1884.] J. Cockburn — Hcematite drawings. 141 



Mr. Cockburn then alludes to the interesting discovery made by 

 him, from information received from the villagers of the districts in the 

 vicinity of Mirzapur, of the existence of the Bison or Bos Gaurus in that 

 locality some 20 to 25 years ago, — and remarks that the Gaur is still 

 found in Sirgoojah, two marches south of the Mirzapur district. 



In a footnote, Mr. Cockburn makes some remarks on the alleged in- 

 vulnerability of the hide of the Rhinoceros and appears inclined to the 

 opinion that it is more easily penetrable than the hide of the elephant. 



2. On the durability of hcematite drawing* on Sandstone roclcs. 

 — By John Cockburn, Esq. 



In the discussion that followed the reading of my paper " On the 

 Petrographs in the caves or rock shelters of the Kaimur range in the 

 Mirzapur district " great doubt was expressed whether drawings made 

 merely by haematite on the surface of sandstone could last in such per- 

 fect preservation for so long a time as was supposed by me* (Proceedings 

 for July and August, 1883). 



In compliance with a hint from the then Natural History Secretary, 

 I take the liberty of sending the Society a fragment of sandstone from 

 the Lohri cave near Robertsgunge bearing the pigment in a tolerable 

 state of preservation. It is a portion of a so-called ring marking (con- 

 centric circles with avenues). I would like the specimen to be present- 

 ed to the Indian Museum when done with. 



In the paper in question I was not disposed to consider the mass of 

 the drawings as more than six or seven centuries old, and there is reason 

 to believe that this is a very moderate antiquity for some of the drawings 

 and scroll writing. 



It will be observed that the pigment is laid on a semi- vitreous 

 quartzite translucent at the edges. This rock is more durable than gra- 

 nite, and weathers extremely slowly as from its composition it is less 

 likely to be acted on by the carbonic acid of the atmosphere or any 

 chemical solvent action of rain water. The paintings in good preserva- 

 tion are as a rule those done on smoothly fractured surfaces often pre- 

 senting a superficial area of several square feet, and in some few instances 

 these surfaces appear to have been intentionally produced by fracture of 

 strata transverse to the bedding. Pencils and lumps of the pigments 

 used occur in the soil of the caves. 



The red pigment was haematite occasionally of the submetallic 

 variety, but as a rule of moderate hardness. 



In many of the drawings, the rhinoceros hunt for example, no actual 

 coating of pigment remains as is the case in the fragment sent, but the 

 * Mr. Cockburn was not present at the meeting. 



