca, as to the auriferous sands of the Pactolus, and remarking that already in Strabo's time its reputation had declined, explains this apparent exhaustion of the gold by supposing either that the stream which formerly washed the gold from its matrix in Mount Tmolus has dried up, or that its course has been obstructed, and he believes that judicious search would be rewarded. Farley (1872) remarks that Pliny tells us that, in his time, the riches of ancient Cyprus arose, to a considerable extent, from its copper-mines, the most productive of which were those of Tamasus, in the centre of the island, Soli, on the north coast, and Amathos and Cyrium, on the south. Gold and silver were found in these mines. The mines of Balgar-Dagh, on the slopes of the Taurus, are exceedingly rich, the ores containing 21 per cent, of lead, giving 428 gr. of silver and 4 gr. of gold per 108 oz. The yield at present is trifling, but the mines are capable, under im- proved management and with good machinery, of producing 12,000 tons annually, while the cost of extraction is estimated at only 24$-. per ton. This section may be concluded with the following extract from the report of Consul Wrench for 1880 : " It may appear a bold prediction to make that this country will become at no distant period noted for its gold-mines ; but as it was well known in ancient times as an auriferous region, there is some basis for belief in the possibility of its ancient reputation being revived in this respect. The Messrs. Calvert, who have from the outset been connected with the discovery of mines in Turkey, turned their attention to gold- mines in the Levant many years ago, and have now acquired the most extensive knowledge possessed by any one on the subject. They describe this country as one vast series of auriferous deposits. An analysis of a selected sample of ore, which, to unpractised eyes appears but a poor lead-ore, from one of their mines, by Johnson and Sons, assayers to the Bank of England, gives the following result : Per cent. Per cent. Gold .. 1*23 Sulphur .. I3-00 Silver ., 31-27 Carbonate of lime 2'OO Zinc .. 9-80 Oxygen, &c. .. 3-50 Lead .. (?) II '10 Silica .. 25-2O Copper 0-50 Oxide of iron '2-40 Total.. .. .. lOO'OO ASIA : TURKEY. 475 " The yield of the ore per ton, should this sample prove an average one, is therefore : s. d. Gold, 401 oz. 16 dwt., at 4/. I>6o7 4 o Silver, 10,214 oz. 17 dwt, at 4?. 6d. .. .. .. .. 2,298 6 10 Total 3>9S I0 IO " And in other places, ores of the same class, some of them associated with tellurium, have been met with, worth 2OOO/. to 6500/1 per ton. Hitherto but one concession for an argentiferous gold-mine in Turkey has been granted, and the Calverts, as discoverers, are the concession- naires. This mine is situated near Serdjiller, about 12 miles from the Dardanelles, and it is no doubt that of Astyra, which the ancients said was worked by King Priam of Troy. In company with Calvert and W. L. Stoney, C.E., I visited this mine, and a brief description of what I observed may be interesting. " The Serdjiller gold-mine consists of a quartz reef 40 to 60 ft. wide, projecting several ft. above the surface, like a wall, for nearly half a mile in length, and extending from the summit of a mountain of mica-schist and syenite 1 500 ft high, right down its side to the valley below. There are several ancient galleries in this reef. From the top of the reef near the summit, I struck off some pieces of quartz, which, though not a particle of the precious metal was visible to the naked eye, on being assayed in London by Claudet, assayer to the Bank of England, proved to be of the remarkable richness of 8 oz. 3 dwt. 10 gr. of gold per ton of ore. On the summit are the ruins called Kale"-Tath (Castle Stone), so called from a prehistoric fortress constructed of /ough blocks of quartz. Another sample from this mine proved on assay by Johnson and Sons to be still richer, for the yield was 43 oz. 10 dwt. of gold per ton of ore. Other samples ranged from I oz. 13 dwt. down to 19 dwt. 10 gr. of gold per ton of ore, together with a nearly equal quantity of silver, and the reef appears auriferous throughout. " Stoney was much struck with the size and richness of the reef, and he attaches great value to this mine, not only on that account, but from the unusual facilities for working, as it can be commenced as an open quarry with a natural drainage, and an inclined plane for lowering the ore to the base of the hills, where water-power is available for crushing; and also from its proximity to a seaport, to which a good level road leads. The property is about 1000 acres in extent. The quartz reef cropping out at the surface is found to increase to 100 ft. in width in the ancient galleries. Besides this one, I understand that further exploration has resulted in establishing the fact that other quartz reefs converge, towards Kale-Tath, from different parts of the mountain. 476 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. " It is highly desirable that the mining regulations of Turkey be revised, and the formalities simplified, for at present they are extremely vexatious, and open the door to corruption and abuses, to the detriment of those who have honestly acquired mining rights. If mining " claims " and rights were as properly defined and placed on the same footing as all other rights of real property, it would be a step in the right direction ; for in respect of real property, original official title-deeds are delivered without delay, whereas in the case of mining rights, pending the grant of a firman of concession a tedious process lasting through several years the only original official documents delivered consist of a " pro- specting " licence, and a receipt for the application for concession ; neither of which is procurable until after many formalities, and a long lapse of time, and which after all do not by any means constitute as satisfactory a security for the holder as the original official title-deeds delivered for other descriptions of real property. The discoverer of a mine is often deprived of his rights by designing persons, and this because there is no provision in the mining law for the protection of his title by official certificate." AUSTRALASIA. The quantity of gold raised in the Australasian colonies since 1851 is shown in the following table : Colony. Prior to 1878. During 1878. Total. Estimated Quantity. Value. Estimated Quantity. Value. Estimated Quantity. Value. Victoria New South Wales .. Queensland South Australia Total of Australia Tasmania New Zealand .. Total of Australasia 47,283,377 8,693,368 2,617,500 46,356 Jf 1 89, 133,508 32,193,191 9,675-419 184,767 oz. 775,272 117,978 283,592 io,747 3,IOI,o88 423,184 1,052,490 42,650 oz. 48,058,649 8,811,346 2,901,092 57,103 192,234,596 32,616,375 10,727,909 227,417 58,640,601 45,751 8,648,996 231,186,885 180,600 33,765,194 1,187,589 25,249 310,486 4,619,412 IOO,OOO 1,240,079 59,828,190 71,000 8,959,482 235,806,297 280600 35,005,273 67,335,348 265,132,679 1,523,324 5,959,491 68,858,672 271,092,170 NEW CALEDONIA. The most detailed account of gold in New Caledonia is given by Heurteau (1876). The first discovery of gold was made in 1863, in the eastern slope of the mica-schist range bordering the N.E. coast of the island, in the Poebo country. In the end of 1870, four miners, exploring the valley of the Diahot, encountered rich outcrops in the Manghine hill on the left bank, for which they obtained a concession. 167 168 168 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 cn s r covEin: AUSTRALASIA : NEW CALEDONIA, NEW GUINEA. 477 This remains the only payable auriferous ground yet discovered, though colours have been got in the streams flowing from the mica-schist range to the sea, in the Poebo and Oubatche countries. The concession, known as Fern Hill, had yielded to the month of September, 1873, 1200 tons of quartz, from which had been extracted 4663 oz. of 1 gold, valued at ! 