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MEMOIRS

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- | MEMOIRS

OF THE

CROLOGICAL SURVEY

OF

INDIA.

Vi OF Sale

PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR GENERAL OF INDIA
IN COUNCIL.

UNDER THE DIRECTION OF

THOMAS OLDHAM, L.L. D.,

Fellow of the Royal and Geological Societies of London; Member of the Royal Irish Academy ;
Hon. Mem. of the Imperial Academy of Natural Sciences, Breslau ;
Corr. of Imp. Geol. Institute, Vienna, dc. Fe.
SUPERINTENDENT OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA.

NATION
=з
NU AES Vi

MAR 1 1882 7
Sy Ne AS
4 СОЗУМ

CALCUTTA:

PRINTED FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. '

SOLD BY
THACKER, SPINK & CO., R. С. ТЕРАСЕ & CO., G. C. HAY & CO,
THACKER & CO, BOMBAY,—PHAROAH & CO, MADRAS.
WILLIAMS aw» NORGATE, LONDON.

MDCCCLIX.

PRINTED BY P. M. CRANENBURGH, BENGAL MILITARY ORPHAN PRESS.

зага

PREFACE.

WHEN the Staff of the Geological Survey of India was increased in
1856, and its labours systematized, and extended to ihe Presidency of
Madras, under the sanction of the Right Hon'ble the Governor General
of India in Council, it was also ordered that the reports on different
districts, examined geologically by its officers; should be published
in one continuous and uniform series, not as previously in various jour-
nals, and in different forms. The present volume constitutes the first
of the series.

As will be seen by a reference to its pages, it contains reports on
various districts, for the most part descriptive of the local geology of
the portions of the country examined, and illustrated by maps and
sections. The maps given in this volume (as will also be the case in
succeeding parts) are, in the majority of instances, on the same scale as
has been adopted for the INDIAN ATLAS, namely, four British miles to
one inch. In cases where a very large area is covered uninterruptedly
by the same rocks, and no details of interest occur, (as in the case of
the extensive alluvial, and laterite plains of Orissa and Midnapore in the
present volume,) a smaller scale is necessarily adopted. Such sections
as are required to shew the structural relations of the various groups
ofrocksare also given. Figures and descriptions of important fossils
will be given from time to time. And, when sufficient data have been
accumulated, general abstracts of the results, embracing large areas,
will bé compiled.

The “ Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India” will not, however,
be confined to purely descriptive papers. From time to time such

vi : PREFACE.

general speculations, and theoretical enquiries as may be suggested by
the examination of the districts visited, will be published, (as in the
present volume, Mr. Blanford’s note on Laterite,) and also such
researches on the practical application of the geological results, and such
statistical information as to quantity and character of the economical
produets, as may be desirable.

In а new country, the mineral wealth of which is only now becom-
ing known, the natural and inevitable tendency of such geological
enquiries is more practical and economical than they would be, where
civilization had longer held her sway, and where the energies and skill
of many, interested in such pursuits, had been for generations brought
to bear upon them. And yet this very condition, which renders such
practical enquiries more important and needful, renders them at the
same time more difficult, and in some cases even impracticable. Where
no mines have been opened, from the character of which we might
reason with some safety as regards others.in the same country, it is
difficult to form any sound opinion as to the abundance or nature of the
mineral wealth of which surface indications may be found in a new
country ; where no quarries are worked, the nature and the contents
of the rocks are not easily ascertained ; where no roads exist, it is not
an easy task even to gain access to many points of interest. In all such
cases our reasoning must be on the broad scale; niceties of distinction,
either in structure or position, or im contents, cannot be looked for.
But when, in addition to these drawbacks, there are dangers of climate
and season to contend with; when, for a very large portion of the
country no maps wbatever exist, and for other parts, such as are avail-
able, are but rude approximations even in the position of important
points, and are altogether wanting in detail, the task of a geologist be-
comes one of no small labour, of no little risk. In former years moreover
the want of any efficient libraries of reference, or collections for com-

parison, entirely impeded any sound progress. Happily, under the

` PREFACE. vil

liberal support of the Governor General in Council, this difficulty is
now being rapidly removed.

In the present volume will be found descriptive accounts of hat
portion of Bengallying along the shore of the Bay, from the Chilka
Lake to the north of Caleutta, and in succeeding volumes, Maps and
description of the countries adjoining those now published will be issued,
so as finally to combine into one general Geological Map of Bengal.
A similar plan will be adopted with reference to Madras, and Central

- India, and whenever practicable, these maps will be all on the same
scale, so as to combine into one.

In a country, however, of such immense area, and regarding the
structure of which so little is known as India, it will occasionally be
necessary to visit, and examine, and therefore to publish description of,
districts not immediately connected with such systematic progress, as
we have just alluded to. Of this class, is the report given in the present
volume, on the Khasi Hills. Such reports would much more properly
have been delayed until the adjoining districts could have been visited,
but containing important information in itself, while many years would,
in all probability elapse, before the neighbourhood could be revisited,
it seemed desirable to publish it at once.

So far as possible, my anxious desire is that all such reports or
memoirs as are published, should be drawn up by those gentlemen
attached to the survey, who have had the fullest opportunity of be-
coming acquainted with each district.

A word on the orthography of Indian names. I have avoided any
discussion of the question, I have preferred adopting the spelling in
ordinary use, to any partial or imperfect rectification of it. And to a
great extent for the following reasons. On the Maps issued under the
authority of the great Trigonometrical Survey of India, the Jonesian
system of orthography for Indian names is adopted; on the maps, pre-
pared by the Revenue Survey of India, issued from the same Office,

viil PREFACE.

Gilchrist’s system is used. It constantly, therefore occurs, and indeed
unavoidably occurs, that where maps of the same district, or of adjoin-
ingedistricts, have been published, the names of the same places are given
on these maps, both issued with the authority of Government, with
totally different spelling. (Katak, and Cuttack, Radakol, and Rehrakol,

represent the same places, and the instances are countless.)

Undoubtedly, it would be possible to correct all this, and reduce
all to one uniform system, and undoubtedly, to a great extent this
might be done by the Geological Surveyors, passing through the
country. But I am satisfied that such an attempt would lead to
even greater confusion than exists at present. No two persons have
exactly the ,same appreciation of sound; words, which, as heard by
one, would be to that person’s ears correctly represented by a cer-
tain combination of letters having each an acknowledged and de-
finite sound, would not appear correct to another. Мог is it possible
to find any half dozen people in a district who would pronounce the
same names in exactly the same way. In attempting therefore to
rectify the orthography of such names without any fixed standard:

we should only have introduced additional sources of error and con-

fusion.
I confess, I cannot see any difficulty in adopting systematically one

uniform orthography. The names of all these places exist in numer-
ous native records; the derivation, and therefore the correct spelling,
of most of them would be very easily’ ascertained, and the transferring
or translating of these native names into roman letters which should,
according to any uniform system that might be adopted, express the
same sounds, would be a task easily accomplished by any ordinary
clerk, instructed for the purpose. But until this be done, (and the
question is one of great importance) I cannot see any prospect of im-
provement in the general orthography of Indian names, but rather a

certainty of greater confusion.

PREFACE. ix
*

In the accompanying reports no attempt, therefore, has been made
to introducé any uniform system. Names of places have been given as
they were spelled on the ordinary maps of the country. |

It could scarcely be anticipated that in the few years we have been
working in this country much could have been ascertained regarding
the detail of its Geological Structure. Several results of great import-
ance have, however, been arrived at. Among those now published,
I may mention the separation into several distinct groups, of the rocks
associated with coal in India, hitherto considered to belong to one series.
. Of these, the * Talcheer" group (the lowest) was first established by
the brothers Blanford, from enquiries in the district herein described,
and subsequent researches in other parts of the country have fully
confirmed the justness of this separation, and established the constancy
and importance of the subdivisions. The true value of the group, and
its relations to the overlying rocks, as regards its fossil contents are not
yet fully made out.

The * Damuda" series containing almost all the coal beds of Bengal
Proper, Orissa, and Central India, was first separated from the rocks
which overlie it, by myself, from investigations in Bengal, and in the
Nerbudda district. At the same time I established the existence of a
totally distinct series (? formation) of rocks above these coal-bearing
beds, which had been previously classed with them. To these I gave
the name of the Mahadeva, from the hills, so called, in the valley of the
Nerbudda, where these rocks are well seen. Other series or formations
also connected with these Damuda rocks, have been established; as the
< Vindhyan” formation, first separated by the Brothers Medlicott, and
so called by me. The Rajmahal group, &c., &c., all which will receive
detailed illustration. in future reports. Our data as yet, being only
remains of plants, although numerous and well preserved, are, I regret
to say insufficient to establish with certainty the parallelism of these

groups with acknowledged European classifications. In addition to the

x PREFACE.

above, the coal ofthe Khasi hills, which had been authoritatively re-
ferred to the age of the European “ coal measures,” has “been shewn
to be tertiary, the same fact has been established for the similar coal of
the Tenasserim Provinces.

The second volume of these Memoirs will be devoted almost exclusive-
ly to Central India, (the Nerbudda, Bundelcund, &c.) and will carry
still further, the description of the relative position and relation of the
several series and groups of Indian rocks.

The difficulty of procuring good illustrations for such Memoirs in this
country, is only known to those who have had actual experience of it.
lonly refer to it here, to express a hope that I shall be able, for future
volumes, to secure something more satisfactory than are several of the

bald outlines which appear in the present.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

Preliminary Notice on the Coal and Iron of Talcheer, in the
Tributary Mehals of Cuttack, by THOMAS OLDHAM, A. M.,
Е. Е. S., Е. G. S., &c., Superintendent of Geological Survey
Ота кш с „Лут л Ой ORE LE E Шз тага
On the Geological structure and relations " ihe Talcheer Coal Field,
in the District of Cuttack, by Messrs. W. T. and H. F.
BLANFORD, and Wu. THEOBALD, Junr., Geological Survey
of [Indias ж ы е ie se Lese Si ee “Hoy "ardor ооо a eo
Note on recent examination of the Gold-yielding dod of Upper
Assam, by Captain DALTON and Lieut.-Col. Hannay; with
| analyses of the Gold, o0 со x
Note on specimens of Gold and Gold-dust from S TM *
THOMAS OLDHAM, Superintendent of Geological Survey of
OE “san Seen a ae 23 E ess е.
On the Geological dire of a join of the Khasi Hills,
Bengal, by THomas OLDHAM, L. L. D., Е. Е. S., Е. G. S.,
&c. &c. :
On the Geological TM C the ıe Nilghiri Hills Is (Madras),
HENRY Е. BLANFORD, Esq., Geological Survey of India, ...
On the Geological Structure and Physical features of the Districts
of Bancoorah, Midnapore and Orissa, Bengal,... ... ......
Note on the Laterite of Orissa, by W. T. BLANFORD, Geological
Survey of India, Beg c^ oo
On some Fossil Fish-teeth of the genus BE idus from Maledi,

33

90

94

99

211

249

South of Nagpur, by Tuomas OLDHAM, Superintendent of
.

Geological Survey Of шаа Шы К (ence cece Ше. Ош.

ass

ERRAT A.

Page, 153, line 4, for (Fig. 9) read (Fig. 8).
p Uf) 3 2B thal » those.
, 224, line 16, for alterations read alternations.

995, ,, 3, ,, shall » Shale.

29

Fig.

Fig.

а бә @ ت‎

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD,

View of small hills North of Kuttack, showing the general charac-
ter of their outline and form—due to denudation, .. .. ..
Sketeh showing the remarkable mode of decomposition of the
gneissmea K arakprasad dd N all fot Ton RON SO OO BO
Sketch showing similar action opposite Santapara on the Brahmini,
Sketch showing the ** Boulder bed" resting on gneiss, near v illage
GH Капаива on Bebo "oo M m

Shows the general character of the ** Tesselated Sandstone,"

Sketch illustrating the occurrence of pebbles of gneiss in the blue

shales, se < OE E EOE e iD
Illustrating the relative E of the “ Damoodah" and “ Tal-
cheerdbeds go oo. Hb ca ea, oS

8. Illustrates the same unconformability .

Shews the mode of occurrence of the large ferruginous concretion-

ary masses in the sandstones, .. .. su .. «+ «es op

KHASI HILLS.

View of the river gorge North of Surareem, .. 9
Myrung village, and the undulating country to the North,

The Kullong, as seen from Nungklow, .. .. .. .. .. s.
Unconformity of gneiss, and sandstones, near Joowai, ..
False-bedding in sandstones, near Cherra Poonjee, EEE
General view of Khasi Hills, from the river Soorma, . .

Contortions in sandstones, at Bogapaniriver,.. .. ^. «

PAGE.

34

4l

xiv

21 § 22.

о т Р w

ILLUSTRATIONS.

: PAGE

Flat-topped hills of Nonkradem, .. .. .. .. .. .. .... 129

Horizontal sandstones on upturned gneiss, .. .. .. .. .. 133

Fault, and cleft in limestone, near Cherra Poonjee, .. .. 3... 136

Curious denudation in limestone, .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 139
Sketch shewing irregular intercalation of coal, sandstone and

shale;* «5 On pa Sti Wor ERAS POE DUCI ea TENES CER

Sketch shewing portions of Coal Mines near Cherra Poonjee, .. 142

Coal, at Lakadong, .. .. у... T G

Fault in Coal at Lakadong, ROM XAR NUI AS. os. 142
Valley of Nonkrim,.. .. . án Od ао ло ms USE
Sketch shewing blocky AG ee of granite district, .. se .. 2.
M ESSE FG О aa e soe w TOU. Оо ШЫ Sou oco LEG
Small авй соайветтезу Sa OO. 40 56 00 0b 50 55 oo IE
Illustrate the manufacture of iron, ... .. «we «2 .. «eee 204—5

REPORT ON NILGHIRIS.

Расе.

Hard bands in gneiss, near Neddiwuttam, .. .. .. ee. 228
Alternations of limestone and gneiss, weathered near Coim-

ibatoor ЕМ, Ores eese ewm ПУ АЛДЕ A 224

КО oo. 59 Oe. оо ао A Е Ae engen e, e. 225

Gneiss pierced by granite veins, Sunkerry-droog, .. .. .. .. 228
View of the Dodabetta, and Kaittee escarpment, .. .. ... 240
View of the Makurty peak, with part of the Himagala range and

valley of Pykara, .. .. .. ar
Alluvial plain, on feeder of the Pykara near + Tukulhully ا‎ so 258

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, «е.

Fig. 1. Sketch section shewing relations of Alluvium, Laterite, and the Meta-

Pl.

morphic Rocks.

I. Fig. 1. Annelide markings on the surface of a rippled slab of sand-

stone from the “ Taleheer" group—one-third of natural size

ILLUSTRATIONS. XV

Pl. 1. Fig. 2. Section of the same slab, showing the outline of the rippling
and the cross section of the double depression of the Annelide
tracks—full size.

3 and 4. Sketches of Annelide markings on the surface of fine
earthy sandstone from Korhadi near Nagpur, of full size,
given for comparison.

PL ІТ. Map of the Talcheer Coal Field—Scale, four miles equal one inch. The
Topographical portion of the Map has been copied, with very
slight alteration, from the Maps prepared under the superin-
tendence of Captain Saxton, Deputy Surveyor General, for
the use of which the Geological Survey is indebted to the
kindness of Major Thuillier, Surveyor General's Office,
Calcutta.

РІ. III. Sections of the Talcheer Coal Field.

Section 1 extends from Sarasua Hill, in the North-West ofthe field,
in a right line to Gopalprasad, and thence Southward and East-

wardto Karakprasad. "This section shows the relations of the
several groups of rocks occurring in the district, and the mode
in which they have been faulted.

Section 2 extends from the Tikiria Nullah, on the Northern boundary
of the field, to Gopalprasad, where it shows the relations of
the earbonaceous shales to the accompanying rocks ; and thence
the section extends to the Southern boundary of the field at
Jorasinga.

These sections are laid down to the same scale for heights and
distances, namely, two miles to the inch, or double the linear
scale of the accompanying Map. The outline of the surface is
only approximately correct: the dense jungle and inaecessible
nature of portions ofthe distriet, and the want of any accurate
levels, preventing greater accuracy.

KHASI HILLS.
Pl. IV. View of Cherra Poonjee, and the plains of Silhet,—looking down the
gorge of the Temshung.
Pi. V. View of the Mawsmai falls, near Cherra Poonjee.

xvi

Pl.
РІ,

“PL
Pl.

Pl.
Pl..

Pl.

Pi.

Pi.
Pi.
Pl.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

VI. View ofthe gorge of the Kala.pani river. Khasi Hills.

VII. Map of part of the Khasi Hills, coloured Geologically. -Scale, 4 miles
to an inch.

VIII. Geological Section of the Khasi Hills from Teria ghat to Nungklow.

IX. Map of the plateau of Lakadong in the Jynteah Hills.

NILGHIRI HILLS.

X. Geological Map of the Nilghirry Hills, Madras.

XI. View of the Western ghats, and plains of Malabar, from Makusty,
Nilghiris.

XII. View of the valley of the Bhovani, from Mailur, Nilghiris.

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. i

XIII. Geological Map of Baneoorah, Midnapore, Orissa, &е., Scale 8
miles to one inch.

XIV. Figures of fossil Ceratodus teeth.
XV. Ditto ditto ditto and coprolites.
XVI. Ditto ditto and bones.

MEMOIRS

OF THE

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA.

Preliminary Notice on the Coal and Iron of Talcheer in the Tributary
Mehals of Cuttack. By Tuomas OLDHAM, 4. M., Е. R. $, G. S, £c,
Superintendent of Geological Survey of India, бс.

A brief notice of previously existing knowledge regarding the reported
Coal Field of the Tributary Mehals will prove interesting, before entering
on the detailed report of the geological structure of the district.

The earliest notice of the Cuttack district with which I have met is in a
Б account “of valuable paper by A. Stirling, Esq., entitled “ An
risen. Account, Geographical, Statistical and Historical,
of Orissa Proper, or Cuttack:” published in the Asiatic Researches of
Bengal, Vol. XV., p. 163, 1825. 5

Although chiefly devoted to the description of the antiquities and po-
litical condition of the district, some few geological facts are also given.

The general physical aspect of the country is thus described :—“ An

* extensive little explored region on the West,

Physical features, es А " А
* consisting chiefly of hills and forests, intersected
* by many fertile plains and valleys, and a plain level country extending
“ from the foot of that barrier to the sea, evidently of alluvial formation,
<“ the uniform surface of which is not disturbed by a single rocky eleva-
* tion throughout its whole extent, nor does a single stone occur between
* the beds of iron-clay lying on the Western frontier and the ocean,

* if we except the curious spheroidal concretions of calcareous matter, or
B

P".

2 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

< limestone nodules, which are found very generally dispersed” (p. 167.)
Again, speaking of this flat tract, the author states that it 15, in general,
highly cultivated :— South of the Mahanuddi, it may be generally
* characterised as light and sandy; beyond that river, and especially in
* the neighbourhood of the hills, it acquires a clayey consistency and
* appearance, and is often remarkably white, and often too, for miles
* together, it has the surface strewed with a thin sprinkling of gravel or
* limestone concretions, called by the natives Gengti. This description
* of soil extends nearly to Midnapore" (p. 171.)
The hilly tract next comes under review. The distance between its
ACU ihe t boundary and the sea is stated to be nowhere
more than 60 to 70 miles. ^ At Balasore a group
'* of fine rocky hills project boldly forth to within 16 to 18 miles of
* the shores of the bay, which were known to old navigators as the
* Nelligreen (Nilgiri) Mountains, and between Ganjam and the Lake,
“a low ridge appears actually to run out into the sea, though in
* reality separated from the water by a wide sandy beach" (р. 176.)
Again :—“ The hills visible from the low country, between the Brahmini
А ЧА “and Ganjam, are chiefly a granitic formation,
* remarkable for its resemblance to sandstone and
“for its containing vast quantities of imperfectly formed garnets
“ disseminated throughout with veins of steatite considerably indurated.
“ They occur generally in irregularly scattered groups, having peaked
“and waving summits, which seem to cross each other at all angles,
“or in isolated conical and wedge-shaped hills, wholly disconnected
* at their bases, and are all covered with vegetation to the very top.
“The greatest height of those seen from the Mogulbundi may be about
* 9,000 feet. Their ordinary elevation varies from 300 feet to 1,200
“feet. Ridges occur further in the interior of greater loftiness and
“regularity, but I believe that an extended continuous chain of moun-
“tains is nowhere to be met with in the Rajwara of Orissa. The pre-

COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 3

* vailing color of the principal rock is red. As far as my observation
* goes, it never occurs stratified. Its texture often approaches to slate,
* and from its general decomposing and decomposed aspect, the quantity
“of red spots which it contains being the ill-formed garnets above
“noticed, and the frequent veins of red and white steatite which
* intersect it, it presents altogether a most remarkable appearance.”

The true gneissose nature of this rock will appear from the detailed
account given below.

Mr. Stirling proceeds to say :—“ The rock most abounding in this
“ division of the district next to the granite” (gneiss) “ is that singular
“ substance called iron-clay by Jameson and laterite by Dr. Buchanan.
* Tt lies in beds of considerable depth at the foot of the granite hills,
“ often advancing out for a distance of 10 or 15 miles into the plains,
* where it forms gently swelling rocky elevations, but never rises into
“hills : sometimes it is disposed in the manner of flat terraces of con-
* siderable dimensions, which look asif they had been constructed with
“much labor and skill The composition and aspect of the Cuttack
* jron-clay are very remarkable, from the innumerable pores and amyg-
* daloidal cavities which it contains, filled with white and yellow litho-
* marge, and from the quantities of iron ore pebbles and fragments
* of quartz imbedded in it. By far the most interesting circumstance,
* however, connected with itis its complete and intimate mixture with
* the granite, which has been traced in several instances, and speci-
* mens of which are in my possession, exhibiting the one rock entirely
“invested by the other, though it is not easy to pronounce which
“is the enclosing substance. The granite, at the places where the
“specimens were principally collected, appears to burst through an
“immense bed of the laterite, rising abruptly at a considerable angle.
* Numerous broken fragments are strewed all around the line of
* junction, and in some specimens the two rocks are so mixed together

* as to form a sort of coarse breccia or conglomerate."

4 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

The true bearing of this important and interesting observation, as
showing the origin of this “laterite,” will also be found referred to
below.

* South of the Mahanuddi" Mr. Stirling continues, * in the country
* of Khoorda, a few isolated hills of white and variegated sandstone
* occur, curiously interspersed among the granitic ones. An indurated
* white lithomarge is found in company with them, from which the
“ natives prepare a white-wash to ornament their houses.”

These are portions of the Atgurh sandstone district, referred to more
particularly in the following Report. l

He proceeds to give a description of the rocks in the most Northerly
“оло portend portion of the Cuttack Province, where gneiss,
шушо: micaceous and hornblendic rocks occur; “ tale
“slate, mica slate, and chlorite schist, passing into serpentine and
* pot-stone, being in great abundance ;" and then notices the occurrence
of ironin abundance throughout the whole of the Cuttack Hills, “in
“the state chiefly of pisiform iron ore, earthy red ore, and ochrey red
* ironstone. It is smelted principally in the States of Dhenkanal
* (Denkenal), Angol (Ungool), and Moherbenj.” He also refers to the
reported existence of gold in some of the rivers of Dhenkanal and
Keonjher. Ec

The only limestone in the district is said to be the calcareous
nodules referred to previously.

Several interesting notices of the extent to which the ancient temples
and other buildings of the district have been invaded by the sands of
the shores of the Bengal Bay will be found in this valuable paper ;
and the curious legend, by which the occurrence of the sandstone hills
of Khandgiri, said by Mr. Stirling to be the only real sandstone hills
in the country, is accounted for, as being “ a part of the Himalayas,
* which were taken up bodily, with their caves, ascetics, and all, by
* Mahabir Hanuman, to build the bridge of Rama, but, by some

COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 5

* accident, were allowed to drop on their passage through the air,
* when they alighted in their present position," is quoted (p. 312.)
Subsequently to the publication of Mr. Stirling's paper, I do not find

any notice of the district, until, in the year 1837,

Lieutenant Kittoe an

Site suistodaky of coal. Lieutenant .Kittoe announced the discovery of

.extensive beds of coal in Ungool and Hindooe
(Hindole), near the Kursooa and Byturnee streams. He states, that the

coal and iron mines occur together.* In the following year (February
1838), he gave a section of a hill called Newraj to the West of the
Station of Cuttack, where he expected that coal would be found.

He makes the hill to be traversed by a large dyke of “dark-green tra-
* chyte, of a somewhat coarse glassy character, with minute vesicles,” fF but
on referring to the specimens which accompanied his paper, in the collec-
tion of the Asiatic Society, I can find nothing to countenance this view.
On the other hand, the very marked and total absence of trap dykes travers-
ing the coal-bearing rocks of this district, to which reference will be found
below, makes the occurrence of such volcanic rocks more than doubtful.

Lieutenant Kittoe was subsequently deputed by the then existing
Coal Committee to search for coal in these districts, and seems to have
been quite unsuccessful. Indeed, from the account of his trip, the
examination and description of the many and highly interesting anti-
quities of the District, for the description of which he possessed very
admirable qualifications, would appear to have engaged his chief atten-
tion. He found no coal, but stated his opinion that coal could be found
at some depth below the surface; On what grounds this opinion was
founded, he does not state.

