BORNEO 
247 
near Bau in 1881, and in the following year some 1400 
tons of ore, valued at over £13,000, were raised, but the 
vein rapidly became exhausted. 
It is, however, for gold and diamonds that Borneo is 
most celebrated. There are said to be few rivers in the 
island which are not auriferous. The metal is obtained 
almost entirely from river-washing or the drift gravel, and 
is chiefly worked by the Chinese, who have established 
themselves in the chief gold district for some centuries, 
especially about Sambas — this region being now 
generally known as the “ Chinese Districts/’ Their 
powerful co-operative unions enabled them to render 
themselves independent of the native princes, and it cost 
the Dutch in 1850 a war of four years’ duration to 
subdue them. It is here, in certain places in West 
Sarawak, in the valleys between the spurs of the Tana 
Laut range in the south-east and in the basin of 
the Kahayan, and on the Segama river in North Borneo, 
that gold occurs most plentifully. But, on the whole, 
although there must be large fields at present un¬ 
discovered, the output of the precious metal is not great, 
and it chiefly serves as the means of livelihood for large 
numbers of Chinese. What the actual amount may be 
is not known, but there is no doubt that it has of late 
decreased considerably. Diamonds are likewise very 
widely distributed, but they are chiefly found in the 
richest gold districts. The yield, like that of gold, is 
much less than in former years, but in the early part of 
the century it was considerable. Several diamonds of 
60 or 70 carats, according to Dr. Posewitz, have been 
known to have been found, and many of the Malay 
Sultans and Bajas possess stones of large size. The art 
of diamond-cutting has been long known, and is carried 
on in many places both in South and West Borneo. It 
