﻿10 
  THEOBALD 
  : 
  GEOLOGY 
  OF 
  PEGU. 
  

  

  to 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  Captain 
  Henry 
  Yule, 
  entitled 
  "A 
  Narrative 
  of 
  the 
  

   Mission 
  sent 
  by 
  the 
  Governor 
  General 
  of 
  India 
  to 
  the 
  Court 
  of 
  Ava 
  

   in 
  1855." 
  Dr. 
  Oldham's 
  notes 
  embrace 
  "the 
  geological 
  features 
  of 
  

   the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  Irrawadi 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  north 
  of 
  Amerapura," 
  

   and, 
  besides 
  matters 
  of 
  technical 
  interest, 
  contain 
  some 
  detailed 
  calcu- 
  

   lations 
  of 
  the 
  yield 
  of 
  the 
  celebrated 
  petroleum 
  wells 
  at 
  Yenan-gyoung. 
  

   According 
  to 
  one 
  calculation 
  based 
  on 
  native 
  report, 
  the 
  annual 
  yield 
  

   amounted 
  to 
  ten 
  and 
  a 
  quarter 
  million 
  viss, 
  or 
  by 
  a 
  more 
  reliable 
  

   calculation 
  of 
  his 
  own, 
  to 
  only 
  four 
  and 
  a 
  half 
  million 
  viss, 
  equivalent 
  

   to 
  about 
  1,278,060 
  gallons. 
  Major 
  Phayre's 
  enquiries 
  (page 
  22, 
  Op. 
  

   cit.) 
  gave 
  a 
  higher 
  estimate, 
  equivalent 
  to 
  2,612,354 
  gallons. 
  The 
  mean 
  

   between 
  these, 
  or 
  1,945,207 
  gallons, 
  may 
  be 
  provisionally 
  taken 
  as 
  the 
  

   annual 
  yield 
  of 
  the 
  petroleum 
  wells 
  of 
  Upper 
  Burmah. 
  Among 
  the 
  

   fossils 
  not 
  previously 
  noted, 
  Dr. 
  Oldham 
  mentions 
  remains 
  of 
  an 
  Elephas 
  

   and 
  a 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  skull 
  of 
  an 
  animal 
  nearly 
  allied 
  to 
  Merycopotamus. 
  

  

  The 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  ruby 
  mines 
  was 
  also 
  indicated, 
  though 
  no 
  

   opportunity 
  was 
  afforded 
  any 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  mission 
  of 
  visiting 
  

   them. 
  On 
  this 
  point 
  great 
  confusion 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  prevailed 
  : 
  in 
  

   Danas' 
  Mineralogy, 
  edition 
  of 
  1868, 
  the 
  best 
  ruby-sapphires 
  are 
  said 
  

   to 
  occur 
  "in 
  the 
  Capelan 
  mountains 
  near 
  Syrian, 
  a 
  city 
  of 
  Pegu, 
  

   and 
  in 
  the 
  kingdom 
  of 
  Ava." 
  This 
  Syrian 
  is 
  evidently 
  Syriam, 
  an 
  

   important 
  place 
  in 
  Burmese 
  history, 
  a 
  few 
  miles 
  South-east 
  from 
  

   Rangoon 
  across 
  the 
  Pegu 
  river. 
  The 
  Syriam 
  Pagoda 
  stands 
  on 
  a 
  low 
  

   rido-e 
  of 
  slightly 
  rising 
  ground, 
  which 
  can 
  hardly 
  be 
  dignified 
  by 
  the 
  

   name 
  of 
  a 
  hill, 
  and 
  beyond 
  a 
  little 
  laterite 
  for 
  building, 
  produces 
  nothing 
  

   whatever. 
  Syriam 
  lies 
  in 
  Lat. 
  16°45' 
  North 
  ; 
  whilst 
  from 
  Dr. 
  Oldham 
  

   we 
  learn 
  that 
  the 
  ruby-mines 
  are 
  situated 
  about 
  22°55'. 
  In 
  a 
  me- 
  

   morandum 
  by 
  Lieutenant 
  Colonel 
  S. 
  F. 
  Hannay, 
  in 
  Selections 
  from 
  the 
  

   Records 
  of 
  the 
  Bengal 
  Government, 
  No. 
  XXV, 
  the 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  

   ruby-mines 
  is 
  laid 
  down 
  "about 
  25 
  miles 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  town 
  of 
  

   Moong-meet, 
  and 
  60 
  miles 
  north 
  and 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Burmese 
  capital/' 
  at 
  

   ( 
  198 
  ) 
  

  

  