The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-18

dice a billion and a quarter dollars, worth
of gold. lie says that gold has been found
there as far down in the earth as $500 feet.
and that 1t exists. in all probability to d
depth Of three thousand feet. Much of
the mining viii have TO be done at this
depth, and according to his estimate it.
would take about Sc. 600. 600 to equip a mine
working at a depth of three thousand feet.
He expects the product of the African
mines to exceed $50. 900. 600 a year by the
close of the century. and he believes that
they will be profitable for years to come.
To-day all of the African mines must be
economically managed in order for them to
pay dividends. A great part of the gold
mas to go back into the mine in the shape
OF machinery and labor, and up to the
present only about one-fffth of the gold
gotten out has been clear profit. There
are now employed in this African gold dis
trict five thousand white men and thirty
thousand blacks. Wages are low, and ev-
erything is done on the largest and most
economical scale.
A number of cyanide mills are being put
UP in Australia. / am told that new mines
are being discovered in different parts of
that country. and a recent report to our
Director of the Mint states that the Aus
tralian gold fields have hardly been
Sti OOIie q the DeSE mines OIL to-
day are in West Australia. in a district
where there is little water. In the Cool
gardie gold region, for instance. water
sometimes brings as high as % cents a gal
Ion, as there are no great quantities of
water within three hundred miles of the
gold fields. There is a great gold reef In
this district. 1t was discovered by two
young men, who found a forty-five-ounce
nugget sticking out of a mountain of
quartz. They took a bag of nuggets off of
a single claim and came back to their camp
loaded with gold. The Mercur mining dis
trict, south of Salt Lake, is also affected
by the lack of water. but this has been
remedied by forcing water over the noun
tains from a stream on the other side.
The parties who own the water works have
a fortune in them. Water, in fact. costs
SO much in Mercur that the mills using it
do not allow the steam to escape, but run
it off into pipes up the mountain. AS the
steam strikes the cold pipe it condenses
and flows back so that it can be used
again.
HINDOOS BOARDING GOLD.
An enormous amount of the gold of the
world is locked up in India. During a visit
to that country a few years ago I found
that gold had gone cut of circulation. The
people seemed miserably poor, but they
AIdo Il JEWELL I'LL oiOooSo III
cotton often wore gold and silver brace
let's and anklets, and many a barefooted
girl had gold rings and gold bells on her
toes. For ages the East Indians have been
oppressed. They have not dared to loan
their money for fear they would lose it,
and they have preferred to put 1t into or
naments. This custom prevails to-day, even
though there is now under the English Sc
curity of property. Among the chief hoard
erS are the Indian rajahs, who wear the
most expensive Of jewelry. l saw many
gold rings set with precious stones worth
a thousand dollars and upward, and I
found gold chains for sale everywhere. Sir
David Barbour estimated the amount of
the gold boarded in India during the half
century previous to 1885 at $3.50, 600, 600. This
was the accumulation of only fifty years.
He estimated that $500, 600, 900 worth of sill
yer was boarded in this time, and states
that nearly all of the gold and silver which
came into India in return for it's exports
was thus kept. The Hindoo buys but lit
tie from other countries. He lives on rice
or coarse grains. A cotton rag, in most
cascs, forms his clothing. All the money
he gets he keeps, and II this boarding Is
to continue it is certain that a great part
of the gold will eventually be absorbed by
the East Indians. The English nave real
lied this for a long time. They have at
tempted to remedy it, but in vain. About
ten years ago they tried to get the boarded
gold and silver into circulation by Offering
high rates of interest for money, but the
natives would not respond. There are
about 800. 600 native bankers in India, who
lend to the peasants, but the most of their
business is done in kind. the money lend
-er advancing SO much grain with the I'M
derStanding that he shall receive SO much
back when the crop is harvested.
TREASURES OF THE RAJAHS.
The wealth of the native princes of India
is known only to themselves. A recent re-
port from on English officer in the Indian
postofice shows that one native prince has
been storing away gold at the rate of from
two hundred to three hundred thousand
dollars a year. He buys gold mohurs, u
coin worth about S.. with his silver rupees
and puts the gold in a strong vault in his
palace. Once there it stays and is lost to
circulation. Not long ago two native
princes dice in India, each leaving, it is
supposed. about $40, 000. 900 worth of gold.
One of these princes, who had his twenty
millions stored up in his vaults, borrowed
from the government of India something
like 81, 00O,0 600 to carry on his establishment.
He preferred to pay interest to going back
on his pile, and when he was asked if he
could pay his loan on demand he replied
yes. and that they might call for it at any
time.
Another gold hoard was discovered not
long ago upon the death of the Maharajah
of Burdwan- This was opened up on the
death Of the Maharajah. 1t consisted of
seven rooms filled with gold, and silver
and precious stones. Three of the rooms
were locked and the doors brieked up. One
room, forty-eight feet long, fourteen feet
wide and thirteen feet high, was filled with
gold plates and cups, gold and silver or
naments and precious stones. In nearly all
of the rooms vaults were found containing
money, and in one vault there were ten
thousand gold mohurs. All of the vaults
were so protected that it was not possible
for the government TO find out exactly how
much they he'd, and even the exact num-
Der of the vaults is not known. This treas
ure is now in the hands of the Mahara-
jah's descendants.
There is undoubtedly a vast amount of
gold in China. There are mines in different
parts of the empire, and a great deal of
god is brought down every year from ST.
IBERIA. 1t comes to Picking and is there
melted down into small bars of about the
size of the little cakes known as lady fin
gers. 1t is almost pure, often running over
twenty karats in fineness. 1t is cast in this