In January 1842, Lieutenant Righy, then Executive Engineer, for-
warded to the Asiatic Society specimens of the building stones and other
useful materials of the district, and in February 1843, the same Society

* Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal, Vol. VII. p. 320.
+ Ibid, p. 152.
+ Ibid, p. 679.

6 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

received, from Mr. Babington, specimens of iron and iron ores from
Kutterbagga, 20 miles N. E. of Sumbulpore.

` The total out-turn from these mines annually was stated to be 1,000
maunds.*

To this information, the Report of the Coal Committee, published in

Coal Committees Re. 1846, added, with regard to this district, as with
поь regard to every other to which this Report refers,
nothing but exaggeration and confusion of statements.

Coal, the very existence of which was barely known, was magnified
into “ extensive beds of good quality and glistening lustre," and again
the Gopalprasad Nullah coal was said to be exposed extensively on both

banks, projecting to an average height of 15 feet above the sand of
the river, for a distance of a mile. What was intended to be conveyed
by this statement, I am not aware; but, with all the uncertainty
attaching to it, in the abstract of coal which is given, these beds are
stated to be “15 feet, probably several beds of this size.”

In 1847, Mr. A. J. M. Mills, then Superintendent, stated in his Minute,
“that the Killahs of Keonjhur, Nilghur, and Mohurbunje produce a
“ variety of minerals and are said to be worthy of geological investigation"
(р. 90.) Of Talcheer, he writes—* Coal beds have been discovered in this
* Killah. Captain Kittoe and Mr. Beatson have examined and reported on
“them. The latter gentleman describes the field as above 30 miles in ex-

* tent, covered with stunted jungle and composed of various kinds of sand-

` * Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal, Vol. ХІ. p. 836 and Vol. XII. p. 164.

+ Report, folio, 1846, p. 146. This is only one of many instances in which the strange
exaggerations of this Report have created immense difficulties for future inquirers to sur-
mount. Statements thus made, haphazard, are not got rid of by any amount of disproof,
subsequently brought to bear upon them, The contradiction never can have exactly the
Same dissemination as the original statement, and, after years have elapsed, the latter is
frequently re-produced, and doubts are again excited, more especially when, as in the pre-
sent instance, such statements are published with a certain degree of authority attached
to them. j Е 6

+ Selections from Records of Government of Bengal, No. Ш. .

` COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. jf

“stone and slate. The coal may be transmitted down the Brahmini River
* to Hunsooa, the Export Salt Depót, and from thence can be easily shipped
“to Calcutta. The expense of carriage is against the opening of these
“beds” (p. 89.) He mentions the abundance of Sal timber in many places.
* [ron is said to be abundant in Angool, and to be smelted there as well
“asin Keonjhur and Mohurbunje" (p. 87,) “and to be also procurable in

“the hills of Dhenkanal" (p. 84.)

Such was the published information regarding this district up to' the
снна date of this Coal Committee Report (1846.) Mr.

` Gouldsbury reports соа, ^ Gouldsbury, while Commissioner of the district
in 1850, reported to the Government of Bengal the occurrence of coal
in one of the localities previously mentioned by Lieutenant Kittoe, and

'forwarded specimens for examination, stating that the beds from which

‘these specimens were procured were supposed by Mr. Overseer Harton
(who had seen them while employed in cutting timber in the forests)

‘to extend from 8 to 10 koss. The coal was supposed to be of good qua-
lity and the cost of its delivery in Caleutta was estimated.

On being subjected to examination, however, by Dr. O'Shaughnessy,

у at that time Chemical Examiner to Government,
which proves useless.
this so-called coal proved to be nothing but a bitu-

‘minous shale, “leaving 45'5 per cent. of incombustible ashes,” and

“totally valueless as a fuel" Not satisfied with this trial on the small

‘scale, Mr. Gouldsbury forwarded 100 maunds for experiment in July

1851. This second specimen was collected with greater care than
the first, but yielded 34-80 per cent. of ash, and, on trial on board the

Indus Steamer, was reported to be “ 50 per cent. inferior to Ranee-
* gunge coal and quite unfit for steam purposes."

In November 1852, Mr. Gouldsbury again forwarded specimens of
EA t Talcheer coal, with a zealous determination р

i test, in the fullest manner, the value of the mine-

ral produce of the district under his charge, These specimens were

[o] PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

said to be taken from a depth of some feet below the surface, and to be
of very much superior quality to those previously furnished. On exa-
mination, however, they proved to be little, if at all, superior. They
yielded from 47 to 57 per cent. of ash and were in reality scarcely
worthy of the name of coal at all.
In September 1854, again, Mr. Samuells,* who succeeded Mr. Goulds-
Mr. Samuells forwards Pury as Superintendent of the Tributary Mehals,
«goa urgently remonstrated against the neglect of these
“extensive beds of coal, iron, &c."in a district combining so many
promising features; and subsequently, communicating with the Curator
of the Museum of Economic Geology in Caleutta, described his visit
to the locality near Talcheer, from which Lieutenant Kittoe had pre-
viously obtained his specimens, and which will be found referred to
below. It is about 2 miles above the Rajah's residence, near the village
of Moolpal.
Mr. Samuells states] that he there made a cut down the bank of the
stream (12 or 14 feet high) upon the bed of coal, finding first “а peaty
* substance like coal, but so soft, that you could thrust a stick through
“it; then coal shale, below which was indifferent coal, much mixed up
* with shale ; about 8 or 10 inches below which was a hard slaty rock :
* the whole bed 5 or 6 feet in thickness.” He proceeds to describe the
Gopalprasad coal, when he states “that for several miles aboye Gopal-
“ prasad, and about a mile below it, the stream bank presents a succes-
<“ sion of stratified coal cliffs, which have an exceedingly curious appear-
“ance.” The whole ground in the jungle to the rear of these cliffs is
stated to be “ covered for considerable distance with coal shale and dust.
* The appearance of the coal about 6 feet back from the river and 2
“ or 3 feet below its bed was excellent, hard, sparkling, and much less

* laminated than the more exposed coal on the cliffs.”

A ООА ee RE AM crue ce cie M
* MS. Correspondence with Government of Bengal, under dates cited,
+ Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal, No. ITI., 1855, April, p. 249.

COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 9

' Upon examination* however, this coal proved to be, according to Mr.
Piddington, wholly shale and what is called “Top Coal, that is, coal from
the upper and generally inferior beds of a mine.” Of the coal itself
much was composed of layers, in which there were * about equal layers
* of shale of a dull black, and of good bright bituminous coal" Even
this coal, separated from its accompanying shale, yielded no less than
32:25 per cent. of ash!

A picked specimen of the bituminous coal gave 8 per cent. of ash.
Mr. Piddington justly stated that’ such “coal” would not be worth send-
ing to Calcutta for trial on a large scale, and advised a “shaft to be
sunk for a good vein.”

It did not, however, appear from Mr. Samuells’ account, or from any
previous observations, that there was the least ground for estimating,
in any way, either the extent or the thickness of the coal-bearing rocks.
A haphazard attempt at a shaft would have been wild in the extreme.+

Such was the full amount of available knowledge (up to the year 1855)

State of informationin 265210115 the coal of the district of Talcheer, in
1855; the Tributary Mehals. It will be obvious, that no
attempt whatever had been made to trace out the extent of area occupied
by the field, to ascertain the thickness, general character, and relations
of the rocks there occurring, or to investigate their connexion with, or
their distinctness from, those occurring in other Coal Fields in India.

The results arrived at, as regarding the quality of the coal, were not

- very promising, but, at the same time, it was highly desirable to ascer-

* Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal, No. ПІ, 1855, April, p. 240.

+ In 1855 (Journal Asiatic Society, No. II, 1855) Captain Saxton announced the discovery
of beds of coal in the Gangpur Rajah’s territories, some 50 or 60 miles N. W. of the town of
Sumbulpore, or about 80 miles N. W. of the N. W. extremity of the field now under descrip-
tion.

Time did not. permit of any of the gentlemen of the Geological Survey visiting this district
during last season ; but I may add, that Captain Saxton, having had the advantage of going
over some of the Talcheer country with the Officers of the Survey, stated tint this Gangpur
coal was not in the least more promising than that of Talcheer.

С

10 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

tain the real state of the case, to see what prospects the district really
offered, and what steps it would be proper to take for opening out its
hitherto almost inaccessible jungles to the steady march of industry.
Whatever the results should be, whether favorable or otherwise, it was
to be hoped that the question, which for nearly fifteen years had been
constantly recurring, might at last receive some definite reply, and that
thus the energy annually devoted to re-opening matters previously
decided might be more profitably applied to other and more valuable
pursuits. With this view, and at the earnest request of the Honorable the
* Geological Survey par- Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, Messrs. Blanford
рауы; and Theobald were despatched to the district of
Cuttack during last cold season, and the result of their labors is given
in the accompanying Report; and having thus briefly recounted the
knowledge previously accessible, I would now as briefly state the principal
results of their detailed examination.

And, first, with regard to coal. It is to be regretted that no beds

НИЧЕ of workable coal have been found in this Dis-
Coat, ' — trict.

The extent of area, over which they could be looked for with any pros-
pect of success, has been defined, and the general character of the rocks
which occur within that area ascertained. These carbonaceous beds
moreover, wherever they are seen, present a character so constant, that
it appears highly improbable that amy workable coal may be hereafter
discovered.

Connected with this subject, a very mistaken idea appears to be pre-

valent in this country—an idea which is not alto-
Mu ue d E gether unnatural and for which some confirma-
dis . tion may apparently be derived from the unguarded
statements of some writers. It is constantly observed, and by many
firmly believed, that, although coal beds may appear useless and inferior
ator near the surface, they may confidently be expected to increase in

COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 11

thickness and to improve in value or quality at a greater depth. “Тор”
and “ inferior” coal are terms often used as synonymous, and when
any coal exists at all it is boldly recommended that, perhaps a shaft
should be sunk, perhaps workings on the bed should be commenced,
with the full expectation that other beds must be found, or that what is
seen must improve at a greater depth. Nothing could be more mistaken.

It is indeed perfectly true, that exposure to ordinary atmospheric
action tends to decompose coal as well as every other rock. This decom-
position is rapidly expedited, if the coal should contain, as is frequently
the case, iron pyrites or iron; and when such decomposition has taken
place in coal, nothing but a soft black earthy-looking substance will
remain. But in nocase does this decomposition extend for more than
a few feet from the exposed surface; and in every case when this occurs
all accompanying rocks (shales, sandstones, &c.) will invariably be found
to have suffered from the same destroying influences, and the whole group
will present such appearances of being decomposed and changed, that no
eye, which has had the slightest ‘practice in such observations, can easily
be misled, This weathering seldom extends to any distance, more
especially when the coal or other beds are seen exposed in the face of
cliffs, or in sections of river banks or ravines, and not on flat surfaces.

But no amount of change whatever can possibly convert a shale into
a coal, nor is there the slightest ground for supposing, that beds which
at the surface are beds of shale will, “in depth,” as miners term it,
become beds of coal.

The iron produced in the Talcheer District has long been known
: as of excellent quality and highly prized for its
ni tenacity. ——
It is, in fact, like most of the iron produced by the native furnaces

in India (when cleaned), “ charcoal iron” of the

C dd best quality. The greater portion of the produce
is sent to the Cuttack market. The manufacture is however, from

12 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

beginning to end, carried on in the rudest way, and is, here as elsewhere,
pursued only by a particular caste of the people, who always appear to
be among the poorest and most wretched of the inhabitants. Not that
the profits of the manufacture are, in reality, so small as to be insuffi-
cient to yield them a better livelihood, but that their poverty and impro-
vident habits, coupled with a certain degree of uncertainty in the
returns for their labor, drive them into the hands of mahajuns (chiefly
Bengalis, who, by a system of advances, and by payments in kind,
become proprietors of the furnaces and also proprietors of the fuel.

Although not nominally, in reality this * truck system," which is of the
most iniquitous kind, reduces the poor workman to
Poverty of workmen. К a £

perfect slavery, until at last he finds it impossible

to obtain even a starvation allowance of food of the coarsest kind with-
out the aid of these mahajuns. From these causes it is, that wherever
seen, these iron-working villages are the most wretched looking in the
whole country. They are inall cases distinct from the other villages,
and at-once bespeak the poverty of the inhabitants by the squalor and
filth of their abodes. Seldom do they attain any size; in some cases,
а single house marks the site of these * iron-works" ; in others some
half-dozen are grouped together.

The wasteful consumption of fuel often compels them to remove to spots

Constant aimee os where it is more abundant, and nothing remains
residence to mark the former site of their workings, except-
ing the huge heaps of slag so frequently met, with in the jungles.

This description is applicable to all the jungle districts. which I have
| seen, where the manufacture of iron is carried on

Description applicable
озонии on yielding in this rude way. In reality, the processes adopted
vary in very trifling respects, whether on the

banks of the Nerbudda, near the Western bounds of the Peninsula;
in the wild jungles of Central India; in the districts of the South-

West Frontier; in Birbhoom ; or in Cuttack, The form of the furnaces

COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 13

is slightly altered in each district, the proportions of ore and fuel
used may be slightly different, but the general process is identical
throughout.

The ores used by the workmen in all these cases are without excep-
tion the oxide ores, whether in the state of mag-
Kind of ores used, P H 4

netic ‘iron, of red hematite (earthy, micaceous,
ог ochrey), or brown hematite. But in the vast majority of cases only
the red hcematite in its different varieties is used. I have never seen
a native work in which any of the carbonated ores of iron were used.
For the most part, to avoid the trouble of digging, the loose lumps
found among the decomposed rocks of the surface, which become highly
impregnated with iron by infiltration, are selected. Portions of these
rocks found in beds of streams, and occasionally pebbles of laterite, are
used. “In one instance," Mr. Blanford says, “at a small village in
“ Banda, an ore was found to be in use, which had much the appearance
“of what is, in Cornwall and some other mining districts, termed a
* Gossan, that is, the decomposed and highly ferruginous rock formed
“ generally at the outcrop of lodes.* The numerous deposits of arena-
* ceous iron ore found in the Damoodah beds of the Talcheer Coal
* Field are comparatively little worked, although they are rich and
* apparently well adapted for melting. There seems to be a preference
“ for ores obtained in small quantities with but little labor in digging, to:
* those which would require comparatively less labor for an equal pro-
* duce, although digging operations on a larger scale would be necessary.
* Tron ores however, of one form or another, and of good quality, abound
* throughout the district, and close to the surface."

The fuel used is in all cases charcoal. In the preparation of this char-

Charcoal ошу fuel ©0@l where sàl is abundant, nothing else is used all
used. over the country. In many districts, however, this
timber has been nearly exhausted and other trees are used.

* This ore was said to be brought from the hills to the N. W., a distance of two days’
journey. ) s

14 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

In Cuttack this is not the case, and the natives employ nothing but

Made of sàl timber. sàl (Shorea robusta) for their charcoal.

Rude and wasteful as are the processes adopted in other parts of the
country, the wild inhabitants of the Tributary Mehals appear to excel
all others that I have heard of, in the ingenuity with which they seem
to have adopted a process for obtaining the very smallest possible amount
of useful fuel from the greatest amount of timber.
api ea * Only logs of one size are employed, namely,

* about 12 to 18 inches in diameter.

“Trees of large dimensions cannot be broken up by the tools the na-
* tives possess, and the trunks are left to rot in the forest. The smaller
* branches are perhaps used for fire-wood ; they are never, so far as Тат
* aware, used for making charcoal The logs used are cut into pieces
* about 5 or 6 feet long, which are piled on each other in layers crosswise,
“and then the small stack of logs, without any other preparation,
“is set fire to. When well lighted, water is thrown on, and the crusts
* of charcoal formed are knocked off each log." (Mr. Blanford’s MS.)

The smelting process so closely resembles that prevailing in other
parts of India, that no great space need be devoted

Smelting process simi- T Am
lar to that in use else- to a detailed description of it here. Mr. Samuells,

where. T à
then Commissioner of Cuttack, gave a brief
account of this process, as practised in Cuttack, in the J'ournal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, No. VIL, 1855, pp. 249-250.
Charcoal and ore only are used ; the former in large quantities. No
flux whatever is employed. The iron is seldom
No flux used.
even thoroughly fused, and the mass of crude
metal, as taken from the small furnaces, is mixed up with fragments of
‘unburnt charcoal, pieces of slag and semi-fused metal.
The furnaces are, generally speaking, about 3 feet 6 inches high, of
circular form, and about 1 foot inside diameter.
Size, &c. of furnaces. sure Е
In some places it is customary to increase the

diameter towards the base ; in others it is the same throughout.

COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 15

The very inipure metal resulting from this first operation is after-
Roanne or dearing of wards purified or refined,* by being subjected
Viasgapurp metal. to a series of alternate heatings and hammerings,
carried on, in an open hearth, much like the work of an ordinary
blacksmith. These are repeated according to the purity required in
the metal By these heatings, the previously unburnt charcoal is con-
sumed and the slag is fused and carried off, or driven out by the hammer.

In Orissa the blast for both of these processes is produced by bellows

Bellows, &c.

of the same form as that which is in use over a
large portion of India for such works. It consists
of two cross sections of the stem of a tree (mango is preferred), about 6
inches in thickness,and from 12 inches, the smallerand more commonly used
size, to 2 feet in diameter. The upper portions of these are rudely hollow-
ed out, and across the top of each is firmly attached
Mode of construction. А я у
a covering of leather, in the centre of which a small
hole is cut. Into this hole is inserted a small piece of wood attached to a
string, which is connected with a bamboo, one end of which is inserted
in the ground at some distance, the other being brought immediately over
the centre of the hollowed stem. Two of these are placed side by side.
The string from the bamboo being attached to the leather top, the
latter is pulled up as far as it can be extended, the
Method of working. d :
cavity between the leather and the wood being
of course filled with air. To produce the blast, a man stands upon this
extended leather, placing his heel on the hole in the centre and thus
closing the orifice. The air, being thus confined, is forced by the weight

of the man upon the collapsing leather, to pass out through a hole cut

* This “ refining" or cleaning of the metal, as it might perhaps, with greater рго-
priety, be termed, must not be confounded with the process termed “ refining" in Europe.
The latter is effected on a totally different material, viz. cast iron, and this refining
does not produce wrought iron, but is only a preliminary process. The iron produced
in the small native furnaces during the first melting must differ materially from cast
iron, in its great impurity especially, and also in the much smaller amount of combined
carbon.

16 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

in the side of the hollowed stem, which is connected with a bamboo as
a pipe to conduct this air to the furnace. ;

This action is continued alternately with the left foot and the right
foot on the bellows, the weight of the man being thrown from one to the
other, as each foot is alternately lifted.

The return movement of the bellows is effected by the bamboo or
stick acting as a spring upon the leather. |

The air thus forced through the blowing pipes made of bamboo passes
into the furnace through tuyeres of clay. These are, in some places,
very carefully made and carefully baked before use; in others they
xia are composed simply of a lump of moist and

well-tempered clay attached round the end of the
bamboo, at the moment of commencing the operation of smelting.*

In Cuttack, this form of bellows is used, both for the first reduction
of the ore and for the subsequent cleaning processes. In Birbhoom, and
other parts of the country, a totally different form, morelike an English
blacksmith's bellows, is used for the second process, and the size of the
bellows employed in the reduction of the ore is very much greater also ;
the weight of three men being employed to give force to the blast,
instead of only one.

In all cases, this contrivance, rude as it is, seems to give a sufficient

. and tolerably equable blast, not ill adapted to

The blast thus obtain- ` Е

ed sufficient and toler- the small furnaces employed, which are composed

b1 ble.
EL ILIA solely of clay.

* As showing how very similar these Indian processes are to those formerly in use in
some of the richest iron districts of England, the words of Dr. Plot, in his Natural History
of Staffordshire, published in 1686, are interesting. He was writing not long after the first
successful attempts to make iron with pit-coal and the introduction of machinery for
“slitting” and rolling. But speaking of the general improvements in smelting, he says—
* We shall find it very great, if we look back upon the methods of our ancestors, who
made iron in foot-blasts or bloomeries, by men treading the bellows, by which way they could
make but one little lump or bloom of tron in a day, not 100 weight, leaving as much ¿ron in
the slag as they got out."

COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. ' 17

І have said that no flux is added to the mixture of ore and charcoal

The ash ofthe charcoal 080 in these operations. Of course there must
UE IEEE ES be a certain amount of ash in the charcoal, which
in all probability consists principally of carbonate of potash and soda
and a little lime; and this will doubtless act, and act most effectively,
as an.admirable flux, taking up a part of the silica; but the quantity
combined with charcoal istoo small to have any very appreciable effect
on the result in diminishing the loss of iron.

The chemical reactions in the furnaces are simply these. Supposing,
Chief reducing agent 28 is now generally believed by those who are the
carbonic oxide. best authorities on these matters, that carbonic

oxide is the principal agent in reducing the ore, the first result of the
Chemical action in Application of the heat is to promote the union of
the furnace. the oxygen of the air with the carbon of the
charcoal, forming carbonic oxide (Co or C.) The ores used being, as we
have already explained, almost exclusively composed of the peroxide of
iron and silica, the ash of the charcoal, left free by the separation of
the carbon, takes up a proper proportion of the silica of the ore, leaving
still the larger portion. At the same time the peroxide of iron is
resolved into oxygen and the protoxide of iron, the whole of the oxygen
thus set free uniting with the carbonic oxide and formirg carbonic
acid which is driven oft.

A portion of the remaining protoxide of iron is again further resolved
into oxygen and iron, the oxygen, as before, uniting with a further
proportion of carbonic oxide, and passing off in the state of carbonic acid,
and the iron remaining ; while the other portion of the protoxide unites
with the unreduced silica and forms the silicate of the protoxide of iron,
This is the ordinary slag of such furnaces, the silicate of the protoxide
of iron, probably in the form of the tribasic silicate Fe? Si. *

* This is the same as the “tap cinder” of puddling furnaces, which contains no leg

than 55 per cent, of iron,
D

18 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

The accompanying diagram, prepared by Mr. W. F. Blanford, will
exhibit these reactions :—

MM ——— Carbonie Acid
Oxygen of Air ————— ————— Carbonic Oxide Wess
~- [Cor CO,
hs 2— CO, б
Car bon
Charcoal = i
Ash Slag.
Tii А
Silica
| pf | зне
Ore = | Oxygen Ы ae j
1 Protoxide| of Iron.
(Peroxide of Iron ins de E § aie
d s . lron.

The iron thus produced by this first process has never enn thoroughly

Character of iron from 101800. It is brittle, owing chiefly to the impuri-
first melting. ties mixed with it; but these, by the continued
exposure to the direct action of the blast in the open furnace in which
it is cleaned, are either melted or burnt out, and the repeated ham-
merings remove the impurities.

Unfortunately, there have been no analyses of -— products in
TAE this country хашар ly detailed, to enable a
sound opinion to be formed of the real composi-
tion of such slags, or impure metal, as I have spoken of. A rude
analysis of slags resulting from similar processes, operating on very
similar, though not quite so siliceous, ores in Birbhoom, gave to Dr.
Маспатага* 55 per cent. of iron in the slag, with nearly 38 per cent. of
siliceous matter, together with a proportion of lime.

* Two specimens of slag were tested, and the results were :—

= Residue, chiefly

Tron. Lime. siliceous matter.
No. 1, From Sandstone Ore, .. oe o 5545 6:18 38:37
No. 2, , Hematite, se eoe a. e 54:00 8°43 3757

MS. Reports.

COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 19

"This sufficiently shows the main constituents and proves the general
composition to be as I have stated.

Some of the slags resulting from the rude operations of the native
workmen are not however so heavily charged with iron as this; but
few of them contain less than 40 per cent. of iron.

Assuming this, then, as the lowest or minimum percentage, and seeing
that the iron in the ores reduced exists in the state of peroxide, it is
obvious that, unless the ore used contain more than 36 per cent. of iron,
no iron whatever can be obtained by the process adopted, the whole
of the iron going into the slag. * ;

The important question then arises, how are these processes to be

Improvements neces- improved? I have mentioned that the furnaces
saN: now in use are all made of clay, and I have
described the rude system of blast which is employed. It is, I think,
certain that neither could such means produce, nor such materials resist
the effects of, a greatly increased temperature; and yet, if ordinary
fluxes be used, to increase the per-centage of produce, such increased
temperature is absolutely necessary.

The tribasic silicate which now forms the slag is one of the most

Ben onerare easily fusible of the silicates (excepting those of
necessary. the alkalies), while the silicate of lime and alu-
mina, the slag resulting from the English and European smeltings,
requires a very high temperature to render it fluid, and the pure silicate
of lime still higher (of course alumina could readily be added if needful.)

A total change, therefore, of the system adopted must be introduced

тапка offirnaten ёр, before any great improvement in this direc-
therefore required. tion can result.
s

* Remembering that the average of the clay iron-stones, from which nearly all the iron
‘is produced in England, isnot higher than 33 to 34 per cent., some idea may be formed of
the imperfection and extravagance of the native process, . [

20 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

I have shown above, that the ash of the charcoal, which consists
Woođ-ash might Be used mainly of carbonate of potash, acts as an admir-
largely with advantage. able flux so far as it goes, and I believe that much
benefit; would result from the large use of wood-ashes in the native
furnaces. Wood-ashes could in all these jungles be readily and very
economically procured, and I feel little doubt that the free use of these

as a flux would largely increase the return of iron.