7>756/. The vein strikes N. 25 E., dips vertically, and varies in width from 15 in. to 5 ft. It consists of a number of thin veins of quartz traversing a schistose mass. Various other outcrops of copper-ores con- taining some gold are met with, but not of sufficient importance to be considered gold-ores. The gold occurs native in grains in the quartz, and disseminated through the neighbouring schist. The metal contains 7 J per cent of silver. In working, it . has been found that the free gold disappears in depth, and the vein-stuff becomes a mixture of common and magnetic iron-pyrites, so poorly auriferous that the workings have been suspended. G. Milner Stephen (1872) writes to Sir R. Murchison that gold has been discovered on the banks of the river Bonde, on the N.E. coast of New Caledonia ; 2^ tons of the auriferous drift were brought to Sydney, and found to be highly charged with very fine, almost invisible gold-dust, to an extent of 16 oz. to the ton. The exports from Noumea were 53^ oz. in the last quarter of 1879. NEW GUINEA. A report by C. S. Wilkinson on auriferous speci- mens from New Guinea was published in the annual report of the Department of Mines, New South Wales, for the year 1878, from which the following information is extracted. The discovery of gold by the Rev. Mr. Lawes and Andrew Goldie was in confirmation of what had been anticipated from an examination of the rock specimens already obtained from New Guinea by the Hon. W. Macleay, during his voyage of exploration in the Chevert, and by D'Albertis on the Fly river. Some of the specimens in Macleay's collection were described by Wilkinson in a paper read before the Linnaean Society of New South Wales on the 28th February, 1876 ; but he purposely refrained from making allusion to the probable occurrence of gold-bearing deposits in New Guinea, lest miners might be induced to rush to that inhospitable country, where at present the lives of Europeans would, from well-known causes, be greatly endangered. For the same reason, he was also silent regarding the geological indications of gold-bearing formations, as shown by the collection of rocks obtained by D'Albertis on the Fly river. Amongst these speci- mens were stone tomahawks formed from altered sandstone (probably Silurian) and greenstone or diorite, containing in some instances iron- pyrites. This greenstone, in association with the Silurian and Devo- nian beds, is the main source of the auriferous deposits on some of- the 478 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. principal gold-fields in New South Wales, and it is therefore suggestive of the occurrence of gold in New Guinea. At the same time there is no reason to expect that richer deposits will be found there than are indi- cated by the auriferous formations in New South Wales, where is such a vast tract of known gold-bearing country open for profitable mining enterprise. This fact is worth the careful consideration of those intend- ing gold-seekers who may be fascinated by the distant prospect, and to whom Lawes has given earnest and timely warning against rashly pro- ceeding to Port Moresby, where he is " quite sure great misery and loss of life must ensue if there is any influx of Europeans during the wet season." The samples of quartz and auriferous black sand, sent from New Guinea by Goldie, and submitted for examination by Mason Bros., of Pitt Street, are as follows : The black sand consisted almost entirely of small crystalline grains of magnetic oxide of iron and specular iron, with a few small pebbles of limonite, brown oxide of iron, and numerous prismatic and octahedral crystals of zircon, the edges of the crystals not being in the least degree waterworn. There were also a few scales of yellow mica and a little quartz sand. The sample weighed 7f oz., and yielded 5 75 gr. of gold. But this yield affords no certain evidence of the richness of the actual wash-dirt, in the absence of any information as to the number of dishes or quantity of dirt from which Goldie washed this sample of auriferous sand. The gold is light and scaly, and some of it as fine as dust. The quartz consisted of broken pieces of very waterworn pebbles or boulders, and showed freely small masses of pale yellow mundic or iron- pyrites, but no gold to the naked eye. It, however, yielded on assay at the rate of only 2 dwt. of gold and silver to the ton, the gold being in excess of the silver. The few but interesting specimens obtained by Lawes give an insight into the geological character of the country lying E. of Redscar Bay and Port Moresby. The fragments of slate sandstone, quartz, greenstone, and jasperoid rocks, indistinguishable from specimens of the Silurian series from some of the gold-fields of New South Wales, lead to the inference that the lofty Mount Owen Stanley, Mount Astrolabe, and intervening ranges, are to a great extent, if not wholly, composed of these rocks, and are gold-bearing. The auriferous character of this part of New Guinea was suspected by Wilkinson after examining in 1876 the rock samples collected by Hon. Wm. Macleay from Hall's Sound. But there is now evidence of the actual discovery of gold by Lawes in the Kupaloloko river, and by Goldie in the Goldie river. One of the samples, from the bed of the Kupaloloko, near Mount Vetura, which AUSTRALASIA : NEW SOUTH WALES. 479 contained much magnetic iron-sand, gave an average assay of 3 dwt. of gold per ton, the sample having been subjected to no washing or other reduction in bulk, and representing the mass as it occurred. The Kupaloloko runs parallel with the Goldie farther E. ; both discharge into the Laloke river. There is nothing to warrant the belief that the deposits are richer than is ordinarily the case in New South Wales. On the S. side of Fairfax Harbour, from the hill under which the Basilisk lay, a considerable quantity of gold-quartz was taken by Capt. Moresby's party in 1874; and at Pitt Bay, at the E. end of Moresby Island, one piece of auriferous quartz was got from the bed of a stream, but a second could not be found. NEW SOUTH WALES. New South Wales abounds in minerals. According to competent authorities, the auriferous districts of this colony are far larger than those of any other in Australia, and as rich as the richest, if not more so. Up to 1871, only alluvial washings were carried on, and the wealth lying in quartz reefs was comparatively neglected. There were then upwards of 16,000 miners engaged. Since the veins have been worked and quartz-mining has come into operation, there has been an extension in this direction, and the results have, in a few instances, been unexpectedly rich. The Emu Creek gold-field alone sent by escort to Sydney, from October, 1866, to September, 1871, 182,061 oz. of gold. From 2 mines on Hawkins' Hill, the yield in 6 months was gold to the value of 162,8504 after paying escort fees and mint charges. The proclaimed gold-fields extend with short intervals the entire length of the colony, with a breadth of 200 miles. It is highly probable that rich and extensive gold-fields will be discovered for many years to come. There are immense tracts in the interior which have not yet been prospected. In many miles of country, the rocks that belong to a golden area yet remain in their original condition, and will so remain till some fortunate adventurer stumbles by accident on a tangible encourage- ment. All the great gold-fields of the west are within 2 days' journey of the capital, and there is not any mining settlement which may not be easily reached. The gold-mining centres present the appearance of orderly and thriving townships, with schools, churches, journals, shops, and places of amusement. The authority to dig or mine for gold is given to. all who apply for it. It costs only los. a year, and entitles its possessor to take up ground upon any gold-field to the extent of 60 ft. by 60 ft. to 114 ft. by 114 ft, according to the class of mining pursued upon the particular field. If a man wants to open a quartz mine, he can take up 50 ft. along the line of reef, with a breadth of 100 yd. on each side. His 480 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. miner's right also entitles him to occupy ^ acre of land for his dwelling, and to an electoral vote. A man may take up as many claims as he likes, if he will work them. Sluicing claims extend to 10 acres. FIG. 19. SKETCH-MAP OF NEW SOUTH WALES GOLD-FIELDS. The yield of gold in New South Wales is thus stated by Reid for the years 1851-1875 : Year. 1851-55 6,338,257 1856-60 5,192,326 1861-65 .. .. 8,606,29! 1866-70 5,069,802 1871-75 6,207,265 Total Year. 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 31,413,941 or 8, 436, 1 14- 502. *. d. .. 1,250,484 15 ii .. 1,643,581 16 ii - 1,395.175 8 7 1,040,328 13 6 877,693 18 o The quantity of gold won in 1877 is stated at 121,923 oz. 12 dwt. 15 gr., value 456,9737. 13^. AUSTRALASIA : NEW SOUTH WALES. 48l The statistics of the gold-exports for 1869-1878 are thus given by the Registrar-General : Year. Quantity. Value. Year. Quantity. Value. oz. oz. 1869 .. 642,358 2,493,869 1874 .. 482,076 1,875,081 1870 .. 410,547 1,585,736 ' 1875 .. 552,592 2,097,740 1871 .. 535.492 2,074,937 1876 .. 410,330 1,589,854 1872 .. 543,43 2, 111,231 1877 468,518 1,824,188 1873 - 665,676 2,590,145 1878 .. 436,766 1,699,953 The official statistics of the gold-exports for 1864-1879 are : 1864. 