8i a A | Supplemental Account 
lies between the Town and a Mountain, and the nearer 
thef dig to the Mountain, the larger Stones they find-, 
but there is none on the Top. 
This Mine was found not above an hundred Years ago 
by a Countryman, who digging his Ground to fow Millet, 
found a large Diamond twenty-five Carrats Weight : Up- 
on this, the rich Men in the Town fell to digging in the 
Place, and found, as they do ftill, bigger Stones than in 
any other Mines, viz. fome above forty Carrats, and one 
of 900, which Margimola prefented to Aureng-Zeb 
But the Mifchief of thefe Stones is, they partake of the 
Quality of the Soil, and are few of them clean ; but fome 
are black, and others red, and others green and yellow,, 
Near Soumelpour, in the Kingdom of Bengal , is a River 
called Gouel, where there are Diamonds found mixed with 
"the Sand. The Way from Agra to this Town, lies thro* 
Halabas , Banarous , and Sajfaron , from whence you pafs 
to the Illand of Rhodas , which is one of the ftrongeft 
Places in all Afia , being feated upon a Mountain, fortified 
with fix Baftions, twenty-five Pieces of Cannon, and three 
Motes full of Water, in which are good Filh, to Soumel- 
pour, which is a great Town, but the Houfes are built of 
Earth, covered with Branches of Cocoa-trees. The Road 
from the Fort lies through dangerous Woods, becaufe 
much peftered with Robbers. The Rajah, in whole Ju- 
rifdiftion it is, lives half a League from the Town in 
Tents fet upon a rifing Ground, at the Foot whereof runs 
the River Gouel , where Diamonds are found. This River 
defcends from the Southern Mountains, and being filled 
with the great Rains, brings down, in December , vaft 
Quantities of Sand, which the People in great Multitudes 
fearch for fifty Leagues together, and find all thofe Points 
which are called natural Points in it, but feldom find any 
large Stone. 
4. In the Ifland of Borneo , which is the largefl Ifland 
in the World, is another River, called Succadan , in the 
Sand whereof they find Diamonds, as hard as any in the 
other Mines ; but the Queen of the Mine will permit none 
to be carried out of it ; fo that all that come from thence 
are conveyed out by Stealth. In this Ifland it is remaka- 
ble that the Queen, and not the King, has the Sovereign 
Command ; as have alfo the inferior Women the Rule 
over the Men *, for the People are fo curious always to 
have a lawful Heir upon the Throne, that the Hufband 
not being certain that the Children fine bears are his own, 
they rather chufe to be governed by a Woman, to whom 
they give the Title of Queen, her Hufband being only her 
Subject, and having no Power but what fhe permits 
him. 
At the Mine of Rocolconda they weigh by Mangolins , 
which are each a Carrat and three Quarters* and pay in new 
Pagods 3 as they do alfo at Colour. At the Mine of Sou- 
malpour, in Bengal , they weigh by Rah S3 which are each 
Seven Eighths of a Carrat, and pay in Roupees. ,The 
Roads to the Mines, though fome fabulous Relations had 
made them very dangerous, full of Tygers, Lions, and 
cruel People, are not only free from all Wild-Beafts, but 
the People are very loving and courteous. The Price of 
Diamonds are thus to be known : If it be a thick Stone, 
well fquared, and have all its Corners, and the Water be 
white and lively, without Specks or Flaw, fuch a Stone is 
worth an hundred and fifty Livres, or ten Pounds fifteen 
Shillings Sterling or of the fame Value if it is cut in 
Facets, which they call a Kofe-Diamond, if it be a fair 
Breadth,, and of the fame Perihelion ; and if a Stone weighs 
more Carrats it is railed in Price. Imperfedt Diamonds are 
not above half the Value as perfeft. The two biggeft 
Diamonds in the World for cut Stones, belong, the one to 
the Mogul, which weighs Two hundred and feventy-nine 
Carrats, and nine fifteenths of a Carrat j and the other 
to the Duke of Rufcany , which weighs an hundred and 
thirty-nine Carrats, both clean and well fhaped. The 
Miners call a Diamond Iri, and the Turks , Perjians , and 
Arabians , Almas . 
5. There are but two Places in all the Eafl where co- 
loured Stones are found, and they are in the Kingdom of 
Pegu 3 and Ifland of Ceylon *, the firif is, a Mountain twelve 
Days Journey or thereabouts, from Siren , towards the 
IN* E. it is failed Cap el an. In this Mine are found great 
of the Commodities, QjPf. Book L 
Quantities of Rubies, and Efpenels, or Mothers of Rubies, 
yellow Topazes, blue and white Saphires, jacinths, Ame- 
thyfts, and other Stones of different Colours. Among 
thofe Stones which are hard, other Stones are found of 
different Colours, but being foft they are of no Efteem. 