When lime or rather limestone is used, as I have stated, the tempera-
ture necessary for the reduction of the resulting silicate is very high,
and at this temperature a certain proportion of the carbon unites with

the iron itself, the result being ^ cast iron,"

Cast iron. Д
while at the lower temperature now employed,
although at the cost of so large a per-centage of
Malleable iron. ‚ р 2 о z :
the iron itself, imperfect malleable iron is pro-

duced by the first, process.

As regards Cuttack, there is no lime-stone known to occur in the
In Cuttack there is at immediate neighbourhood of these rich iron ores,
present no flux known
to exist, except kunkur. excepting the kunkur.
It is not improbable, from some statements of Dr. Voysey, who found

Probably. limestone limestone between this and Nagpur, in some of

may be found.

his latest trips, that this rock may be found at no
very great distance. If required at present, much of the kunkur will
doubtless answer as a flux; but independently of the small quantities

Difficulties in the use i2 Which it is found, and the large areas over

ofthe eae ar: which even these small quantities are distributed,

there is another even more serious objection to its use, from its
extremely variable composition. This would render its employment very
ineffectual, unless means were constantly adopted to ascertain this com-
position and іп. consequence to vary the proportions of it and of the ore
when charging the furnaces, :

COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 21

But may not other and simpler means be adopted for obtaining a
better result from these rich ores? We think
there may, and, with the experience of other
countries to guide in such trials, believe that much might be done to

Other means may be
adopted.

develope the industry of this district.

The introduction of skilled labor and practical experience from
` Skilled labor to bein- Europe or elsewhere is common to all projects
Шеше. which might be started, and may therefore be
assumed. But it is desirable to render this necessity as slight as
possible, At the same time, although there appears from the state-
ments of all observers to be little doubt of the abundance of fuel,
this valuable material must be economised as far as may be
possible.

I think some form of reverberatory furnace will best meet these

БЕЛОК ТЫ conditions, by which, with the least number of
most desirable. skilled hands, and with a small expenditure of
fuel, a considerable yield of good malleable iron may be produced by
the direct process.

fic Ca There are two modifications of reverberatory
furnaces now in use which recommend themselves.

-The first is one originally patented (in America) by Renton in 1851,
for making wrought iron direct from the ore. This process is now being
carried out upon a commercial scale at Cincinnatiin Ohio and at Newark
in New Jersey.

Professor John Wilson described the practical application of this

RI E AAR id patent:in some detail in his account of the several
ре by Professor branches of the iron trade of America, as re-

presented in the Great Exhibition at New York,
and his words may be quoted with advantage. He says :—“ In shape
“the furnace is like the ordinary puddling furnace, at the extremity of
* which a chamber of the following dimensions, 10 feet high by 6 feet

22 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

“broad and 7 inches in depth, is built up in fire-brick, forming in fact a
* kind of large vertical muffle or retort.

“This is entirely surrounded on all sides by the flues or chimney of the
* furnace. When in operation, this muffle or retort is filled with a charge’
* of ore and coal both finely broken, and carefully mixed up together, in
* the proportion of 20 to 25 per cent. of coal to 75 to 80 per cent. of ore.*
“ The heated gases from the furnace playing round it raise the temper-
“ature of its contents sufficiently to induce com-
Mode of working. " $ i
bustion of the carbonaceous matter, which com-
* bustion is carried on slowly at the expense ofthe oxygen ofthe ore.
<“ When the ore is sufficiently deoxidised, it is discharged from the bottom
* of the muffle as required into the welding furnace, where the heat is
“ considerably increased, and the iron is readily worked into balls, and
* thence taken to the hammer in the ordinary way.
“ The iron by this process cannot be said to be puddled, as the ore
“ never really melts, but having first been deoxidised in a close chamber,
“is simply welded together in what the patentee of the process calls his
“ore-welding” furnace. He appears to think that the great merit of
* the process lies in the use of the closed chamber, in which the iron is
“perfectly protected from the wasting effect of the flames and gases of
* the furnace during the process of deoxidation, which would otherwise,
* as they always do, oxidise and slag the ore: the probable reason why all
“ attempts to work the ore in open chambers have failed.
“The temperature at which the deoxidising action is carried on is not
“ sufficiently high to cause the iron to combine
Deoxidation at lower x У 2
temperature ensuring “© either with the carbon of the fuel or with any of
reel ae , “ the impurities, as silica, phosphorus, &c, which
“ are always found in common cast iron.
“The balls were drawn from the furnace for “tilting” every half hour,
* their size depending on the quality and yield of the ores used."
* The muffle referred to by Professor Wilson held a charge of 12 cwt. -

COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 28

A moderately rich hematite, yielding about 35 per cent. of metal, was
being used when Professor Wilson saw the furnaces in operation, and
the balls weighed about 80 tbs. each. The average yield obtained in
the furnaces was stated to be about 45 per cent, and the average
weight of the balls to be about 100 1bs.*

Professor Wilson states that the action of this furnace was excellent
and the production rapid.

B n uiae e The fuel used in America was coal, but there
Gil) used; ipee nieht seems no reason whatever why charcoal should

be less effective if used 1n proper proportions.

The second form of furnace to which I referred above, and for

re-calling my attention to which I am indebted to
Ri, Ache my colleague, Mr. H. F. Blanford, is that known
as Ekman’s, which is used in Sweden for the manufacture of charcoal iron.

The principle is simple. The body of the furnace is of the construc-
tion of an ordinary reverberatory furnace, the bed
of which is shorter than usual. Upon this bed
the ore, mixed with charcoal and a small proportion of flux, is laid

` Construction, &c.

and is here occasionally rubbled. The blast enters at the crown of
the furnace, but is previously passed through about 6 feet of ignited
charcoal or coke. By this means a large quantity of carbonic oxide
(CO.) is formed, and raised to a high temperature. This powerful

reducing gas then passes through the tuyere, and,
енин together with the gases from the furnace, is blown
directly upon the ore, the flame of the furnace being kept highly
reducing by regulating, in the ordinary way, the supply of air below the
bars. By this means a spongy mass of metal containing, mixed with it,
a considerable quantity of slag, is formed upon the hearth. This is
balled and shingled in the ordinary way. l

* Vide Journal of Society of Arts, London, 1853-54—J. Wilsons Lecture on Iron
Manufactures of America, as exemplified in the Exhibition at New York.

24 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

This very simple plan of furnace is extremely effective, its yield is-
large, and its production rapid and equable.

I feel satisfied that the introduction of either of these plans, or some
slight modifications of them, would prove of much greater advantage
than any attempt to establish iron works on the system adopted in
England for the treatment of the ores of that country, which are essen-
tially of a different character from those now referred to.

The question of the amount of fuel is an allimportant one and
worthy of more serious consideration than it has
hitherto received.

Here, as in almost every direction, in questions bearing upon

metallurgical processes in this country, we are

Fuel.

Great want of accurate
andrecordedobservations. met by the serious difficulties arising from the

want of accurate investigations.

In Europe the average yield in charcoal of all the ordinary varieties
of wood, when charred, is well established. In India I am not aware of
a single trustworthy experiment on such subjects.

Experience has proved to the native workmen,

Charcoal of the sal used that for their ordinary processes, the charcoal made
in ordinary by the
wes from the sil (Shorea robusta) is best adapted.
For some special processes other charcoal is preferred, that of bamboos
for instance, of the bhyr, &c., but I am unable to state what the real
or even relative calorifie values of such charcoals are.

But for a rude calculation, we may, 1 presume, estimate that if
made on any thing approaching to sound principles, the charcoal derived
from the harder timbers of this country will be equal to the average
quality of charcoal prepared in Europe from the hard timbers of that
country.

Again, we cannot say what proportion the charcoal obtained bears
to the wood employed. Doubtless, on the system of rapid burning now
in use among the natives, the yield is very small; but this would of

‘COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 95

course be remedied at once, and a few trials ‘carefully and accurately
conducted would soon show the proper rate of combustion to attain the
maximum useful effect.

The relative per-centage of charcoal obtained by quick methods, and by
slow methods of charring, varies with the same timber not less than from
9 to 12 per cent.*

Another question regarding which we really know nothing bearing on

Amount of moisture this country is the amount of moisture, which
absrbediunknown. the charcoal produced from the woods of India will
absorb after manufacture within a given time; and yet this, consi-
dering the very great moisture of the atmosphere in these countries,
is an important consideration.

This, in Europe, has been found to vary, in the same time, from 0:80
per cent. (beech charcoal) to nearly 9 per cent. (fir) and even to 16:30
per cent. (black poplar.) The total quantity taken up in nearly three
months varied from 10 to 12 per cent., and there can be little doubt that
either this quantity would be materially increased, or the time required
for its absorption would be considerably shortened in moist climates.

The amount of ash also, and the composition of that ash in the several

varieties of charcoal, which could be procured in

Amount, composition, 4 А Д 1
&c. of ash of charcoal, any quantity in this country, is unknown. The
WE amount of such ash, where it has been ascertained,
is found to vary from much less than 1 per cent. to about 3:50 ; in some
case even reaching as high as 6 and 8 per cent, but yielding a general
average, ona large number of experiments, of 1°65. As I have above
shown, the composition of the ash, no less than its amount, will exercise
МИЕ X NEU at > С.

* Qak, quickly charred, gave 15°91, slowly charred 2571 per cent.

Beech, › » » 1415 » » 2615 зя
Birch, » » 2 12°20 Е » 24°70 »
Pine, » » » 1375 » » 25:95 »

And the list might be greatly enlarged. See Karsten and Winklers Experiments quoted

in Ronald's and Richardson's Technology, Vol. L, p. 60,
E

26 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

an important influence on the results of any smelting processes —
undertaken.

These are only a few of the questions which bear very materially on
the full and accurate investigation of such subjects, and for the solution’
of which we have as yet no data in this country.*

Any estimate therefore that can be now made, as to the amount

Onlyan approximative Of charcoal required for such manufactures as

DA Ў
qptimate із possible we have contemplated, can only be considered

approximative.
We may assume, I think, that the heating power or calorific
Heating power of char Value of charcoal, is slightly superior to that of
goal the best quality of coke, and from 3 to 5 per cent.
superior to that of good coal. +
We shall be scarcely safe therefore in estimating for a smaller quan-

tity of charcoal per ton of ore used than would be required of coal.

* T confidently hope that as soon as the establishment of the Museum of Practical Geology,
recently sanctioned by the Supreme Government of this country, shall be fairly organised,
we shall be able to remove the doubt which hangs over this and other similar subjects.

+ The following are the results (in brief) of experiments :—

Tbs.

1 16. of Charcoal (average of birch, fir, alder and oak) gave as a mean result

in Ibs. of water raised from 0 to 100 centigrade, - ا‎ -. 72°00
11b. of Charcoal (average of 11 varieties) — ........ دع‎ ex 7090
lib. of ErenchCoal( , , 3 » ЖЕ ЕЕЕ ОСТИ ТЕЛ зо .. 62°80
11b. of Lancashire Coal , 4 ,, 6Boogooo I ex. 6447
11b. of Newcastle d Peu IE dooooódg oae .. 68°88
11b. of Welsh МО EO s з8бососо |" Mocoso OTT. cocoos 73.34
lib. of Coke from Durham Coal 06000860 590998 Hoo) (ea)
Pure carbon yielding — ................. à e OOOO EE E PAST

` The relative pyrometrical heating effects of the different fuels burnt in contact with air may
be thus given in degrees centigrade :—

Wood cpooodac 1575 to 1750
Wood:Charcoal збдгозед 2100 2450
Coal (5 per cent. ash) ED 2200 2350
Coke (5 per cent. ash) = ..... 396 2350 2450
Pure Carbon was v ecne 2458

[Scheeres Metallurgie.

“COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 97

Further, the amount of timber which may fairly
Amountof timber per

oe Pe аз yet unascer- be looked for as the annual supply from a given
area is as yet in this country unknown.

Supposing it to be equal to that of well cared-for forests in Europe
the out-turn per acre may be calculated at about
8 tons of kiln-dried wood* (from 61 to 12 tons.)
If Middel to yield a continuous annual supply, about one-eighth of this
amount may be obtained, or about 1 ton of dry wood per annum.

The yield of charcoal which might be obtained from thoroughly

dried wood, as determined by Mushet, varied from
Yield of charcoal from ° 96.0 per cent. from lignum vitæ to only 16:4 per

wood.
cent. from Scottish pine; the average of his

Probable ayerage.

experiments giving (from 15 varieties of wood) 22-4 per cent. We may
take I think safely the average of the harder varieties and say that the
yield would be nearly 25 per cent., that is, that one acre of land would
yield an annual supply of 0:25 of а ton of charcoal One square -miile
therefore, supposing it to be equally covered with forest, would yield
(640 acres) 160 tons of charcoal. j

As I have said, this estimate can only be taken as rudely approximate.
I believe it to be under the truth; and that, under any fair system
of conservancy and of charcoal-burning, the out-turn would. be
greater.

We may therefore, I think, say 200 tons persquare mile. For the

Probable yield of char. Production of one ton of wrought iron, on the
Pooler eanare, mile; English system, three tons of charcoal will, on
the average, be required. I mean, of course, to reduce it and convert
it into malleable and marketable iron. If the systems I have alluded
to be adopted, less than 2°5 tons will be amply sufficient. In other

‘words, one square mile of forest will yield an annual supply of charcoal

` * The moisture in wood was found by Hartig to vary from 18:6 per cent. in hornbeam
up to 51:8 per cent. in black poplar. (The average of 22 varieties giving 38'7 per cent.)
The produce of an acre therefore is now generally caleulated in kiln-dried wood, to avoid
the uncertainty arising from this great variation in the amount of water in the timber.

928 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE

sufficient for the production of 677 to 80° tons of wrought iron per
annum; ог on the more economical system for the out-turn annually
of say 1,000 tons of bar iron, about 12:5 square miles of forest would
be required, that is to say, an area. included in a square of 3:6 miles
on each side. In other words, for the annual supply of charcoal for
1,000 tons of wrought iron, a circle of 4 miles diameter would suffice.

To increase this produce of course the area of supply should be
proportionally increased. Thus, for the annual production of 10,000
tons of iron, an area of 125 square miles would be necessary, an area
comprised within a circle of about 12:5 miles in diameter. In this case,
supposing the site of the manufacture to be placed near the centre of
the supplying area, the distance from which the fuel would have to be
brought would. be not more than 7 miles. Again, if we take the
extreme limit from which fuel might be carried with profit, as about 10
miles on all sides of the furnace, we shall have a circle of 20 miles in
diameter, which, allowing something for the clearances which must exist,
will give us about 300 square miles, affording charcoal sufficient for
the manufacture of 24,000 tons of iron annually.

These caleulations are necessarily based on the supposition, that the
produce of each acre or square mile of the area will be nearly alike, and
also, that the whole of the estimated area is under forest. "lhere are
few, if any, places in the country, where such conditions will be found
to exist ; and bearing in mind the necessity for open spaces for the works
themselves, the amount of ground which must inevitably be given up to
sites for houses and to ordinary cultivation in the vicinity of such large
works, I think it would be.very unsafe to anticipate that, within a circle
of any given radius, in any desirable locality for such undertakings, there
would be found more than one-half of the entire included area yielding
good forest return: that is, on the same data as are taken above, a circle
of 10 miles radius would yield a supply of fuel annually sufficient for the
production of 12,000 tons of wrought iron ;but even this would repre-

sent about 250 tons per week; and is, in any case, a larger amount

" COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. f 29

than can fairly be looked for from any one establishment for many
years to come.

Tt is, of course, presumed that strict care will be taken to cut the forest
systematically, and to renew its growth steadily and constantly, and it is
here, as before, estimated that with ordinary care sal timber will within
eight’ years have reached a sufficient size to be fit for cutting. Iam
disposed to think this time will be sufficient, but if ten years be requisite,
a proportionate amount must be deducted from the estimated out-turn
of charcoal given above.

There would unavoidably be a considerable waste in all this charcoal,
both from the crushing of the masses in stowage and from their break-
ing up during carriage. This could not be taken as less than 10 to 15
per cent. of the whole. In parts of this country where pine trees
could be readily procured, this dust might perhaps be profitably econo-
mised by adopting some one of the many methods by which the tarry
products of such resinous woods could be saved, and by then mixing
the dust of the charcoal with a certain proportion of this tar, thus
forming an artificial fuel. This is no new process, but is frequently
done, and might, I think, in the event of the establishment of such
works as we have been referring to along the foot of the Himalaya
Range, be. successfully introduced.

It is unnecessary to give here any detailed estimates of the cost of
such works. Their cost will necessarily depend on so many circumstances,
and will vary so materially with the amount of out-turn estimated. for,
that any detailed estimates are only likely to mislead. If one-half of
the highest amount calculated for above be taken as the basis of the
estimate, for the out-turn of.6,000 tons of wrought iron annually (on
the English system of high blast furnaces for production of cast iron,
its subsequent refining, puddling, rolling, &c.), a complete establishment
could not be erected for less than £60,000 to £70,000 spread over
three years. At least one-sixth of this would be in the first instance saved

30 PRELIMINARY NOTICE ON THE COAL AND IRON OF CUTTACK. 4

by the adoption of other systems, and there would be a further saving an-
nually in the cost of labor. For other portions of the process, I think
the cost of working may be not unfairly considered as nearly the same as
it would be in England, the greatly enhanced value of skilled hands in
this country being counterbalanced by the lesser cost of ordinary labor.
Nor would I undertake to give any safe idea of the profit which
would be derived from such a manufacture. This depends on too many
varying facts, ever to be fairly estimated until the exact site of such
works be fixed on, the extent to which they are to be carried, the
distance of the markets, the cost and kind (a most important element)
of carriage, &e. &c. But it may, I think, be safely stated, that there is
no sound reason why iron should not, under proper management and in
а well-selected locality in this district, be manufactured at a cost equal to,
if not less than, that at which it is produced in England. Putting aside
all other considerations, therefore, the cost of freight of English iron,
which may be taken to average about £1 per ton to Calcutta, will be
saved, or will be, in fact, so much additional profit on the manufactured
product, supposing it to command the same price in the market.
In other respects (e.g. the presence of ample and continuous water
power, the comparative proximity to the sea-
ia M ee coast, and to water-carriage and other advantages
which are noticed hereafter) this district seems marked out as one likely
to yield a profitable return for such undertakings.
There are, at the same time, difficulties to be overcome in the
want of labor and in other ways; but these
en would all yield to a little energetic determination,
_ and the climate in many parts is not more unhealthy than in other por-
tions of Bengal.

The occurrence of gold, and the localities where

G 4 . D
ш it is sought for, will be found noticed below.

———

ADDITIONAL Nore.

Pages 17-18. The only published analyses of the iron ores of Cuttack are those
given by Mr. Piddington in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1855, p. 708.
Two varieties, forwarded by Mr. Samuells, were experimented on. One, from Kunkerie,
of * ochrey red iron ore," yielded a per-centage of peroxide of iron equivalent to 46:8
per cent. of metallic iron; the other, from Paleyra, is stated to be a “mixture of the
hydrated carbonate of the protoxide of iron, with a large proportion of earthy matter,”
although, by some typographical error I presume, the details of the analysis do not
show any carbonic acid whatever. It yielded, according to Mr. Piddington, 60:60
per cent. of protoxide of iron, equivalent to 47° per cent. of metallic iron, with some

manganese.

On the Geological Structure and Relations of the Talcheer Coal Field,
in the District of Cuttack. By Messrs. W. T. and Н. Е. BLANFORD
and Ww. THEOBALD, JUN., Geological Survey оў India.

THE portion of country examined during the cold season of 1855-56,
in the district of Cuttack, lies between the Rivers Brahmini and Maha-
nuddi, extending from the Western boundary of the reported Talcheer
Coal Field in East Longitude 84° 20' to a few miles East of Cuttack. Tt
will also be necessary to make a few remarks on the hills of the Nil-
gherry Range to the South-West of Balasore, and on a small tract of
sandstone South of Cuttack and of the Mahanuddi, as being geologically,
as well as physically, closely connected with the district which forms the
main subject of this Report.

The chief physical features of this district may be simply and briefly

асбо described. From the coast a cultivated alluvial
district. plain, varying from 15 to 45 miles in breadth,
extends to the base of the hills forming the district of Cuttack.

From this plain small isolated and steep hills rise in a few places to
the North of Cuttack and, taken in connection with the bosses and
whale-back ridges which stud the surrounding country, present all the
features of an up-raised archipelago, and lead to the belief that, at no very
remote geological period, the sea of the Western portion of the Bay of
Bengal dashed against many a rugged cliff and rolled around clusters of
islands which studded over what is now the Province of Cuttack :
indeed, a comparatively. trifling depression of the country might
re-produce the same phenomena. Upon entering the hills, they are seen
to consist not of long continuous ranges, but generally of insulated and
rugged ridges, seldom more than 10 to 15 miles in length, and having one

uniform direction, nearly due East and West, parallel with the lamination
z

84 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.'

of the gneiss and with the main faults of the district. This is better seen
near the Coast than inland; as to the West of Ungool, the hill-ridges, though
preserving the same general direction, are longer than near Cuttack.

The hills, as well as the low country, are for the most part well wooded
and present few naked bluffs (even among the almost precipitous sand-
stone escapments of the Talcheer field). Their outline, however abrupt,
is always more or less rounded, and it is evident that they owe their
present form principally to marine action. The accompanying Sketch
(Fig. 1) of some small hills North of Cuttack shows their general
character.

Wherever the sandstone of the sedimentary deposits rises into hills, it
presents a totally different aspect : these hills, though generally appearing
flat-topped, being found on ascending them to consist of a series of
sharp steep ridges separated by deep and precipitous valleys, evidently
due to the denuding action of fresh water, of the effects of which, upon
a considerable scale, they afford a fine example. р

The only large rivers of this district аге the Brahmini and the Maha-
N nuddi, both navigable during the rains for boats of

large size and for canoes at most times. None

of the tributaries draining the narrow country between them attain to

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 35

very considerable size. One of the largest is the Tikiria, which drains the
Northern part of the Talcheer basin, and always contains a considerable
quantity of water. In the hills of Rehrakol, where the forests are thick,
all the streams flow permanently ; while the sandy nullahs of the more
level country are dry, excepting after heavy rains. One of these, the
Тепотіа, having a bed in some places of 150 feet wide, is interesting, as
being the stream on whose banks (near the village of Gopalprasad) coal was
said to existin verylarge quantities. Passing Westward the hills preserve
a very similar character, but increase in number and height, until (in
Raun-Hill in the Raj of Rampur) they attain an elevation of 2,200 feet.

The district is but thinly inhabited, and the greater portion of the
more level, and all the rising ground is thickly wooded and covered with
dense jungle. The wooded valleys and water-courses are the favorite
haunts of many wild animals, where even the bright rays of the mid-day
sun can scarcely penetrate the thick shade of their cool retreats. Here
are to be found the bison (Bibos Cavifrons), the hog, bear, tiger,
leopard, hyena, wild dog, &c. the sambur, nylghai, with spotted and
other deer.

The character of the country of necessity materially increases the diffi-
culties of accurate examination. While the dense wooding and thick
luxuriant jungle render it impossible to obtain continuous or satisfactory
sections, the deadly exhalations rising from the deep unventilated valleys
and ravines, which offer a most tempting shade, render the climate
during eight months of the year, most unhealthy and dangerous.

The country generally may be described as a district of metamorphic

ESO! аг rocks, with occasional dykes and veins of igneous

ue origin, and containing basins of sedimentary deposits.

The whole tract of ground around and between the (so-called) Coal Fields,
and also the hills of the district, consist essentially of different varieties
of gneiss, covered in the low coast country, and in the river deltas, by

alluvial deposits.

36 | TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

In proceeding to a more detailed description of the rocks of the
district, the following order will be adopted :—

1st. Igneous rocks.

Order of description of
the rocks of the district.

2nd. Metamorphic ditto.
3rd. Sedimentary deposits.
4th. ^ Rocks of chemico-aqueous origin.

The igneous rocks of the district are limited in extent and importance,

occurring only as small dykes and veins traversing

NUNT the gneiss. These are principally composed of
granite, but occasionally of a rock of dioritic character. The granite
veins vary much in composition, some being nearly pure quartz and
felspar, others again containing felspar of two different kinds (one
being orthoclase felspar of the adularia variety, the other perhaps albite),
also large crystals of mica and quartz. The dykes are very narrow
none exceeding 2 feet in breadth, and the majority being probably
under 4 inches; those of smaller size are very numerous. It appears
strange, considering the general distribution of these granite veins,
and their great number in some localities, that no nucleus, however
small, of igneous rock has been discovered in the district, although
doubtless, judging from the highly granitoid condition of the metamor-
phic rocks in many places, some such nucleus does exist at no very great
depth.

