5B2 Visit to the Pakchan River. [No. 139. 



produce of several separate washings from the trough was taken and 

 noted, the result of which, compared to those of Malewan, &c. will 

 be found below.* Their principal stream works are a day's journey 

 distant towards the hills, which we could not visit. 



12. With the falling tide we rejoined the steamer, and soon after 

 stood between the islands to the Northward towards Bokpyen, one of 

 our own settlements, and visited some of the islands on our way. The 

 most remarkable of these are the bird's nest rocks, of which we in- 

 spected two, the Turrets and the Elephants; they consist of fine 

 picturesque masses of limestone rock, which stand boldly up, and 

 present a perpendicular wall to the sea, with deep water all round them. 

 The edible nests of the small Martin, so much prized in China, as 

 to sell sometimes for more than their weight in silver, are found on 

 the sides of chimney-like cavities, which extend from the summit 

 of the rock more than 200 feet above the sea, having a small cavern- 

 ous opening, with room enough only to admit a boat at low water. 



13. Bokpyen, which is marked in Captain Lloyd's Chart, though not 

 included in the sketch herewith, is a neat and flourishing village, con- 

 taining about 98 houses, or 400 inhabitants in all. They are chiefly 

 of Malay extraction, and occupied in the cultivation of rice, the collec- 

 tion of rattans, fishing, &c. The Bokpyen river produces tin, and 

 during the Siamese rule, large tin works are said to have existed. A 

 channel for running water, the remains of which are now traceable, is 

 reported to have extended over a considerable distance by aqueducts 

 and cuttings, which is presumptive evidence of the abundance of tin 

 in the neighbouring hills. Little or none is collected now ; one man 

 brought us a very good sample in a bamboo ; from this he said he had 

 sifted the fine grained tin, which he had either sold or smelted, and, 

 not knowing what to do with the large pieces, had kept them.f These 

 were lumps of pure peroxide of tin, measuring from J to f of an inch, 

 without any quartz or earthy matter adhering, and this he called " refuse 

 tin," which was of no use to him : a fair example of the ignorance with 

 which tin working is conducted in these localities. 



14. The following is a comparative statement of the produce of 

 separate washings from a trough full of tin soil, each washing occupying 



* Specimen No. 5. f Specimen C, 