1865. 1866. 1867. 1868. 1869.* 1870.* 1871.* Gold: ,-, . (Boxes Com .. ..( ^ Dust and Bar | f- 553 2,647,516 78,169 304,955 5 12 2,325,844 115,126 441,006 634 2,815,437 134,659 53L983 453 2,041,383 136,348 544,661 414 1,771,005 98,668 382,616 500 2,184,612 149,095 578,260 296 1,206,569 178,513 672,254 4OI 1,724,088 156,382 601,250 1872* i8 73 .* i8 74 * 1875-* 1876.* i8 7 7.t I8 7 8.f i8 79 .t Gold: .-, . (Boxes Com .. .. { Dust and Bar / % 387 1,656,131 186,730 731,120 490 2,151,168 200,134 773,439 397 1,719,888 58,231 222,194 461 2,082,591 3,102 11,914 370 1,575,876 19,178 76,84 ? 418 1,816,495 12,696 5^940 4OO 1,653,9" 36,059 138,620 214 695,303 5,S89 22,840 The quantity and value of gold raised at New South Wales prior to 1st January, 1881, with approximate area of the deposits, and the formations in which they chiefly occur are thus given : Quantity. Value. Approximate Area. Formations in which chiefly found. oz. 9,075,5S2'45 33,777,344 Square miles. 35,500 (Cainozoic, Palaeozoic, Granite, \ Porphyry, Serpentine, Diorite. The following table shows the quantity and proportion of gold obtained from certain parcels of wash-dirt, puddled, sluiced, &c., during the year 1880, as ascertained by the wardens of the gold-fields : District. Quantity. Average yield of Gold per ton. Total yield of Gold. Bathurst . . Mudgee Lachlan Southern Peel and Uralla . . tons. 21,361 3'90 33-443 230,790 3.5oo oz. dwt. gr. o 3 18-74 o 6 i6'oo o 5 3'82 o o 4-34 o 2 18-85 oz. dwt. gr. 4,038 8 o 1,030 o o 8,626 19 8 2,091 12 487 10 o 292,184 o i 2-73 16,273 J 7 20 2 I 2 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Annexed are similar details concerning parcels of quartz :- District. Quartz crushed. Average yield of Gold per ton. Total yield of Gold. tons cwt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Bathurst 5,811 o o o 5 11-99 1,597 18 7 Tambaroora and Turon 4,183 10 o o 15 6-72 3,196 4 13 Mudgee 2,420 o o o 9 17-25 1,176 o o Lachlan 3,023 10 o O 12 I2'28 1,892 15 o Southern 2,IO2 O O i o 0-28 2,103 5 Tumut and Adelong 2,528 10 o i 4 4 -I 3 3,055 19 18 Peel and Uralla 2 , 447 o o o 17 1*85 2,089 8 o New England and Clarence 66 5 o 7 3 I0>2 3 475 2 o Hunter and Macleay 2,082 15 o i 15 21-88 3,813 7 19 24,664 10 o o IS 17*54 19,400 o 9 The summary on p. 483, compiled from mining registrars' reports, shows approximately the number of miners employed in gold-mining, the quantity of gold won, the area of ground worked, and the value of machinery, in New South Wales, during 1880. The table on p. 484 shows the width, dip, and strike of quartz reefs in some of the deepest mines in the colony, being worked during 1880, and the average yield of gold per ton.- A clear and succinct view of the present condition of the gold- industry of New South Wales may be gained from the following summary of the last (1881) reports furnished by the Wardens and Mining Registrars. The chief fields will be separately described afterwards. Scarcity of water has been experienced in the Bathurst, Tambaroora and Turon, Lachlan, Mudgee, Southern, and Peel and Uralla districts. From most of the older gold-fields, a large proportion of the miners were drawn away by the discovery of gold at Temora and at Montreal, and the same thing is now happening with regard to the recent discovery of gold at Mount Browne, in the extreme N.W. corner of the colony. These discoveries are doubtless beneficial in the long run, but their immediate effect is frequently a reduction in the output of gold. This has been in a marked degree the effect of the rush to the Temora gold- field, because many miners abandoned claims that were yielding a moderate return, on some of the older gold-fields ; and, owing to the scarcity of water at Temora, even those whose claims contain payable deposits have not been able to reap the reward of their enterprise and industry. Fortunately the coarse character of the gold has enabled some of the claimholders to extract a comparatively large quantity of gold without washing ; but had a plentiful supply of water been available, there can be no doubt, not only that Temora would by this time have proved a rich and extensive gold-field, but the quantity of gold realized AUSTRALASIA : NEW SOUTH WALES. 483 l> 3 M ^ vOO^ | 1 | 1^^"^" O O O v^ c^ 10 o^ ^o n oo c^ CO O vo N "n ^ .s vo'cicrlo'crotr vo "> w vo N ^ co w n N N CO N (,, 1 3 C, tl's ) U U t^>. 10 c^ co O ^ ^o 10 i w Soil I^IICOC^VOTI-'-H co 10 : CO o-f^ i s ! *n "c-o v HM S^O OOCOOO O O CO 1 ON 3 O "i* S M M CO >-< 1 CO CO 5 u w S ,-T *jCOOvOt^ 00 00 vo 00 vO 3 I-H HH HH c D . ^roOrO-^Os'-" O O t-^00 n - d HH HH P O *^ ON M ON ON OO 00 r^* *O M j S j HH ^ Q HH CO N VO ^O fO ^5 S? t^-. ro ^- HH r-^ ^- ON O CO fO ON 1 ^Jof^vO^riti c? co 5 3 "o O N <*, O t, o H ? '> ; 1 '. : 1 " 1 sr ' j S ^ ^ o eg sa 1 i fa 'iO'J-NOvoO O O ON O o 10 ^coONt^OONO CO * 10 M fcj) i_H < 1 -< ) 1 f) 1 ( hH > QQ QS Q^ ^^ Q HH VO r*** OO * N Q Q\ O *-O CO N O C^ ^T" ^^ n 2 "o O o 2 tn ON NH *o *-o O "** ^h ^J" ^ MM HH )-H hH N-( ^ ON O ON n 10 CO co 1-O OO ^? S ^ h-l -* M H ^ 1-1 Ju 3 10 O *>O *^ ON O OO *^> *o J- 1 o N ON *^" ON co VQ ^^ 10 vO O OIOOO^N^OO co ci oo N D VQ" 00^ ^ co cT i-T cT OO^ IO w^ CO uOOOOvOt-NcO ON N_ir> o "(3 ^oooNOO^ioeo co N ON 00 *^ T3 HH W M J3 Qiomt^OOiO N* co ON CO O\ < S^-Soo^tO^S^ K ON vS^ 2 S rt-xooo^ior^vo* ^p ^ IO l>-t HH HH hH oo e$w>vONO*O VO 3, 3 ^ 5N COOVOM 1O ^ w oo < W p. *T 10 i-T ^ . , ^ N / * ^ .^ ^ V ,~^^ ,- ~ % ^ ^ , _o *-* S *-* "^ "TS m *C ^ '> 3 I "I 1 ^o 2 ^| ^^ fl | District and 212 484 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. M c/5 ^ tn in t/5 ^c/5 1 -^ \ 1 -1 -1 ^ o ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ A .^j ,;... .Ws; . . Q ri . . .W .^^ . . . * * . u d fj o w M , W 0-S -**9^t M H M i d rt -g jjO^A^^OOQQOpOOOOOO ^f\*O <5 *^ *^OOOOOO'^Op*'\OOOCOOOOOOOOpOO "N w #1* u M u_, " '^'U*^- 1 WM^*^^* _^ o 1 g . . . 1 j . - ... * E'c J! * ox a i -^:3 '55 tfJcv, t>^" ^ :j::*% III : ^ | ::!*.? ^jj 1 ?? :^ :: r* 8 !! : S : : l| :.. : 1 W fcSE ^HP j^wcj (2w W owbbwP o^>^ooofawfe c3 cj o 5 u -s ^>. t & f & g g IB, : :< s : : ^ ' >, " ' ^ ' " ' ^. '-S* ' * Name of Cc | i 1 w Division. " . "> . rt I cj >S H 4f . . ft* {( K n O rt T3 bO W ne!rt4> G^J 3 rtSrtSbiSS 2 jfo -a 3 3 "o ^ K pa H u2 S> A< . O Ss < Hl5 w cc District. TS* *0 T3.6 * T) C V Ct . . . < "2 -Eo S 12 IS 1 2ctS fi g S i & * SM .5 s H |1 gJ 1 |8 j HPQ Si-4 coH Pi % II 1 AUSTRALASIA : NEW SOUTH WALES. 485 from the earth raised during the year would have more than compensated for the reduced yield consequent upon the abandonment of claims on the older fields. The quantity of wash-dirt stacked ready for washing as soon as water is obtained is estimated by the Warden at 65,000 loads, and by the Mining Registrar at 50,113 loads, calculated to contain 30,010 oz. of gold. There are 97 payable claims on the field, and the quartz reefs which have not yet been much worked show some very rich stone one line is 2 ft. wide, and one 4 ft, but there is no machinery on the ground. As regards the discovery of gold at Montreal, close to the sea-coast, and on the S.E. side of the Dromedary mountain, Warden Keightley says "The field contains a rich deposit of free gold which has been subject to the action of the sea, reducing it to a water-worn condition, but evidently washed back by the sea and ranged in two terraces about high-water level. . . . Experience has shown that ground considered valueless during the rush is now being proved highly auriferous, and the run has been traced to the west through terraces, and is now being found under lake Wallaga." He has not yet succeeded in tracing any con- nection between this deposit and that at the Gulf gold-field, or that on Mount Dromedary. He says there are now over 30 claims on payable gold, some half-dozen exceedingly rich, producing from several dwt. to over 3 Ib. weight of clean gold to the dish ; 8 ordinary buckets of wash tested, taken off the bed-rock, gave the handsome yield of 7 Ib. 7 oz. of gold. At Corunna, 14 miles N. of Montreal, similar deposits of black sand containing gold have been found ; also at Wagonga ; while S. of Montreal, at a place called Nelson, gold is being found in payable quan- tities, but of a coarser description. A shaft has been sunk by means of water-tight boxes in Wallaga lake, about 1 50 ft. from the margin. The shaft was bottomed at about 28 ft. on payable gold. At the Wantiol rush, near Junee, some 600 miners are on the ground ; but no rich finds have yet been reported. The rush to Mount Werong did not produce very satisfactory results ; but this was due to want of a more extensive search, especially under the basalt. In the Carcoar district, some very promising