Their first discovery of gold at Newera Ellia was on the 14th
June, 1854, on the second day of their search in that locality.
The first gold was found in the "Vale of Rubies."
I had advised them to make their first search in that spot for
this reason: that, as the precious stones had there settled in
the largest numbers, from their superior gravity, it was natural
to conclude that, if gold should exist, it would, from its
gravity, be somewhere below the precious stones or in their
vicinity.
>From the facility with which it has been discovered, it is
impossible to form an opinion as to the quantity or the extent to
which it will eventually be developed. It is equally impossible
to predict the future discoveries which may be made of other
minerals. It is well known that quicksilver was found at Cotta,
six miles from Colombo, in the year 1797. It was in small
quantities, and was neglected by the government, and no extended
search was prosecuted. The present search for gold may bring to
light mineral resources of Ceylon which have hitherto lain
hidden.
The minerals proved to exist up to the present time are gold,
quicksilver, plumbago and iron. The two latter are of the finest
quality and in immense abundance. The rocks of Ceylon are
primitive, consisting of granite, gneiss and quartz. Of these
the two latter predominate. Dolomite also exists in large
quantities up to an elevation of five thousand feet, but not
beyond this height.
Plumbago is disseminated throughout the whole of both soil and
rocks in Ceylon, and may be seen covering the surface in the
drains by the road side, after a recent shower.
It is principally found at Ratnapoora and at Belligam, in large,
detached kidney-shaped masses, from four to twenty feet below the
surface. The cost of digging and the transport are the only
expenses attending it, as the supply is inexhaustible. Its
component parts are nineteen of carbon and one of iron.
It exists in such quantities, in the gneiss rocks that upon their
decomposition it is seen in bright specks like silver throughout.
This gneiss rock, when in a peculiar stage of decomposition, has
the appearance and consistency of yellow brick, speckled with
plumbago. It exists in this state in immense masses, and forms a
valuable buildingstone, as it can be cut with ease to any shape
required, and, though soft when dug, it hardens by exposure to
the air. It has also the valuable property of withstanding the
greatest heat; and for furnace building it is superior to the
best Stourbridge fire-bricks.
The finest quality of iron is found upon the mountains in various
forms, from the small iron-stone gravel to large masses of many
tons in weight protruding from the earth's surface.
So fine is that considered at Newera Ellia and the vicinity that
the native blacksmiths have been accustomed from time immemorial
to make periodical visits for the purpose of smelting the ore.
The average specimens of this produce about eighty per cent. of
pure metal, even by the coarse native process of smelting. The
operations are as follows:
Having procured the desired amount of ore, it is rendered as
small as possible by pounding with a hammer.
A platform is then built of clay, about six feet in length by
three feet in height and width.
A small well is formed in the centre of the platform, about
eighteen inches in depth and diameter, egg-shaped.
A few inches from the bottom of this well is an air-passage,
connected with a pipe and bellows.
The well is then filled with alternate layers of charcoal and
pulverized iron ore; the fire is lighted, and the process of
smelting commences.
The bellows are formed of two inflated skins, like a double
"bagpipe." Each foot of the "bellows-blower" is strapped to one
skin, the pipes of the bellows being fixed in the air-hole of the
blast. He then works the skins alternately by moving his feet up
and down, being assisted in this treadmill kind of labor by the
elasticity of two bamboos, of eight or ten feet in length, the
butts of which, being firmly fixed in the ground, enable him to
retain his balance by grasping one with either hand. From the
yielding top of each bamboo, a string descends attached to either
big toe; thus the downward pressure of each foot upon the bellows
strains upon the bamboo top as a fish bears upon a fishing-rod,
and the spring of the bamboo assists him in lifting up his leg.
Without this assistance, it would be impossible to continue the
exertion for the time required.
While the "bellows-blower" is thus getting up a blaze, another
man attends upon the well, which he continues to feed alternately
with fresh ore and a corresponding amount of charcoal, every now
and then throwing in a handful of fine sand as a flux.
The return for a whole day's puffing and blowing will be about
twenty pounds weight of badly-smelted iron. This is subsequently
remelted, and is eventually worked up into hatchets, hoes,
betel-crackers, etc., etc. being of a superior quality to the
best Swedish iron.
If the native blacksmith were to value his time at only sixpence
per diem from the day on which he first started for the mountains
till the day that he returned from his iron-smelting expedition,
he would find that his iron would have cost him rather a high
price per hundredweight; and if he were to make the same
calculation of the value of time, he would discover that by the
time he had completed one axe he could have purchased ready made,
for one-third the money, an English tool of superior manufacture.
