Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and Topographical with Notices of Its Natural History Part 5

[Footnote 1: The kaolin of Ceylon, according to an a.n.a.lysis in 1847, consists of--

Pure kaolin 70.0 Silica 26.0 Molybdena and iron oxide 4.0 ____ 100.0

In the _Ming-she_, or history of the Ming dynasty, A.D. 1368-1643, by Chan-ting-yuh, "pottery-stone" is; enumerated among the imports into China from Ceylon.--B. cccxxvi. p. 5.]

_Nitre_ has long been known to exist in Ceylon, where the localities in which it occurs are similar to those in Brazil. In Saffragam alone there are upwards of sixty caverns known to the natives, from which it may be extracted, and others exist in various parts of the island, where the abundance of wood to a.s.sist in its lixiviation would render that process easy and profitable. Yet so sparingly has this been hitherto attempted, that even for purposes of refrigeration, crude saltpetre is still imported from India.[1]

[Footnote 1: The mineralogy of Ceylon has. .h.i.therto undergone no scientific scrutiny, nor have its mineral productions been arranged in any systematic and comprehensive catalogue. Specimens are to be found in abundance in the hands of native dealers; but from indifference or caution they express their inability to afford adequate information as to their locality, their geological position, or even to show with sufficient certainty that they belong to the island. Dr. Gygax, as the results of some years spent in exploring different districts previous to 1847, was enabled to furnish a list of but thirty-seven species, the site of which he had determined by personal inspection. These were:--

1. Rock crystal Abundant.

2. Iron quartz Saffragam.

3. Common quartz Abundant.

4. Amethyst Galle Back, Caltura.

5. Garnet Abundant.

6. Cinnamon stone Belligam.

7. Harmotome St. Lucia, Colombo.

8. Hornblende Abundant.

9. Hypersthene Ditto.

10. Common corundum Badulla.

11. Ruby Ditto and Saffragam.

12. Chrysoberyl Ratganga, North Saffragam.

13. Pleonaste Badulla.

14. Zircon Wallawey-ganga, Saffragam.

15. Mica Abundant.

16. Adular Patna Hills, North-east.

17. Common felspar Abundant.

18. Green felspar Kandy.

19. Albite Melly Matte.

20. Chlorite Kandy.

21. Pinite Patna Hills.

22. Black tourmaline Neuera-ellia.

23. Calespar Abundant.

24. Bitterspar Ditto.

25. Apat.i.te Galle Back.

26. Fluorspar Ditto.

27. Chiastolite Mount Lavinia.

28. Iron pyrites Peradenia.

29. Magnetic iron pyrites Ditto, Rajawelle.

30. Brown iron ore Abundant.

31. Spathose iron ore Galle Back.

32. Manganese Saffragam.

33. Molybden glance Abundant.

34. Tin ore Saffragam.

35. a.r.s.eniate of nickel Ditto.

36. Plumbago Morowa Corle.

37. Epistilbite St. Lucia.]

GEMS.--But the chief interest which attaches to the mountains and rocks of this region, arises from the fact that they contain those mines of _precious stones_ which from time immemorial have conferred renown on Ceylon. The ancients celebrated the gems as well as the pearls of "Taprobane;" the tales of mariners returning from their eastern expeditions supplied to the story-tellers of the Arabian Nights their fables of the jewels of "Serendib;" and the travellers of the Middle Ages, on returning to Europe, told of the "sapphires, topazes, amethysts, garnets, and other costly stones" of Ceylon, and of the ruby which belonged to the king of the island, "a span in length, without a flaw, and brilliant beyond description."[1]

[Footnote 1: _Travels of_ MARCO POLO, _a Venetian, in the Thirteenth Century_, Lond. 1818.]

The extent to which gems are still found is sufficient to account for the early traditions of their splendour and profusion; and fabulous as this story of the ruby of the Kandyan kings may be, the abundance of gems in Saffragam has given to the capital of the district the name of _Ratnapoora_, which means literally "the city of rubies."[1] They are not, however, confined to this quarter alone, but quant.i.ties are still found on the western plains between Adam's Peak and the sea, at Neuera-ellia, in Oovah, at Kandy, at Mattelle in the central province, and at Ruanwelli near Colombo, at Matura, and in the beds of the rivers eastwards towards the ancient Mahagam.

[Footnote 1: In the vicinity of Ratnapoora there are to be obtained ma.s.ses of quartz of the most delicate rose colour. Some pieces, which were brought to me in Colombo, were of extraordinary beauty; and I have reason to believe that it can be obtained in pieces large enough to be used as slabs for tables, or formed into vases and columns, I may observe that similar pieces are to be found in the south of Ireland, near Cork.]

But the localities which chiefly supply the Ceylon gems are the alluvial plains at the foot of the stupendous hills of Saffragam, in which the detritus of the rocks has been carried down and intercepted by the slight elevations that rise at some distance from the base of the mountains. The most remarkable of these gem-bearing deposits is in the flat country around BallanG.o.dde, south-east of Ratnapoora; but almost every valley in communication with the rocks of the higher ranges contains stones of more or less value, and the beds of the rivers flowing southward from the mountain chain are so rich in comminuted fragments of rubies, sapphires, and garnets[1], that their sands in some places are used by lapidaries in polis.h.i.+ng the softer stones, and in sawing the elephants' grinders into plates. The cook of a government officer at Galle recently brought to him a ruby about the size of a small pea, which he had taken from the crop of a fowl.