reefs have during the year been discovered and worked at Milburn Creek ; the reefs so far as opened up are said to show rich stone throughout. On Crudine Creek, in the Tambaroora and Turon district, some sluicing ground has been opened, and a large extent is likely to prove payable. At Upper Bingera, in the Peel and Uralla district, some rich ground has been opened on the wet lead. One party is said to have realized 2O/. per man per week for several weeks. On the older gold-fields very satisfactory progress has been made 486 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. during the year, allowance being made for the effects of the drought and the rushes to new fields. The Warden at Carcoar reports that the Brown's Creek Co., one of the most important in the colony, treated 20,531 tons for an average of 3 dwt. if gr. per ton, being a higher average than was obtained in 1878 or 1879. He also reports that a com- pany was formed to work a large reef on the Belubula river by water- power 1294 tons yielded 3 dwt. per ton, and states that there are several localities on the banks of the river where large but comparatively poor reefs could be advantageously worked by water-power. The Mining Registrar reports the finding of rich quartz at Caloola. The Warden at Copeland calls attention to the large reefs at Cobark, which he says average ^ oz. per ton, are easily worked, and the stone could, by means of an adit, be inexpensively conveyed to a battery, and he adds that a battery of 30 heads could be worked by water-power. In his opinion (and his experience is very extensive), this locality and the Kerriput present excellent openings for the investment of capital under good management. He reports that many of the mines at Copeland are idle : this is probably due to the rush to newer fields, as there can be no doubt that the reefs in this locality would pay well if properly worked, and it is scarcely likely that they will be allowed to remain long un worked. The return furnished by the Mining Registrar at Copeland shows that the stone raised during 1880, so far as the results can be obtained, averaged 2 oz. i dwt. per ton, or less by 1642 oz. than for 1879 ; but the decrease in the number of miners is so much greater that the average yield per miner is greater in 1880 than in 1879. At one claim there were 400 tons of quartz at grass at the end of the year which could not be crushed for want of water. The machinery on the field has in- creased and improved, though there are localities entirely without machinery, which cannot be developed for want of it. The Warden also reports that the reefs at Little River, Dungog, have given good returns. The Warden at Braidwood reports that the attempt to extract the gold from the pyritous veins at Major's Creek has resulted in failure, not- withstanding the large outlay of capital. This is deeply to be regretted, as these veins have been proved to contain a large quantity of gold. So far the only process by which the gold can be extracted from these veins is a chlorine process in use in Victoria ; but the cost of carriage of the material to the works is so great that the margin left barely covers the cost of raising the stone. There appears to be a prospect of the quartz reefs at Little River, in the Braidwood district, being efficiently worked. The Mining Registrar at Orange reports that the pyritous reefs at Lucknow, near Orange, are proving richer, wider, and more permanent at 385 ft. than near the surface ; but the material has to be sent to AUSTRALASIA : NEW SOUTH WALES. 487 England for treatment. Pyrites sent by the Reform Co. to England for sale during the last 9 months of the year realized 4H9/. The Mining Registrar at Araluen says the reefs there have been proved to contain gold in payable quantities ; but, owing to a mixture of base metals, it cannot be extracted by any process known in the district. At Yalwal, in the Shoalhaven district, though the quartz reefs cover a wide extent of country, prospecting is confined to a very small area. The reefs at work appear to give good returns. The quartz at the Eclipse mine is said to yield i^ to 4^ oz. per ton ; at the Pinnacle mine, the average is i oz. per ton ; at the Pioneer, with a reef averaging 6 ft. wide, the yield per ton is 19 dwt. 18 gr. ; at the Homeward Bound, the average is i oz. per ton. The extensive works in course of construction for the purpose of bringing water to hydraulic the numerous dykes of granite containing payable gold at Poverty Point, in the Clarence district, are not yet com- pleted ; but the Warden says that when complete, a large yield of gold may be anticipated, as the water will have a pressure of 50 ft. quite sufficient to break down and reduce the soft granite, an almost unlimited extent of which is known to be auriferous. If this undertaking prove successful, there is a probability that the similar deposit at Wilson's Downfall, referred to by Geological Surveyor Pittman, will also be worked. In the Cobar district, reefs have been opened up at Tindayrie and at Honeybogle, which promise to prove payable ; but work has been suspended at the latter place, in consequence of a dispute as to the ownership of the land. Prospecting is said to be carried on with success at Rock Holes, in the same district. Warden Browne, of the Mudgee district, and who has recently been removed to Dubbo, in submitting his last report, points out that nearly a score of tons of gold have been won with rude appliances, chiefly from alluvial deposits, within the comparatively small area worked, and that it is scarcely likely that the whole district, comprising several hundred square miles, has been completely denuded of the precious metal. From his report, it appears that prospecting has been retarded by the drought ; but some deep claims at Home Rule, which are paying well, have established the existence of a defined lead trending in the direction of the Britannia lead, and thence probably making for the main channel or gutter formed by the junction of the Star and Black leads. He also reports fair progress by the prospectors on the Black lead, and expresses an opinion that much payable ground might be opened at the Canadian, if powerful steam machinery were employed to drain the lower levels ; he likewise reports the erection of machinery to work on a large scale the extensive deposits of cement at Tallawang ; and further, the discovery of 488 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. payable gold on the private property of the Hon. G. H. Cox, on the S. bank of the Cudgegong and at Bara Creek, and indications of payable gold being found in an extensive flat within the Havilah estate. The Mining Registrar at Windeyer reports the finding of nuggets varying from 5 to 1 1 oz. on the Upper Meroo. The following table, furnished by the Master of the Mint, shows the quantities of gold brought by escort and otherwise into the Royal Mint at Sydney during the years 1879 and 1880 : District. 1879. 1880. Bathurst oz. IO, 141 "22 oz. i;,o2c;-76 Tambaroora and Turon Mudgee . . I5>365'25 1 7, 8?Q '82 12,392-30 i "5,817- 84 Lachlan 6, 4.^7*70 8,661 * 14 Southern 8 36 i od 1 2 64Q * 3 3 Tumut and Adelong Peel and Uralla 13.582-38 2 -20 Z ' 1 7 16,245-34 3, 676 '64 New England and Clarence Hunter and Macleay Not within a Mining District Localities unknown 8,853-49 22,953-72 I, 188-00 8,667-00 1,101 -48 21,224-69 106,899-88 116,669-52 The following table, furnished by the Collector of Customs, shows the quantity or estimated quantity and the value of the gold exported during the year 1880: Dust. Auriferous Quartz. Total. Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. oz. pkgs. S, oz. Si 304 185 6902 1931 7206 2513 cwt. pyrites. Hitherto, the returns so furnished have been deemed the most reliable sources from which to ascertain the quantity of gold won in the colony, and, in the absence of complete returns from all the mines in the colony, these tables taken together perhaps still furnish the most reliable infor- mation on the subject, though it may fairly be assumed that since the export-duty on gold has been removed, all the gold sent out of the colony is not recorded at the Custom House. It is at any rate a fact that, since the 1st of October, 1879, when the Act to abolish the export- duty on gold came into force, the quantity of gold entered at the Custom House is very much less than before that date. It will also be seen that the returns furnished by the Mining Registrars, as set forth in the fol- lowing table, give as the result of the year's operations a larger AUSTRALASIA I NEW SOUTH WALES. 