ECONOMIC BESOURCES : ALUM. 301 



cliff, on which side it is inaccessible, and to enter it a descent of several 

 feet has to be made by the help of a branching portion of a tree. 



The galena, when collected, sells for Rs. 4 or 5 per tolah,"*^ 

 to be pounded up and used as hhol for blackening the eyes of the 

 natives, who call it by the rather loosely-applied name surma. It is 

 also said to occur in the same rock on the right side of Khewra gorge, 

 near a temple. (Dr. Fleming^s Report, page 256.) 



Alum. 



The manufacture of alum is not now carried on in the Salt Range 



proper, but formerly alum was made at a place 

 Alum. . 



about two miles westward of Virgal, on the Son- 



Sakesar plateau, and also beneath Sakesar mountain, at the head of the 

 Amb glen. In both these places the alum was obtained from the black 

 shales at the base of the nummulitic limestone. It is probable that 

 these would have answered the purpose in other places, but the experi- 

 ment apparently has not been tried. 



Trans-Indus at Kalabagh, and again in the valley of the pass of 

 Chichali, there are alum works in active operation, the shales being the 

 same as those Cis-Indus. Interesting and detailed accounts of the manu- 

 facture of the alum west of the Indus may be found in Dr. Jameson's 

 (page 212) and Dr. Fleming's two reports (pages 522 and 335, respect- 

 ively). The process appears to he the same everywhere, and is effected 

 thus : A layer of brushwood (Tamarisk or JDodoncea) is spread on the 

 ground, on which are placed alternate layers, each about a foot thick, of 

 alum-shale and brushwood. The heap so formed is ignited from below, 

 and fresh layers of shales and brushwood are added above until a large 

 heap in a state of ignition is formed. This is left for several months, 

 and when thoroughly roasted, the red burned shale or rol is lixiviated 



* This, from local information. 



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