624 Native account of washing for gold in Assam. [July, 



down in a perpendicular position ; the sand is then taken up in small 

 baskets with handles (No, 4 called cookees) and thrown on a bamboo 

 lattice work or strainer (No. 6 ban) which is laid over the trough by a 

 (dorongee No. 5.) This trough is made of wood and 3 cubits long, 

 1 cubit broad and 1 span high all round, with a slit 3 fingers wide at one 

 end. Water is now thrown over the sand with a calabash having a large 

 piece scooped out at the bottom, beside a very small hole on one side (No. 

 7, lao) ; the water is thrown on with one hand while the other hand is 

 employed in moving the sand about and sweeping off the larger particles 

 of gravel from the surface of the strainer ; in this way the sand is spread 

 on and water poured over it ; and as the trough fills the water and dirty 

 sand run off through the slit in it, while the clean sand and gold remain 

 at the bottom of the trough. I forgot to say that the trough is placed 

 at a small angle to assist the water and dirt to run off quickly. When 

 40 or 50 baskets of sand have been thus washed into the trough the 

 sonwals call it a sheea, and if a ruttee of gold is produced from one 

 sheea they think themselves very fortunate indeed, for during the long 

 days they get about 30 sheeas or washings producing one ruttee each, 

 and during the short days about 25 sheeas, each party thus making on 

 an average about J of a tolah of gold daily. When they happen to fall 

 on a good old stream that has not been disturbed for 5 or 6 years they 

 get 2 ruttees of gold from every sheea or washing, and then each party 

 makes about \ a tolah daily. 



The gold and sand of the last washing is collected into pottles (or 

 chongas) by spreading a leaf of copat or some other plant at the end 

 of the trough, and dropping water very gently on the sand through 

 the small hole in the calabash, which causes a parting of sands and gold 

 to be thrown on the leaf ; when the whole is collected in this way it is 

 put into the pottle and tied up and the next washing is commenced on. 

 As soon as they have collected enough in the pottles they give up wash- 

 ing the common sand, but pour out the gold and sand from pottles into 

 the trough again, and putting in about an anna's weight of quicksilver 

 for each tolah of gold dust, they pour water over the sand to keep it in 

 motion while the quicksilver remains below with the gold dust and 

 forms it into a lump ; this lump is then put into a shell and on a fire of 

 nahar wood charcoal ; when the quicksilver evaporates and the shell be- 

 comes lime ; it is then carefully taken up in a spoon and thrown into water 

 when the gold falls to the bottom ; if it be of a brass color it is wrapped 

 in a paste made of clay from the cooking choolas mixed with a little salt 

 and burnt in a fire, which gives it a proper color*. 



* This process causes an absolute refinement of the surface of the gold : — 

 it is the same used in gold refining by the natives, but in the latter case the 