489 quantity of gold than the returns of the Mint and Custom House taken together : Mint. Mining Registrars. Excess. Deficiency. Bathurst OZ. 15,026 12,392 15-838 8,661 12,649 16,245 3,677 1,188 8,667 1,101 21,225 Registrars ex oz. I I, OO6 13,946 20,092 18,558 19,338 18,276 7,089 3,219 9,445 103 ceeds the qua oz. 4,O2O '998 21,225 oz. i,554 4,254 9,897 6,689 2,031 3,412 2,031 778 Tambaroora and Turon Mudgee .. .. Lachlan Tumut and Adelong Peel and Uralla New England and Clarence .. Hunter and Macleay Not within a Mining District Localities unknown The quantity returned by the Mining the Mint by 26,243 ntity sent to) 30,646 26,243 4,403 The Mining Registrars endeavour to make their returns complete ; but it is evident that they cannot reach all the mines in their respective districts, and therefore it is possible that the output of gold for the year 1880 is considerably in excess of the yield quoted. However, taking the returns of the Mint and Custom House as the most reliable and they may be said to be thoroughly reliable to the extent that all the gold therein accounted for is the produce of the colony the output of gold for 1880 exceeds that of 1879 by 8950 oz., valued at 34,3247. The following table shows the results obtained from the treatment of certain parcels of wash-dirt during the years 1879 and 1880 re- spectively. Unfortunately, returns have been procured in each year from relatively few claims, and, for purposes of comparison, are of little value, because the wash-dirt is not all treated by the same process; and whereas a very small quantity of gold per ton will pay for sluicing, a much larger yield is necessary to make wash-dirt (which requires to be puddled) pay expenses : 1879- District. Quantity. Average per ton. Yield of Gold. Bathurst tons. 2O OT I oz. dwt. gr. O1 l6'/11 oz. dwt. gr. ;,t;i2 o o Tambaroora and Turon 475 1 8 054 o 9 7'32 OA Q'2Q 221 O 7,960 10 6 l8 772 o o 13*87 ^42 9 6 Peel and Uralla Not in a Mining District .. I,30O I8 5 o o 17-35 o 4 20' 75 502 o o 45 o o 68,697 o 3 3'34 10,782 19 12 490 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 1880. District. Quantity. Average per ton. Yield of Gold. tons. 21 . 36l oz. dwt. gr. O 1 l8"7d. oz. dwt. gr. 4078 8 o 3OQO o 6 16*00 Lachlan . . 3-1 .44 ? O ^ 3 ' 82 8 626 19 8 Southern S'iO.VQO O O A.' 1A. 2 091 O 12 Peel and Uralla 3,500 2 18-85 487 10 o 292,184 o i 2-73 16,273 r 7 20 The returns for 1 879 included a very much smaller quantity of earth that had been sluiced than the returns for 1880, consequently the average yield for 1880 is much smaller than for 1879. It is greatly to be hoped that miners will in time overcome their antipathy to furnish details of their operations, and that in consequence the Mining Registrars will be able to obtain such complete returns as will admit of a proper comparison, not only between the operations of two or more years, but also of the results by the several modes of treat- ment of alluvions. Such a statement would be of the greatest value for statistical purposes, and would furnish the best indication of the worth of auriferous deposits. The following table shows the results obtained from some quartz reefs during the years 1879-80. The returns furnished for 1880 are more complete than those for the preceding year, but the average yield is very much lower. The lowest average is from the Bathurst district ; this is due to the fact that in that district some very large reefs are worked for a comparatively small yield. The average yield, though smaller than that of the previous year, is far from unsatisfactory, considering the quantity of stone treated. It is to be hoped that in future large quartz reefs will receive more attention from capitalists, because, though they cannot be profitably worked by the individual miner, they might with the aid of skill and capital be made to yield a very handsome profit, if worked with economy upon a large scale : : 1879. District, Quantity. Average per ton. Yield of Gold. Quantity. Average per ton. Yield of Gold. tons cwt. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. tons cwt. oz.dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Bathurst 653 o O 9 14' 22 313 4 o 5,811 o o 5 11-99 i,597 18 7 Tambaroora ancH Turon .. / 3,220 10 o 15 14-92 2,515 9 H 4,183 10 o 15 6*72 3,196 4 13 Mudgee i , 746 o o 16 3-99 1,411 6 12 2,420 o o 9 17*25 1,176 o o Lachlan 2,2OI IO o 13 i3'45 1,492 13 19 3,023 10 O 12 12*48 1,892 15 o Southern .. 1,198 IS O 12 13*14 777 16 o 2,IO2 O i o 0-28 2,103 5 o Tumut & Adelong 2,992 18 i 5 i' 12 3,8" 7 " 2,528 10 i 4 4'i3 3,055 19 18 Peel and Uralla 796 o i 7 10-76 1,092 9 o 2,447 o o 17 1-85 2,089 8 o New England &| Clarence . . / 550 o i o 16-33 568 14 6 66 5 7 3 10-23 475 2 o Hunter & Macleay 3,125 10 2 17 2-I9 8,864 18 i 2,082 15 i 15 21-88 3,813 7 i9 16,464 3 i 5 7-81 20,847 18 15 24,664 10 o 15 i7'54 19,400 o 9 AUSTRALASIA : NEW SOUTH WALES. 49 1 From the returns furnished by the Mining Registrars, it would appear that the number of gold-miners in the colony in 1880 was 13,430, in- cluding Chinese, which is a very large increase upon the number in 1879. Of this number, 11,403 were engaged in alluvial, and 2027 in quartz mining ; while in 1879, the numbers were, alluvial 6476 and quartz 1826. It is quite possible that the increase is not in fact sc great as it appears ; but there can be little doubt that a large number of persons from outside the colony, or who were following other pursuits within it, were attracted to the Temora and Montreal gold-fields. While no great increase in the number of quartz miners has taken place, the number of alluvial miners has increased in every district except Tambaroora and Turon. The increase in the yield of gold when compared with the increase in the number of miners is small ; consequently, in dividing the gold won by the number of miners, the average of their earnings appears exceedingly small, thus : 118,600 oz. divided amongst 13,430 miners, gives less than 9 oz. per man for the year's work. The facts are, however, (i) That the increase in the number of miners did not take place till the latter half of the year ; (2) at new rushes, a considerable number of miners are engaged in looking about or in unproductive labour ; (3) a very large portion of the wash-dirt raised at Temora during 1880 could not be treated for want of water. Making due allowance for these special circumstances, the average has probably been quite as good as that of previous years ; and taking into account the new discoveries made, and the extent of new ground prospected during the year 1880, the result of the year's opera- tions may fairly be regarded as satisfactory, and on the whole gives promise of considerable improvement in this branch of mining. The new finds will doubtless give employment to a large number of operative miners, and if capitalists could be induced to undertake the systematic working of the deposits on the older gold-fields, which present ample scope for the profitable employment of capital under skilful and economic management, the gold-fields of this colony would probably take a position second to none in the world. Harrington [Back Creek} gold-field. Following is an abstract of Wilkinson's report (Dec. 30, 1878) on the Back Creek [Barrington] gold-field and the adjacent country. This gold-field is situated about 10 miles W. from the town of Gloucester, and is at present defined by a strip of country 3 miles wide extending N. from the Barrington river to the Bowman river. Back Creek, where the principal gold-workings occur, takes its rise within this area, amidst steep ranges, which attain an elevation of 800 to 1 500 ft. above the Barrington and Bowman rivers. These ranges are covered with a thick forest of box, cedar, gum, mahogany, and other timber useful for mining and building purposes, together with a dense under- growth of scrub, vines, and ferns, resembling the luxuriant vegetation of 49 2 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. the Illawarra district and of Gippsland, Victoria, so that the miners have had no slight difficulty to contend with in clearing and forming dray-roads from their mines to the crushing-machines and the township. The township is situated near the junction of the two main branches (called right and left) of Back Creek, but it is being rapidly extended up the left branch. There is very little level ground suitable for building upon, owing to the steep declivity of the hills, reaching in places to the bank of the creek. A township has therefore been recently surveyed on more suitable ground, about a mile below the junction of the right and left branches, but the former locality being nearer to the reefs, all the houses of business are there at