The minerals of the granite within the area described are not numer-

Мег ы ро DUE Тһе intruded rock of most frequent occur-

nite, &c.

rence is a highly felspathic, largely crystallized
variety of granite, sometimes containing crystals of black tourmaline of
large size. This occurs in veins from 1 to 2 feet in thickness; it is seen
in the bed of the River Brahmini, near Kamlong, in a nullah near
the village of Gutiapal and near the village of Ramidi Near the
last-mentioned place a dyke-formed vein of about 18 inches in breadth,

which can be traced for some distance rising above the general

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 37
surface of the ground, contains, in addition to the schorl crystals,*
(sometimes 14 inches in diameter), crystals of apatite, beryl or a
pseudomorph of that mineral, and а transparent yellow mineral, pro-
bably chrysoberyl. The essential minerals of the rock are adularia
felspar, some crystals of which are 6 to 8 inches in length ; quartz ; and
well-crystallized and honey-colored mica. In the bed of a nullah,
which crosses the Ungool and Cuttack road near Rasul, a granite
vein occurs, containing good crystals of zircon much resembling the
Arendal variety ; also a black mineral, probably titaniferous iron:
Pegmatite (probably of recent origin) occurs in the gneiss to the West of
the Coal Field near Ampul, rather in irregular strings than in well-marked
dykes ; but it does not appear in contact with the sedimentary rocks.
No basaltic or other dykes of any kind are found traversing the
No dykes, &с. in the Sedimentary rocks in this district, and the fact
sedimentary deposits: of their total absence is very interesting when
considered in comparison with their abundance in the Coal Fields of the
Ganges basin and the West of India, and the immense prevalence of
trap in Nagpur and further to the West. Apparently the district of
Cuttack lay beyond the area of tertiary volcanic action.
The granite ( the pegmatitic variety perhaps excepted) is unquestionably
of prior date to the sedimentary rocks of the district,
кл although no pebbles of the largely crystallized
varieties have been observed in the coal measures. They however are
of so decomposable a character, and the masses of individual minerals
composing them so large, that, if subjected to denudation and subsequent
attrition, they would probably yield little else than quartz pebbles, such
as do frequently occur in the conglomerates in question. The granite, of
which pebbles are so numerous in the lower beds of the coal measures, is

not the granite of this district, but much more finely crystallized than any

* These crystals of schorl, however, appear to be in this district only exceptional, and
none were found approaching in size those said to occur in the country to the North.

38 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

which here appears in situ, though possibly only a variety of the largely
crystallized schorl granite. Its source is at present undetermined, but may
probably be looked for to the West, in the granitic hills described by
Messrs. Hislop and Hunter as extending over the country East of Nagpur.

It appears probable that the granitic veins

The granite veins, &c,

probably cotemporaneous

with the metamorphism
of the gneiss.

above described are cotemporaneous with the
metamorphism of the gneiss, for the following
reasons : —

First,—Their very largely crystallized character, and the almost com-

First. Fromtheircha. Plete separation of the minerals composing them,

racter and composition. would show that their rate of cooling must have

been very slow, which, considering their small size, rarely, if ever
exceeding 2 feet, can only be accounted for by supposing that the
surrounding mass was in an intensely heated state at the period of their

боол BEC intrusion ; and Second,—The change which has
7

produced а AS RE taken place in the structure of the gneiss, as well

as in its mineral composition, frequently to the distance of some feet
from the walls of the veins, exhibits an amount of what may be called
secondary metamorphism, which a granite vein of 2 or even 3 feet
in thickness could scarcely be expected to produce in a perfectly or
even nearly cooled rock.

Dykes of a hard green rock, apparently consisting principally
of quartz and hornblende, (amphibolite ?) are seen passing through
the gneiss in a N. E. and S. W. direction at various points near the
S. E. boundary of the Talcheer field, especially at Sakuasinga and near
the small village of Ramidi The N. E. Fault, between Benagaria
and Jorasinga, which for a distance of 4 miles forms the boundary
of the coal measures, runs during part of its course along the line of one
of these dykes, as do also the N. E. Faults between Kaliakota and Ramidi.

The rock itself is of greater age than the coal measures, since, although

itcan frequently be traced through the gneiss up to the boundary, it

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 39

never penetrates into the sedimentary deposits. It seems, however, to
have afforded lines of weakness through the gneiss, along which faults have
taken place subsequently to the deposition of the coal measure beds.*
The metamorphic rocks of this district may be defined as consisting of
ИИ different forms of gneiss, micaceous, quartzose,
and hornblendie;t all the forms passing into
each other and each exhibiting many varieties. The most marked
of these, and one which prevails over a very large area, is an almost
pure quartz rock, in which the felspar usually present in gneiss has
entirely disappeared and mica only remains in very small quantity ;
and this is frequently replaced by a taleose mineral We very rarely find
the mica entirely wanting, and even in that case the rock is always
distinctly cleavable, by which it is readily distinguished from ordinary
quartz rock. Another peculiar form is the hornblendic gneiss,
which generally consists essentially of hornblende and quartz, the
former being frequently a highly crystalline variety, approaching in
character to actinolite, and predominating to so great an extent,
that the rock is almost entirely composed of it.
The micaceous gneiss presents every modification, being fine-
grained, coarse-grained, quartzose, &c. &c. Perhaps some such division

as follows might be made of the metamorphic rocks :—

f Hard, coarse, compact, and felspathie, be-
(Var. a.) coming sometimes lithologically a perfect
granite.

(Var. b.) Soft, laminated, quartzose ог micaceous.
ow Mi but sometimes soft, containing garnets

frequently decomposed.

ж This rock also forms a small hill near Deinchi їп Rehrakol, being there garnetiferous.
(A. similar rock occurs at Parisnath.)

1 Hornblendie gneiss, meaning gueiss in which the mica is replaced by hornblende, may
perhaps not be considered as a correct term ; but the ordinary one, hornblende-slate,
would, in the present case, be certainly improper, as the rock is not а slate at all, but
a highly crystalline rock, not even cleavable.

40 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

Hornblendic Gneiss, 1
or Soft and laminated.
Hornblendic Schist. )

Quartz Schist, is frequently in bands, separated by softer
or

Schistose Quartz. micaceous layers.

One variety prevailing in the Eastern part of the district, and
constituting the hills North and North-west of Cuttack, is granular
and quartzose, showing little indication of foliation, except when seen
in the mass, and containing abundantly red spots of peroxide of iron
which replace decomposed garnets.

In the immediate vicinity of granite veins the gneiss is often
extremely micaceous, consisting indeed of little else than black mica,
the laminz of which are invariably parallel to the walls of the vein.
This character never extends for more than a few feet from the cheeks
of the granite vein, and must be regarded as an alteration of the gneiss
produced by the intrusion of the granite.

To the North of the Talcheer Coal Field a highly quartzose gneiss,
with little or no felspar, and but a very small proportion of a pale silvery
mica, occurs. The mica, although so trifling in amount, is nevertheless
disposed in well-marked planes of foliation. The pebbles in the alluvial
conglomerate and gravel which cover the Coal Field chiefly consist of
this rock.

Hornblende Schist occurs in bands generally of no great thickness at
various points to the North of the Talcheer Coal Field, but has been
nowhere observed on the Southern boundary. At the junction of the
Tengria Nullah with the Brahmini, half а mile South of Bijgol in Talcheer,
this rock is seen, bemg there composed of well-defined crystals of acti-
nolite. More compact varieties, with a well-marked foliated structure,
also occur.

A more typical variety of gneiss occurs over a large area to the South

of the Coal Field, and probably is of considerable extent in that direction.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 4l

The gneiss occasionally assumes so closely the appearance of granite,
that were it not for the evident identity in origin of these portions with
that of the more typical gneiss surrounding them, they might almost be
mistaken for a true granite. "This is well seen, among other places, near
the village of Kokodong, on the borders of the Talcheer field, where large
bosses of apparently highly porphyritic gneiss, containing disseminated
garnets and imperfect crystals of adularia felspar, rise above the
general surface of the ground, and distinctly show the effects of exfolia-
tion. Also, in the bed of the Brahmini below Santapara, the same gneiss
appears, weathering into the form of rounded bosses, which scale off at
the surface in the same manner as many granites. Occasionally, the
whole weathers into rounded masses imbedded in soft decomposed gneiss,
presenting much the appearance of a sedimentary boulder bed,
for which indeed it might readily be mistaken, when occurring, as it
frequently does, just at the junction of the gneiss with the coal
measures.

The accompanying Sketches will give some idea of the appearances
presented.

Fig. 2 shows a mass of this rock traversed by a small fault near
Karakprasad, and illustrates the mode of its origin and the different

stages of decomposition, Another good instance of the same action is
G

49 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

seen in the bank of the Brahmini opposite the village of Santapara.
( Fig. 3.)

It is only in the more felspathic varieties of the gneiss that this decom-
position has been observed to any extent, and principally in the
neighbourhood of faults, or on the borders of the coal measures, where
the broken and porous nature of the adjoining rock would allow the free
access of water. The rounded hummocks produced by the weathering
and exfoliation vividly recal the Roches Moutonnees of the glaciers.
Indeed, these rocks occur under circumstances in which we might
expect to see all the results of glacial action simulated, if any other
cause than ice were capable of producing them. А rapid river, carrying
down pebbles of considerable size, its rapidity augmented here and there
by the very bands of rocks over which it sweeps, must surely exercise most
of the powers of those famous debacles to which glacial appearances have
been referred.*

And if, as has been lately asserted] many of the Roches Mou-

tonnees have been produced by exfoliation, we have here a case in which

* Russia and the Ural Mountains, by Sir R. Murchison.
1 A. Schlagintweit on Bavarian Alps, Quar. Jour. Geol. Soc. 1854, p. 346.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 43

additional simulation of glacial action might be expected ; but nothing of
the kind here occurs, there is no scratching whatever apparent, and the
causes of the smooth rounded surfaces appear too evident to be mistaken.
| (ithe great variations in the mineral composition of the metamorphic
rocks appear nearly, if not exactly, to follow or to run parallel with
their planes of foliation, which throughout the district have a general
direction about W. N. W. to E. S. E, dipping at a very high
angle, generally almost vertical. Thus we have the hornblendic
gneiss, stretching along the Northern’ boundary of the Talcheer field
in this direction ; and although not continuous, it has been traced for 25
miles and again reappears; while the highly granitoid gneiss of
Santapara extends similarly along the Southern boundary. The same
cause would appear also to have given a direction to the great faults
of the district, and doubtless affected the general lie of the short hill-
ridges throughout. It is not improbable, that many of these hills
were produced by large faults, since most of those on the immediate
borders of the coal measure beds can be traced to this cause, and the
abrupt character of the hills would seem to point to the same conclusion.
It will be very interesting to follow up similar observations along the
'great lines of metamorphic rocks in Bengal.
The only sedimentary rocks occurring in this District, (with the
exception of “laterite” and some other super-
ои ficial deposits), ате sandstones, conglomerates, and
‘shales in part carbonaceous. These occur, as before mentioned, in two
basins,* which may be called the Talcheer and the Atgurh basins, of
which the former is the larger, and forms more particularly the subject
of the present Report.

* Doubtless, when the country shall be more fully examined, many more will be disco-
vered ; a large one, as announced by Captain Saxton, certainly exists North-west of Sumbul-
pur, and others in Nagpur.

44 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

The smaller or Atgurh basin is in the immediate neighbourhood of
Cuttack and extends for about 20 miles up the -
Mahanuddi to the West of the Station.

The larger or Talcheer basin, which has been more specially examined,
is about 50 miles North-west of Cuttack, and of

considerable size, extending nearly 70 miles from

The Atgurh basin.

Talcheer basin.

East to West, or rather, more nearly South-east to North-west, from the
East of Karakprasad on the Brahmini to beyond Rampur in Rehrakol,
with an average breadth of 15 to 20 miles, or between the parallels
85° 28' and 84° 20’ East Longitude and 20° 50' to 21° 15’ North Lati-
tude. It occupies almost the whole of the tributary Raj of Talcheer
with portions of those of Denkenal, Bamrah, Rampur, Rehrakol, and
the forfeited state of Ungool. Almostthe whole of the Northern boun-
dary, and a large part of the Southern, are formed by great parallel
faults, having in the former case an aggregate down-throw of upwards of
2,000 feet.

The supposed equivalents of these rocks in other parts of India have

о оу dice E been referred by various observers to different
чаша BOSS geological epochs, and most recently by Dr.
Carter and by Messrs. Hislop and Hunter, have been classed together
as one great group, referred to the ooliticage. Some of them are without
doubt contemporaneous with the coal-bearing rocks of the Damoodah
Valley, of Nagpur, &c. the fossils (all of them plants) being identi-
cal. Before enumerating or describing the proposed divisions of these
beds, it should be premised that the sections exposed are by no means
good enough to give satisfactory measurements. The general flatness
of ground over much of the country, the consequent shallowness of the
nullahs, and the great thickness of the alluvial deposits in many of the
valleys, prevent the rocks from being visible, except at intervals, in the
water-courses, which in a country of this character, so thickly wooded

and almost destitute of natural or artificial sections of any other kind,

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 45

afford the only opportunities of examining and judging of the nature
and succession of the rocks.

The banks of the Brahmini, the only large stream passing through
these beds, seldom expose anything but alluvium, especially to the
North of Talcheer. But at the extremities of the field, and parti-
cularly towards the Southern boundary, the lower beds are seen well
exposed, resting undisturbed upon the gneiss.

Tt is from this part of the field principally that the succession
of the beds has been made out and the following division of them
established.

There appear to be three main divisions of the sedimentary rocks,

each resting unconformably on the denuded

Division of the sedi-
mentary rocks three- surface of the one beneath. They may be classed,
a as in the section below, with the names respec-

tively attached.

The thickness of the beds, as given in this section, must be considered
as merely approximative, most of the beds differing much in various
parts of the field owing to denudation as well as to original differences in
deposition, and moreover exact measurements being in most cases
impossible from the nature of the sections.

Section im descending order.

Characters of beds, sub- Estimated thickness
Proposed Names. divisions, &c. in feet.
1. Mahadewa Group 1. Unfossiliferous, quartzose | } :
or grits, conglomerates,
Upper Grit Series. and coarse sandstones,

the conglomerates pre- 100l под

dominating towards the
base of the series. J|

6

46 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

Section in descending order.—(Continued.)

e ET En

Characters of beds, sub- Estimated thickness
Proposed Names. divisions, &с, in feet.
2. Damoodah Group Fossiliferous. е

or ==

Carboniferous Shale Series. |а. Interstratifications of blue
s and black shale, often
very micaceous, iron-| > 1500 or more)
stone, and coarse fel-
spathic sandstone.

b. Carbonaceous shales of Total
Gopalprasad and Tal-| ¢ Morethan 150 ¢ nearly 1800.
cheer, &c. i |

c. Shales and coarse sand-
stones interstratified, lx less than
the latter predominat- f 100 Л
ing chiefly at the base.

3. Talcheer Group But slightly fossiliferous: |
or Е Е
Lower Sandstone Series. |а. Blue nodular shale.
` |b. Fine sandstone. 500 to 600
(“ Tesselated Sandstone. " )

c. Boulder Bed.

According to the estimate here given, the total thickness of all

Probable thickness of the beds might somewhat - exceed 4,000 feet,
the beds much greater. Which is probably much under the truth.

From the unconformity between each series, it is very uncertain,

whether the upper beds of each epoch are in any case seen, or whether

TALCHEER COAL FIELD, 47

they have not been in all cases removed by denudation previously to the
deposition of the overlying strata. Thus each member of the series may
have been, and probably was, originally much thicker than it now appears.

In describing these beds more minutely, it will be found most

Order of description; COnvenient to proceed in order of ascent and to

шг. commence therefore with what have been called the

Talcheer Growp. These beds are seen in the South-east portion of the
field, where they occupy a tract of variable width, extending Westward
about 20 miles from the Brahmini River, and being terminated on the
West, by a fault, which brings the middle or Damoodah Group in
contact with the gneiss. The boundary of these lower beds and the gneiss
is, as may be seen by a reference to the map, very much complicated by
a number of small faults,* which render it very difficult to obtain good
sections or continuous measurements. The lowest bed, which we find
resting on the gneiss, is most generally the “ boulder bed,” which
occasionally assumes the local form of a coarse conglomerate. But
at times this bed is entirely wanting, and the tesselated sandstone rests
immediately on the gneiss. This “ boulder bed” is a peculiar one. It

The boulder bed (з с Consists essentially of boulders of granite and
E) gneiss, those of the former comparatively small
and the latter of much larger size, frequently from 4 to 5 feet in diameter,
imbedded in a matrix, which varies from a coarse sandstone to the
very finest shale. In some places (as е. g. near Purongo) the matrix
is a dark-green silt, without any admixture of sand, but full of boulders
of all sizes. Occasionally it is very fine in grain and sometimes assumes
а shaley structure. A good instance of this, and one in which the

boulder bed is seen resting on the gneiss, is shown in the accompanying

* These may often be fallacious, and the gneiss seen abutting against the beds above the
“boulder bed" may be . merely the top of hard knolls in situ, rising through the boulder
bed, which has spread over an irregular and knolly bottom. (W. T. Jun.)

48 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

Sketch (Fig. 4) of a nullah section near the village of Kandusa on the
Northern boundary of the field.

j Vy
U ПИ
И) В

7 7
727

^ A
РЕ

а i
А ER.
Й hi

Ж
a Кг.
y

The boulder bed is occasionally replaced by a very coarse sand-
stone, which is seen resting on the gneiss in some places, as to the
South-west of Takua on the Tikiria Nullah and to the East of Laija —
in Rehrakol In the latter case, the sandstone bed is probably 20 to 30
feet in thickness, (the section in the bed of. a small water-course being
very imperfect), and above the sandstone the usual boulder bed occurs
of considerable thickness, probably not less than 100 feet and exhibiting
all its typical peculiarities. In the former case (near Takua) the true
boulder bed is absent, but an ordinary conglomerate of quartz or gneiss
pebbles appears to replace it, pebbles being rare in the next beds as
usually seen.

The most usual matrix of this boulder bed is a fine bluish sandy and
rippled shale.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 49

The question naturally, indeed inevitably, suggests itself—How these

The “boulder bed” Enormous blocks of stone, manifestly requiring a
Mos nie great force to abrade and transport them, are
found mixed with a sediment so fine, that in any, except a very sluggish
current, it must have been swept away, and could not have been deposited ?
It seems difficult, in so hot a country, to conceive what yet appears
to be the only probable explanation of this phenomenon, which indicates
that the boulders must have been conveyed hither by some floating
substance and deposited among a very fine sediment which was at the
time in course of deposition by a very sluggish current. It is true
indeed that, in some Mountain Lakes (e. g. that of Geneva), a fine sedi-
ment may be brought in and deposited by one tributary stream, while
boulders of considerable size are being swept down by another; but
besides the extremely local nature of all such deposits, the very
conditions of their deposition would seem to prevent their forming any
one bed like that which we are considering.

Should any evidence hereafter accrue, allowing the inference that’these

Eb Victor beds may have been formed in a lake, on a
high table land, where the winter temperature
was sufficiently low to admit of ice reaching the waters of the lake
without melting, then an adequate explanation of the phenomenon may
be given, asit resembles exactly the effects of the action of ground-ice,
which, enabling boulders to be carried down by a sluggish current, would
undoubtedly produce such an intermixture of large rounded masses
of rock and of fine silt, as is seen in the present case.*

Possibly a more minute examination of the boulders may reveal
groovings and scratchings on their surfaces. The presence of these,
however, on the supposition of ground-ice having been the means of

transport, should not by any means be looked for with certainty, and

* Lyell's Principles, 1858, p. 219, and De la Beche’s Geological Observer, p. 242-3.
H

50 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

their much rounded condition seems quite opposed to the idea of trans-
port by true glaciers.
Indeed we have here no evidence whatever of the action of glaciers,

io diem GÊ cus of the deposit differing greatly from the glacial drift

занае and Permian breccias of England.

It must also be borne in mind that the temperature necessary to
allow of glaciers reaching the sea or a lakeis very much lower than that
at which ground ice might be formed and carried down by rivers. While
the existence of the former is determined by the mean temperature of
the whole year, the latter depends on the lowest temperature of the
winter season, and therefore may readily, and does, occur in countries,*
whose mean temperature is comparatively high. ( W. T. B.)

Immediately over the boulder bed is commonly found what we have

Tesselated sandstone. named the “ tesselated sandstone.”

This is a fine-grained, compact, quartzose sandstone, of a pale yellow
color, characteristic of this part of the series, haying well-marked
stratification, never ferruginous, and rarely, if ever, conglomeritic.
The name given to it, ^ tesselated sandstone,” is indicative of the
tendency which it exhibits, especially when most finely-grained to
weather in a very peculiar and characteristic manner, splitting up into

polygonal fragments of from 2 to 3 inches in diameter, and presentiug

* Thus, in the Northern part of the Black Sea, at the present day, Coast Ice is always
formed in winter, and this too in salt water; the winter temperature there being equivalent
to that of Central Norway, which is only a degree or two South of countries in which
glaciers come down to the sea level; while, on the other hand, the summer tem-
perature is that of Spain, Ап example perhaps more to the purpose is found in Thibet,
where all the conditions, under which such a deposit as -that we are considering
might be produced, exist. The winter temperature of Thibet is as low as that of the
Black Sea, the country lying between the January Isothermals of 23? and 41° Fahrenheit,
while in summer the temperature is equal to that of Sierra Leone, Ceylon and Southern India,
the July Isothermals being between 77° and 81? Fahrenheit. "This country lies only 10° to
15° North of Cuttack.

TALCHEER GOAL FIELD 51

much the appearance of a tesselated pavement. (Fig. 5). Owing to
its almost invariable appearance at the surface of the ground, its presence

is always easily detected.

p^ DE
DRE
MODA RT S ЎА

Like many other beds of the Talcheer basin, from its nearly horizontal
position, it frequently covers a considerable area, although its thickness
never appears to exceed 200 feet. An obliquely measured section in a
nullah near Purongo seems to show that in that place it is about 200
feet; here there are alternations of coarse and shaly sandstones, much
rippled (the ripples indicating a current from the North) and having
occasional thin beds of shale interstratified.

Perhaps the boulder bed (c of Section) might rather be considered as
the lower portion of this sandstone than as a distinct bed, since, though
its peculiarities entitle it to a separate description, it frequently passes
into this tesselated sandstone. Indeed the same may be remarked of

52 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

the whole lower series, which may most justly be viewed as one great
bed, which, as a general rule, is shaly above and sandy beneath, although
in the shaly portions interstratifications of sandstone are not infrequent,
while in the sandstones beds are found so fine as to resemble tripoli. In

Traces of organic re. these occur the organic remains observed in this

wr group, and they consist only of fragments of

stems, too imperfect to allow their affinities to be determined. On the
rippled surface of a thin bed of sandstone alternating with shale
near the village of Purongo, annelide tracks have
been discovered. (РІ. 1. Fig. 1.)

The coarser sandstones frequently contain, in considerable quantity,

Annelide tracks,

small irregular fragments of a blue shale precisely similar to that which
is interbedded with them ; and as there are no indications of any older
sedimentary rock in the district from which these fragments could have
been derived, while their angularity precludes the idea of their having
been derived from any distant source, there appears at first sight a
difficulty in accounting for their appearance, which may perhaps be due
to the following cause.

It may frequently be observed in the larger rivers of this country,
as the Brahmini and Mahanuddi, (which during the rains bring down
large quantities of water with considerable velocity, so that coarse
sand is the only detrital matter deposited in their beds), that when
during the dry season they retire into a much diminished channel,
large pools of water charged with fine sediment are isolated in the
depressions of the bed of the river. These being at rest, gradually
deposit this fine sediment in the form ofa superficial layer of mud,
which, on the evaporation of the water, becomes hardened by the sun
into à kind of shale, in many instances almost undistinguishable from
that of the coal measures above described.

This, moreover, frequently cracks and breaks up into small irregular
fragments, which, upon a sudden influx of water, (е. g. on the occurrence

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 58

of a freshet), would become mixed up and imbedded in a new deposit of
sand, and, when elevated, present exactly the appearance above described.
Periodical alternations in the direction of a current might also produce
similar results. If the deposit of shale were thick, it might resist dis-
turbing action, and after a certain period, during a gradual depression,
a regular alternation of bands of shale and sandstone might be produced,
such as is frequently seen in the beds in question.

The area occupied by this rock in the North of the field is not consi-
derable. It is found at the mouth of the Tikiria, and extends for
about a mile along the small fault which constitutes the Northern
boundary of that patch of the lower beds occurring North-west of Bijgole.
It is covered by shales, which appear along the Southern boundary of
the same patch. Around Konia, on the Tikiria, it is the lowest of the
sedimentary beds which appears, and rests directly on the gneiss,
Thence it continues to the Westward, till it is cut off by the junction
of the small fault just mentioned, with the Konjiri and Boda-
berna fault, near the village of Boinpur. It re-appears to the North
of this, at Dourisai, East of Dereng, continuing to run between the
Dereng and Kerjang faults, with a Westerly dip, till coyered by the
shales North-west of Dereng. A small patch resting on gneiss appears
to the North of the Konjiri and Bodaberna fault just East of Dourisai,
and again, somewhat to the West, a band of it covers the gneiss between
the Konjiri and Dereng faults. From this place, although the gneiss
re-appears at the surface, sandstones always cover a part of the area
between these faults (a distance of about a mile), and the gneiss finally
disappears beneath the sandstone near the village of Porah on the
Tikiria. Thence the latter extends, with a continued Westerly dip, till
covered by shales and upper beds West of Kerjang. The same bed
apparently re-appears to the Westward in the Tikiria valley, near Balham,
in Rehrakol, separated from the main body of the Talcheer field by a
strip of gneiss. It forms a small band running up the valley, but the

54 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

thickness of the alluvium and the denseness of the jungle rendered
the sections few, and the beds could be only superficially examined.
They were apparently cut off by a quartz vein, doubtless on a line of fault
running East and West about two miles South-east of Konchoni-
pur; but as no rock of any kind could be seen up the valley
beyond the fault, owmg to the depth of the alluvium, this is
not quite certain. Near the fault shales were observed. Sandstones
also appear near Laija, Gusirimal, &c., in Rampur, but they are only
slightly developed and very shaly.

