516 Account of a visit to the Jugloo [No. 6. 



fiuence with the Brahmapooter. I cannot vouch for the correctness 

 of the statement given regarding the gold mine, but this small river 

 is known in its upper course, to be a prolific gold stream in the 

 present day. It is stated also, that the imports at Goalparah from 

 Bengal in 1808-9 amounting to two and a quarter lacks of rupees, 

 paid in gold from these resources, and in silver. A good deal has 

 been already written on the gold statistics of Assam, as they are 

 known in modern times ; (Vide vol. VII. p. 625) and little more can 

 be said beyond the personal knowledge which has been obtained of 

 the wide extent of the existence of the precious metal ; and that in 

 some of the districts in North East Assam, it is now a profitable 

 source of payment of revenue to the Sonwal ryots ; the Luckimpore 

 and Suddeah districts produced in 1851-52, ten seers of pure gold. 

 The selling rate to the Byah traders being from 14 to 15 Es. per 

 tolah of solid gold prepared by melting with quicksilver. 



The geological features of Assam are decidedly in favour of its 

 being a Gold field. The valley, like others in Northern Burmah and 

 North "West China, abuts upon a portion of Tartary in which, from 

 Longitude 96° Eastward, in a distance of a hundred miles, several 

 large and magnificent rivers, having their sources in Eastern central 

 Tartary, burst through the great Southern mountain barrier, finding 

 their way to the ocean in a direction not far varying from the cardi- 

 nal points North and South, thus forming valleys and mountain 

 ranges running in the same direction. 



Several of these mountain ranges are known to be very rich in 

 minerals, particularly in Northern Laos, and in the range called, by 

 the Chinese, Ootai Shan, or Great Black Mountains, which forms the 

 boundary between China and Burmah, can be enumerated gold, iron 

 and salt in the Northern portion — silver, iron and precious stones 

 in the central, and further on, antimony, iron and tin. This range 

 also evidently passes through the Malayan Peninsula ; and in its 

 most Southern limits, we have again gold and tin. Indeed, as a 

 geographical and statistical fact, it may be safely stated that in this 

 line of mountains, we ought to recognize the true Aurea Chersonesus 

 of the ancients, as well as their Auria Eegio and Argentea Eegio. 



Other tracts in Burmah are also rich in valuable minerals ; its 

 white marble and noble serpentine, are perhaps unequalled. The Ir- 