present, and the building allotments command a high price. On this gold-field, 20 distinct lines of gold-bearing reefs have been proved. On nearly all of these, the claimholders or leaseholders are either raising stone for crushing, or further prospecting the reefs, while waiting an opportunity for the crushing of the quartz already raised. In some of the claims, other gold-bearing veins have been discovered ; for instance, there are 3 on the Hidden Treasure or Town and Country line, whilst on the Rose and Thistle line, at the head of the right branch, there are 5 or 6 sets of veins, from some of which rich specimens have been obtained. The Mountain Maid reef, from which 235 tons have been crushed, yielding over 15 oz. of gold per ton, averages about 14 in. thick, but varies from 4 in. to 26 in. ; it has been opened for about 160 ft along its course, which strikes from E. 15 N. to N.E., underlying slightly to the S.E. The strata of hard shale and sandstone which it traverses dip S. 20 E. at 25. The deepest shaft is 100 ft. The reef is accompanied in places by a breccia vein, enclosing angular pieces of the bounding walls ; it contains much pyrites and a little gold, and appears to have been formed subsequently to the rich vein, for some specimens show one vein intersecting the other. The Rainbow reef is on the same line, farther N.E. In the prospecting-claim, at a depth of 50 ft., the reef occurs in a channel 2 ft. wide, within which the reef splits irregularly into several veins, separated by partings of black shale, and forms again. Its strike is E. 43 N., slightly underlying to the S.E., and the strata it traverses dip S. 35 E. at 12. The Hidden Treasure reef (Cameron and party's), on the Town and Country line of reef, is being worked by a tunnel. It varies from 6 in. to 6 ft. thick, averaging 3 ft., and under- lies to the S.W. at an angle of 45. It traverses indurated shales and sandstones dipping S. 22 W. at 20. On the hanging-wall, in places occurs a casing of unctuous clay, and the face of the quartz in contact with it has a highly polished surface ; 100 tons from this reef yielded 3 oz. per ton. About 1 50 tons, showing gold freely, now await crushing. The Centennial reef lies farther to the N.W., and also dips to the S.W. AUSTRALASIA : NEW SOUTH WALES. 493 It is said to average 2 ft. 6 in. thick, varying from 6 in. to 6 ft. Two shafts have been sunk on it to depths of 50 and 90 ft. It occurs almost on the summit of the watershed, at the head of the left branch, and about 800 ft. above the level of the township ; 147 tons crushed yielded nearly 2 oz. per ton, and about 400 tons of similar stone are now ready for crushing. Between this reef and the Hidden Treasure, on the same line, are other claims on smaller gold-bearing veins, 4 of which have been discovered, 2 to 20 in. thick. One of these, the Town and Country reef (Harris and party's), was the first reef opened on this gold-field. In another claim on the Centennial line, the Golden Crown (Lukey, Young, and party's), the reef is 5 to 20 in. wide, and dips with the strata S. 35 W. at 42 ; 48 tons yielded 2 to 5 oz. per ton. A shaft has been sunk upon it for 70 ft. The Anderson line of reef strikes almost E. and W. ; it runs in lenticular shoots of quartz from a few inches up to 2 ft. 6 in. thick ; 84 tons crushed from one claim on it, the Lady Belmore, yielded 2 to 4 oz. per ton. There are other claims at work on this reef. Both the crushing-machines on this creek at the time of his visit were idle, owing to the scarcity of water ; this shows the necessity for early provision being made for the conservation of an adequate supply of water for crushing purposes. Miller's reef and the Rose and Thistle reef at the head of the right branch are chiefly in hard metamorphic conglomerate. In Doust's claim, on the latter reef, the quartz averages 8 in. thick, and looks promising ; it contains a little galena. In May, Robinson, and Smith's claim, the average thickness of the stone is 7 in., but it is sometimes even I ft. thick. From another vein in this claim, he was informed that 179 oz. were " dollied " (crushed by hand) from about 6 cwt of stone ; and in the adjoining claim, 75 oz. were got from one bucketful of stuff". The reefs in the prospectors' claim on the Lady Matilda line, and Cripps & Co.'s on the Rose and Thistle line, are in indurated shale ; in the former, the reef varies from a few inches to 3 ft. thick, running in irregular shoots, and dipping generally with the shales from S. at 35 to S. 22 W. at 21. A trial crushing of i ton gave 3 oz. of gold ; about 1 20 tons of quartz are ready for crushing. A short distance farther E. is the Royal Bengal Tiger reef, which strikes in quite a different direction to the last, viz. N. 25 E. ; it has been opened to a depth of 40 ft. Other reefs have been found in this locality. The quartz raised from the various reefs at the head of the right branch is awaiting the completion of the battery which Williams & Co. are erecting on the creek. The stone which he saw in some of the heaps shows gold freely, and it is expected will give good results. The Morning Star line of reef is near the Back Creek township. In Fallen's claim, No. i west, it dips N. 30 W. at about 43. Two very 494 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. ferruginous veins, 2 in. thick each and 3 ft. apart, were followed in an E. direction for a short distance, when they united and became 10 to 15 in. thick ; 1 6 tons from this reef gave 2\ oz. per ton, and the stone at grass is expected to give a much richer yield. In Baird and Slade's 3-acre lease, No. I east, the reef is 6 to 1 6 in. thick, striking E. 10 N., with underlie northerly; it has been opened to a depth of 90 ft.; 18 tons crushed yielded 2 oz. per ton. The Melbourne reef lies to the south of the Rainbow line ; it averages 8 or 9 in. in thickness, and strikes N. 20 E., underlying E. The owners, Massey and Reid, showed some rich specimens from the claim ; one small piece weighing about 4 oz. consisted almost entirely of fibrous filaments and crystals of gold, partly encrusted with oxide of iron, evidently derived from the decomposition of pyrites. About i^ mile S. of the township, on the Church and School lands, is the Mechanics reef, which crosses the summit of the high range between Back Creek and the Barrington river, at about 1000 ft. above the river. It strikes E. 35 N., underlying a little to the S.E., and averages 2 ft. thick, but varies from 6 in. to 2 ft. 6 in. In the No. I claim south, the shaft is down 140 ft, which is as yet the deepest shaft on this gold-field. Like the Mountain Maid reef, this reef is accom- panied by a brecciated vein containing angular fragments of sandstone and shale, with calcite and much iron-pyrites, and also a little gold. The country consists of hard sandstones and shale, dipping E. 4 S. at 31 ; 348 tons of quartz from this reef yielded 2 oz. 13 dwt. per ton. A good road has been formed for the carriage of the quartz from the reef to Watt and Driscoll's crushing-machine at the Rainbow. Other reefs being worked are not mentioned, but the preceding will suffice to show the main features of the reefs on this gold-field. Parcels of quartz crushed at Watt and Driscoll's machine, at the Rainbow reef gave : Name of Reef. Crushed. Yield per ton. Prospectors' claim, Rainbow Reef No. i, Rainbow Reef .. .. . . . 97 tons. ;8 l OZ., about. 2 OZ Prospectors' claim, Lord of the Hills Reef No. I, Mechanics Reef IO 131 I OZ. 2 oz. 15 dwt. about Prospectors' claim, Rainbow Reef Prospectors' claim, Mechanics Reef No. I, Lord of the Hills Reef Star of the South Reef 21 9 33 5 oz. 5 oz. 15 dwt. about. \\ oz. 9.. 12 12 dwt. 82 15 oz. 1 8 dwt. i8i 2 oz. Prospectors' claim, Morning Star Reef No. I, Morning Star Reef Prospectors' claim, Rainbow Reef No. i, Rainbow Reef I9J 16 56 27 i oz. 2| OZ. I OZ. Rosetta Reef 26 1 8 dwt No. I, Mechanics Reef I2Q' 8 dwt Prospectors' claim, Rainbow Reef Prospectors' claim, Mountain Maid Reef .. Prospectors' claim, Mechanics Reef 15 tons. 153 75 6 oz. 15 oz. 15 dwt. I oz. 16 dwt. AUSTRALASIA : NEW SOUTH WALES. 