Still ascending in the series, these sandstones are succeeded by what:
Sie ibt have been called “blue nodular shales,” consisting

3 a. of Section. of a considerable thickness (probably nearly 400

feet) of bluish, dove-colored and greenish shales, very fine, with occa-
sional sandy beds. These constitute the uppermost beds of the lower

group of sedimentary deposits in the Talcheer field. Sometimes, as in the’
vicinity of the Brahmini, they pass almost into the sandstone below them,
and their upper surface is much denuded, and a totally distinct series
of beds deposited upon them. Their presence is almost always marked
‚Ьу large quantities of small angular fragments of them being found
mixed -with the soil; and the jungles growing upon them, as upon the
lower sandstones, are thin and stunted, affording a means of diseri-
minating between the areas occupied by them and by higher beds.
These shales do not occupy any considerable area. They are found
resting on the lower sandstone near Bijgole, and again West of Dereng
between the Dereng and Kerjang faults, where they dip slightly to the
West, till cut off by the junction of these faults near Porah. About
2 miles West of Kerjang Hill Station, they occur in the Tikiria Nullah;
dipping at very high angles (about 60°) to the Westward, but beyond
this they are covered up by higher beds. ‘They re-appear, as already
mentioned, in Rehrakol, near the villages of Sirdapur, Deinchi, &c.,

where they cover a considerable area. They continue thence along the

Or
©‹

TALCHEER СОАТ, FIELD:

boundary of the field, apparently brought against the gneiss by small
faults, till they are cut off by a fault near Gusirimal, re-appearing again
beyond, but apparently soon again cut off by other faults. The
small dislocations of this part of the boundary are very difficult to
understand, but affect its general course very little.

In a section of the blue shales in the River Brahmini, a short distance
below the village of Serang, and also in the shales South of the fault
between Kamlong and Ningrakota, rounded pebbles or small boulders
of gneiss have been observed. (Fig. 6.)

At first sight, as the pebbles, as here seen, are but few in number,

ШОШ or pebbles oF their occurrence might perhaps be referred to the

gneiss in the shale. same cause to which similar appearances of pebbles

in the chalk formation in England have been attributed, wiz., the
transporting power of tree-roots, &c.

So exceptional a mode of transport does not seem to afford a

Крон аре? satisfactory explanation of such phenomena, and
поетесі, ае. it would appear, in this case, to be entirely set
aside by the total absence, as far as observation showed, of any traces
of wood or carbonaceous matter, which must surely have appeared if
pebbles, to any extent, had been drifted down by tree-roots, &c.

Moreover, when the consideration of this fact (viz. pebbles occurring in

56 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

these shales) is viewed in connection with the occurrence, previously
remarked, of a thick boulder bed with a matrix of fine silt, there seems
to arise a confirmation of the view there suggested, and stronger ground
for assuming the existence, at that time, of the only other, and only
adequate means of transport for pebbles and boulders, in such circum-

Action of floatine or 8101665 as here observed, viz., the agency of ground
о

ground ісе.

ice. This appears the only theory which can satis-
factorily explain all the observed phcenomena.

The absence of organic remains from the beds of this group, so far as
examined, complete as regards animal, and partial as regards vegetable,
remains, is difficult to comprehend, and seems clearly to indicate different
climatal conditions from those now prevailing in a country where every
pool teems with life, molluscous, articulate and vertebrate. "That fresh-
water life was equally prolific in Mesozoic times in colder countries is proved
by the Purbeck beds in England and the Staffan shales in Scotland.

The beds of the middle series, or the Damoodah group, of the sedi-
PR MA mentary rocks of the Talcheer basin, are easily

distinguished from the underlying beds of shale
Ае and sandstone, on which they rest unconformably.
They consist of coarse grey and brown grits, fre-
quently ferruginous, of carbonaceous shales with coal interstratified, and
of red and blue shales and white clays and sandstones. Palæontologi-
Paleontological! oka cally, they are characterized by containing plant
racier remains, chiefly of the genera vertebraria, pecop-
teris, glossopteris and trizygia.

They extend over a large area in the Eastern portion of the field,
where the uppermost or Mahadewa division, which
in the West rises in the form of flat-topped hills,

has been partially or wholly denuded, leaving a broad tract of gently

Extent.

undulating country, extending from the banks of the Brahmini to
beyond the village of Antigura, a distance of nearly 30 miles.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD, 57

They also appear near the village of Patrapara.

The sections which best exhibit the relation of these beds to the
underlying shales of the lower group are seen in a nullah near the village of
Kuyo, in Talcheer. (Fig. 7.) | |

Here a soft incoherent white sandstone, much false-bedded, and forming
the lowest bed of the group, is seen resting on the eroded surface of the
dove-colored shales of the lower group, with but slight unconformity.
Another well shown section, in which the shale presents the appearance
of having been a low bank, against which the white sandstones were
deposited, is seen in a nullah about a mile East of the former. (Fig. 8.)

58 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

Here, as indeed along the whole of the Southern boundary, the
unconformity is but slight, both series of beds having a gentle dip
iowards the North. Over these white sandstones are seen greyish or
light brown felspathic grits, very false-bedded, not containing pebbles or
boulders, They frequently contain large irregular ferruginous concretions,
with a concentric structure, but no traces of fossil remains, either animal
or vegetable. (Fig. 9.)

Tt is impossible to estimate, with even approximate accuracy, the
thickness of these beds, as for the most part they do not exhibit any planes
of bedding, and their mineral character varies but little throughout.
There is a good section seen in the bank of the Brahmini, below the
Rajah’s residence at Talcheer, where they seem to be nearly horizontal ;
but as there is reason to suppose that they are here faulted against the
lower beds, probably this section, from which there should be assigned to
them a thickness of about 100 feet, exposes only a part of the series.

Towards the upper portion, these beds acquire a very shaly character,
and closely resemble the highest beds of the group.

There is a well-marked distinction between them and the beds |

immediately overlying, which nevertheless rest apparently quite conform-
ably upon them.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 59

- This overlying bed (called in the Section the carbonaceous shale
bed of Gopalprasad), although a bed of very small

Carbonaceous shales of . К ЭШ
Gopalprasad,&c.—2 b.of extent, is by far the most interesting in the

WEN field, both geologically and economically.
In it have been collected, with trifling exceptions, all the fossils found
in the Talcheer basim. It is also the only bed
Importance. n
containing coal, though (even in it) not in sufficient
quantity to allow of its being worked. The beds consist essentially
тА, of a very carbonaceous shale, through which
are irregularly interspersed small seams of coal,
varying in thickness from 3 inches to the most attenuated layer; the
shale, however, always predominating to a very great extent. The shale
beds containing the coal (forming on an average one-fourth to one-third of
the entire mass of the bed) are from 1 to 6 feet in thickness, the coal com-
аео ог monly seccurning in lenticular patches running
ес; irregularly between the laminz. They have been
always observed as overlying a clay bed of greater or less thickness.
Beds of ferruginous clay, from 1 to 2 feet or more
dd, in thickness, occur at intervals in the carbonaceous
shales, and one of these immediately overlying a shale bed in the large
nullah West of Gopalprasad has with its associated beds yielded the
DEN M a test majority of the fossil stems, ferns, &c., as already
sess noticed. At Talcheer, besides glossopteris and
pecopteris (both common), some marks resembling seed vessels, and one
possibly the spike of an equisetaceous plant, were found in a sandy shale
overlying the carbonaceous beds. These remains have not yet been
compared and defined, but doubtless many of them are identical with
some of those previously found in the Damoodah and Nagpur Coal
Fields. These carbonaceous shales occur only in three places, viz, at
Patrapara in Ungool on the banks of the Medulea Nullah, at
Localities of these car- Gopalprasad on Tengria Nullah, and on the banks

bonaceous shales, of a small nullah about 13 mile from the Rajah’s

60 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

residence on the Brahmini. In the first-mentioned place, near Patrapara,
the section exposed was the following, in descending order :—-
1 Thickness (q. p.)
Clay (containing Vertebraria,)... ... ... ... 10 to 20 feet.
Carbonaceous Shale,... ... ues doce 077 5
Blue Grey Nodular Shale (Underclay OY Beet! Cees 4 £
Carbonacéous Shale ?

This is all that is visible, the beds being nearly horizontal and covered
by alluvium in the lower part of the valley, while, in its upper part,
higher beds succeed. Probably the carbonaceous shales exist below
this section, the blue nodular clay not appearing to beteng to the lower
beds and being probably an underclay.

In Talcheer the section is somewhat obscure, but appears to be essen-
tially the following. д

Coarse sandstones belonging to the lower bed (2 c. of Section) are seen
in the Brahmini, beneath the Rajah's residence, dipping at very low angles
to W. №. W., i. e., towards the mouth of the nullah in which the coal shales
are seen : for about 400 yards from the junction of this nullah with the
Brahmini no section is exposed, and then carbonaceous shales of no
great thickness appear in the banks, and these dip under sandy and
shaly beds, somewhat micaceous and rich in vegetable impressions.

At Gopalprasad alone does a good section appear of this bed, affording
clear evidence of its position in the series.

The bed there extends for 4 or 5 miles along the Tengria Nullah
above Gopalprasad, and again re-appears for a short distance below, being
probably brought up by a smallfault. Along all the small nullahs to
the West of Gopalprasad, between that village and Kunkerai, which runs
fromthe South into the Tengria, these beds are seen dipping Northwards,
and below them are found the shaly upper beds of the underlying grits.
At Kunkerai the carbonaceous beds are suddenly cut off, whether by a
ault or an overlap it is not very easy to decide from the want of suffi-
cient sections; probably by the latter.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 61

They do not re-appear to the West, as far as has been examined, any-
where except at Patrapara, as already mentioned, where they are seen
only in the deep ravine of the Medulea Nullah, which alone penetrates
to a sufficient depth to reach the strata concealed beneath the thick
alluvial deposit of the Ouli valley.

These shales appear merely for the space of a few feet in the banks
of a nullah at Konkurapal, near Ungool, where they form the summit of
an anticlinal, and both to the North and South dip away beneath a
series of shales and grits sometimes fossiliferous.

There is in these shales abundant carbon to support combustion, as is

ES ales ыу manifested by the beds being found sometimes
carbonaceous. completely burned and cemented on the surface
into a substance resembling furnace clinkers, as is well seen in the
Tengria Nullah, about 400 yards below Gopalprasad. On the Medulea
Nullah, opposite to Patrapara, the shales were seen burning : a large mass
had fallen from the bank of the nullah, and this with the adjacent beds
was on fire. This may have arisen from spontaneous combustion, the
Patrapara coal shale containing large quantities of iron pyrites, aggregated
in small balls about half a line in diameter, and generally much
decomposed. At Gopalprasad and Talcheer this is not the case,
but it is easy to conceive how conflagration may have been caused
in various ways ; among others by jungle fires, especially amongst
loose masses, heaped up by the side of adry nullah. Indeed, it is
probable that in this way alone has combustion arisen. "The greater
part of the shales East of Gopalprasad appears to have undergone
at some former period this process of combustion, so that all their
carbon is removed, and the beds have assumed a white porcellanous
appearance.

The natives attribute this combustion to the fact of a deity having
taken up his abode in the beds, and accordingly expend large quantities
of ght upon them, in honor of the resident.

62 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

Near Patrapara, from the denudation of the whitish sandstones and
a part of the coal, the beds of the upper grit are found resting on the
denuded surface of the coal beds.

Below Gopalprasad the Tengria Nullah runs nearly due North for

Bluish and lilac shales 8010016 miles, and after leaving the carbonaceous

and sandstones, mica- 2
Soc ӨЙ, ДЫЛ, Е shales, sandstones, sandy shales, and bluish and

эое lilac micaceous beds are brought down by small

faults, with downthrows to the North.

These beds, interspersed with beds of felspathic sandstone of greater
or less thickness, continue to be seen, with a Northerly dip, until a
synclinal axis with an East and West strike is reached near the' village
of Bodhpur. Here beds of the upper group (including a conglomerate
of boulders of the tesselated sandstone to be mentioned hereafter) occur,
resting on the shaly strata. "The latter re-appear in the small nullah, near
Horichandapur, with a reversed dip, viz., to the South-west. An anti-
clinal occurs a mile or two South of Boinpur, the axis having apparently
a nearly due East and West strike. Good, though not continuous, sections
are seen in the nullahs passing near Boinpur and Konkurapal, (the
latter called the Ulani Jore), and the lowest beds seen in the latter
appear to be the uppermost of the black shales. Further North, the
shaly beds, dipping at a considerable angle (20° to 25°), disappear under
the upper grits of the field in some places, and in others are faulted
against the lower beds, or the gneiss, by the Konjiri and Bodaberna
fault. The latter case occurs in the Western part of the area covered
by these rocks, near Kerjang, and is also seen West of Mosaniota.

The beds, as seen in the Ulani Jore and Boinpur Nullahs, consist of
interstratifications of blue and lilac shales, frequently micaceous, and
containing abundantly plant remains (fragmentary), with coarse white
speckled sandstones and ferruginous sandstones which exhibit a
concretionary structure, These contain glossopteris, the shales generally

vertebraria.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 63

In the Boinpur Nullah, the following series occurs, commencing from

the South, consequently in ascending order :—

Rock. Angle of Dip. рой of ditto.
Gritty Sandstone, ... ... ... НИЕ NE
Shalesand Ironstones, ... ... 18° о 20°... ... N.30°E
Gritty Sandstone, ... ... ... Dos. ee Do.
Shales dou nuc deal o ouais n. Do.

Gritsand Shales, ... ... ... Dosis x ete Do.
Coarse brown, grey and whitish 1
Sandstones, with black specks,
Ў д? ШӘ ОЯ E.
occasionally conglomeritic or
ferruginmous; e. Nh
Section wanting for about 1,200 feet along the nullah.

Shales containing boulders ie
20°

Gneiss and bands of Iron- N. 40° E,
SONE O OSS ч
Blue Shales, nodular and slightl
Fs ERY. |. ld e tale ERAN DL
micaceous, PR Se sidh
Ironstone and Shale, ... ... Do. СЕГЕЖА Do.

No section seen for 700 feet along the nullah.
f Blue Shale and Sand-
WOVE, sce сос | oe

Nodular Shales and
about 20°... ... N.E.toN.N.E,

Jir too .. . N.30E
Thick |

lL. Ironstones, ...

No section seen for about 300 feet.

Bluish Sandy Shales, ... ... 20° en ees N. E.
Coarse Sandstone (6 feet thick), Do. . ... ... Do.
Sandy Shales and Ironstone,... Do. соо ocd Do.

No section seen for 500 feet.
Sandy Shales; es i. E tee DSto 2. |v N 509 BE
Ditto ditto Me sy plik bly. йл ENIS codes Fed Do.

64 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

Rock. Angle of Dip. Direction of ditto.
Sandstone, shaly below, ox. ЖЕ? се HE
No section for 250 feet ; to these succeed rocks of the Upper Group
Sandstones, ... ... ... ы? „азды;
Coarse Conglomerates, ot i tas? " 2

Then the gneiss is brought up by the Konjiri and Bodaberna fault.

The distances here mentioned, along which no section is seen, are
measured horizontally along the nullah, of course not always coinciding
with the direction of the dip. In one of these beds, there may perhaps
be a repetition of the phenomena of the boulder bed. The total thick-
ness of the series of beds above the carbonaceous shales cannot fall short
of 2,000 feet, for underlying the above section (itself above 1,500 feet) is
a considerable thickness of beds not here mentioned, as they only crop
out at intervals, generally in the form of coarse sandstones not readily
distinguishable from those of the lower part of the series. If these all
rest conformably upon each other, as there seems every reason to
suppose they do, and are not repeated by faults, they must be from 400
to 500 feet in thickness. The rocks termed in the section ironstones
are highly ferruginous sandstones with a concretionary structure.

These beds occupy a considerable area in the North-eastern portion
of the field, which they cover entirely, with the exception of some patches
of the upper grit, but it is impossible to determine the boundaries with
accuracy, owing to the similarity of the sandstones of the two series.

Their Westerly limit is to the Northward the Ouli valley, while
further South they are overlapped by the beds of the “ upper group.”

The junction of the beds of this, the “ upper” or Mahadewa group,

Urrenor Manapewa With the underlying beds, is from the cause cited
GROUP, extremely obscure, except in a few places, where a
difference of mineral character allows an accurate division to be made.

In almost all these cases, great unconformability exists, much more

than marks the junction of the lower and middle groups.

TÀLCHEER COAL FIELD. 65

If, instead of descending the Tengria Nullah from Gopalprasad, we
ascend it, we-find, resting on the carbonaceous shales, beds of a different
series, which, though resembling some of those associated with the
shales, yet differ from them in being much coarser, more conglomeritic,
and more generally ferrugimous ; in the absence of ironstone, and more
especially in the want of any blue and lilac shales and of all organic
remains (except possibly some very indistinct vegetable markings at
the base of the series.)

These are the lower portion of the grits of the upper group of the

Of much later date feld. They are evidently of much later date than
Chega ше Moret I any of those hitherto described, as all the lower
beds had been enormously denuded previously to their deposition,
and very unequally denuded. Thus, in the Tengria Nullah, just men-
tioned, there is observed, towards the West, a total absence of the great
thickness of shales and sandstones,. which only 4 miles further to the
East rest on the carbonaceous shales. Still further West, near Kunkerai,

Geet denudation op greater denudation apparently existed, for near
lower beds, this village these upper grits appear entirely to
overlap the carbonaceous shales and rest on the underlying beds.

The sections hence to Patrapara are seldom good, and are valueless
for the establishment of any point, as the great similarity between these
beds, and those underlying them, renders it impossible to distinguish
the two in the absence of clear and well-marked sections.

_At Patrapara, however, the unconformability of these rocks with
those underlying them is particularly well seen. One side of a nullah
exhibits the carbonaceous shales, with some 10 to 20 feet of clays resting
conformably on them ; while on the other side are seen the upper grits
resting upon their denuded surface.

A clearer evidence could scarcely be desired of the great and very
irregular denudation, which the beds of the lower and middle groups

must have undergone previously to the deposition of the grits ; the
K

66 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

distance between these sections being only the breadth of the nullah,
or about 30 yards.

In the West of the field these upper grits invariably rest on the

Greater denudation in lower measures and generally on the blue shales,
о цо ROM while to the East much less denudation seems to
have taken place, and these beds are found resting apparently conformably
on the upper sandstones and shales of the middle series. This
conformability, however, is doubtless only apparent; and the dip
of beds so coarse and universally false-bedded, as the upper grits, is
of course almost impossible to ascertain with accuracy. Moreover,
according to all appearances, it seems probable that the lower beds, both
at the time of their denudation and of the subsequent deposition of the
upper beds, retained in a great measure their original horizontality,
and over a large portion of the field they still do so; so that a pseudo-
conformability in dip exists between them and the upper beds.

Although there are no well-marked and constant divisions in the
upper series, there appears to be a succession of beds, with slightly
different mineral characters, which are more or less persistent. Thus in
the lower portion, probably at about 200 to 300 feet from the bottom of
the group, there is frequently found a bed of sandstone containing
boulders evidently derived from the “tesselated sandstone" of the
lower group.

This bed is frequently seen at considerable distances from any locality,
where this tesselated sandstone reaches the surface; for instance, on the
Tengria Nullah, both above and below* Gopalprasad; also in the

Patrapara Nullah.

* It is not quite clear from the section, whether these boulders of tesselated sandstone in
the locality below Gopalprasad occur in the lower beds of the upper group, or in the
uppermost beds of the middle group; the point where they occur being just on the East and
West synclinal axis, which passes near the village of Bodhur (see ante). The probability is
that the beds there belong to the middle series, and if so, this is an additional and interesting
proof of unconformability between the middle and lower groups.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD, 67

This bed does not seem to occur in the sections exposed in the
Boinpur and other nullahs.

At a somewhat higher level, but still in the lower part of the group,
a thick and very irregular conglomerate occurs, consisting chiefly of
ı quartz and gneiss pebbles, the former predominating. These vary greatly
in size, from very small pebbles up to those of a foot in diameter, and
are firmly cemented together. In places there would seem to be two
or more of these bands, as near Intosora in Rehrakol, while in other
places the bed seems wanting altogether, as (e. g.) on the extreme West
of the field, where it appears to be replaced by an ordinary pebbly
sandstone. It is evidently a beach deposit, and this satisfactorily
accounts for its partial occurrence. Another feature worthy of remark is
the appearance of red mottled clays, which occur indifferently throughout
the series, but are probably but very irregular in their continuance.

Throughout the Ghora Hills, which are entirely composed of these rocks
of the upper group, many of the rocks have been much altered by the
infiltration of iron, which hasin all probability taken place subsequently to
their upheaval. There is no certain evidence of this, but the infiltration
is proved to have been at least subsequent to their deposition by its very
partial oceurrence and by the manner in which many of the boulders
in the conglomerate have been colored only to a certain depth by the
iron. These upper grits occupy only a very small area East of the Ouli
Тое of the upper valley and appear to have been mainly removed
Epes: by denudation. East of the old Sumbulpur road
they are sometimes let in by synclinals, and they occur along the Konjiri
and Bodaberna Fault in patches, the largest of which forms Konjiri Hill,
with an elevation of probably over 500 feet. The mass of this hill is
composed of sandstone with conglomerate at the top, the pebbles from
which conceal a large portion of the underlying sandstone.

West of this another narrow patch appears South of Dereng village,
and extends along the South side of the Konjiri Fault for 5 or 6 miles,

68 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

its presence being marked by small hills in which the hard conglomerate
appears, while all the surrounding strata have been denuded to a level
surface. Then the middle group abuts against the fault till beyond
Kerjang, when the conglomerate comes in, being perhaps brought down
by a North and South fault, and thence to the Westward only grits and
conglomerates appear. They cover the whole Western half of the
(so-called) Coal Field, with the exception of a few patches, and rise into
ridges of hills of considerable elevation, some perhaps as high as 1,500 feet.
It may be useful here to mention some of the more important faults of
the Northern part of the field, to which allusions

have been made. The principal are :—

Faults.

Ist. The Kerjang Fault, which forms the boundary of the Talcheer
field for about 35 miles, from Dolham in Rehrakol to Takua in Talcheer,
and which passes through Kerjang Hill.

2nd. The Konjiri and Bodaberna Fault, branching from the above
near Kondaigula, West of Kerjang, and running nearly parallel to it for
many miles This has been traced for nearly 28 miles, from Kondaigula
to beyond the Brahmini Both these faults have a downthrow to the
South, together amounting to at least 2,000 feet, and probably to
considerably more.

3rd. The Dereng Fault, having a downthrow to the North, running
between the other two, and of much smaller size ; it appears to branch
from the Kerjang Fault near Porah, and extends to beyond Dereng
where it seems to die out. Its observed course is about 12 miles, the
downthrow probably never more than 200 to 300 feet.

The Atgurh basin near Cuttack appears to be entirely occupied by

grits, but too little time has yet been bestowed
Su dcum upon it for the accurate appreciation of their
relations, rendered difficult of comprehension as they are by dense
impenetrable jungles and deep alluvium. Indeed, inasmuch as in the

Talcheer field all the country occupied by the lower beds is level, while

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 69

in the Atgurh basin all the level country is covered by alluvium, it is not
` at all impossible that in the latter field representatives of the Damoodah
group, &c., may be concealed beneath the alluvial deposit. The hills of
Atgurh, in truth, are like islands in a sea of alluvium, which on every side
separates them from the gneiss and each. other.

In some of these hills, beds have been observed resembling the clays
. at Patrapara, the resemblance being strengthened by the occurrence in
them of imperfect vegetable remains.

The alluvium has been frequently alluded to 1n the preceding pages,

owing to its troublesome and inveterate tendency

Alluvium. А

to conceal the beds and their boundaries. It
consists of a mixture of sand and gravel, frequently ferruginous or
kunkeriferous, sometimes both.

It is of considerable extent and depth. Its greatest observed thickness
in the Ouli valley considerably exceeds 100 feet; and throughout the
area of the upper grits, from the denudation of which it appears to have
been derived, it abounds in all plains and valleys, excepting those
evidently excavated by fresh water, from which 1t is generally absent, and
in which it is never of any great depth. The lower portion of 16 seems
sometimes to pass into laterite, as on the Brahmini.

Since it contains, so far as observed, no fossils, and has been inves-
е аав tigated over a comparatively small area, it is impos-
mined. sible to specify its age. The surface is probably a
fresh-water accumulation, since, during the rains, the greater portion of it
is subjected to inundations from the numerous rivers flowing through
the district; but to what depth this character extends, and whether
at greater depths any change takes place in its mineral character and
composition, are points remaining for future investigation.