[Footnote 1: Mr. BAKER, in a work ent.i.tled _The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon_, thus describes the sands of the Manic Ganga, near the ruins of Mahagam, in the south-eastern extremity of the island:--"The sand was composed of mica, quartz, sapphire, ruby, and jacinth; but the large proportion of ruby sand was so extraordinary that it seemed to rival Sinbad's story of the vale of gems. The whole of this was valueless, but the appearance of the sand was very inviting, as the shallow stream in rippling over it magnified the tiny gems into stones of some magnitude.

I pa.s.sed an hour in vainly searching for a ruby worth collecting, but the largest did not exceed the size of a mustard seed."--BAKER'S _Rifle and Hound in Ceylon_, p. 181.]

Of late years considerable energy has been shown by those engaged in the search for gems; neglected districts have been explored, and new fields have been opened up at such places as KaranG.o.dde and Weraloopa, whence stones have been taken of unusual size and value.

It is not, however, in the recent strata of gravel, nor in those now in process of formation, that the natives search for gems. They penetrate these to the depth of from ten to twenty feet, in order to reach a lower deposit distinguished by the name of _Nellan_, in which the objects of their search are found. This is of so early a formation that it underlies the present beds of rivers, and is generally separated from them or from the superinc.u.mbent gravel by a hard crust (called _Kadua_), a few inches in thickness, and so consolidated as to have somewhat the appearance of laterite, or of sun-burnt brick. The nellan is for the most part horizontal, but occasionally it is raised into an incline as it approaches the base of the hills. It appears to have been deposited previous to the eruption of the basalt, on which in some places it reclines, and to have undergone some alteration from the contact. It consists of water-worn pebbles firmly imbedded in clay, and occasionally there occur large lumps of granite and gneiss, in the hollows under which, as well as in "pockets" in the clay (which from their shape the natives denominate "elephants' footsteps") gems are frequently found in groups as if washed in by the current.

The persons who devote themselves to this uncertain pursuit are chiefly Singhalese, and the season selected by them for "gemming" is between December and March, when the waters are low.[1] The poorer and least enterprising adventurers betake themselves to the beds of streams, but the most certain though the most costly course is to sink pits in the adjacent plains, which are consequently indented with such traces of recent explorers. The upper gravel is pierced, the covering crust is reached and broken through, and the nellan being shovelled into conical baskets and washed to free it from the sand, the residue is carefully searched for whatever rounded crystals and minute gems it may contain.

[Footnote 1: A very interesting account of _Gems and Gem Searching_, by Mr. WM. STEWART, appeared in the _Colombo Observer_ for June, 1855.]

It is strongly characteristic of the want of energy in the Singhalese, that although for centuries those alluvial plains and watercourses have been searched without ceasing, no attempt appears to have been made to explore the rocks themselves, in the debris of which the gems have been brought down by the rivers. Dr. Gygax says: "I found at Hima Pohura, on the south-eastern decline of the Pettigalle-Kanda, about the middle of the descent, a stratum of grey granite containing, with iron pyrites and molybdena, innumerable rubies from one-tenth to a fourth of an inch in diameter, and of a fine rose colour, but split and falling to powder. It is not an isolated bed of minerals, but a regular stratum extending probably to the same depth and distance as the other granite formations.

I followed it as far as was practicable for close examination, but everywhere in the lower part of the valley I found it so decomposed that the hammer sunk in the rock, and even bamboos were growing on it. On the higher ground near some small round hills which intercept it, I found the rubies changed into brown corundum. Upon the hills themselves the trace was lost, and instead of a stratum there was merely a wild chaos of blocks of yellow granite. I carefully examined all the minerals which this stratum contains,--felspar, mica, and quartz molybdena, and iron pyrites,--and I found all similar to those I had previously got adhering to rough rubies offered for sale at Colombo. _I firmly believe that in such strata the rubies of Ceylon are originally found_, and that those in the white and blue clay at BallanG.o.dde and Ratnapoora are but secondary deposits. I am further inclined to believe that these extend over the whole island, although often intercepted and changed in their direction by the rising of the yellow granite." It is highly probable that the finest rubies are to be found in them, perfect and unchanged by decomposition; and that they are to be obtained by opening a regular mine in the rock like the ruby mine of Badakshan in Bactria described by Sir Alexander Burnes. Dr. Gygax adds that having often received the minerals of this stratum with the crystals perfect, he has reason to believe that places are known to the natives where such mines might be opened with confidence of success.

