842 Supposed Coal Field at Bidjeegurh. [Oct. 



vein, also, is nearly horizontal, and to be penetrated only by great labour. 

 Blasting- might be had recourse to, but for the tottering and overhang- 

 ing masses above. This operation however, would require much more 

 time than was at my command. 



18. The bed of the nullah is composed of enormous masses, pre- 

 cipitated in the course of ages, from the summits of the eminences on 

 each side of the nullah. Some of the blocks contain possibly 1000 cubic 

 feet or more, the interstices are filled with boulders to an unknown 

 depth. The ridge b, a, c, runs southwest by west, the highest point 

 being at c ; the strata are nearly horizontal, and dip to the northwest, 

 at an angle varying from 8° to 13° ; the point c 1 estimate at 400 

 feet above the bed of the nullah, of which 60 or 70 feet from the 

 top is an absolute precipice ; thence to the nullah the slope is at an 

 angle of about 5°, and covered with jungle of the most dense descrip- 

 tion. The width of the ridge from c to d probably exceeds 800 

 yards. I followed the course of the nullah to f, where 1 found lime- 

 stone dipping southwest at an angle of 14° 20', and returned to camp 

 by a difficult pass at d, through the thickest grass and bamboo jungle 

 I ever beheld. A tiger sprung on one of my attendants near this 

 spot, but the man was rescued. 



19. I next commenced a close examination of the point a, which, 

 however unlike the description, is the spot to which Mr. Hyland 

 alludes in his deposition (page 37, Quest. 15) where, he savs, when 

 asked what obstacles he met with, they were " Large stones and earth 

 which appeared to cover the spot. I did not dig and therefore cannot tell 

 what quantity, as I did not see the size of the stones clearly." The 

 first glance, was sufficient to convince me that no human agency 

 had deposited the massive rocks, in the position I found them ; added 

 to which bamboos, and varieties of forest trees, the growth of years, had 

 firmly rooted themselves in the soil. A colony of wild bees had also 

 established themselves immediately above the spot ; their dislodgement 

 proved troublesome and caused some delay. 



20. On the 6th December, I ascended to the precipitous crag, 

 about 150 feet or more above the bed of the nullah, and commenced 

 a careful examination of this spot. I here found shale in veins of 

 about a foot in thickness, alternating with sandstone. I penetrated 

 some little way into the veins, but from their hardness and position, 

 made but small progress ; the exposed part of the strata presenting the 

 same vertical plane, it was necessary to undermine the shale by remov- 

 ing the stratum immediately below, and this, being a very hard sand- 

 stone, was a matter of some difficulty. 



