534 Account of the Koh-i-Ddman, [JuNB ? 



upper part of the district of Churde^ about thirty miles from the entrance 

 of the valley of Ghorband, and on the side of a hill facing the east, at 

 an elevation of about 250 feet above its base. The hill is composed 

 beneath of quartz rocks, above conglomerate, and between both is a 

 thin, schistose layer, which, as well as the quartz, appears to dip away 

 rapidly to the west. The excavation is entirely made through the con- 

 glomerate, and descends to the depth of one hundred feet perpendicular 

 before it reaches the ore, which is a galena or sulphuret of lead ex- 

 tremely rich and valuable. The galleries have been run and shafts 

 sunk, with a degree of skill that does no little credit to the engineering 

 knowledge of the age ; but I am yet at a loss to understand what could 

 have induced them to sink a mine on the spot they have chosen, as 

 there is not the slightest external indication that I could perceive of the 

 presence of mineral in the hill ; nor was it until they had mined to 100 

 feet perpendicular descent and an actual distance of more than half an 

 English mile that they came on the ore. Perhaps had I been able to 

 get to the back of the hill I might have found the mineral cropping out 

 there, still if that was the case, why was the excavation not made at 

 that side ? One thing is evident that the works were commenced on 

 knowledge and principle, not on blind chance ; for on arriving at cham- 

 ber No. 1, a regular shaft, two feet square, and eleven feet deep had 

 been sunk, and not finding the ore, they continued their gallery about 

 forty yards, further to chamber No. 2, where the ore actually exists. 

 Now at a first attempt (for there was no previous shaft sunk), to reach 

 so very near their object as six or eight feet, which was the total dif- 

 ference in level between the bottom of the shaft and chamber No. 2, 

 shewed an acquaintance with the lie of the mineral and the level at 

 which they had arrived that could scarcely be exceeded in the present 

 day. By the kindness of my friend and fellow-traveller, Lieut Leech> 

 I am enabled to annex a plan of the works and view of one of the 

 chambers, which will at once afford a clear explanation of the whole, 

 and save the necessity of entering into further details*. 



The galleries were in some places so low that we were obliged to crawl 

 on all fours, and this, added to the heat and smoke of the torches and 

 the quantities of dust which we knocked in our progress, rendered our 

 task not a little fatiguing, and at times almost threatened us with suffo- 

 cation. The dryness of the mine was so perfect that putrefaction 



mines, but eu revanche, I can offer him the cave of Talagud, (mentioned in a sub- 

 sequent part of this paper,) which being a natural excavation will probably suit him 

 better. Major Wilford is for having the cave of Prometheus at Auk-Serai, to 

 which I know of but one objection, that there is no cave there. 

 * This will be forwarded hereafter, not having come to hand. 