Laterite has but little extension in Orissa. It occurs to some extent
round Cuttack, and frequently borders the hills

Rocks of chemico-aque-
„ous origin, Laterite. between that station and Balasore, besides occurring

70 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

in small patches upon the plains. On the Talcheer field it is very spar-
ingly distributed, and never of great thickness, its principal development
being on a slightly rising ground West of the town of .Talcheer, where it
overlies some sandstones of the middle group. Between Bapür and Rasul,
on the Cuttack and Ungool road, the laterite forms low hills, having an
elevation of probably 150 to 200 feet above the sea level, indicating
considerable elevation and depression since its deposition or formation.

With regard to the origin of this laterite, the infiltration of iron from

springs, &c. may serve to explain the greater part
SESS of its occurrence in the Cuttack district. In all
cases it seems to be the result of alteration of the rock below, this
alteration consisting essentially of an addition of iron (the peroxide) It
certainly has not arisen simply by the peroxidation of the iron contained,
because many of the rocks which have been changed into laterite must
have been almost entirely devoid of ferruginous matter. This is especi-
ally the case with the white clay converted into laterite at and near
Midnapur (where the laterite is particularly well seen.)

A very interesting case is seen North of Cuttack. Around the gneiss
hills which have been mentioned as rising suddenly from the alluvial
plain, a quantity of water-worn pebbles are always found, evidently the
remains of an old beach. Although, owing to weathering, these pebbles
have somewhat lost their rounded form and smooth surface, yet their mode
of occurrence and the absence of large angular blocks prove that they
are of beach origin and not merely rolled from the hills. Around some
of the hills, though not all, this pebble bed is cemented by laterite into
a conglomerate. In its depressions, this is covered by a rather sandy
alluvium, and appears to underlie all the paddy-fields. The gneiss, of
which all the pebbles are composed, is slightly ferruginous, but not
at all sufficiently so for these pebbles alone to have supplied the iron
in the laterite. There has evidently been a supply of the metallic

oxide from some extraneous source. Again, near Kunkerai, on the

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. Ў 71

borders of Talcheer and Ungool, in a small nullah, a section of from
8 to 10 feet is exposed, the bottom of which is composed of the ordinary
coarse sandstone of the upper grits, in this case not all ferruginous :
this, towards the surface, becomes broken up into rhomboidal frag-
ments, which towards the top decrease in size by sub-division, pre-
cisely as is so often seen in beds disintegrating near the surface.
These sandstone fragments, in proportion to their decrease in size,
become more and more impregnated with peroxide of iron, the surface
being covered with a brown glaze of the hydrate, while at the same time
they all distinctly exhibit a concretionary structure. These fragments form
in fact the iron ore of this district, and according to an assay made by Mr.
Piddington, contain 66.00 per cent of peroxide of iron. (Cf. Jowrnal of
Asiatic Society Bengal, 1855, p. 708.)

The apparent increase in the proportion of iron contained in the
fragments nearer the surface may simply arise from the iron being
segregated in the undecomposed pieces from the disintegrated mass, and
there may be an equable distribution of iron from the surface to the
point at which disintegration commences. Upon this pomt much light
may be thrown by chemical analysis ; this however can but little affect
the main facts, which establish incontestably a deposition of iron peroxide
in the sandstone from the surface to the depth at which the disinte-
grating action of surface water ceases. Towards the surface the appear-
ance assumes a new phase, and true laterite is found jn small quantities.

In the soil, where all traces of the original sandstone have disappeared,
small nests of peroxide of iron, from 4 to 1 inch in diameter, abound,
and a certain degree of consistence seems to be given by these to the
otherwise friable sandy soil.

When exposed, this soil appears firmly bound together by the hydrate
of the peroxide of iron. То the same source is due the brown glazed
appearance of laterite generally, and probably its increase in hardness

upon exposure to the action of the atmosphere.

72 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

Two points seem to be established by these sections—/irst, that laterite

NUN is dent the alteration of rocks by surface E

second, that the source of the iron is extraneous.*

What that source is, and why the oxide is so partially distributed, it is

impossible to say, with our present limited knowledge of the rock, as
regards its composition and mode of occurrence.

* Kunkur' abounds throughout the alluvium of the district,

От а especially when that deposit is spread over

undulating plains. It does not appear ever to
rise to any considerable height on the hill sides, &c. It occasionally
penetrates the porous beds of the grits, appearing however only to fill up
cracks and interstices. In deep alluvium it does not seem to occur.

Under all circumstances, its segregation or deposition from water
containing carbonate of lime in solution is evident. The lime has been
in the first instance probably derived from the hornblende and felspar of
the metamorphic rocks.

Along the great faults forming the Northern boundary of the Talcheer
basin, there occur at intervals hills formed of a peculiar and hard rock,
at each side of which the sandstones appear altered. At first sight this
has much the appearance of a trap dyke, but a little examination shows
numerous small cavities filled with chalcedonic quartz, and pseudo-
morphs of some tabular mineral, possibly of gypsum or sulphate of
barytes, abound, facts which clearly establish the aqueous origin of the
rock.

On further examination it appears that the central mass is an

enormous quartz vein, containing a breccia of the

Quartz veins.

sandstone in which it occurs, and by the infiltration

of silica into the porous sandstone on its sides a considerable band of

* That is to say, in the Orissa district, and also as far as has been seen near Raneegunge,
in the Burdwan field, and at Midnapur. With regard to the basaltic laterite of Central and
Western India, this does not appear so clear, as basalt, which occurs there, isa highly

ferruginous rock, quite competent to supply iron for laterite by its decomposition.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 73
-hardened rock is produced. When it abuts against the gneiss, this also
is somewhat hardened ; but from its slight porosity, the effect does not
extend so far from the vein, and is necessarily Jess apparent than in the
softer sandstone. Some of the hills composed of this rock cannot
have an elevation of less than 500 feet above the plain in which they
stand, and although very steep, must be of considerable breadth at their
base. Bodaberna hill a trigonometrical station, is entirely composed
of this vein and the hardened sandstone on its sides, and so, in great
measure, is Kerjang hill.

This rock appears on the Bodaberna Fault from Dereng to beyond
Kerjang, and on the Kerjang Fault from Takua to Kondaigula in
Rehrakol.

Tt follows the fault bounding the field on the North-west from Dolham
to Purtabahal, and perhaps further, and again occurs near Konchonipur,
where its relations have not been thoroughly made out. The fault there
is possibly the great Kerjang Fault, thrown back by the fault which
bounds the field on the North-west.

This rock is probably identical with the so-called pseudomorphous
quartz mentioned by Mr. Williams as occurring in the neighborhood

of Hazareebagh.*

In taking a general view of the Talcheer field, we observe that it is

Generalremarksonthe divided, asit were, into two parts by the large valley
1809. of the Ouli; that to the East of this із the area of
the lower divisions, while to the West there is an immense preponderance
General dip of feld of the upper grits. Hence there is throughout the
South-east to North-west. field in general a dip from East to West, or rather
from South east to North-west, compensated by the great faults which
form the North and North-west boundaries, and which intersect in
the xieighborhood of Dolham in Rehrakol.

* Vide Report on the Kymore Mountains, &c., p. 80. It should be remarked that the
quartz veins, mentioned by Mr. Williams, occurred in metamorphic rocks.
L

74 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

There was also a much greater denudation of the lower beds towards

the West before the deposition of the grits, as is

Denudation unequal. А А
evidenced by the lower beds being overlapped by
the upper; but the amount of denudation in the district, since the
deposition of these grits, has been probably greater than during any
previous period.

Scattered all over the Talcheer country, heaps of quartz | pebbles from
the grit conglomerates and of boulders of the grits themselves abound,
while on some of the gneiss hills on the margin of the field similar
evidence of the former spread of these rocks exists. It becomes
therefore desirable to examine what evidence there is of the occurrence
of similar beds in adjoining districts. In the first place we have on the

Lb E ds East, in the vicinity of Cuttack, beds of a
асыш: composition similar to that of the upper grits, and
forming doubtless an outlier of this field.

To the South nothing accurate is known of any rocks not metamorphic ;
but to the West a basin of sedimentary rocks occurs in the Gangpur
Rajah's territory,* and far beyond are the Nagpur beds described by
Messrs. Hislop and Hunter.

To the North again, there is a long break, so far as any but
the vaguest evidence is concerned, but basins of sedimentary strata
are probably dotted over the country. No description however has
been given of any nearer than the Rampur and Upper Damoodah
Coal Fields, partially examined by Mr. Williams in 1848, and still
further to the East the Burdwan or Damoodah field. To the North-
west are the Coal Fields of Palamow, Sirgooja and others, and possibly a
chain of small Coal Fields connecting these with the great field, which is
stated to exist West and North-west of Sumbulpur. But of all these

* Captain Saxton. Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal, Vol. XXIV. р. 186, March 1855
Captain Haughton’s Geology of the South-west Frontier, p. 3.

Т Quarterly Journal Geological Society, Vol. XI. p. 345. Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal,
Vol XXVI. p. 157. à

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 75

nothing is accurately known. For comparison we must therefore have

Fields to be compared; TeCourse to the Nagpur and Damoodah fields, in
Nagpur and Damoodah ^ oth of which we shall find most interesting points
of connexion with the Talcheer district.

The Nagpur beds deserve the earlier notice at our hands, as they
present the greater number of analogies with the strata of Orissa. The
distance in a straight lme from Nagpur to the westernmost edge of the
Talcheer basin is about 330 miles; but according to Messrs. Hislop and
Hunter’s map, outliers extend for some distance to the East of their
field, and these, doubtless, connect the Nagpur with the Gangpur field.

The strata of Nagpur are divided by Mr. Hislop into four groups,

which evidently from his description, though he
ооа does not assert е fact, rest unconformably on each
other; the uppermost bed (especially) a thick ferruginous sandstone,*
being stated to contain angular fragments and boulders of the lower
beds. It will be useful, and probably sufficient, to present parallel sections,
in order to exhibit the homologies of the Nagpur and Orissa strata.
To this have been appended the apparent representatives of the beds
of the Talcheer basin, which are found in the Damoodah field :—

Characters, &c. of the beds of

Names proposed. Orissa. Nagpur (Hislop.) | Damoodah( Williams.)
1. Mahadewa Thick, coarse and} Thick ferruginous| Wanting. (?)
Group. false-bedded sandstones|sandstone of Mahade-
and conglomerates fre-|wa Hills and Nagpur.
quently ferruginous.
Unfossiliferous, ex-
Unfossiliferous. cept some tree stems.

Thickness at least} Thicknessabout 2,500
2,000 feet. feet.

* Mr. Hislop, in his description, does not appear to have sufficiently distinguished this
upper sandstone (of the Mahadewa beds) from the kunkur-yielding alluvium, which seems
to compose his upper series at Nagpur. (Vide Quarterly Journal Geological Society, Vol. П.
p. 369.)

76

Names proposed.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

Characters, be. of the beds of

Ln nn AA EAE d

Orissa,

Nagpur ( Hislop. )

2, Damoodah
Group.

sandstones
micaceous

a. Coarse
and
shales,

0. Bituminous or сат-
boniferous shales.

c. Coarse sandstones
and micaceous
shales.

All fossiliferous.

"Thickness 2,000 to
2,500 feet.

Damoodah( Williams. )

Laminated sandstones, |

sometimes containing
mica.

Blue and red and
bituminous shales,
abounding in vegetable
impressions.

Thickness per esti-
mate about 300 feet,
15 feet given of shales
(argillaceous.)

Coal sandstones and
shales of theRamghur,
Burdwan, &c. districts.

Fossiliferous.

Thickness
2,600 feet.

about

3. Talcheer
Group.

|

a. Bluish and green-
ish shales.

b. Fine sandstone.
(“ Tesselated.")

c. Boulder bed.

Annelide tracks and
obscure plant remains.

Thickness about 500
feet.

Clay shales of vari-
ous colors, generally
red and greenish.

Very slightly fossili-
ferous, contain annelide
tracks.

Estimated thickness
about 80 feet.

In the Burdwan
field wanting. ?

In the Ramghur
field shales of about
1,000 feet and a bould-
er bed.

Thickness in Ram-
ghur 1,000 feet.

It is evident from this, that we have in every thing essential an

Parallelism evidently

great.

Fossils.

Wanting.

Crystalline dolomitic

limestone.

Wanting.

exact parallelism between the

Talcheer fields.
The fossils of the Nagpur field are probably identical with those of

Nagpur and

the Talcheer strata. They contain certainly the

same genera, viz., glossopteris, pecopteris, verte-

"braria, &c.

eroi пег апа The mineral character and the order of super-

order of superposition. ^ yosition in both series are precisely the same.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. vh

And although there is much difference in the thickness of corres-

Difference of thickness DOnding strata, this 15:а matter of comparatively
less important Why? trifling importance, in considering beds which have
been so much denuded. It must, moreover, be borne in mind that the
thicknesses given by Mr. Hislop are only those of the beds as seen in
some particular places, while those here assigned to the Talcheer beds are
the estimated gross thickness of each series in the area.

Of the thickness of his second group, Mr. Hislop professes his ignorance,
mentioning 15 feet only as that of the argillaceous shale immediately
underlying the upper sandstone.*

The limestone is indeed wanting in Orissa ; but it seems very doubtful,
whether it is even approximately of the same age as the overlying
beds, as it is clearly a metamorphosed formation, and, according to
Mr. Hislop, altered by the granite of the plutonic formation on which it
rests.| It is certain that the limestone is of a later date than the
ordinary metamorphic rocks of the district, since it rests on their denuded
surface, but it may well have become altered by some of the subsequent
outbursts of greenstone, pegmatite, &c., and still be much older than the
sandstones and shales which are unaltered. It is indeed stated by Mr.
Hislop that the sandstone of Sitabaldi Hill, near Nagpur, is meta-
morphosed to a considerable extent, though he does not mention any
cause, which in this case is probably the trap of the hill.t

We thus appear to have strong reasons for believing that these same

beds, described by Mr. Hislop, formerly extended with but slight alteration

* Mr. Hislop, in his later paper on the Umret coal, estimates the beds (of the middle and
lower groups) at 300 feet and 80 feet respectively, and states that the latter are much sunken
tothe Hast. (Quarterly Journal Geological Society, Vol- ХІ. p. 560.)

+ May this be a granitoid gneiss?

X If, as seems highly probable, the relations of the metamorphic rocks of Nagpur with the
shales, sandstones, &c. of the district be the same as in Orissa, probably Mr. Hislop errs in
attributing the disturbances observed to the plutonic intrusions in the district (excluding
trap.) If, as in Orissa, all these intrusions of pegmatite and greenstone, &c. were prior to
the deposition of the sandstones and shales, the disturbances must of course, as in Orissa, be

due to subsequent upheaval, faulting and denudation.

78 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

in character for from 400 to 500 miles to the East of Nagpur; their
extension to the West in the Nerbudda valley having been long known.

Further let us consider the relations of the Orissa strata with those
of the Damoodah valley, as described by Mr. Williams.

And here, too, some most interesting connexions may be discovered,
although it does not appear certain that any representatives of the upper
grits are seen in the Damoodah Coal Fields. It is evident that the
middle group is there far more developed than in Orissa, and there are
unquestionable representatives of the lower beds of Talcheer.

Mr. Williams has arranged the strata of the Damoodah or Burdwan Coal
Field in three divisions, without very clearly specifying on what grounds,
but apparently from some supposed relations to the upper and lower
measures, and the millstone grit of the South Wales field. At the bottom

of his lowest division, he gives the following section *:—

No. of Bed. | Mineral Character. | Thickness.
` Feet. Inches.
139 A bed of inferior coal 15 0
140 A grey argillaceous shale 26 0
White and light, grey sandstone conglo-
141 merate, containing boulders of white 325 0
quartz of 12 inches in diameter
142 Greenish-grey argillaceous shale, alternating 200 0
with thin beds of sandstone
Greenish-grey argillaceous shale, containing
um | large concretions of limestone. } 153 9

From want of more exact knowledge of these two lowest beds, it is
impossible to say whether they are the true representatives of the lower
shales, sandstones, бе. of the Talcheer field ; but as they agree with them
in position and mineral character, it is at least highly probable that they
are the same beds.

* Vide Geological Report on the Damoodah valley, by D. H. Williams, Esq., pp. 73 and 74.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 79

But in the Ramghur Coal Field of the Upper Damoodah, the position
of which is somewhat nearer to Orissa, we find much greater similarity
of mineral character in the lower beds (all the strata being unfossili-
ferous no better ground of comparison can be expected), as Mr. Williams
expressly mentions a boulder bed, the description and position of which
are precisely similar to those of the corresponding bed in the Talcheer
basin.* " {

Mr. Williams says :—* The lowest beds of this (Bohcaroh) field are to
* be seen in the bed of the Boodu Nullah, on the South side of the village
“of Jarbah; they are thick conglomeritic accumulations from the
“ crystalline rocks. These beds of conglomerate differ essentially from
“anything before seen associated with the carboniferous rocks, being
“composed of enormous boulders of granite, some of which measure
“ from 3 to 10 feet in diameter: these are also intermixed with large
“boulders of white quartz, chlorite rock, hornblende, and mica schist.
** * * These conglomerates alternate with (? underlie) greenish-

“© grey beds of shales and thin beds of fine-grained sandstones, and have
“a developed thickness of 900 to 1,000 feet under the lowest known
“ beds of coal.”

Again, speaking of the Ramghur Coal Field, he says :—The lowest
beds are well exposed “on the surface near the village of Poonoo, and are
* principally constituted of rounded boulders of white quartz, gneiss,
* and other members of the crystalline formation. This conglomerate
“is, in fact, perfectly identical with that great boulder conglomerate
* observed 20 miles to the Westward, near the village of Indrajarbah
* (Jarbah of preceding extract) The boulder conglomerate has been
* observed to underlay the three Coal Fields posited in the zillah of
* Ramghur, and evidently appears to be the lowest member of the coal
* strata in India with which we are acquainted."

* Geological Report on the Kymore Mountains and Ramghur Coal Field, by D. H.
Williams, Esq., pp. 25, 26, 39 & 40.

80 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

These extracts seem to establish the existence of a boulder bed in
Ramghur, about 200 miles due North from Talcheer, associated with
strata exactly resembling those of the lower (* Taleheer") beds of the
Orissa fields.

But the homologies of the beds do not end here. A few sentences
after the above extract we read :— :

“The conglomerate developed near the village of Poonoo is nearly
* horizontal, but to the South of the village it dips to the Е. of S. at angles
* varying from 8? to 14^, and before reaching the banks of the Damoodah
* River, the coal-bearing pudding-stones, sandstones and shales come
“in and extend along both margins of the above-named stream.”

Here it will be remarked that there is no mention of the “ greenish-
grey shales and thin beds of fine-grained sandstone," said, with the
conglomerate, to attain a thickness of 900 to 1,000 feet in the Bohcahroh
Coal Field, and the inference that must be drawn is that they are absent
in the Ramghur field, as otherwise Mr. W. would in all probability
have mentioned them as another proof of the same deposit underlying
all the field. On the Upper Damoodah field therefore, as in Orissa,
it is probable that there is wnconformability between the representatives
of the Damoodah and Talcheer groups.

From the evidence, then, which is thus presented, there can be little
doubt of the parallelism of the lower beds of Damoodah and Talcheer.

When the organic remains of the middle group at Talcheer shall have

been examined carefully, and compared with those of the Damoodah or
— Burdwan field, their identity will probably establish the relations of
these beds. As regards mineral character, it seems not at all impossible
that the bed marked 141 of Mr. Williams's Section (v. ante) of the
lowermost coal measures of that field, described as “white and light
*grey sandstone conglomerate, containing boulders of white quartz 12
“inches in diameter," with a thickness of 325 feet, may correspond to
the bed marked (¢.) of the middle group of the Talcheer field.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 81

A few words as to the much questioned age of these coal-bearing

strata (the middle, Damoodah, group of the Orissa

Age of the beds of ; )
the MiddleorDamoodah. district) may be useful. Their supposed equivalents
MER have, by Dr. Carter and Messrs. Hunter and Hislop,
been included in one great group, which they refer to the Oolitic period.

It will be remembered that the three groups established in the district
under consideration (Talcheer) correspond in a remarkable degree to the
groups at Nagpur, as described by Messrs. Hislop and Hunter (Nos. 1
and 2 of comparative table, p. 75.) But between these beds they find and
describe others which they call the “Mangali shales.” These are
fossiliferous, but “contain scarcely any organic remains common to the
* inferior layers about Nagpur.”

Now there is strong evidence, although not absolute certainty, that
these Mangali shales are not older than the “argillaceous sandstone"
which Mr. Hislop has shown to be the equivalent of the coal-bearing
rocks (Damoodah group) of Bengal. They are found immediately under-
lying the upper beds, and in geographical position between points where
these upper beds rest unconformably upon the * argillaceous sandstone."

The great unconformity between the middle and upper group (Damoo-
dah and Mahadewa beds) indicates very clearly a considerable lapse of time,
so far as the Talcheer district is concerned. During this time it is possible
that the Mangali shales were deposited, either locally or perhaps more gene-
rally, in which latter case they may well have been removed bythe extreme
denudation which has evidently been in active operation in the district.

If then this speculation be admitted (nothing less than a detailed
examination in the field can establish or disprove it) and the
Mangali shales be supposed to afford the representative of the time
indicated by the great break in the continuity of the series in Talcheer,
the remarkable distinctness of the fossil contents of these shales becomes
of most important significance. We have already quoted Mr. Hislop's
statement, that in few respects do these organic remains agree with

those from the “argillaceous sandstone” and other beds. But they differ
M

82 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

further in this, that from these Mangali shales have been procured the
only animal remains hitherto obtained in the district (with the exception
of some minute estheria ог posidonomya ?) And these organic remains
have fortunately been in a sufficiently good state of preservation to admit
of their careful examination and description. The most important of
these was the cranium of a reptilian animal, which has been described
and figured by Professor Owen,* and which he has referred to the
remarkable labyrinthodontoid group of Batrachians.

This group was for a long time referred by geologists to the Triassic
epoch, of which it was even considered characteristic. But more recent
research, and the advance of more accurate classification, has shown
that the strata from which the labyrinthodont remains in England
have been obtained are truly Permian and belong therefore to the great
Paleozoic group of formations. If, therefore, the homologies of this
higher group of animals are to carry their full weight of evidence, and
to be admitted as against the more imperfect testimony of vegetable
remains, the Mangali shales would appear to be referable rather to the
Permian epoch than any other. And, a fortiori, the plant-bearing beds
of Nagpur and their representatives in the Talcheer and the Damoodah
and other Bengal fields must be considered as certainly not more recent
than the same epoch (the Permian.)

The lower sandstones, shales and boulder bed (of the Talcheer group
No. 3) must of course be of greater age; and, if the glacial hypo-
thesis, before suggested, be adopted, must have been deposited under
conditions widely differing from those existing at the time of formation
of any of the overlying beds.

Again, the Mahadewa group, iron banded sandstones, &c., are, as

evidently, much more recent; but the absence of fossils and of any

* Quarterly Journal Geological Society, London, Vol. 1854, p. 473; 1855, p. 37.

t Reports of British Association, 1849, p. 56. Ramsay on Permian Breccias, Quarterly
Journal Geological Society, 1855, p. 198.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 83

newer beds (excepting recent fresh-water deposits) overlying them
renders their precise age indeterminate.
In concluding this Report, it will be well briefly to mention a few of

Resumè. General con. the most important general facts regarding the

Я mt ` а а . S
gons district which have been arrived at :—

lst. The oldest rocks of the Cuttack district are gneiss and the

Oldest rocks of dis. accompanying largely crystalline granite ; the
pass &. metamorphism of the former being probably coeval
with the intrusion of the latter.

2nd. The sedimentary rocks of the district are composed of

Three groups of the three groups, each resting unconformably on that
шегу rocks, beneath it, and these are evidently parallel with
groups observed elsewhere, viz., in Nagpur and Damoodah.

3rd. The Talcheer basin, and most probably that of Atgurh also,

Not otiginal basins of 21 not original basins of deposition, but are the

deposition. Р о
En remnants of a large area of sedimentary deposits

subsequently denuded, and leaving these isolated patches 1n some measure
preserved by being let down by faults among the harder crystalline
rocks, Most of the fields examined are found to be bounded by faults
along a great portion of their peripheries.
Ath. The trap dykes, &c., so conspicuous a feature in the coal fields
of the Rajmahal, Damoodah, and Nerbudda
E АЫ districts, and playing so important a part in the
Geology of Central and Western India, are entirely absent in the
Cuttack district; not even any trap pebbles or boulders having been
found in the alluvial deposits. Hence it is inferred that the district was
beyond the area of volcanic action at the time of these intrusions.
5th. Considerable marine denudation, in recent as well as more
ancient periods, is evidenced by the rounded form
E of the hills, while a recent very gradual elevation
is indicated by the gradually decreasing height of the hills towards the

Coast, and the broad plain stretching to the base of the hills.

84 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

A careful examination of this plain would doubtless be most interesting,
and would well reward the attentive observer by the information which
it must yield.

