THE NEW INDIAN GOLDFIELD.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4396, 22 April 1875, Page 2

THE NEW INDIAN GOLDFIELD.

(From the Pall Mall Budget, January 1.) For centuries it ■ has ■ .been known that in certain parts of the Indian Peninsula gold has existed, hut hitherto ; the' quantity of .the precious metal to be found in any given locality has not been ascertained. Certain streams have been known from time immemorial to “roll down their golden sand,’’ and in certain mountain ranges the presence of auriferous quartz has been suspected ; but this: much only was known with absolute certainty,, that the said streams scarcely paid the poor natives who washed the. gold out. of its bed for their arduous labor, and 1 that no extensive gold-mines were in existence in the mountains. It was naturally argued that were any givenlocalities in India sufficiently stocked with the precious metal to reward the systematic search after it, those places could not have been easily overlooked in such a densely-peopled country for so long a time. Native labor is extremelycheap. Gold is as precious in Hindostan as in any other land, and many of the tribes and castes are sufficiently enterprising and energetio to seek for wealth, at any cost and risk, wherever it may be found. But those who reasoned thus, omitted to take into consideration one important practical consideration. Gold, all the world over,. is mainly obtained in two ways—namely, by the process Of “ -washing,” or by the process of “ crushing.” With the former method alone Hindoos have been familiar. Allusion has already been made to the fact that some classes of poor natives do obtain gold, and have obtained it for centuries, by “ washin" ” for it at certain times in certain streams. But crushing the auriferous rook in wholesale quantities, so as to force it to yield up its mineral store, is a latter-day invention. Besides,’ the powerful machinery requisite for the operation has not long been invented, and even at the present time is extremely expensive. Thus, even if natives in India knew hundreds of years ago of the existence of gold veins running through solid rocks in their mountains, they were not likely to be able to avail themselves of their knowledge. Nor is it surprising that-theydid-uot.communicate what know- - ledge they possessed to Europeans. ; By nature most Hindoos are few worded in their intercourse with the white-faced stranger. And besides all, this, who were so likely to’know of - the mineral resources of the hill-country as- 7 • the hill-men, who are as a rule, ;a shy,.savaga‘‘ secluded, primitive ;race ? ’ ! k-7 However—it seems only the other day tt •cry was ah. length’ raised-' amongst’ Angl Indiana that there was gold to be had in. Ind

