ARSENIC. 1^3 



tion, but at a later date I succeeded in persuading the syndicate 

 of owners to permit me to inspect them. 



The orpiment mines lie at the head of a narrow ravine, 8,100 

 feet above the level of the sea ; the ravine runs 



Koute. . 



in a north and south direction, and is formed 

 by a small stream which may be a tributary of the Yangpi Ho, 

 itself an affluent of the Mekong. The journey can be made in 

 two days from Hsia-kuan. going roughly to the south-west, and 

 in three days from Ta-li Fu. The route followed at first is the 

 main southerly trade route to Meng-hua Ting, and Chmg-tung 

 Ting. This route is left at the pass (7,900 feet) over the moun- 

 tain range about four miles to the south of Hsia-kuan. and one 

 has to continue along a rough track which skirts a south-westerly 

 striking range, which here appears to form the water-parting between 

 the Mekong and the Red River. Except for small isolated com- 

 munities of Lolo tribes, the country passed through is uninhabited 

 and consists of bleak, sparsely wooded mountains. Food for man 

 and beast has to be carried by the traveller. The mining district 

 borders on an unsurveyed part of Yunnan and the sketchy nature 

 of the map does not give a proper idea of the true topography. 

 My own geological observations were hampered for this reason, 

 and also by the inclemency of the weather. Blinding snow storms 

 swept the face of the country during my journey and stay, and 

 this, with the intense cold, made outdoor work a matter of some 

 difficulty. 



The rocks in the immediate vicinity of the mines, consist of 

 reddish, reddish-purple and hard, greyish, quartzitic sandstones 

 with black bands in places and reddish nodular shales. The strike 

 is north-north-west and south-south-east, and the dip is at vari- 

 able but high angles to the east-north-east. Probably these rocks 

 are associated with the Red Beds series. 



During the rise of the Mahomedan influence in Yunnan, the 

 , . . mines are said to have been worked by the 



Mining. , .. n- i 



rebel powers centred m lali hi. femce the 

 fall of that city and the crushing of the Mussalman authority, 

 they have been entirety controlled by the Chinese. Mineral was 

 being won from seven drifts, which entered the hill on the north- 

 east side and proceeded down as steep inclines until the ore-bearing 

 stratum was reached. One drift was owned by local Lolos, who 

 were compelled to sell the ore to the Chinese merchants who owned 