With regard to nomenclature, the names applied in this Report have
been adopted on the principle so frequent in forming the Geological
Vocabulary, viz. that of naming beds after the localities where they
have been first discovered and most accurately described, or where they
are best developed.

Hence the names * Mahadewa," * Damoodah" and “ Talcheer" groups.
Mr. Carter, indeed, in an admirable paper on the Geology of India,
some time since proposed the names Punna sandstone and Kuttra shales,
for the supposed equivalents of these groups; butitis far from certain.
that the Punna sandstone is the equivalent of the Mahadewa and
Rehrakol beds. Indeed, recent researches tend to prove the contrary ; and
the Kuttra shales are not only of equally doubtful relations, but embrace
an heterogeneous mixture of beds of different ages.

Perhaps the best known development of the upper beds is in the
Mahadewa* hills, to the North-west of Nagpur, as described by
Messrs. Hislop and Hunter, therefore that name has been adopted.
The greatest development of coal-bearing strata of India yet examined
is in the well-known Damoodah* field, and this, moreover, was the first
described with any accuracy ; while it seems that now, for the first time,
has the lower group been clearly distinguished from the overlying strata.
Hence, from the district, the name “ Talcheer group" is given to it.

It should be remarked that, throughout this paper, the term
* Laterite" is employed solely in a lithological sense, implying a
peculiar porous ferruginous rock of apparently concretionary structure,
and similar to that well known as occurring in the vicinity of Midna-

pur. lt has no reference to geological position, inasmuch as it is

* These names, Mahadewa and Damoodah, have been both already proposed by Mr.
Oldham.

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 85

still undetermined whether the rock in question be not of various ages

in different localities.

In the foregoing remarks the occurrence of ores of iron in the district
has been only incidentally noticed, but a few more detailed observations,
may be useful on a matter of so much importance ; the manufacture of iron
being carried on to some extent in part of the area under consideration.

The iron of the Talcheer field, though very similar throughout in its

Sources of iron in the Mineralogical character, occurs under different
саге conditions, of which three may be particularized :—

ls. Red argillaceous peroxide, changing into the brown hydrated
peroxide, and containing a variable amount of siliceous sand.

2nd. Fine sandstones and shales, much impregnated with iron, of
variable quality.

3rd. The coarser sandstones of the upper group, in which (but more
abundantly in the conglomeritic alluvium which contains fragments of
them) the ore is plentifully distributed in the form of flattish irregular
concretions, sometimes as large as a man’s head.

This last, already alluded to, is the chief source of iron in the district.
These concretions are generally tolerably free from siliceous admixture. They
are formed of innumerable thin coatings of the argillaceous oxide, generally
arranged round a central core of similar nature ; but very fine and rich.

Whence the very large amount of iron was derived, it is very difficult
to say.

The manner in which the ore is obtained is simple enough, but the
labor expended is so very disproportionate to the amount produced, that
it would be impossible, without having recourse to a more scientific and
economical system, to meet any increased demand.

At present the ore is procured by digging small pits and trenches

ede of obtaining the in the surface gravel, and picking one by one from

ores the pieces thrown out. Those judged sufficiently

rich are transported in wicker carts to the village, often a distance of

86 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

some miles; and even of these but a small portion comparatively passes
into the furnace, as on breaking up the pieces a large amount is thrown
away on account of its poorness.

The country, as noticed above, abounds in timber; but the present

E method of using it, for the preparation of charcoal,
is absurd and ruinous in the extreme.

For this purpose, after cutting down their trees (generally selecting
the sal (Shorea robusta) probably as affording most conveniently logs
of a suitable size), the natives loosely build up a large pile of logs of
small size, to which, without any further precautions, they set fire, and
allow it to burn freely, all the better pleased if a wind be blowing, as
then the cremation proceeds more rapidly. When the pile is consi-
derably diminished, water is thrown on it, and what remains as charcoal is
collected for use. The trunk is allowed to take fire, or is set on fire
where it fell, as the people are either too lazy or too ignorant to break
it up; and indeed they have no axes fitted for such work; their ordi-
nary axes being wretched tools, not three fingers broad, and sometimes
not a pound in weight.

The furnaces at present in use, and the processes of smelting, &c.,

Eee раш offer no peculiar features, and present but little
ae variation from those adopted in other parts of
India, and therefore need not be dwelt upon. In a few places, it appears,
the ore is roasted previously to smelting, the object probably being to
render it more friable and perhaps facilitate the separation of the more
siliceous particles.

The most promising portion of the field, with regard to the supply of

iron, &c., is along the North margin. The large
Wo E villages of Hondapa and Rampur may be looked
оп as marking East and West limits, within which the ore is most abun-
dant, although neither of them is situated on the iron-bearing sandstone.

The manufacture is carried on in the vicinity of the villages of
Gurjng, Ampal, East Kotasingha, Райта], Susab, Такара, Ramgamat,

TALCHEER COAL FIELD. 87

&c. бс. Of these the last mentioned is one of the most favorably situ-
ated, being built in a locality where an exhaustless supply of ore may
be had within a few hundred yards; though, as has been already
implied, it is not usual to quarry or work the rock in situ.

As may be seen, by reference to the map, the villages are but sparsely

Somali, oa ube Ge scattered. They are also of small size, many not
EEE containing twenty houses and some not a dozen.
Therefore, as will be supposed, there is some difficulty in procuring a

sufficient supply of labor.

. Such are the present circumstances of the iron manufacture
as carried on in this district, and certainly, from the enormous waste
of fuel the wretchedly defective manipulation, the very inadequate
furnaces: employed, &с. &c., the results presented, are—in an ecomonic
point of view—about as unsatisfactory as could well be imagined.

They are such as to preclude any sanguine expectation of self
improvement on the part of the natives, who, after long experience,
still follow methods so pernicious, and to destroy all reasonable hope
of any material increase in the return of metal, without a thorough
reform ofthe present most wasteful and unproductive sytem of workmg.

Some of the means, whereby the processes of the manufacture might
be improved, and the resulting produce increased and made available,
have been already considered, and our researches on these points, with
especial reference to this district, have been referred to in the previous
notice of “The Coal and Iron of Cuttack” by Mr. Oldham. It is unne-
cessary, therefore, to discuss these questions here.

There are great difficulties to be overcome, as before mentioned,

from the scarcity of labor and the great
NES deficiency of mechanical skill on the part of the
natives of the country. But there are many counterbalancing advanta-

Encouraging consider- 969 Which might stimulate to the endeavor; and

5 among the principal are, the abundant, almost

exhaustless, supply of fuel and water, the form of occurrence of a great

88 TALCHEER COAL FIELD.

portion of the ore, viz. as concretions readily separated by a blow. of
the hammer from the surrounding matrix, requiring, therefore, com-
paratively little expense to be incurred in picking the ore, and its mode
of arrangement, spread over the country in nearly horizontal beds,
intersected by streams.

From these advantageous circumstances, it seems clear, that the ore
might be delivered at much less cost than the clay ironstone of
the Damoodah valley. And we may indulge a hope, that at some not
far distant period, we may, under an improved system, see the skilful and
productive manufacture of iron (at once the means and the evidence of
civilization) effectively carried on in this part of the Talcheer district.

Gold is occasionally washed in the Tikiria River, and was also a few

years since obtained from the sands of the Ouli,
PRO The latter case is rather interesting, since the loca-
lities are in a sandstone country, through which the Ouli mainly flows.
It is said by the natives that the metal is only found after very heavy
rains, and the quantity collected must be very small.

The method employed is to wash the sand of the river in an oblong
wooden dish, about 27 inches long and 12 broad (14 x 2 cubit), or
occasionally on the surface of a large stone hollowed to the same shape
asthe dish. In either case, a small depression is made about the centre,
in which the gold is collected.

On the upper course of the Brahmini River, in the Pal Lahara
especially, gold is said to be worked to a considerable extent, but time
. did not allow of these washings being visited.

Diamonds are procured from the sands of the Mahanuddi River,
which adjoins the district described on the South,

Diamonds. . i i
iamonds but we believe only rarely, and in no quantity.

Nore.

Page 83. The evidence in favor of a (geologically) recent very gradual eleva-
tion of the Coast, in the District of Cuttack, has been alluded to above. But this
evidence is by no means limited to this district, and the same reasoning is confirmed
by more extended researches along the entire shore of the Peninsula. In many
places, the occurrence of marine shells, of existing species, in great plenty, at consi-
derable distances from the present sea shore, renders this evidence more obvious
and more conclusive. During a recent visit to Madras, I had an opportunity of
seeing some of these and, by the kindness of Dr. Balfour and of Dr. Hunter, of
procuring a tolerable series of such shells which are of great interest. All of those
which occur in the surface deposits, although at some distance from the shore and
quite beyond the reach of the sea at present, appear to be of species now existing,
and known to occur in the living state in the vicinity. But under the surface sands
and clays, at irregular depths according to locality, there occurs a bed of dark-blueish
clay or silt, which contains numerous shells, often partially decomposed, and among
these there are more than one species not now known to occur on the Madras Coast,
although still existing in the present seas. The most remarkable of these is the
Placuna placenta, of which specimens are abundant, but which is not now found
on that part of the shore of the Bay of Bengal.

Detailed examination of these deposits, and of the remarkable shelly sandstones,
extending for many miles along the Coast near the Southern extremity of the
Peninsula, will doubtless add much to our present knowledge on these points, and
will, in all probability, enable us to decide, not only the fact of the elevation of these
shores in modern times, but also the character of that elevation, its relative amount
in various localities, and the extent of area over which it has occurred.

RIO:

Note on recent investigations regarding the extent and value of the
auriferous deposits of Assam, being abstracts of Reports by CAPTAIN
E. T. DALTON and LrEUT.-CoLoNEL S. Е. Hannay, dated Octo-
ber 1855.

THE results of previous researches by Captain Dalton and Colonel
Hannay have been already made public (Journal of Asiatic Society of
Bengal, Vol. VII. page 625 and Vol. XXII. page 511.) The same
gentlemen were therefore requested by Government, during 1855, to
undertake a further examination of the auriferous deposits of Upper
Assam, and were supplied with ample funds for carrying out their
investigations. They submitted, through Colonel Jenkins, Commissioner
for Assam, the report of their proceedings, in October 1855, a brief
summary of which is here given.

They proceeded from Suddya, up the Brahmapootra, to the bend of
the river, a few miles above the gorge of Brahmakoond ; but finding that
the deposits became less and less rich as they penetrated farther into the
hills, they returned to Parghat, 8 miles below the Brahmakoond. Here
the river debouches from the mountains, after cutting through an enor-
mous deposit of earth and boulders, to the depth of 150 feet.

This is, in all probability, an ancient deposit of the river itself It
appears to extend some distance into the hills ; and to the South of the
Brahmakoond forms a series of terraces, indicating the various levels at
which the river has successively flowed in past times.

It was remarked, that the gold which was obtained above Parghat
contained a certain proportion of small dendritic fragments and cubical
crystals, whereas below that point the whole of the metal was found
in the form of flattened spangles (* pepites"), a circumstance evidently

due to the attrition it had undergone in its downward course.

ASSAM GOLD. 91

The authors were unable to trace the original rock containing the
gold im situ. Various kinds of granite, in the form of boulders, accompanied.
by gneiss and greenstone, occurred at the Brahmakoond. Felspathic rocks
and slates are in situ. The granite and gneiss boulders frequently
contain pyrites, and are accompanied by magnetic iron sand in large
quantity. Much quartz, consisting of pure white quartz, (vein-quartz ?)
ferruginous quartz, and cellular quartz was also found.

` The spots selected by the native gold-washers are those salient
angles or reaches of the river, where the alluvial deposits, cut away by
the stream from the opposite bank, are partially re-deposited, after having
undergone the sifting action of the current. The highest point in the river,
at which the natives work, is Dora-Mookh, a few miles below Parghat.

At a point 4 miles up the Dora stream, where it issues from the
hills, a thick deposit of pure Kaolin was found resting on white quartz,
and probably brought down and deposited by the river, It is termed
by the natives rookmani-pitha.

At Gooroo Mora, 18 miles below the Brahmakoond, the yield of gold,
from 70 maunds (24 tons) of gravel, washed in a Californian cradle,
worked by four men, was 30 grains, valued at 2 Rupees 8 annas. In the
native trough (or Dooruni), worked by three men, the yield from 25
maunds (18 cwt.) of gravel, washed in one day, was about 12 grains,
worth one Rupee. This was not considered by the natives as a good
yield, and they stated that, after a heavy flood, they can sometimes
obtain about double that amount from the same quantity of gravel.

The Digaroo Tributary, which comes from the hills to the Northward,
and brings down large boulders of crystalline limestone, granite, gneiss,
serpentine, and quartz, was also searched for gold, but unsuccessfully,
except within about 5 miles of its junction with the Brahmapootra, or
about {miles from the hills; and here gold only occurred in small quantities.

The Noa-Dehing, a large tributary from the South, was also examined
with similar results. The gold was accompanied by platina and mag-

92 NOTE ON

netic oxide of iron, and occurred in larger average proportion than in
the Brahmapootra, but only in the form of minute spangles, very liable
to be carried away during the washing. The gold was found to diminish
in quantity, as the localities were nearer to the hills.

The great Dihong River, flowing from the hills to the Northward
yielded gold in considerable quantity, from its junction with the Brahma-
pootra to about half way between that stream and the hills. One
hundred and fifty maunds (or 55 tons) of gravel yielded 90 grains of
gold, equal to 161 grains per ton; and if the large fragments of rock,
&c., which are removed by hand, be excluded, the yield may be estimated
at 22 grains to the ton. This stream is considered by the natives to be
the richest in Assam.*

The apparatus employed in these investigations were a Californian
cradle (“long tom") worked by four men, and which was found to give
the largest daily yield per man ; three native troughs, or Doorunis, each
worked by three men ; and a Singpho washing dish, worked by one washer
and one assistant.

From these Reports, it will be evident, that the mode of occurrence of
gold in Upper Assam is similar to that in California, in the Ural, and
in Australia, viz, thatit is derived from the crystalline rocks in the
first instance, but only becomes sufficiently concentrated to render it worth
working in the alluvium, after this alluvium has undergone repeated
washings in the river current, by being successively cut away, washed,
and re-deposited, as the river changes its course. "There, as elsewhere,
it will be found a fruitless task to attempt and trace the gold to its source,
under the impression that the original rock in situ would afford a richer
yield than the same rock pulverized and sifted by the action of the river.
Even were an auriferous quartz vein discovered, it is more than doubtful

(judging from the experience of gold miners every where else), whether

* This is the great feeder of the Brahmapootra, and supposed to be the continuation of
the Tsampoo of Thibet, which drains the Northern slope of the Eastern Himalaya.

ASSAM GOLD. 93

such a vein could be worked profitably. In the river, there exists a
natural agent performing on a large scale all the operations of mining
and of pulverizing the material, and of concentrating the gold in the
comminuted matrix. Thus the operations remaining to be performed

by the gold-washer are only the final portions of the entire process.

The authors of these Reports forwarded four specimens of gold. These
have been subjected to careful examination by Dr. T. Boycott, Assay
Master at the Calcutta Mint, who kindly undertook the assay. The
results were as follow :— |

No. 1 Gold, from the Brahmapootra, yielded 88:281 per cent. of pure gold.

No.2 , , , Noa-Dehing Ы О OTE »

Noro ОВИ Dihong 211:290:284 1» -

Nod МИИН доколе D 2360/0999» و‎

Note on Specimens of Gold and Gold Dust procured near Shu2-qween,
in the Province of Martaban, Burmah, by Tuomas OLDHAM, Super-
intendant of the Geological Survey of India.

DURING the early part of the year 1853, Captain Wyndham, 5th Regi-
ment Madras Native Infantry, made an excursion from Shué-gween to
the gold-washings in that neighbornood. They are situated about 10
miles from Shu?-gween in a South-westerly direction, near the junction
of the Meaytan Creek with the Shué-gween Creek. Captain Wyndham
procured а small quantity of the gold, and subsequently Captain Berd-
more, Deputy Commissioner for Martaban Province, obtained some
better specimens, and also specimens of the soil or sand, from which the
gold is washed. These were submitted to me for examination, and the
results are given below.

Of these specimens, that numbered 1, and said to be the surface-soil,
is a gravelly sand, consisting principally of small grains of quartz,
minute flakes of bright-colored mica, generally of a rich golden tint,
and of pebbles of various kinds of matamorphie and crystalline rocks,
(as gneiss, micaceous quartz rock, green-stone, hornblende slate, &c.)
A few small crystalline pieces of topaz occurred in the sand, and one or
two minute red garnets were also found. Mixed with this sand, in small
quantities and in minute grains, is some magnetic iron sand, and a few
acicular crystals of schorl (which may also be seen imbedded in one or
two of the pebbles of quartz.)

Of this sand the specimen forwarded did not altogether amount to the
fifth part of a cubic foot. The whole of this was carefully washed and
examined. By simple washing, there was obtained from this sand 0°75
of a grain of gold in minute flakes. The residue, after washing, was

then carefully agitated with mercury, in order to obtain by amalgamation

ON GOLD FROM PEGU. 95

any portions of gold which might be too minute for mechanical separa-
tion. From the amalgam thus obtained, the mercury was then volati-
lized, and the gold carefully separated. Its weight was 0:20 of a grain.

From the specimen of the soil forwarded to me, there was therefore
extracted in all 0:95 of a grain of gold.

The specimen labelled No. 2 was a yellowish ferruginous sandy clay,
having much the appearance of being the result of the decomposition
of the upper portion of the rock in situ. This was reduced to а fine
state of division, carefully washed, and the sandy portion, consisting
chiefly of ferruginous quartz grains, separated. The rest was carefully
examined, but no traces of gold were discovered.

The fine, slightly sandy clay, which remained after washing, would
answer well for the coarser kinds of pottery ; it stands the fire well, and
is sufficiently tenacious to admit of being readily moulded.

The specimens of gold forwarded consist of varieties ranging from
dust of the finest kind that could be mechanically separated to small
nuggets. Of the latter kind were two specimens “ purchased at Shué-
gween.” These very well illustrate the mode of occurrence of the gold
in its native state, imbedded in quartz, while the other specimens show
that the general form in which it is found in these washings is in small
rounded flakes, or flattened plates of various sizes.

This gold is of considerable purity. One specimen was examined with
some care, and yielded, in 100 parts, 92:00 of gold, and 8-00 of silver.
This result however, although tolerably accurate, must only be taken
as approximative, as I had not apparatus of sufficient delicacy to admit
of an accurate analysis or assay being made. It is, however, sufficient to
show that the Shué-gween gold is fully equal in value to the average
quality of Australian gold.

The occurrence of gold of fair purity being undoubted, the question
remains as to the amount in which it may occur, and the probability of
its yielding a profitable return.

96 ON GOLD FROM PEGU.

Tf the specimen of the auriferous sand forwarded by Captain Berdmore
be taken as a fair average sample of the kind of soil, and of the amount
of gold contained in it, it would follow from our examination, (by which
means nearly a grain of gold was procured from about the fifth part of a.
cubie foot of the soil) that a cubic yard of the same sand should afford
about 135 grains of gold. Or, if we reject from the calculation the
portion obtained by amalgamation, viz., 0:20 of a grain, we should have
as the yield by washing alone, 101:25, or say on an average 100 grains of
gold for each cubic yard of the sand washed.

This sand is stated to be the surface soil, and being therefore

readily accessible, without the labor of sinking deep pits, or the cost

of keeping such pits open, two men could with great ease raise and

wash a cubic yard of such sandy soil in a day. There would, therefore,
be 100 grains of gold as the remuneration for one day’s work for two
men, or 50 grains per man per day. This gold would be worth about
(£3) three pounds (British) per ounce, that is, the produce per man
per day would be equivalent in value to 3°; of £3, or to six shillings
and three-pence per day : an ample remuneration, no doubt, for ordinary
workmen ; but scarcely sufficient to tempt many adventurers to visit the
locality.

I would not be understood to state that such would be the average
yield of the auriferous soil of the districts referred to. Such deposits,
from the very conditions under which they have been formed, are
necessarily very variable in character and in richness ; and experience
alone could furnish a fair estimate. But judging from the only data to
which I have access, such would be the amount obtainable from this
sand.

I would further state that the geological structure of the greater
portion of the Malay Peninsula, extending to Arracan Northwards, so
far as itis at present known, indicates the probability of auriferous
deposits being found throughout the whole extent, on the flanks of the

ON GOLD FROM PEGU. 97

central ranges of high ground. The ascertained existence of gold in
more localities than one in the Tenasserim Provinces, at Shue-gween in
Pegu;and the association, in all these localities, of magnetic iron sand
with the gold, (a mineral which is so constant an accompaniment of cold,
as to have been frequently called by miners “the mother of gold")
confirm this reasoning from analogy. And I have little hesitation in
stating my conviction, that such auriferous deposits will be found to
occur at intervals throughout the whole range, and that locally, they will
prove to be very rich.

With reference to the deposits at Shud-gween, the mode of occurrence
of the gold in minute particles and flakes at once shows, that in order to
obtain even an approximation to the full yield of gold, some means must
be adopted more efficient than the rude processes now in use among the
natives.

When forwarding the specimens referred to above, Colonel Bogle,
Commissioner of the Tenasserim and Martaban Provinces, stated “ that
there was not the least doubt that the natives have always been in the
habit of washing for gold dust in the Shue-gween River, and that under
the Burmese Government, there was a Farmer General of this branch of
revenue, who used to pay a certain sum into the Royal Treasury (the
exact amount unknown), and let out the privilege of washing to numbers
of persons.”

How far it might be desirable, or even practicable, to establish a
system of control over the persons employed in gold-washing, or to
render it necessary for each person, or each party, to obtain a license for
digging within certain limits, paying a small tribute for the privilege of
digging for the gold, but irrespective of the quantity procured, it is
scarcely within my province to say. But, in whatever way this may be
arranged, or whether the gold-seekers pay any tribute or not, inasmuch
as every increase to the amount which the district can produce, must

inevitably promote its welfare, and add to the general wealth and
о

98 ON GOLD FROM PEGU.

comfort of its inhabitants, I think it extremely desirable that some more
efficient, but at the same time simple, apparatus for separating the gold
by washing, and also for amalgamating it with mercury, should be
furnished to some intelligent person in the district, as patterns. I would
venture to say, that the greatly increased amount of gold, which would
be obtained by the use of such improved appliances, would. quickly lead
to their general adoption within the district. If my examination of the
specimens forwarded to me can be taken as yielding anything like an
average result, it would appear that nearly one-fourth of the entire
amount of gold occurs in such minute particles, that it cannot be separated
by washing ; and I have very little doubt, that a very considerable portion,
even of the larger and heavier flakes, are also lost. Indeed, I should
think, that; the total loss might fairly be estimated as one-half of the
entire amount of gold contained in the sand; and all this is, in all

probability, irretrievably lost.*

* The substance of this note was originally published in No. XIII. of Selections from the
Records of the Bengal Government, in 1853.

On the Geological Structure of a portion of the Khasi Hills, Bengal.
By Tuomas Отрнам, A. M., F. R. S., G. S., M. R. I. A., «с, c.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

THE following brief sketch of the geological structure of a portion of
the Khasi Hills, on the North-Eastern frontier of Bengal, is the result
of observations made during two short visits to those hills, in the wet
seasons of 1851 and of 1852.

Shortly after my arrival in India in the commencement of the year
1851, finding that it would be impossible at that season of the year to
commence field operations in the plains of Bengal, I proceeded to the
station of Cherra Poonjee, intending to examine the mode of occurrence,
extent, and character of the iron ores, which had for many years been
known to have been worked in these hills. I arrived at Cherra Poonjee
in the middle of the month of June, and left again in the beginning of
November. During that season, I visited some of the principal
washings for the iron ore, traced out some of the coal beds, and examined
and reported on the coal pits at Lakadong in the Jynteah hills. Advan-
tage was also taken of the few fine days which occurred to make a careful
survey of a part of these hills, extending Northwards from the station
nearly to the Kalapani; and also of the station itself.

During the five months’ duration of my visit in that year, 1851,
there fell at Cherra Poonjee nearly 400 inches of rain, and there were
only sixty-three days on which the amount was less than one inch:
during this small number of working days, and having no assistants, I
was unable to accomplish very much.

Returning to the same hills during the rainy season of 1852, I was
enabled, by the zealou said of my Assistants, Mr. Medlicott and Mr. St.
George, to complete the survey of the hills, commenced by myself dur-
ing the preceding season, from the station across to Nungklow. A
Map, on a scale of one mile to the inch, was the result of these

A

100 KHASI HILLS.

combined labors, and was published in 1854 to accompany the first
issue of this Report. The small outline Map of a larger area, given
herewith, is the result of flying sketch survevs made by myself during
trips across the hills to Lakadong, Nonkradem, &c. (а)

During this second visit, I crossed the hills to Nonkradem, and
examined the rocks in that vicinity, and from thence to the plains at Lacat.
The season of 1852 was much drier and finer than that of 1851, and we
were thus enabled to continue actively engaged in the field until the very
day before leaving the hills. On reaching the plains, we immediately
proceeded to the field again, so that the results of our labours were un-
avoidably put aside, until the return of the monsoon of the succeeding
year, 1853, enabled me to devote some time to their collation. The sur-
vey of the Khasi hills was then plotted, and the Maps completed, together
with a plan on a larger scale of the station of Cherra Poonjee itself.

