The times., 1899-02-27
A LAND OF GEMS.
Experiences of Traveller to the
East Indies.

The ship has barely rounded the light
house on the mole at the entrance to Co
lombo, CeylOn. HaTbor, before a small fleet
of catamarans have made fast TO the side,
and a number of men attired in shirts
reaching to their ankles, and with their
long black hair tastefully done up on the
top of the head with tortoise shell combs
have clambered up on deck.
These feminine looking boarderS turn
out to be agents of the numerous jewelry
firms in Colombo. and they at once pro-
ceed to display and offer for sale with much
Oriental shrewdness and persistency, small
parcels OF their glIttering wares. RubieS,
blue. white, and yellow sapphires. moon
stones. pearls OF odd shapes and rare
shapes of color, catseyes. aleXandrites green
by day and red at night, and other precious
stones are placed before you at what would
seem to the majority of Americans very
tempting prices.
These first prices are always. however
far in advance of what would eventually
be accepted. but having once betrayed the
least disposition to purchase, you will be
shadowed even into the very dining room
of the Oriental Hotel. and the last offer
made to you as the quartermaster kicks
the literally precious agent into the cata
maran as the ship steams out OF the har-
Dor.
So numerous are the jewelry firms in
Colombo that a whole street is practically
occupied b. the trade. In few OF the
better stores some really magnificent
gems are displayed-a famous catseye the
size OF a pigeons egg and valued at Sl5.-
900, in particular having been awaiting
a purchaser now for some years.
Ii is necessary. OF course. to exercise
the greatest caution in making purchases
above "A few rupees in value. for not only
is ii affirmed on good authority that stones
of inferior grade are reshipped from Eu
rope to find their market among the gull
Bile tourists at Colombo, but the Cingha
lese dealers themselves know thing or
TWO" about cutting jewel in half and
with limitations making two stones out
of one, while they are expert sleight- Of
hand performers i'll Offering you what ap-
pears TO be a rare bargain at the last mo-
ment. and then quickly changing the stone
for one of inferior quality trusting that
you will be many hundreds of miles away
before the fraud is discovered. and that
you may never return to Colombo.
Yet there is no doubt that good Judge
of stones can sometimes pick up a bar
gain, and, in any case. two or three dol
lars invested in a sapphire that in the
United States would cost ten times the
amount. or Il small parcel OF Il dozen
moonstones for 80 cents. are inexpensive
and pretty souvenirs.
Strange as it may seem. in country so
long under British control as Ceylon. the
| exact situation of the richest mines is yet
| n secret in the breast of the native miners
the dealers purchasing the gems in the
| rough from the latter at Handy. There is
q story told in Ceylon chat far back in the
painless iungles somewhere near the east
coast. still so little known to Europeans.
| and guarded by savages. wild beasts. dead
| ly serpents. and the still more fatal mi
asmas, there are the ruins of former
| splendid city through which a crystal
| stream ripples over sand composed in
| greater part of jewels.
| How far this story is pure legend it is
impossible to determine. but the writer
has seen a half pound jar filled with sand
| reported to have been brought from the
place that was without doubt mainly COM
| posed of minute sapphires. rubies and
other precious stones. and which certainly
had the appearance OF having been subject
| ed to the action of running water.