THE RED BASIN OF SZECHUAN 71 



Ichang, but it is not general until the region west of the Gorges 

 is reached. The industry is carried on by the unemployed 

 peasantry, and the returns are most insignificant. This gold 

 is in all probability brought down by the Yangtsze and its 

 larger tributaries during the summer floods. There is no record 

 of any gold-bearing quartz having been found in situ in the 

 Red Basin proper. In the mountains bordering its western 

 and north-western limits, gold quartz is found in greater or 

 less quantities, and all the principal rivers of this region either 

 take their rise in, or flow through, these ranges. This fact 

 explains the presence of small quantities of gold far removed 

 from the gold-bearing strata. 



