292 Br. Voysey's Private Journal [No. 4. 



and gone carefully over by another person. In the course of his search 

 he laid by the agates, cornelians, jaspers, sapphires, garnets, &c. 

 which are said to abound. I purchased the whole stock of diamonds 

 of the village, amounting to 3 oz., for 4 rupees, and some cat's-eye, 

 garnet, sapphire, jasper and calcedony for 2 rupees. The village was 

 in ruins and the people did not appear so well fed or clothed as those 

 of the village we came from. On returning to the tents I visited a 

 rock nearly in the centre of the plain, consisting of three peaks, which 

 suggested the idea of the pinnacle of some deep-seated granite 

 mountain. The granite was very red and containing hornblende in 

 crystals. After breakfast, I went due east from the camp, three 

 miles, to visit the range of rocks I have before mentioned. I found 

 them to consist of granite, composed of felspar, hornblende, quartz and 

 some mica, which however was not always to be distinguished. 

 Two things are well worthy of consideration respecting the situation of 

 the diamond mines : they are surrounded on all sides by the alluvial 

 black soil, which has originated in the inundations of the Kistnah. 

 They are not elevated above this soil, and I should imagine were once 

 covered by it, although they at present appear elevated from the quanti- 

 ty of earth thrown out from the different excavations, of which I count- 

 ed at least twelve. 



2. The neighbouring rock is of that kind to which it is difficult to 

 assign a name, although its constituents are very distinctly marked, 

 namely, felspar and hornblende, yet from the equal mixture of those 

 two minerals I should prefer the name of syenitic greenstone. It is 

 worthy of remark that the mountains six miles distant are of vertical 

 gneiss. 



Ibrahimpett, December 20tk, 1819. — We arrived at this place cross- 

 ing the end of a range of irregular hills which appeared to run nearly 

 due N. and South. I conceive that Dr. McCulloch would call the 

 rock syenitic greenstone ; or perhaps would call it merely a modifica- 

 tion of the granite of which the whole of the basis of the country is 

 formed. Unlike, however to the out line of the hills of granite to the N. E. 

 North and N. W. they exhibited no loggan-stones and no bare summits 

 but were covered to their tops. After breakfast we went to Condapilly 

 and there saw Mr. Spry who inhabits the old fort, at the foot of the 

 range which in Heyne's Map commences at that place running due N. 



