PAUT 4.J 
Foote : Auriferous Rocks of the Rambal Hills. 
139 
who wrote in a letter to the Times of India (quoted in Balfour’s Cyclopmdia of India, article 
Gold), that he never in his whole experience met with such careful and effectual washing as 
that of the Kappatgode Jalgars, surpassing oven the Chinese, who, in Australia, were consi¬ 
dered perfection in that respect. 
Small extent of workings. 
The Jalgars ply their trade of gold washing only after heavy rains, and, as the Soortoor 
men informed me, for one month in the year, during which 
no agricultural operations are in progress. Their earnings 
are very various, and range from 5 to 50 rupees in a season apiece. They affected not 
to know of any gold in situ, and told me I was wasting my time in prospecting the quartz 
reefs. As it might be an idea of policy in their minds to keep to themselves as much of 
their knowledge as they fancied convenient, it would not he safe to attach too much evidence 
to their statements but that they were home out hy the statements of the patels of Dhoni 
and Soortoor, and numerous other villagers, whom I questioned through Major Bartholomew, 
who kindly acted as my interpreter to the Canarese people. The same information had 
been given me hy the mamlatdar of Chikkodi, in Belgaum District, a shrewd Brahman, who 
had been for a considerable period the mahalkare of Moolgoond close to Soortoor. The 
mamlatdar of Gudduclt also confirmed the information I had previously obtained. 
Captain Newbold, in his resume of information about gold tracts, published as No. 4 of 
his papers “On the Mineral Kesources of Southern India,” speaks of the banks of the 
auriferous nullahs being crowded with Jalgars after heavy rains—a very different state of 
things from what now prevails, and from which it may be inferred that the yield of gold has 
greatly diminished. It is very likely that such is the case; but another cause which has 
had great influence in diminishing the number of gold-washers may, I think, bo found in the 
greatly increased prosperity prevailing in Dharwar District, since the American war created 
such a demand for cotton that immense wealth was poured into the district and gave a strong 
impetus to all sorts of other and more certain industries which have absorbed the great 
number of half idle men, who in former years devoted themselves to gold hunting in the 
rainy season. 
Another writer on the Kappatgode gold tract—the Mr. Scholt, already quoted—formed 
a very low estimate of the alluvial gold return. According 
Salt's estimate of the alluvial to the epitome of his letter'to the Time.? of India given in 
Balfour’s Cycloptedia, he confidently stated that the alluvial 
deposits would never pay, as the deposits in which the gold occurs are confined to a few 
insignificant nullahs and “ blind water-courses ” occupying the slopes and flats, the bed-rock 
in every case being exposed more or less, denoting a very scanty supply of wash-dirt, the 
native gold-washers (a very limited body) confining their operations to a stratum not ex¬ 
ceeding 5 inches in depth. Twelve days’ work at Soortoor yielded to Mr. Scholt from 2 to 
3 rupees worth of gold (about a pennyweight). 
I have already mentioned that the Jalgars did not try to get wash-dirt from deep pockets 
in the beds of the streams, the situations generally found most productive in the Australian 
and Californian gold washings. It was impossible to try the most promising places in the 
several nullahs at the time of my visit owing to the constant heavy rains. In the 
dry weather they might, however, be excavated by damming back the little streamlet that 
would alone remain then, aud by simply baling out the hollows; but very little water would 
be then available for washing. The probability is that a little more gold would be found, 
but that as that operation has doubtless been carried out in former times by the natives 
themselves, no wonderfully rich pockets would be found to repay expenses; for it must be 
borne in mind that the inhabitants of the Kappatgode region are not ignorant savages like 
the Australians, who did not know the value of the precious metal. 
