22 GOLD IN SARAWAK, 



as that found in the fissures above described ; hence 

 the soil in these differs in the relative quantities it 

 contains. The golden shower into which Jupiter is 

 fabled to have transformed himself, appears to have 

 fallen here. 



Antimony is found in a vein in the same rock, the 

 fissures of which produced the gold above described. 



The gold which is found in alluvial soils is that of 

 which the supply is most to be depended on. This is, 

 in Sarawak, found and worked in many places prin- 

 cipally by the Chinese, though the Malays also occa- 

 sionally work it on a smaller scale. The earth in 

 which it is found is a yellow clayey loam ; this being 

 removed to a series of large troughs, into which the 

 water of a pond, previously dammed up for the pur- 

 pose, is turned, the heavier particles of earth are 

 removed. What remains is washed away by hand in 

 small shallow wooden dishes, until nothing, or very 

 little, but the pure gold remains, the refuse in melt- 

 ing that which is cleaned by the Chinese never exceed- 

 ing the ai part. It is not found in veins in any part 

 of Sarawak, but in small particles distributed through 

 the soil ; nor does it extend to any great depth. In 

 particular cases, the smaller grains are preferred by 

 purchasers to the larger, as they are generally much 

 cleaner than the latter, the crevices of the granulated 

 particles of which render them more difficult to be 

 thoroughly cleansed. 



The gold which is found in the river is of the 

 same description as that last mentioned, and is 

 probably washed from the alluvials during heavy 