any amount of it “ for the crushing.” The first stories which were disseminated wore, as was to be expected, so exaggerated as to be simply incredible. So a spirit of unbelief naturally sprang up, which even now has a firm hold of a large portion of Indian society. However, as will shortly be shown, all is not now mere rumor and guess-work Certain definite discoveries have been made. These have been officially tested with extreme. care ; and the result has been that the most trustworthy authorities now agree that gold is to be found in India in such quantities as will pay the miner. A gold-mining company has been started, and as yet has apparently enjoyed remarkable success. Government geologists have been sent to the auriferous district to report professionally on its capabilities, and they have united in expressing the. most favorable opinions of the sites visited and examined. And the Governor of a presidency has himself been attracted to the scene of the gold discovery, and lias returned from the spot deeply impressed with the promising character of the new Indian gold-field. The reader who has any personal knowledge of India will probably know that the gold-field to which allusion is made is that in the Wynaad mountain range in Southern India, that the company referred to is the “Alpha Gold Mining Company,” that the official geologists who have reported so favorably of the gold-producing districts are Messrs. Foote and King, and that the Governor who has seen it his duty to inspect the new gold-mines for himself is Lord Hobart, of Madras. Wynaad has hitherto been known as one of the greatest coffee-producing districts of India.. It lies near the Neilgherry plateau, a little to the north-west of it, and this rough description of its locality will be perhaps more serviceable o the general reader than any minuter specification. To the north-west again of Wynaad ies the rival coffee district of Coorg. The gold deposit has thus been discovered in ‘die hilly country of the Ghauts, between Coorg and the Neilgherry hills. The general level at which the gold has- been found is understood to be between 2500 feet and 4500 feet above sea level. The mountains of Wynaad run parallel with and overlook, so to speak, the Malabar coast. Rapid streams from these mountains, swollen to impassable torrents during every rainy season or “ monsoon” rush headlong to the sea, through a country where Cauarese is almost universally spoken. The name “Wynaad” is said tosignify the “land of open forest,” but that forest is occasionally very dense indeed. The „ slopes of the mountains are frequently clad with impenetrable bamboo jungle, and the Talleys often present the appearance of tangled swamps of rank vegetation. On the high lands, however, where the forest has not been felled for the purpose of coffee culture, the trees are of immense ' girth, standing close together, and spring out of a soil which is covered over by a thick layer of extremely rich vegetable mould. The fertility of the land may thus be imagined. It is the country of the best cardamon spice, and perhaps. the best sandalwood to be found in the whole world. And here it is that the very rocks have been discovered to yield wealth. In parts the country is very rugged. With bluff and scarp and bosky promontory, the mountainous lands jut out in irregular masses over the low country, and it is among the cliffs, gorges, and declivities —here only covered by scrub or bamboo, there clothed by dense and lofty forestgrowths —that the richest seams of gold have been found. But in all this country—at least in all that hilly portion of it which does not rise above 4000 feet over sea-level —the drawbacks and danger lie in the fearfully malarious nature of the climate. The rainfall among these mountains is often prodigious, and taJways copious. Wherever water is plentiful in a tropical country, there will be found plenty of vegetation. Wynaad is overstocked with vegetable wealth, and the consequence is that much of it rots annually away, filling the air or the water with particles of decayed matter. The dank reed jungles and swamps, every time the hot weather succeeds to the rainy season, steam, forth their poisonous gases, and-woe betide the traveller who halts among them for a night when on his way to the mountain tops above or, to the. plains beneath. To the localities in which gold has been found the demon of malaria has hitherto invariably accompanied the discoverer except in the extreme south of India, where the peninsular becomes so narrow that the land enjoys the natural, equality of temperature and the salubriousness of an almost insular climate, the “fever range,” as it . is. called, of the mountains of southern India, must not be placed lower than 4000 ft. above sea level, save in most exceptional localities. That is, no one can consider himself safe ’in the .hill country of the Madras Presidency from inhaling, atmosphere impregnated with malaria, unless, hie. has ascended a height of more than -4000 ft. In the extreme, south, however, the fever range of the Tinnevelly and Travancore Ghauts may probably be put down with safety as low as 3000 ft. above sea level _ -- - >■ i From these facts it will be seen at a that even 1 if immense stores, of gold are discovered in "Wynaad, the search after the precious metal will have to be conducted under conditions involving considerable personal risk. Some- persons have-,- however, imagined that this risk may be obviated by .employing native coolies . exclusively, :to .perform. the manual labor connected with the mining, while the Europeans might only, oversee generally the work and avoid all exposure and over exertion. But the fact is the native is almost or altogether as liable to attacks of fever as the European. Thus in any case gold-mining in Wynaad will have to be carried on. in the teeth of danger from the climate. Indeed, it is thus being- carried on. The foremost of those who have embarked in the speculation is Mr. Ryan, a capitalist who was lately accused, without reason, by an injudicious official, of applying for Government land ostensibly for the purpose of coffee plantation, but in reality for the purpose of gold-mining. Anyhow, the Madras Government became aware that the conduct imputed wrongly to Mr. Eyan might be imitated by others, so it has been clearly notified that should any gold be found in Wynaad, a portion of it would be considered as belonging to Government. Thus, if_ a large mineral treasure be discovered in British territory, the Government will come into the possession of mineral wealth which can be used to benefit more persons in India than the few directly engaged in the work of gold-mining. And now already it appears absolutely certain that gold has been discovered in Wynaad in sufficient quantities to repay in a most handsome manner its extraction from its native rock. The reports of Messrs. Foote and King leave little else to be desired These gentlemen are thoroughly competent geological authorities, and are not likely to have been in any way led astray or imposed upon. Besides many of those who are themselves risking every penny of their capital in Wynaad gold-mining, are experienced Australian diggers, and not raw enthusiasts. The one single drawback, from all accounts, is the 'unhealthiness of climate. As for the quantity of gold, it is said that the auriferous quarts veins are as rich as any which have been discovered in California, Before accepting this statement in its entirety, however, some allowance must be made for the enthusiasm of those who make it. At the present time, powerful quartz-crushers have been set up, and have begun active work. The shrewdest and most experienced Australian miners are sanguine —in a word, the gold fever has broken out. That solemn and careful paper, the Friend of India, has a gushing article on the subject. Ootacamund, the delightful and hitherto recherche sanitarium on the Neilgherrics, is to bo tho new busy and bustling Ballarat. The news of the discovery of gold in India has, it is known, spread already to Australia ; and it js extremely probable that tho exodus anticipated by the Friend of India will shortly take place from Melbourne to Madras, What, then will be the effect on Southern India ? Will it bo Hooded by rowdies and “ poor whites!” It may be safely calculated "that either within a year from this time—that" is,-before the 1 end of 1875 : —the now Indian gold-field will signally disappoint the expectations just now entertained concerning it, or there will bo a -groat gold rush to Wynaad, tho effects of which may seriously alter the character and prospects of the Madras Presidency.