24 Notes on Indian Currencies, [no. 1, new series, 
*' sandy desert in which are ants less in size than dogs, but larger 
*' than foxes, specimens of which are to be seen at the residence 
" of the King of Persia, having been brought from that country. 
" These creatures make themselves habitations under ground 
" throwing up the sand like the ants in Greece, which they 
" nearly resemble in appearance. The sand however consists of 
" gold dust. To procure this, the Indians make incursions into 
" the desert taking with them three camels, a male one on each side 
" and a female in the cerltre o^ which the rider sits, taking care 
" to choose one which has recently foaled. When in this manner 
*' they come to the place where tte ant^ are, the Indians fill their 
" sacks with the sand and ride back as fast as they can, the ants 
" pursuing them as the Persians say by the scent, the female camel 
" eager to join her young one surpassing the others in speed and 
" perseverance. It is thus according to the* Persians that the In- 
" dians obtain the greater part of their gold, at the same time 
*' that the metal is also found though in less quantities in mines." 
As something akin to this I may insert here Monsieur Dillon's 
account of Calicut, and the wonderful gold-yielding properties of 
the Sands there. 
" Among the sands of the shore, there is good store of gold-dust 
" which is very fine, and everybody has the freedom to gather it 
*' at pleasure : the biggest piece that ere I saw was not worth above 
*' 15 pence, and commonly they are not worth above 4 or 5 pence 
" a piece ; abundance of people get a livelihood by it : and with 
*' the consent of the Governor (which is to be purchased by a cer- 
" tain set price, for the maintenance of a hundred poor people) you 
" may have as much sand as you please carried to your dwelling 
" places in order to separate it with the most convenience. 
Also Pennant in his " Hindostan" written about 1798 A. D., at 
page 41 relates, that " Abul Fazl (II. 223) speaking of the rivers 
" of this country (Lahore) says, that the natives by washing the 
" sands obtain gold, silver, copper, rowny, tin, brass and lead. 
" Rowny is unknown to me, brass is fictitious." 
Heeren whom I have quoted before, mentions in his 1st volume 
that the Hindoos were the only people subject to the Persian Em- 