495 Higher up the left branch is Burley and Thomas's crushing-battery, at which over 500 tons of quartz had been treated ; 379 tons crushed gave an average yield of about 2 oz. 12^ dwt. per ton. From these interesting particulars, it will be seen that 1244 tons of quartz yielded about 6153 oz. of gold, the lowest yield being 12 dwt. per ton from a small parcel of 12 tons of quartz, and the highest nearly 1 6 oz. per ton from 235 tons from the Mountain Maid claim. If we disregard the latter as being exceptionally high, the average yield of all the other crushings, viz. 1009 tons, will be at the rate of 2 oz. 8 dwt. 9gr. per ton, which may be taken as about the general average yield of the reefs on this gold-field. Wilkinson estimated that there were upwards of 1 500 tons of quartz raised awaiting crushing. Alluvial gold was first discovered on Back Creek in May 1876. E. F. Pittman, geological surveyor, in his accurate report on this gold-field, states that the first gold-mining lease (quartz) was pegged out on 25th November, 1876. At the beginning of the present year, the population numbered about 250; since then it has increased to about iioo, of whom 800 are miners. The alluvium in the creek beds both of the right and left branches has been worked for gold almost from their sources to their junction, with payable but not rich results, though several fine nuggets have been obtained one of 8 oz. in weight found on the left branch, near the Rainbow reef; and several, with one of 35 oz., in the creek near the reefs at the head of the right branch. About 10 miles W. from Back Creek, have been some old alluvial workings on the Burneal Creek a creek about 3 miles in length, which runs into the Barrington river Here Thomas, Luke, and party discovered a quartz reef near the summit of the range between the Burneal Creek and the Barrington river. The reef traverses brown sandstone, shows gold freely with iron-pyrites and galena ; it runs 6 to 12 in. thick, nearly vertical, and strikes E. 40 N. it is being opened by a drive from its outcrop on the face of the steep range. Several other quartz reefs have been found in the locality, but as yet no gold has been seen in them; some of them will, however Wilkinson believes, be found auriferous. The formation of the country is similar to that at Back Creek, but apparently in a higher series of strata, in which he found Crinoid stems, Strophomena, Spirifer, &c. and other marine shells. These fossils occur in abundance in the rocks cropping out in the creek near the homestead on the Cobark station. About 4 miles farther S. a miner named Jackson has opened a reef, which Wilkinson had not time to visit ; it is said to average 15 in. thick and to contain fine gold. Gold has been found in the alluvial on Mount Moonie, 6 miles N. from the Cobark station, and also in the intervening country, so that there is every probability of auriferous reefs being found throughout this locality, and between it and Back Creek, especially in GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. the vicinity of the Two Creeks, near the Barrington, where payable alluvial gold has been got. Several gold-bearing reefs are now being opened near the Bowman river, about 5 miles N.W. from Back Creek. There are two parallel reefs within about 200 yd. of each other ; they strike N. 40 E., underlying to the S.E. ; a third vein, the John Bright, 6 to 1 8 in. thick, occurs between them. The formation of the country is hard blue sandstone and shale. There are 6 claims at work, chiefly on the Golden Spur reef, which in the prospectors' claim varies from 12 to 20 in. thick, the stone showing coarse gold. The other reef, the Gladstone, was the first discovered, and worked to a depth of 50 ft. some time ago by Selby, who abandoned it, until Hughes and Dyson, about 3 months ago, opened it again. There are now about 50 tons of gold- bearing stone at grass. At present the gold is extracted by " dollying " (crushing by hand with a wooden stamper suspended from the end of a spring-pole). There are good sites for a crushing-machine on the Bowman river, within \ mile from the reefs. The gullies on either side of the reefs have been more or less worked for alluvial gold, and, as it has been obtained in them for some distance above the line of the reefs already discovered, there is no doubt that other gold-bearing reefs exist in the ranges lying to the S. This country is worthy of being prospected. Wilkinson also inspected the two reefs lately discovered about 4 miles W. from Dungog, and about 30 miles S. from Back Creek. One of these, Gurr and party's, is on the Sugarloaf Range. This reef consists of a network of veins in green chlorite rock, 12 to 1 8 in. thick, sometimes making into solid quartz containing iron-pyrites. Some specimens, said to have been taken from near the surface, showed gold freely ; the reef strikes N. 20 W., and is nearly vertical. About I mile farther S., on a spur from the main range, occurs another reef, about i ft. thick, in brown sandstone ; it has only been opened to a depth of about 4 ft. ; it was said to contain gold, but he did not see any in the quartz. These reefs are in rock of the same formation as those at Back Creek, and certainly deserve prospecting. Alluvial gold has been found in the country between Dungog and Barrington, and, as this tract of country is all more or less of the same geological formation, there is every reason to believe that many payable quartz reefs will be discovered in it, and prospecting throughout the district should be encouraged. As a rule, the lines of reefs follow the strike of the strata ; but there are one or two exceptions, as in the Morning Star line, where their course is almost in the direction of the dip of the strata ; consequently reefs are found running towards various points of the compass. This may be partly due to the fact that the strata (Upper Devonian) which these reefs traverse have not been affected by cleavage as have been the AUSTRALASIA : NEW SOUTH WALES. 497 older Silurian formations, which are the principal reef-bearing rocks on some gold-fields. The fissures which the quartz has filled opened where the strata offered least resistance to the contracting or other forces causing the fractures ; and as these strata of shales, sandstones, and conglomerates vary considerably in composition and hardness, and in the direction of their dip, there is little difficulty in accounting for the irregular reefs formed in them. Under these conditions, are found, as might be expected, sets of reefs extending perhaps in one general line, but each reef of irregular thickness and length just as in the splitting of a piece of cross-grained timber, which does not split in one straight line, but opens in small cracks along the main line of fracture. These considerations are of importance to the miner, as showing that the thickness of the reefs cannot be relied upon for continuance in either length or depth, and that some reefs may even thin out altogether, but will probably be connected by distinct joints with other similar veins not far off ; and thus it is assured, that though the yields from individual mines will fluctuate considerably at times, yet on the whole the quartz- mining industry in this gold-field may be regarded as of a permanent character. Much will depend upon the systematic development of such reefs. Their variable thickness and extent suggest the precaution of providing in many instances a reserve fund for occasional prospecting, and the advantage of the management of the mining operations being under interested and local directors. These and other considerations should not be disregarded, for by mismanagement, either of a company's mine or of its funds, a good mine may be brought to a standstill, many incautious investors ruined, and the development of the mining industry retarded. Most of the mines are at present held and satisfactorily worked by bond fide miners, aided sometimes by others who are repre- sented by wages men. In such private companies as these, where the labour and capital employed are mutually interested, the first de- velopment of a mine is generally attended by the most satisfactory results. The water supply for Back Creek is very uncertain. In summer, the creeks cease running, and the supply has to be drawn from holes in the alluvium, the water from which is brackish and unwholesome. To remedy this deficiency, much might be done temporarily by the residents them- selves in making dams and tanks, for the construction of which the conformation of the ground is suitable, though the bed-rock is often of a very jointed nature, causing much loss of water by infiltration ; but by judicious selection of site for a dam, and by puddling, the loss might readily be prevented. For the purpose of ascertaining whether a per- manent supply could be obtained for this gold-field, Wilkinson examined the surrounding country, and found it must be sought for within the 2 K 49$ GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. watershed of the Barrington river, as the Bowman stream is not sufficient for the purpose. Two schemes present themselves : these are to obtain the water either by pumping from some point on the Barrington