ailNEKAIiOGICAL DESCRIPRION OF THE ISLAND OF BANKA. 700 
the latter eastward of the hill Bettung, In one of the small mines 
of Lampur I remarked the layer of Tin-ore, more superficial than 
I had hitherto been accustomed to: under a thin covering of soil of 
about six inches the miners shewed me the stratum and produced 
a small quantity of ore by the usual process of washing. The whole 
depth of the stratum was from 6 to 5 feet. In the upper part, 
which contained a considerable admixture of clay it was very thin¬ 
ly disseminated ; the lower portion, consisting chiefly of minute par¬ 
ticles of a siliceous nature, contained larger proportions of the ore. 
The particles which compose this stratum are almost uniformly mi¬ 
nute and it required considerable search to collect some explanato¬ 
ry specimens of a moderate size. Besides the usual fragments of 
decomposed primitive rocks, I found some of a kind which appear¬ 
ed peculiar to this tract. It had externally an irregular form, some¬ 
what botryoidal or deeply corroded, the angles all rounded and shew¬ 
ing strongly the effects of a current of water. The fracture exhibi¬ 
ted a stone of the nature of Hornblende, of different shades of colour. 
Some of the fragments had a reddish hue, others were intersected 
by lines in a manner similar to the large pile of rocks abovemen- 
tioned. In different parts of the environs of the mines of Lampur, 
flint is occasionally found, small pieces were given me by the min¬ 
ers, and large fragments have occasionally been carried away by the 
former Kongsies, but I was not fortunate enough to find it in its na¬ 
tural situation. The fragments I procured had the usual yellowish 
grey colour: the stone appears to exist here only in small quantity. 
Several of the botryoidal fragments abovementioned considerably ap¬ 
proached to the nature of it in their fracture. 
Proceeding from the mines of Lampur the road gradually ap¬ 
proaches the northern extremity of the mountain of Bettung: the 
tract is nearly level, and extensive surfaces are in some places 
covered with a deep layer of sand. I noticed comparatively few 
loose Red-Iron-stones, and none in fixed rocks. About 2 miles to 
the west of Sungie-liat large granite rocks project form the surface, 
they are here thinly dispersed, on approaching the mountain the 
number increases, and when it comes distinctly into sight numerous 
large rocks are perceived on the declivities. 
The first mine which I examined in the environs of Sungie-liat 
was that of Woongin ; it is one of the few large mines of this dis¬ 
trict and has lately been opened. The workmen were employed on 
a pit which was, at this time, 10 feet deep, the strata under the soil 