Rubies both crystalline and amorphous are also found in a particular stratum of dolomite at Bullatotte and Badulla, in which there is a peculiar copper-coloured mica with metallic l.u.s.tre. _Star rubies_, the "asteria" of Pliny (so called from their containing a movable six-rayed star), are to be had at Ratnapoora and for very trifling sums. The blue tinge which detracts from the value of the pure ruby, whose colour should resemble "pigeon's blood," is removed by the Singhalese, by enveloping the stone in the lime of a calcined sh.e.l.l and exposing it to a high heat. _Spinel_ of extremely beautiful colours is found in the bed of the Mahawelli-ganga at Kandy, and from the locality it has obtained the name of _Candite_.

It is strange that although the _sapphire_ is found in all this region in greater quant.i.ty than the ruby, it has never yet been discovered in the original matrix, and the small fragments which sometimes occur in dolomite show that there it is but a deposit. From its exquisite colour and the size in which it is commonly found, it forms by far the most valuable gem of the island. A piece which was dug out of the alluvium within a few miles of Ratnapoora in 1853, was purchased by a Moor at Colombo, in whose hands it was valued at upwards of four thousand pounds.

The original site of the _oriental topaz_ is equally unknown with that of the sapphire. The Singhalese rightly believe them to be the same stone only differing in colour, and crystals are said to be obtained with one portion yellow and the other blue.

_Garnets_ of inferior quality are common in the gneiss, but finer ones are found in the hornblende rocks.

_Cinnamon-stone_ (which is properly a variety of garnet) is so extremely abundant, that vast rocks containing it in profusion exist in many places, especially in the alluvium around Matura; and at Belligam, a few miles east from Point-de-Galle, a vast detached rock is so largely composed of cinnamon-stones that it is carried off in lumps for the purpose of extracting and polis.h.i.+ng them.

The _Cat's-eye_ is one of the jewels of which the Singhalese are especially proud, from a belief that it is only found in their island; but in this I apprehend they are misinformed, as specimens of equal merit have been brought from Quilon and Cochin on the southern coast of Hindostan. The cat's-eye is a greenish translucent quartz, and when cut _en cabochon_ it presents a moving internal reflection which is ascribed to the presence of filaments of asbestos. Its perfection is estimated by the natives in proportion to the narrowness and sharpness of the ray and the pure olive-tint of the ground over which it plays.

_Amethysts_ are found in the gneiss, and some discoloured though beautiful specimens in syenite; they are too common to be highly esteemed. The "Matura Diamonds," which are largely used by the native jewellers, consist of zircon, found in the syenite not only uncoloured, but also of pink and yellow tints, the former pa.s.sing for rubies.

But one of the prettiest though commonest gems in the island is the "Moon-stone," a variety of pearly adularia presenting chatoyant rays when simply polished. They are so abundant that the finest specimens may be bought for a few s.h.i.+llings. These, with _aqua marina_, a bad description of _opal rock crystal_ in extremely large pieces, _tourmaline_, and a number of others of no great value, compose the list of native gems procurable in Ceylon.[1] Diamonds, emeralds, agates, carnelians, opal and turquoise, when they are exhibited by the natives, have all been imported from India.

[Footnote 1: Caswini and some of the Arabian geographers a.s.sert that the diamond is found at Adam's Peak; but this is improbable, as there is no formation resembling the _cascalhao_ of Brazil or the diamond conglomerate of Golconda. If diamonds were offered for sale in Ceylon, in the time of the Arab navigators, they must have been brought thither from India, (_Journ. As. Soc. Beng._ xiii. 633.)]

During the dynasty of the Kandyan sovereigns, the right of digging for gems was a royalty reserved jealously for the King; and the inhabitants of particular villages were employed in their search under the superintendence of hereditary officers, with the rank of "Mudianse." By the British Government the monopoly was early abolished as a source of revenue, and no license is now required by the jewel-hunters.

Great numbers of persons of the worst-regulated habits are constantly engaged in this exciting and precarious trade; and serious demoralisation is engendered amongst the villagers by the idle and dissolute adventurers who resort to Saffragam. Systematic industry suffers, and the cultivation of the land is frequently neglected whilst its owners are absorbed in these speculative and tantalising occupations.

The products of their searches are disposed of to the Moors, who resort to Saffragam from the low country, carrying up cloth and salt, to be exchanged for gems and coffee. At the annual Buddhist festival of the Pera-hara, a jewel-fair is held at Ratnapoora, to which the purchasers resort from all parts of Ceylon. Of late years, however, the condition of the people in Saffragam has so much improved that it has become difficult to obtain the finest jewels, the wealthier natives preferring to retain them as investments: they part with them reluctantly, and only for gold, which they find equally convenient for concealment.[1]

[Footnote 1: So eager is the appet.i.te for h.o.a.rding in these hills, that eleven rupees (equal to twenty-two s.h.i.+llings) have frequently been given for a sovereign.]

The lapidaries who cut and polish the stones are chiefly Moors, but their tools are so primitive, and their skill so deficient, that a gem generally loses in value by having pa.s.sed through their hands. The inferior kinds, such as cinnamon-stones, garnets, and tourmaline, are polished by ordinary artists at Kandy, Matura, and Galle; but the more expert lapidaries, who cut rubies and sapphires, reside chiefly at Caltura and Colombo.