All thefe forts of Stones the Natives call Rubies, and they 
are the only Commodity of the Country, which makes it 
very poor. From Ava, which is the chief Fort of Pegu , you 
muff go by Water to Sireri, becaufe the Roads by Land 
are almoft impaffable, by reafon of the Tygers, Lions and 
Elephants, which abound in the adjacent Woods. 
The King of Pegu keeps all his choice Stones for him- 
felf and Subjects, and buffers few of them more than of 
three Carrats Weight, that are clean, to be expofed. Rubies 
are fold by Rahs, and the Payment is made for them in 
Pagods . A Ruby of above fix Rahs Weight, -is almoft 
invaluable. There are fome Rubies, but 010ft of them 
are Bailies Rubies, and abundance of Baftard- Rubies* Sa- 
phires, and Topazes, found in the Mountains, that run from 
Pegu to the Kingdom of Camboya. The other Place 
where Rubies are found, are in a River in the Ifland of 
Ceylon , which defcends from certain high Mountains in 
the Middle of the Ifland •, it fwells very high when the 
Rains fall, and when it becomes low again the People 
make it their Bufinefs to fearch among the Sands for Ru- 
bies, Saphires, and Topazes. All the Stones that are 
found in this River are generally fairer and clearer than 
thofe in Pegu. In Hungary is a Mine of Opals, a Stone 
no where to be found in the whole World but there.. 
Turquoifes are of two forts, viz. the old Rock and the 
new, and are only found in Perfia. The old Rock lies 
near a great Town called Micabourg , and is referved only 
for the King’s Ufe, to adorn Pliks of Swords, Knives, 
and Daggers, inftead of enamelling. The new Rock is 
of a pale Blue, inclining to white, and little efteemed. 
Emeralds, though faid to be Oriental, are not found in 
any Part of the Eaftern Countries, but are brought from 
Peru to the Philippine Elands, and fo tranfported into 
Europe. 
6 . The Fifhery for Pearls is in divers Places, as in the 
Perfian Gulph, round about the Ifland of Bachran: It be- 
longs to the King of P<??yfiz,who has a Fort there, and in is 
a Garrifon of three hundred Men. Every one that fifties 
here pays to the King five Abaffis3 whether he gets any 
thing or no ; and the Merchants pay at a certain Rate for 
every thoufand of Oifters. There is a Pearl-Fifhery like- 
wife upon the Coaft of Arabia- Felix 3 right againft Ba- 
chran, near the City of Catifa , which, together with all 
the Country, is under the Jurifdicftion of an Arabian 
Prince. The Pearls that are taken here, are fold to the 
Indians , who will give a good Price for all, as well the 
uneven as round ones. All over Afia they chufe fuch as 
are of a yellowifh Water, inclining to white before the 
pure white , becaufe, they fay, they will never change the 
Colour as the white will, both by Time and conftant Wear- 
ing. There is a wondrous Pearl in the Poffeffion of Iman- 
Hedl, Prince of Mafcate , which is the beft in the World, 
not fo much for its Bignefs, for it weighs not above twelve 
Carrats and one fixteenth, nor for its perfect Roundnefs, 
but for its tranfparent Clearnels, for you rftay fee almoft 
through it: The Great Mogul, by a Banjan , offered forty 
thoufand Crowns for it, but it was not accepted. There 
is another Fifhery for Pearls in the Sea that wafhes the 
Walls of Manar in the Ifland of Ceylon \ for their 
Roundnefs and Water they are the faireft that are found, 
but rarely weigh above three or four Carrats. There are 
excellent Pearls of a very good Water, and large, found 
on the Coaft of Japan , but are rarely fifhed for, becaufe 
Jewels are of no Efteem among the Inhabitants. 
In th tJVejl- Indies there are feveral Places for Pearl- fifh- 
ing, viz. El along "the Ifland of Cubagna , but the Pearls are 
fmall, feldom weighing above five Carrats. In the Eland 
of Margarita , a League from Cubagna , but a larger 
Ifland, the Pearls are not found here fo plentifully, but are 
of an excellent Water and very big, fome weighing fifty- 
five Carrats. Camogatte , near the Continent, Rio de la 
Hachia , and St. Martha , produce weighty Pearls, but ill- 
fhaped, and inclining to a Lead Colour. Scotch Pearl and 
Bavarian,, though a Necklace of them is of Value, yet 
