158 Account of the Gold Mines [No. S2, 



mountain streams is fortuitously brought down by the Monsoon 

 rains. 



*' Though a very extensive search has been made among the Re- 

 cords of my Office, since the orders of Government under date the 

 18th November, 1828, to afford information on this subject, I regret 

 to state that I have not succeeded in finding that any endeavour what- 

 soever was made by the several Collectors, since this province came 

 into the possession of the Honorable Company, to discover the mines 

 or places whence the gold issues. These however appear to have been 

 noticed by the Honorable Mr. Duncan, late Governor of Bom- 

 bay, who enjoined the authorities then in the province, in the year 

 1793, to collect and submit to him every information that could be 

 obtained on the subject, but it does not appear upon record that any 

 scientific person was deputed to explore the places where the dust 

 is found in order to trace the sources from whence the supplies are de- 

 rived, or that any particular inquiry on the subject was set on foot, 

 though it has been well known from the earliest period that gold is 

 produced in the province, and the collecting of it has been formed out 

 in Wi/naad di.nd the Nelamoor valley for the last forty or fifty years." 



About the same time that the preceding letter was written a Swiss 

 watchmaker of Cannanore^ named Henry Louis Huguenin, petitioned 

 the Governor (the Right Honorable S. R. Lushington) to employ him 

 in exploring the mineral resources of Malabar^ and as it appeared 

 that he understood the art of mining and was moreover acquainted 

 with the language and people of that part of the country, his offer 

 was accepted. It was stipulated that he should receive one half the 

 proceeds of the first twelve months, and he was placed under the orders 

 of Lieutenant Woodley Nicolson, of the 49th Regiment N. I., who 

 w^ith a small party*' of Pioneers was directed to aid him in exploring 

 the tracts specified by Mr. Shefiield, the whole being under the im- 

 mediate superintendence of Major Crewe, the Officer Commanding the 

 Station of Ootacamund. 



They commenced their search in June, 1831, in the neighbourhood 

 of Devalacottah, but both Lieutenant Nicolson and Mr. Huguenin 

 were soon afterwards attacked with dangerous fevers which laid 

 them up for a considerable time. They were enabled however to re- 

 sume operations on the 10th December at a place named Carcatodey 

 which was selected apparently in consequence of native reports. The 



* A Havildar and 12 Privates. 



