470 Account of the Golden Ore found [Sept. 



cernible when mixed with the stratum); their answer was, " That 

 their business being to cultivate the ground, they never troubled them- 

 selves to look for gold in the earth', and consequently had never observ- 

 ed it before." I did not hesitate in agreeing with them that they had 

 taken to the most profitable pursuit of the two. Having thus explored 

 the tract near Daseracottapilly, I moved on the 26th to Pedipilly (a 

 small village east of the pass, and about four miles east of Daseracotta- 

 pilly), and with a view to save a number of useless repetitions, I shall 

 briefly say, that in order to establish the opinion which I had broached 

 respecting the merits of the small hills and red earth above alluded to, 

 I successively examined the whole tract from Baterine to Yerra Bate- 

 rine Hills, an extent of about twelve miles in length by four in breadth ; 

 during which inquiry I only was disappointed twice on more than thirty 

 experiments, and I remained satisfied that the gold dust was not more 

 peculiar to the tract near Wiirigam and Marcupam than any where 

 else within two miles on each side of the range of small hills or pass 

 above-mentioned : these places being only noticed in preference by the 

 natives on account of their inhabitants devoting more exclusively their 

 time to the searching for gold than those at any of the surrounding 

 villages. 



From Pedipilly to Yerra Baterine Hills, the superior stratum is gene- 

 rally composed of a brown earth, mixed with gravel about two feet deep ; 

 it is almost every where succeeded by a sort of grey argillaceous earth, 

 and at some places by a white calcareous earth, when the superior stra- 

 tum alters to a bright red. 



During the three days I halted at Marcupam, I kept twelve men 

 in constant employment, both to assist me in collecting specimens of 

 the strata, and to extract gold from the stones. Ten of them were em- 

 ployed the first day in digging out stones, and half of the next in pound- 

 ing them and extracting the metal — the produce of their labour was 

 in weight two grains of gold only. 



So small a quantity of metal for so much labour induced me to think 

 that I had not been fairly dealt with ; for were these the usual pro- 

 ducts, it could not possibly be worth these men's while to attend to so 

 unprofitable a trade. I had morever observed that two mines had been 

 sunk since I had last visited Marcupam, a sure sign that the business 

 was carried on very briskly. The people who devote their time to the 

 searching for gold, are exclusively of the Dheru (or Pariah) caste. The 

 following is their mode of carrying on the work : 



When they resolve on sinking a mine, they assemble to the number 

 of about ten or twelve men from different villages. They next proceed 

 in appointing a Duffadar (or head man) among themselves, whose busi- 



