Up the Puruni River. 333 
by the claim holders, through the sickness, real and 
assumed, of the labourers employed by them. Five men 
are required to work one torn properly, when the ground 
is ready stripped for washing, and there may be, say, ten 
men in the party working two toms, all hands being 
thus employed. If one falls sick or counterfeits illness, 
a smaller amount of dirt is washed, and a correspondingly 
smaller amount of gold is obtained. 
The invalids do not appear, however, to lose their 
appetites, since they receive their rations as regularly as 
ever ; and if they cannot devour them at the time, keep 
whatever they are unable to swallow till they feel 
inclined to work again, and then indulge in one huge 
gluttonous feed. I have heard one man boast that he 
had demolished, at one sitting, three days' rations which 
he had saved whilst out of health. I myself saw him 
afterwards eat eight large perai, and rice in proportion, 
without apparently any effort. 
It is imperative that systematic malingering should be 
stopped. On some claims the men have to pay for their 
food if they do not report their illness early in the 
morning before work commences and take the medicine 
supplied them ; and though this has a slightly deterrent 
effe6t on the men, it can of course be no remedy for the 
dead loss sustained through the undermanning of the 
torn ; and it would be well were a more satisfactory 
method employed to ensure constant attendance at 
work. • 
A system of co-operation might be adopted wherein 
the labourers should be guaranteed a certain percentage 
of every ounce of gold made by their united efforts, in 
addition to their wages. This would, I think, ensure a 
TT2 
