1853.] Report on the Geological Structure of the Salt Range. 355 



dashed upon it, by which means the finer sand is washed into the 

 cradle, the coarser gravel being retained on the sieve. By continu- 

 ing the washing with a gentle stream of water, the lighter particles 

 of the sand are carried down the inclined floor of the cradle and 

 escape with the water, while the heavier and auriferous sand assumes 

 the highest level next to the point where the water is applied. In a 

 very short time nothing remains on the floor of the cradle but a 

 thin stratum of black iron sand in which the scales of gold may 

 occasionally he seen to spangle. By continuing the washing of the 

 sand the lighter particles are removed and the auriferous portion 

 concentrated within narrow limits. When the washing in the cra- 

 dle has been carried as far as is considered safe, the sand is removed 

 by the hand into a circular concave wooden platter called a Kuttree, 

 about two feet in diameter, made generally of sissoo (Dalbergia sis- 

 soo) or other hard wood. In this, by a circular motion, it is agitated 

 with water by which means an additional portion of the black sand 

 is got rid of, and washed away from the inclined sides of the platter 

 by a stream of water skilfully applied. The residue is then rubbed 

 up with a little mercury which quickly by amalgamation separates 

 the gold from the black sand. The mercury is then removed from 

 the platter, enclosed in a fragment of cloth and placed on a bit of 

 live charcoal, by which means the mercury is speedily vapourized, 

 leaving the yellow gold entangled with the tinder of the cloth, from 

 which by rubbing, it is easily removed. In this state it is taken to 

 the goldsmiths, who by fusing it with borax remove any mechani- 

 cal impurities. The Indus gold is said to have a whiter colour than 

 that obtained to the eastward, which probably results from its con- 

 taining a small portion of silver alloy. 



By the process above described, a party of two or three indivi- 

 duals can in one day collect from six to eight annas worth of gold. 

 The washings are generally most productive after rains, during which 

 of course large quantities of fresh sand are washed from the sur- 

 rounding rocks with the nullahs. 



In the neighbourhood of the Salt Range the scales of gold are 

 small and almost invisible, but we have heard from natives that in 

 Hazara, grains of gold are sometimes found of a size such as to admit 

 of their being picked out of the sand. If this be true, we may infer 



