HUGHES : KUEHUEBARi COAL FIELD. 7 



are so disposed that not one stream taking its rise in, or passing 

 through the coal measures, falls into the Oosri, although that 

 river passes the eastern edge of the field;, at a distance of not more than 

 one to two miles. The catchment basins are small ; and the rivers beino* 

 near their sources_, none of them contain any depth of water after the 

 cessation of the rains. The Sooknid,, the Durdurwa and the Suni are 

 very shallow, and, in ordinary seasons, dry up in January. 



The jungle which seems to have been once very abundant is now 



much thinner, and it can only be said to hold its 

 Jungle. 



own beyond the boundary of the field. Some of 



the more common and familiar trees of which it is made up belong to 



the genera Acacia, Buchanania, Conocarpiis , Biospyrus, Ficus, Phyllan- 



ih(,s, Slwrea, StercuUa, Terminalia and Zizyplius. 



The conformation of the ground is such that there is little cultiva- 

 tion of rice, the staple product of Bengal; and the proportion of tilled 

 to untilled land is about one to six. 



The inhabitants are principally Saontars, Koles,"^ Bhuians, and 

 the lower castes of Hindoos. Excellent workmen 



Inhabitants. • i p 



may be recrmted irom them, but it will require 



much judgment to manage them, and establish a class of miners that 



may be depended upon. 



IV. — General Geology. 



The boundaries of the field enclose a superficies of 11 square miles, 

 the rocks of which belong to the Crystalline, Talchir and Damuda 

 series. 



The crystalline series is represented by two inliers, one upon which 

 the village of Kurhurbari itself is built, and another at the junction 



* These Koles are not the Ooraons of Chota Nagpoor. They speak Saontari, and 

 are the iron smelters of Eastern Hazarihagh. 



( 215 ) 



