466 Account of the Golden Ore found [Sept. 



they took it to a well where the stony substance being washed off (as 

 in the first case), a sediment likewise remained, which yielded an equal 

 quantity of gold, as would have been extracted from an equal bulk of 

 the earth near Wurigam. I then tried the earth at the surface at se- 

 veral places, and also that which was extracted along with the stones ; 

 the former yielded a small quantity of metal, the latter contained no- 

 thing but iron. 



Having thus convinced myself that a considerable tract in those 

 parts was impregnated with gold, as had been reported, I returned 

 to Battamangalam on the 19th, where having been met by the Amil- 

 dar, I inquired of him whether he had heard of those mines before. 

 His answer was " that they had beenknown many years since, and that 

 Tippu had formerly sent a Bramin (named Raja Ramchander) to ex- 

 amine them ; but as it was found after atrial of several weeks, that the 

 produce just balanced the expence, and left no profit to the sircar, it 

 was dropped as a bad concern." 



This account exactly corresponded with that given me by the rayats 

 at "Wurigam (near which place the Raja Ramchander had carried on 

 his investigation) ; having however inquired more particularly of them, 

 how he had proceeded to business, it appeared that he never visited per- 

 sonally any part of the impregnated ground, and that he relied through 

 the whole of his inquiry on the information given him by his servants. 

 The rayats assured me that he never visited the mines at Marcupam. 



Having traced this golden ore (however thinly spread) through an 

 extent of about 10 square miles, I thought it probable that more of it 

 might still be discovered at a greater distance. I accordingly conti- 

 nued my inquiries, when an old woman inhabiting a village called 

 Buksagar* gave an account that gold was occasionally found on the 

 banks of the Pal-aur river, near that village, and that she had fre- 

 quently attended to the extracting of it. 



My public calls requiring that I should at some period or other visit 

 that part of the parganah of Colar, I resolved on moving immediately 

 to it, for the purpose of verifying this new intimation. 



I arrived at Buksagar on the 22nd of February, and soon collect- 

 ed a sufficient number of persons to carry on the inquiry. They took 

 me to the southern bank of the river, and I saw them gathering the 

 earth at the surface to about the depth of three inches, which yielded 

 a product fuller than that collected near Wurigam. I observed more- 



* A village on the north hank of the Pal-aur river, five miles east from 

 Battamangalum, eight miles from Wuriam, and under the same parallel of latitude 

 with the latter. 



