1847.] Gold from the Sand of the River Bey ass. 267 



that the gold is originally deposited in the gneiss and quartz rock, and 

 separated with the sand itself by attrition of the boulders together. 

 This would account for the extreme minuteness of its particles, which are 

 literally dust. All my enquiries however failed to ascertain the discovery 

 at any time of a particle of gold adhering to any fragment of rock. 



At Teera the course of the Beyass lies between mountains. At 

 Ray it emerges into the plain, having hills on its north-eastern brink. 

 Here it divides into many streams scattered over a cultivated channel 

 more than a mile in breadth. The gold finders are a few poor natives 

 who have no more lucrative subsistence. The labour is severe and the 

 profits poorly remunerate them. 



Process. 



The spot selected for the washing was close to the main stream of 

 the Beyass. The larger boulders and fragments being thrown aside, 

 the coarse sand to the depth of a foot is abraded and carried in 

 baskets to a trough upon the brink of the stream. This trough, 

 which is a hollowed block of timber about four feet in length by a foot 

 in depth, and a foot and four inches in breadth, is made to slope toward 

 its outlet in front, a cleft an inch wide, extending from top to bottom . 

 A seive of bamboo staves is laid over the posterior portion, and the sand 

 is laid upon the seive ; water is then poured upon the heap, which the 

 pourer stirs about with his hand, until all the sand has been carried 

 through the seive into the trough, when the remaining coarse parti- 

 cles are rejected. This is repeated until the trough is nearly filled. 

 Water is then poured into the sand, which is agitated by the hand. 

 The water carries off the lighter particles. The man who stirs the 

 sand, rakes it back incessantly with his left hand, whilst he pours 

 upon it water with his right hand. In about half an hour there 

 remains only 1^ or 2ibs. of black sand, very fine and sparkling. This 

 appears to be either the hornblende, from granite and gneiss rocks, or 

 corundum. It is used by cutlers in conjunction with lac or rosin or 

 pitch to form the wheel with which they sharpen tools and weapons. 



This black sand, which is very heavy, is found upon examination to 

 contain a few small particles of gold dust. It is carefully scraped out 

 of the trough in its wet state, placed upon a plank one foot square 

 and slightly hollowed. Mercury of the size of a large drop of rain is 

 poured into it, and the whole is carefully kneaded with the hands for 



