The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-19 00:00:00

INDIAN GOLD-DIGGINGS.

A letter from Bombay, dated Jan. 27, says :
The telegraph must, long before this, have made
known to you the discovery of large deposits of gold
in the southern districts of the Bombay Presidency.
For years the puzzling question where all the gold
comes from that the natives are in the habit of con-
verting into ornaments for their women and their
godsi has engaged the attention of speculative men,
and the general belief has been that the Indian
goldfields, once so prolific, could not yet be ex-
hausted, but that they must still be worked secretly,
as the diattiond mines have been ever since the
np
ao lt iu r tice e tl
oftroubles
hnin a
nt haenDa emc caahnr, a
tatna dr
utt
eh et
agurgahs
tpi ng
the
people to fear theii.princes, and to conceal sources of
wealth which, if known, would only have exposed
them to ceaseless exactions and cruel tortures. The
Malabar coast, in particular, it was thought must be
rich in gold, for the geological formation of the coun-
try is very similar to that which led Sir Roderick
Murchison to foretell the existence of gold in
Australia. Moreover, tradition indicated the mine-
ral wealth of this part of India; and some enthu-
siasts set forth the opinion—an opinion, by the
way, which is strongly advocated by Mr. Max
Muller in his recent lectures on the science of lan-
guage—that Malabar is the Ophir of Scripture.
The first positive evidence of the existence of
gold on this coast was given, I believe, by Major
Wingate, some 15 years ago, when that officer was
employed in preparing the new revenue survey of
Bombay. But all the revenue officers of Dharwar
and the neighbouring districts have long, it seems,
been aware of the fact that native gold-washers are
in the habit of going out after the monsoon and
washing the heavy deposits of crushed quartz (de-
tritus)
which the rains bring down from the Kup-
putgood Hills. What is more curious than all else,
however, is the fact that Dr. Clarke, of Australia,
wrote to the Bombay Government informing them
that, having studied a geological map of India, be
could point out to them with certainty where gold
must exist. This letter was answered by Mr.
Lumsden, the Secretary to Government at the
time, but by one of those mistakes, common enough
in India, the reply was wrongly addressed, and
Thenot nothing further was
t,heweevveer ear,haprpdeinfrtoemd
CDarp.taCinlarAkye..
toun, of the Bombay Artillery, to survey the Kup-
putgood Hills, and report whether they contained
gold or iron. Captain Aytoun went out in 1852,
and found gold in the sand forming the beds of
nullahs, or streams which are mountain torrents in
the rainy season and almost dry during the rest
of the year. The particles of gold were almost
infinitesimal, and, on a specimen of them being
sent to the Master of the Mint here to have a
chemical test applied, the opinion given was that
there was no gold at all. Captain Aytoun main-
tained that a chemical test ought not to have
been applied., and showed that by simply washing
the sand in a saucer the gold could be discerned;
he also took him some specimens of quartz, and
was assured by an eminent analyst of Glasgow
that the proportion of gold, though small, was
undoubted, and the quality excellent. Strange
to say, nothing farther was done in the matter, and
for seven years the gold was as much neglected as
if it had been so much dirt.
A few months ago an Australian gentleman, Mr.
Le Souef, who had come to India on other business,
heard at the artillery mess table some mention of
Captain Aytoun's discovery. Having been a gold
digger himself, he was not inclined to laugh at what
he heard as the dream of a visionary, and he
straightway went vigorously to work and ascer-
tained all that was known on the subject. He then
offered to go on an expedition to discover if the
gold could be worked at a profit, the only point still
in doubt. A company of adventurers or promoters
was soon formed, and Mr. Le Souef, being guaran-
teed all expenses, and assured that he would, not be
thwarted by Government, left Bombay for Dhawar
about two months ago. The result of his expedition
I will give in the words of his own report, which,
I should add, was purposely drawn up so as not to
excite too sanguine hopes. He says :
" I have found gold in payable quantities in the
bed of a small river, close to the village of Soortoor,
and bearing about west from it. This river extends
for many miles, and at every place—say every 500
yards, for about eight miles in the bed of the creek,
from one
twowhere s h
alftwashedto
maket the dsurirfet,
thatl fo ugnodldgoeldx.isltead iisOrtnht
bed rock, and from a handful of dirt taken
of these hales I obtained gold. The other pit filled
with water so rapidly that I was unable to descend
drained. In one of my letters from Dhonee I stated
atodvtahnetabgotetoamnd.
profit
ufitw
iotr k
will t ebbeendeuoefstshairs rytivoehrawveitiht
that I had found a promising quartz reef, and that
in a few days I should be able to report upon its
gold-bearing qualities, but upon reflection I thought
it better to abandon the idea of opening up a reef
until I had. made sure of the existence of fluvial
or alluvial gold. Now that I have ascertained
this fact, I would advise that one reef be opened at
Dhonee and the other at Huttee Kuttee. It is my
firm opinion that the part of this territory I have
surveyed for gold had not been ocean-submerged,
and consequently, that these quartz reefs will give
a more constant return of gold than those of Aus-
tralia. I may mention that the majority of the reefs
in the Kupputgood Hills run nearly north and
south; all gold-bearing reefs in Australia and Ca-
lifornia run in this direction."
Mr. Le Souef was compelled to return to Bombay
for pumps and other necessary tools for going on
with the works alluded to in his report. It will be
another month before we shall know certainly
whether he is right in thinking that the deposits in
Dhawar are as rich as those of Australia. Should the
gold
will
erealy a
work as
a rota
on in this coun-
try than could be effected by a dozen American
profitable
r
wars. Everywhere gold is found to be the best
coloniser, and while other and more favoured fields
are still open for agricultural and
l
greaterfile revolution a
esve h
le believes,i his dis-
coveryprise which will cause English emigrants to hesitate
before coming to settle in India, the attraction of
11 that universal magnet, gold, will be sufficiently
strong to draw to this country thousands of vigorous
notwbehavle alarm Anglo-Saxons. The new port of Sedesheghur may,
before many years have passed, become a second
Melbourne, unless Mr. Le Souef has dreamed
dreams. I may warn you that the Bombay Govern-
mentsuch
twould rather have
given Mr. Le Souef £lOO,OOO to leave
the country
and keep his secret, than it will give him £lO,OOO
for discovering a new source of wealth for the State.
Our contemplates
vian
overcome their ancient
horror of interlopers ; and, in truth, one cannot
erevolution.il3
have
I it
li
ye et rin
the possibility of
wonder that the rulers of the country dread to
witness the irruption into India of a host of
strong-limbed E h ng is men, who have no belief in

