A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 57 
occupation I stopped with some of the others at the smelting- 
house where the furnace was being prepared for the night’s opera- 
tions. Smelting is always carried on at night, principally, I fancy, 
because it is cooler at night than during the day. While looking 
on I was amused at the request of the Chinese operators that I 
would send away one of my men who was carrying a musket, as no - 
iron or steel instrument was allowed inside the smelting-house. Of 
course this concession to superstition was readily made and the 
forbidden metal was removed. The head of the village, or Pang- 
lima as he is called, is an intelligent Chinese called Cowane. He 
paid me every attention, and willingly gave me all the information 
J asked for. At night I sat for hours, in such a scene as I have 
before described in Salama, watching the molten metal running 
out of the glowing mouth of the furnace and listening to the 
Chinese complaints of the hard terms on which they hold their 
mines from Patani. 
The Perak Malays claim that the mines of Intan were originally 
opened by men of their country under the auspices of the Sri 
Adika Raja, Chief of Ulu Perak. The first allusion to these mines 
which I have found in any European author occurs in ANDER- 
son's “Considerations” (p. 168) where he mentions a letter 
written by the Raja of Perak to the Raja of Kedah in 1814 con- 
taining the following passage: ‘“‘ The Patani people have attacked 
our country and taken possession of our tin-mines.” After this 
occurrence considerable exertions seem to have been made by the 
Government of Penang to facilitate intercourse with Patani and to 
encourage the export of tin with the view of benefiting the trade 
of their Settlement. Among the objects of Mr. Crawrorn’s mis- 
sion to Siam in 1822 was an effort “to open free intercourse with 
the tin-mines of Patani. whence large supplies were offered to 
Colonel Bannerman (Governor of Penang) and where there is 
no doubt almost any quantity may be derived through the Murbow. 
Muda and Prye rivers. ” * 
Mr. AxpDERson, who was in the service of the East India Com- 
pany at Penang, appears to have employed every means, short of 
visiting the localities himself, to obtain information about the 
* ANDERSON’S “ Considerations,” p. 97. 
