Ball — A Geologisfs Contribution to the History of India. 79 



The portion of India conquered by Darius was probably 

 situated chiefly to the north-west of the Indus. The Indus itself, 

 as well as some of its tributaries, is known to be auriferous. 



Many commentators on the above and other references by sub- 

 sequent authors to the existence of gold (and silver), as indigenous 

 products of India, object that mines of these metals are or were 

 not known to exist in India. Thus Lassen says : "If the ancients 

 speak of abundant gold in India, it is either only a false amplifica- 

 tion of the early and true account of Northern India, the country 

 of the Dards, between Kashmir and the Tipper Indus, or a false 

 conclusion, from the fact that the Indians used much gold for orna- 

 ments and other purposes." Heeren, like Lassen, alludes doubt- 

 fully to Pliny's statement [vide postea) as to the existence of 

 abundant gold and silver mines in the country of the Narese : 

 he attributes the quantity of gold which must have been . in 

 Ancient India to commerce with other gold-producing countries, 

 namely, Thibet and Burmah. He even suggests^ that African 

 gold found its way to India in early as well as it is known to 

 have done in later times. 



Our most recent knowledge of India, however, affords evidence 

 that the amount of gold derived from indigenous sources must 

 have been very considerable before the alluvial deposits were 

 exhausted of their gold throughout wide regions. 



When it is remembered that about 80 per cent, of the gold 

 raised throughout the world is from alluvial washings, and when 

 this fact is considered in connexion with the reflection that wide 

 tracts in Australia and America, formerly richly productive, are 

 now deserted, being covered with exhausted tailings, it can be 

 conceived how these regions in India, and there are very many 

 of them, which are known to be auriferous, may, in the lapse 

 of time, after yielding large supplies of gold, have become too 

 exhausted to be of much present consideration. 



More than this, however : recent explorations have confirmed 

 the fact, often previously asserted, that in Southern India there 

 are indications of extended mining operations having been carried 

 on there. 



Evidence exists of the most conclusive kind of large quantities 



1 Asiatic Nations, vol. iii. pp. 408-9, 