was more fatal last week than any other
zymotic disease, for the deaths of 76 persons were
referred to it, while those from scarlatina, which
was next in order of mortality, did not exceed 50.
Those from whooping-cough were 49; from croup,
ygeaasrtrsi,canfde vlelr,
nlrivq2onoeohwttTtui;hiryfeeefensprohmus diphtheria, 16 ; from measles, 13 ; from
smallpox, 5. Six of the deaths from typhus occurred
-
in
10 years
corrected
.ywea idnTontryariklspvehheaofrenueasdvsieee3u.r
is 174;
Te;lhrt7cey4o4tpn;
pieannil2due3neuudafmmetfvoeh4nevc
40—GO
years, r,
,27762206:i
0,
'at26;o yearsbrain
p h tohffei
savi
ges fever,
ua
pg“
wa
against 166.
6.10.
Twenty occurred under 10 years of age, 19 at ages
typhus, one from puerperal
Bronchitis carried off 162 persons in the week,
g ed
deaths
sg
from9s ;
fever, and one from pneumonia occurred in the
the London fever Hospital, Islington. One of the
victims was a nurse in the establishment. A child
died at 3, Walberg-Place, St. George-in-the-East, •
and a widow at '7, Anthony-street, in the same dis-
trict, whose deaths are reported to have been ac.
theEalevveerna
celerated by privations."
Last week the births of 1,018 boys and 948 girls,
in all 1,966 children, were registered in London.
In the ten corresponding weeks of the years 1852.61
the average number (corrected) was 1,945.
At the Royal Observatory,,Greenwich, the mean
height of the barometer in the week was 30.055 in.
The reading at the beginning of the week was
30.50 in., and it fell to 29.88 in. on Wednesday.
The mean daily reading was above 30 in. on the 7th
inst., and continued above it till Wednesday the
12th. The mean temperature of the air in the week
was 36.2 deg., which is 2 2 deg. below the average
of the same week in 43 years (as determined by Mr.
Glaisher). The lowest temperature was 25.7 deg.
on Sunday the 9th; the highest day temperature
occurred on Wednesday, and wes 44.5 deg. The
range of the thermometer in the week was, there•
fore, 18.8 deg. The mean daily range was 10'1 deg.
The difference between the mean slew-point tem-
perature and air temperature was 4.1 deg. The
mean degree of humidity was 87, complete satura-
tion being represented by 100. On Tuesday the
humidity was 96. The wind was generally in the
north-west on the first four days, afterwards in the
north-east till Saturday afternoon, when it blew
from the south-east. The rain measured was only
three hundredths of an inch. Sleet fell on the morn-
ing of Sunday. On Thursday the change of tem-
perature during the day and night was very small,
which was also the case on Friday. The mean of
the highest temperatures of the Thames was 431
deg. ; that of the lowest wes 40.8 deg;