river, or by gravitation from the Arundel river. Either of these schemes might be too costly for adoption until the requirements of the gold-field are more fully developed ; but of the two, the former would probably be the less expensive, for the Barrington river has such a rapid and large stream that any required water-power might be made available for pumping, so that steam-power might be dispensed with. The nearest point of the Barrington river to the Back Creek township is about 2| miles distant, in a S.W. direction, and a high range intervenes, the lowest gap in which, at the head of Black Jack Gully, is about 800 ft. (aneroid observation) above the Barrington river, while the confluence of Back Creek and the Barrington river is about 500 ft. lower level than the township. So that water would have either to be pumped up the valley of Back Creek to a height of 500 ft, and for a distance of 5 miles, or else for about I mile on to a range 900 ft. high, whence it might descend by gravitation to the township, a distance of 2 miles, or to any other required part of the diggings. The gravitation scheme to bring water from the Arundel river and its branch, the Delgree Delgree Creek, above Cobark station, would necessitate the cutting a race between 30 and 40 miles in length through very rocky country ; and as payable reefs are likely to be found in any part of this country, future discovery- may render the construction of this water-race advantageous to the district. Wilkinson was informed that the Back Creek Progress Com- mittee had applied for a small water reserve to be made on Duffer Gully. He examined this gully, which is conveniently situated for the purpose. This reserve should, he thinks, be made to include the ground for a width of 5 chains on both sides of the bed of the gully, and for a distance of ^ mile along it from its junction with the right branch. In this area, a reservoir might be made at an elevation of 100 ft. above the town, to which the water might be conducted by a line of pipe about ^ mile in length. Kiandra gold-field. Following is an abstract of Lament Young's report on the Kiandra gold-field, and a water-supply for the same ; dated 25 May, 1880. Kiandra is situated on the table-land of Maneero, 5000 ft. above sea-level, and close to the highest mountains in the colony : within a radius of 16 miles, may be seen the sources of the Snowy river, the Murrumbidgee, the Tumut, a large tributary of the latter, joining it 175 miles from its source, and flowing for the first 35 miles in a diametri- cally opposite direction, and finally some minor tributaries of the Murray AUSTRALASIA : NEW SOUTH WALES. 499 [Hume] river. Under these conditions, it may appear at first sight strange that alluvial deposits of any extent should exist in the neigh- bourhood of Kiandra, deposits so extensive as to promise many years of employment, and lying so high up in the surrounding hills that the supply of water requisite to work them has but a small gathering-ground ; indeed, were it not for some natural features hereafter to be enumerated, any attempts to institute hydraulic mining on a large scale would be hopeless. With the aid of a compensated aneroid, Young ascertained that a fair amount of water, enough to supply 20 sluice-heads continuously, could be obtained from the left-hand branch of the Tumut river ; two gaps, however, were unfortunately found to occur between the source of the water and the first diggings at which it would be available. These gaps, known as the Snowvale and Russell's Corner respectively, are too deep to be bridged over with fluming, and the only way by which the water could be taken across them would be by inverted siphons. The length of the race up to the Nine-mile diggings, the first place where the water would be used, would be about 25 miles, and an additional 1 2 miles would be required to take water on to the New Chum Hill and Township Hill deposits. Lett informed him that ioo/. a mile would in his opinion amply cover the cost of constructing this race ; and as this gentleman had himself cut quite 20 miles of races in the neighbourhood, his estimate may be taken as a fair one. Sullivan's surveys (see p. 507) will decide whether water can be brought from the Tumut river to work the extensive deposits at Nine-mile, Four-mile, New Chum Hill, and Township Hill diggings. Young is convinced that the above river is the only source of a water-supply ; for though sites for dams exist in the neighbourhood of the diggings, the amount of water they could contain would be quite trifling compared with the demand. He, how- ever, mentions that for one or two claims the present supply might be supplemented : thus, a fair-sized dam could be made on the site of the Three-mile diggings, which is practically worked out, and this water used for the claims on New Chum Hill. There is also a good site for a dam just behind Mount Tabletop, from which the water could be brought on to the Empress claim. Near the end of this report (see p. 503) is appended a short notice of each locality where digging is carried on. In the neighbourhood of Kiandra, the country spreads out into large fan-shaped flats, which drain through narrow outlets. This appearance is very strikingly developed, and sometimes on a large scale, as in the exten- sive flat above the junction of Bullock Head Creek with the Eucumbene river ; here the Eucumbene drains through a deep narrow gap, the damming of which would convert the flat above into a large lake. These flats at their upper extremities appear but little inclined towards the 2 K 2 5OO GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. outlet, and are filled with a peaty kind of soil, in places becoming soft bogs and quagmires ; over the whole grows a luxuriance of heaths, ferns, and mosses. Just near the outlet a sudden and rapid fall of the surface takes place, a small stream of water appears, and, after draining through a little gorge, is again lost in a larger flat beyond, into which several small flats drain. When once a stream of water of any size is formed, it is seen to flow through deep narrow gullies and over a bed of pebbles. As an examination of these appearances will explain some points con- nected with the auriferous deposits of the neighbourhood, they will be described more in detail. These fan-shaped flats are the gathering-grounds of the snow, which falls in great quantities during the winter months ; in them thus pro- tected during the cold season, and nourished during the spring and autumn months by fogs ferns, mosses, and heaths grow luxuriantly. These, in the course of time, form spongy peats, which are the reservoirs of the melted snow-waters, and from which a clear, steady stream drains all through the summer, the slight brown tint of which clearly indicates the peaty nature of the ground at its source. The semi-solid state of the surface-soil in the high flats is owing to its being largely composed of a porous mass of decaying vegetable matter, held together by the stems and fibres of the plants that form it ; near the outlet, where the drainage becomes confined, the flow of water naturally increases in rapidity, and all soft decaying vegetable matter and soil are carried away by the stream, hence the sudden fall at the outlet of the flats where the peat-bog abruptly ends. When once a body of water is formed, so constant is its bulk during the summer, and so considerable during the spring, that a deep narrow gully is soon cut and maintained. The small size of the pebbles that lie in the beds of the streams cannot owe their appearance to the cause that usually produces it, namely grinding against each other, since these streams, though rapid, are not considerable enough to carry along the pebbles. The explanation in Young's opinion is as follows : The pebbles are of granite and slate, such being the formations of the surrounding country, the highest points, as a rule, being slate. During the intense cold that these rocks are exposed to for the greater part of the year, they must, where unprotected by vege- tation, be greatly affected by the frost, and not merely be broken off in blocks, but these latter themselves shattered and seamed with incipient fractures ; when, therefore, the debris is carried by the melting snows or by thunderstorms to lower levels, the whole readily fall in small frag- ments. Where any very water-worn pebbles are met with, it may be confidently affirmed that they have come out of the auriferous deposits of the district, or neighbouring conglomerates. Quartz reefs occur in both the granite and slate formations, and in two or three cases have AUSTRALASIA I NEW SOUTH WALES. 5