The want in this country of books of reference, or collections for com-
parison, compelled me, after a preliminary examination, to submit a
selection of the fossils collected, for careful examination and description
in England. These were unfortunately lost at sea, and, until the data
for such comparison can be again procured, any report on the district
must unavoidably be very incomplete. It will nevertheless, be in all
probability sufficient to make known the principal facts in the physical
structure of these hills, and to indicate some of the more important
economical considerations springing from this structure. —

It was a source of great regret, that, owing to the season of the
year during which I visited these hills I was unable to examine the

lower parts of the ridge, where many points of great geological interest

(a) It includes a large portion of the country, of which a similar sketch Map was con-
structed by Dr. J. D. Hooker during his visit to these hills, but is entirely based on inde-
pendent data. The Southern portions, including Sylhet, Jynteah, &c., are taken from the
Revenue Survey Maps by Capt. Thuillier, and from the sheets of the Indian Atlas. The
small ‘plan of Lakadong is from original survey, and was originally published in No. XIII.
cf the Selections from the Records of the Bengal Government.

KHASI HILLS. 101

still await solution. Densely covered as these portions are with close
jungle, abounding in swamps, a sojourn there during the wet and hot
months of summer would be almost certain death to an European: and
I was therefore obliged to forego my desire of visiting these districts. Tt
will be seen that in consequence several questions of importance have
been left still unsolved.

The extent of our labours was seriously affected, not only by such
circumstance of locality, but also, by the peculiarity of the climate.
During such wet seasons not much out-of-door work could be accom-
plished, especially when the country had to be surveyed and mapped
topographically, as well as examined geologically. And even during the
season of 1852, which, as I have mentioned, was drier and finer than
that of 1851, much interruption to such pursuits was unavoidable, where
the fall of rain during the three months of our visit was not less than
276 inches! (a)

A brief sketch of the economical applications of some of the mine-
ral products of these hills is added to the outline of their Geology.

I have to express the great obligations I was under to Colonel Lis-
ter, Political Agent for the Khasi hills, and to. his Assistant, Lieutenant
Cave, for their valuable and ready co-operation in every way to facilitate
my enquiries. To Mr. Cave also and to Mr. Raban, Adjutant of the Sylhet
Light Infantry, I was indebted for their instructive company during
several trips among the hills, which enhanced my enjoyment most mate-
rial ; and, which, from my almost total want of acquaintance with the.
language of the country (at least during my first visit) proved essen-
tially valuable. Indeed, without the benefit of their local knowledge,

my success would have been much more limited than it was.

(a ) During these three months, the actual number of days during which no rain fell at
Cherra Poonjee, was 21, viz:in July 8; in August 6; in September 12; while of days on
which the fall was trifling or less than one inch of rain there were 25, wz: in July 3; in
August 12;in September 10; giving a total number of fair working days, inclusive of
Sundays, of 46.

ON THE

GENERAL FEATURES OF THE HILLS.

THE station of Cherra Poonjee (a) is situated near the Southern
crest of the extensive plateau of tolerably flat-topped hills, which rise sud-
denly from the plains of Sylhet, and stretch in à direction nearly due
East and West, almost continuously from the valley of the Brahmaputra
on the West, to Munnipoor and into the Burman empire on the East.
On three sides this range is surrounded by a great extent of flat coun-
try, the elevation of which above the sea is but trifling. On the North,
itis separated from the Bhotan Mountains by the great valley of the
river Brahmaputra, and the territories of Assam. On the South, the
extensive plains of Sylhet intervene between it and the Tipperah hills ;
while on the West, the valley of the Ganges and the level districts of
Mymensing, Rajshaie and Moorshedabad, separate it from the Rajmahal
hills.

Seen from the plains to the South, this range of hills presents rather

a tameness of feature. It has a remarkably regu-
Soap is lar and flat outline, few points overtopping the
general ridge, and few deep glens or valleys breaking the crest.

The Western extremity of this ridge is known by the general name
of the Garrow or Garo hills, being inhabited by

the half-civilized tribe of that name. A large

Garo hills.

(a) Cherra Poonjee is approximately in latitude 25° 16^ 35" North ; and longitude 91°
49' 55" East.—( Thuillier and Smyth's Manual of Surveying for India, 1852.)

KHASI HILLS. 108

portion of their territory is said to be overrun by dense and almost im-
penetrable jungle. They hold little intercourse with adjoining tribes,
are reported to be very treacherous, and, excepting along the outskirts
of the ridge, are but little known (a). The Eastern boundary of the
Garo territory is but ill defined, but may rudely be said to correspond
to the 91st degree of Eastern longitude.

Adjoining the Garos, on the East, is the territory of the Khasis

(Kasiyas, Khasias, or Cossias) It stretches East

MN bus and West for about one degree of longitude, and,
in the North and South direction, from the plains of Sylhet to those of
Assam. à;

Still further East, and joining the Khasi territory, are the Jynteah
hills, which have passed into the hands of the
British Government in India, having been for-
feited by the Jynteah Rajah in 1835,

To the East of the Jynteah hills, are the tribes of Cachar, the Nagas,

&c., which inhabit the country from the Jynteah

Jynteah hills.

Cachar, &c. с К
б boundary Eastwards to Munnipoor. Their geo-

graphical limits are very little known.

My own observations were confined to the Khasi territory, and
indeed only to а portion of it, with a rapid examination of parts of the
Jynteah hills.

In this portion of the range, the hills rise very suddenly and abruptly

Character of escarp- ` from the plains. At a short distance from their
pent on. South. base, and stretching along nearly parallel to the
great range, though with interruptions, is a broken series of small round-
ed hillocks, often beautifully wooded. These rise from 1 to 200 feet

above the general level of the plains, and are composed of layers of sand,

(a) Captain C. S. Reynolds, in an interesting account of a visit to the Garo hills in 1848,
mentions nothing but granite, and says he was unsuccessful in finding coal, limestone, or
iron. He had, however, no opportunity of making an extensive examination.—( Journal
of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. XVIII. page 45.)

104 KHASI HILLS.

clay and gravel, very irregularly disposed, and often highly indurated
by a ferruginous cement (a). They occur at various distances from the
base of the hills, between which and these small knolls there is generally
a flat space, densely covered with jungle, and abounding in swamps,
thickly clothed with tall reeds and grasses. Behind this swampy tract
rises the great range of the hills, by a rapidly inclined slope, closely
wooded and surmounted by a deep precipitous face, which forms a
marked feature in the landscape. The crest of this precipice attains
an elevation of about 3,500 feet, and, above this long and nearly
horizontal line, the hills rise gradually with undulating and irregular
slopes to the average height of 5,000 to 5,400 feet, with a few summits
of still greater elevation, but none much exceeding 6,000 feet. The
entire slope of the hills up to the base of the precipitous portion is
thickly clothed with wood, among which a few patches here and there
have been cleared for cultivation.
Again, on the Northern side of this range, the country suddenly
drops at Nungklow to the level of the Boripani
2 Mots river, or more than 2,000 feet, and then gradually
dies away into the valley of the Brahmaputra, by a succession of sharply
undulating hills and ridges, which stretch from this Boripani river,
immediately under Nungklow, to near Gowhatty, in Assam. The
whole of these districts, forming the descent from the comparatively
flat table-land of the top of the ridge (and which, on the South, extend
for about six miles, and on the North for about twenty), is densely
wooded, while the upper and more level parts of the hills are clear, free
from jungle, and, where the surface is not actual rock, thickly carpeted

with grass. The same fact is observable in the many deep glens and

(a) The pretty station of Sylhet is built among these hillocks ; and they are also well
seen at and near Chattuc. On the summit of one of these knolls is placed Mr. Inglis's
bungalow, and on an adjoining one the monument to the memory of the late George Inglis,
Esq; “for many years Judge of Sylhet,” which forms a conspicuous landmark for a great
distance around.

KHASI HILLS. 105

water-courses, which penetrate the hills on either flank; the sides of
these glens being almost invariably thickly and beautifully clothed with
wood, which ceases abruptly at the iop as if cut off with the axe along
` the crest of the glen; the want of protection from the prevailing winds,
as well as the character of the soil, entirely preventing the growth
of any timber. >
On the Southern flank of the range, within the Khasi territory, the

ui eaa any streams which drain the ridge, and carry off

Rae ae the enormous fall of rain that annually takes place

here, flow in deep though not wide glens, which stretch into the hills for

Fig. 1.

106 KHASI HILLS.

many miles, and add greatly to the variety and beauty of the scenery.
Most of these glens are very deeply excavated, the bottoms, or river
beds, even at the distance of several miles from the outskirts of the hills,
being some thousand feet below the general level of the top of the
plateau. In outline, all these river gorges or glens are remarkably
alike; the upper portion of their sides being nearly perpendicular and
precipitous faces of rock, which rest upon a rapidly inclined talus, slop-
ing down to the level of the water beneath. Of this general character,
depending, as I shall have to remark, on the geological structure of the
district, a good instance may be seen in the accompanying view of the
glen to the North and East of Surareem, as seen from the South.
(Fig. 1.)

Situated immediately to the West of one of these great glens, and

StationofCherraPoon- 8211105 overhanging its precipitous sides, is the sta-
jee. tion of Cherra Poonjee, at an elevation above the
sea of 4,120 feet, while the bottom of the glen adjoining is nearly 3,000
feet below. The sanitarium occupies a small level plateau, of a rudely
triangular shape, bounded on the East and North-East by this deep glen ;
on the South by the equally grand glen of Mawsmai; while on the West,
the small ridge in which the coal mines are situated rises with a sharp
bluff some 300 feet above the level of the plateau, and is continued on -
the North-West by the rounded sandstone hills, ou the tops and slopes
of which the native village of Cherra Poonjee is placed. To the North,
the hills rise gradually until the average level of the central portion of
the range is attained ; from which the view (a) looking South ranges
over the flat of Cherra, to the immense expanse of the plains of Sylhet,
and to the distant Tipperah hills, the irregular outline of which bounds

the horizon. (Plate IV.)

(a) For the originals of this sketch, and of Fig. 2, I am indebted to Lieutenant Cave,

Assistant Political Agent.

KHASI HILLS. 107

The same general physical features are continued Northwards from
General features of pla- Cherra Poonjee to Mow-phlang (Moflong), 18 miles
tenu towards the South. distant; the hills presenting an almost uninter-
rupted, and nearly level top, broken only by the deep and narrow river
gorges, which intersect it, and which form the most striking feature of
the scenery.

Further to the East, and extending into the Jynteah hills, the same
general character continues along the Southern flank of the range ;
the deep valleys East of the flat-topped ridge on which Nonkradem is
placed, being exactly similar in outline, and general feature, to those

around Cherra Poonjee.

108 KHASI HILLS.

Contrasting very strongly with this general character of the Southern

portion of the range of hills, the surface of the

General features of 4
plateau towards the Northern portion presents a remarkably wavy and

North.

undulating outliae. This character extends from
the neighbourhood of Mow-phlang to Nungklow, and may be well seen
near to, and North of the village of Myrung (a) (Fig. 2), or, looking

Southwards from Nungklow (Fig. 3), towards the Kullong rock. River

valleys diversify the surface of this wavy plain, but these are of very
different character from those to the South. More open and spreading,

they offer none of those precipitous cliffs so common around Cherra

(a) The buildings on the rising ground in the centre of the view are the guard-house and
outpost of the Sylhet Light Infantry at Myrung: while the larger house, a little below, is
one of the staging bungalows on the road to Assam, a part of which road is seen in the
foreground, The houscs of the small Native village of Myrung are on the slope of the hill.
The indistinct outline of the snowy peaks of the Himalaya may be traced to the left of the
sketch,

KHASI HILLS. , 109

Poonjee, and are by no means so deeply excavated. Waterfalls also
are numerous; but they partake more of the character of * forces"
and rapids, than the remarkable falls which rush over the precipitous
cliffs to the South, and which are so well seen in the valleys of Mawsmai,
and Mawm'luh, near to Cherra, and some of which, in the height and
unbroken character of the fall, are perhaps unsurpassed in the world
(Plate V.).

This general character of the surface continues to the Northern
edge of the plateau, where, at Nungklow, the hills drop sud-
депу, and almost precipitously to the level of the JBoripani ri-
ver. (a)

There is a tolerably continuous and level table land, stretching East
SEE and West, nearly in the parallel of Mow-phlang,

and extending towards Nurtiung. Through this
ridge pass the deep gorges of the river Oomgot and its feeders. Still
further to the East and South, the glen of the Mentedoo is bounded by
the comparatively level country extending Southwards towards Laka-
dong, where we again meet a precipitous flank of the hills, drapping
down to Burghat, and thence continued by outlying minor ridges of
sandstone and limestone into the flat country of Jynteahpoor.

Coincidently with this remarkable alteration in the general features

M of the hills is an equally remarkable change in
corresponds to physical their geological structure; the whole of the
lc Northern portion of the hills from the parallel of

Mow-phlang (with the exception of a few isolated patches to which we

(a) Close to the Suspension Bridge, across which the road to Assam is carried over this
river, there is a beautiful waterfall. It cannot be compared as to height of fall with those
near to Cherra, the whole fall, which is broken into two leaps, not being more than 150 feet.
But in the force and massiveness of the stream, the bold dashing of the waters, the richly
wooded and varied outline of the hills around, and the absence of auy of that feeling of
tameness, which always impresses the spectator in the horizontal and repeated lines of beds
in those around Cherra Poonjee, this fall is, I think superior to any otherl have seen in
the Khasi Hills. It is wilder, freer and nobler.

110 KHASI HILLS.

shall hereafter refer) being composed of granites and of metamorphic
rocks, presenting on the whole a gneissose character, with a few inter-
calated beds of slates and quartz rock, and dykes of greenstone ; the
bedded rocks occurring at every angle of inclination and being much
disturbed : the Southern portion, on the other hand, is composed of
sandstones and limestones with associated beds of coal and shale, which,
as à whole, rest horizontally on the older rocks.

In addition to these, basaltic and greenstone-like voleanie rocks are
well exposed in some places. These are of still more recent age than the
sandstones with which ihey occur.

After this very brief sketch of the general aspect and structure of the

hills, it remains to describe a little more in detail
ME the various rocks which occur in the district ex-
amined, and their mutual relations. Taking these in the order of their
relative epochs, the metamorphic rocks demand the first place. Of
the igneous rocks, which have so materially modified the aspect,
position and structure of these mechanical deposits, we shall speak
afterwards.

METAMORPHIC ROCKS. (Gneiss, micaceous slates, clay slates, horn-
blendic slates, quartz rocks, &c.)—A very large area in the Khasi hills is
composed of slaty and gneissose rocks, presenting for the most part a highly
crystalline character, and traversed throughout their entire extent by nu-
merous veins of granite, and here and there by dykes and bursts of green-
stone. With slight interruption, these rocks stretch from the most
Westerly portion of the hills, which I have examined, to the most Laster-
ly. They occur at Nungklow, on the Northern verge of the hills immediate-
ly over the valley of Assam, and here form the entire escarpment of the
hills down to the Boripani river ; from Nungklow, they extend South to
the Kullong rock (where a great mass of granite protrudes through
them), and from thence to near Mow-phlang, where they become

covered up by the sandstones. They seem to wind round the Northern

KHASI HILLS. 111

flanks of Shillong hill and siredh thence by Pomrong to Coote, Mooshai
and Suneassa ; and into the Jynteah hills.

Throughout this area, they maintain, on the whole, a tolerably constant
character ; they are greatly contorted in every direction, these con-
tortions affecting every variety of rock. In the midst of so much dis-
turbance it is difficult to say that the rocks have any prevailing direction
or dip, although they appear to have a tendency to great rolls; the
inclination of the sides of these curves trending to the North and South,
or to alittle West of North and East of South.

In the immediate vicinity of Cherra Poonjee, these rocks are well
К e ve adir seen in the de&p glens which surround the station,
a) Gere and from the lower parts of which the thick cover-
ing of the more recent sandstones has been denuded. In Cherra valley,
we find in the bed of the Temshung river alternating beds of quartzose
slates, quartz-rock, and gneiss, dipping at very high angles, and much
disturbed. They form in many places bold cliffs along the banks of the
stream. Associated with these and traversing them in veins is a fine-
grained granite of nearly homogeneous texture, itself cut up by numer-
ous veins of a coarsely crystalline and highly felspathie porphyritic
granite. These veins are of all sizes, and some of them are in too great
mass to be looked upon as mere cotemporaneous veins, or segregated
masses, but look like the results of a second intrusion of molten rock
into the fissures of the previously indurated mass. Others are small and
ramifying, and consist chiefly of largely crystalline felspar of a deep
and beautiful flesh-red colour, and of black mica ; the latter occasionally
in crystals measuring an inch across. Zircon occurs in these veins.

With the gneissose and slaty beds we find occasional layers of horn-

blendie rocks associated. The same series con-
ou toeks: tnues without intermission up to the base of the
conglomerates, which, on the flanks of the glen, rest nearly horizontally

on these rocks.

112 KHASI HILLS.

Passing Northwards from Cherra Poonjee, the metamorphic rocks are
шали ERES concealed by the tertiary sandstone, until they are
ey again exposed on the Northern side of the deep
glen close to and North of Mow-phlang, across which the road to Assam
passes. Here the general character of the rocks is very different.
They are blue and grey flaky schists associated with quartzose, and mica-
ceous layers, dipping at high angles, and with tolerable continuity to the
North and West. Some of the beds near to this are smooth-grained
gritty clay slates, of a greenish-blue colour, and flaky. In one or two
places attempts have been made to extract slates for roofing purposes
from these beds. In these rockt, however, there has been but
little “cleavage” structure superinduced, and the surfaces of the original
lamination of the rock, which are the only surfaces along which it can
be separated, are too uneven and at too irregular intervals to admit of
slates suitable for ordinary purposes being obtained from them. Heavy
coarse flags might be raised here, and these would answer well for the
covering of out-offices, sheds, &c.
In this glen, the slate rocks rest immediately upon or against a great
mass of greenstone (to which I shall refer again),
ERA I LEON _ and at the junction are considerably indurated,
and at the same time split up by numerous divisional planes which pass
across the laminz, aud break up the mass into small angular pieces.
Similar greenstone is seen cutting through the rocks in several places to
the North of this, and on the surface is decomposed into a coarse ferru-
ginous, or ochrey mass. The slates continue of the same general character,
as far as the remarkable flat called Lung-king-ting-now. Descending
into this flat from the higher ground to the South, there is a considerable
thickness of black earthy slates, with hard gritty quartzose layers,
also black in colour. These slates are markedly different from any
of the rocks in the vicinity, and are not met with again in the section.
They are probably the uppermost beds of the entire slaty series met

with in this district.

KHASI HILLS. 113

This flat space, nearly half a mile in width, is a remarkable feature
Toner lico Tut in the hills. It has all the character of a dried-up
bed of a former lake, and is one of the very few instances in which such
appearances are seen in these hills. Greenstone occurs at both sides of
the flat space, and appears to form the surface below, but a thick covering
of clay and sands conceals all the rocks; and on rising up the steep
slope on the North towards Sohiong, the same gneissose and highly
micaceous rocks, as have been described in the Cherra valley, again ap-
pear. These are well seen in the village of Sohiong; they consist of thin
bedded gneiss and micaceous slates, with hard gritty quartzose layers,
dipping at high angles, or nearly vertical. They are much twisted both
in plan and section, but have on the whole a dip to the S. E. at angles
varying from 60° to 85°. The old road, which passes close under the
rude entrenchments of the village, exposes them well, and they are also
seen on the side of the beautifully wooded glen to the East, on the
verge of which the village is built.
Northwards from Sohiong, the same rocks continue, but on the whole
Veins of granite, &с. they gradually become more crystalline and solid,
and the frequent recurrence of large blocks of granite points to the exis-
tence of many veins, or intruded masses of that rock, the boundary and
extent of which cannot, however, be easily traced. Such is the case in
the neighbourhood of Nung-bree, again near Myrung, and still further
to the North, at Nung-rumai (commonly called Normai); but the
general surface of the country is composed of these gneissose and slaty
rocks.
The constant occurrence of these masses of granite, and also of minute
co allie texture of VRS ramifying among the layers of the slates
mocks, and gneiss, gives convincing proof, that the thick-
ness of these rocks is here very slight, and that the great mass of the
granite, which is well seen at a short distance to the East and West,

continues at no great depth below the surface, under the gneissose beds

114 KHASI HILLS.

(see Section), while at the same time the highly and largely crystalline
texture of the small and minute veins shews that the whole mass must
have been in a highly heated condition when they were formed.

In the Eastern portion of the hills, similar rocks are met with in the

Оз о DERE valley of the Mentedoo. They occur in thin layers
hills. of gneiss and mica slates dipping at high angles
(607—707) towards the N. and N. E., abounding in small quartz veins.
They are much less contorted than in the Western portion of the hills,
and are here capped by horizontal beds of sandstone. The gneissose
rocks continue all up the valley of the river, forming the talus or slope
of the high ground on either side. At Joowai village, and stretching
along the top ofthe ridge on which it is placed, for some little distance
towards the East, a thin capping of horizontal beds of sandstones and
conglomerate, forming an outlier of the more extensive beds to the

' South-East, conceals these rocks, and affords an excellent instance of

the total unconformability of the two series. (Fig. 4.)

KHASI HILLS. 115

Under the sandstones are highly micaceous and shining slates, with
thick beds of hard gritty micaceous gneiss: numer-
pee ike ous veins of quartz occur traversing the rocks,
and large veins of granite also pierce them in many places. At Joowai
village (a) these slaty beds dip as a mass to the S. and S. by E., at
angles varying from 45° to 70°.
Similar rocks are seen wrapping round the edges of the granite about
, four miles East from Coote village ; while between
Md s rs this and Pooring, largely crystalline greenstone
crosses the valley. At this village itself (Pooring) the rocks are gritty
gneiss in thick strong beds.
Descending from this into the Oomgot valley, we find hard close-grain-
ed siliceous slates, and thence towards Pomrong we
Ba have gneiss and micaceous slates in thick beds.
These alternate continually, and are well seen in some of the river gorges,
through which the feeders of the Oomgot pass: veins of quartz abound,
and the rocks, although much contorted, have a general inclination to
the North-West. Granite veins also occur. |
Throughout the series of rocks, whieh I have just described, few
i mineral products of any value are found. I have
à En D above alluded to the attempts made to obtain good
roofing-slates from some of the beds. In a few places, as under Nung-
klaw, &c., small crystalline grains of magnetic iron abound in some of the

` beds, precisely of the same character as that obtained from the granite,

(a) Joowai is one of the largest villages in these hills. It is beautifully situated on a
ridge, overhanging the rich and well-cultivated glen of the Mentedoo River. The hill slopes
on either side covered with scattered pines and other trees, and the flat holms at the bot-
tom cultivated like a garden, give the place quite an English aspect. In the village itself
magnificent groups of bamboos throw a grateful shade over the houses, and large tanks and
ponds are formed among the undulations of the ground. The houses are of a better class,
and in many respects assimilate more to those of the Bengalees than among the Khasis
proper, while the physiognomy of the people themselves, and their superior stature, seem to
confirm the idea of an intermixture of race.

С

116 KHASI HILLS.

and occasionally in greater abundance; but in most of these cases, the
additional hardness of the rock would prevent this ore from being
extracted with as much economy from the slates, as from the granite.
I have not been able to trace the existence of any organic remains
MEE риб Эз whatever in these rocks. They are, as far as I
A201: know, throughout the entire group, truly azoic.
There would, however, appear to be two very distinct groups of
these metamorphic rocks, differing materially in
SEE: the amount of alteration to which they have
been subjected, and also in the variety in composition and character
which the beds exhibit. The older and more altered group of these
is represented by the highly crystalline gneiss, quartzite, &c., of the
valley of Cherra and other places. These, as I have already described,
consist of alternating beds of gneiss, quartzose schists, and quartz, greatly
contorted, and traversed in every direction by veins of finely crys-
talline granite. With these are also associated occasionally beds of
hornblendic rocks.
On the other hand, the upper group, which is quite unconformable, is
essentially slaty, consisting of blue and grey flaky schists, with some
micaceous and quartzose layers. These are also disturbed, but not to
the same extent as the gneissose beds below, and, although occasionally
granite veins are found piercing them, these veins are by no means
numerous or large. Unfortunately nothing organic has as yet been dis-
covered in these rocks to give evidence of their age. In lithological
aspect they have many resemblances to the Lower Silurian slates of
Europe, but this resemblance is of no value whatever in fixing their
date. To an Indian Geologist, the two groups may be more readily
` described as representing, the lower or gneissose group, that of Bengal
Proper, and the upper or slaty group, that of the Sikkim Himalaya
(Daxjiling). The latter is in all probability the representative of, or

on the same geological horizon as, the metamorphic rocks of the Ner-

KHASI HILLS. Т

budda and of the Curruckpore hills. My stay in the Khasi Hills did
not afford me sufficient time to trace out accurately the boundaries
of these two groups.

SEDIMENTARY Deposits.—In ascending the Khasi Hills from Teria-

ghat, the rocks met with throughout the greater
КОО КШ portion of the rise are sandstones of varied mineral
character. In the lower part, the prevailing colour is a greenish brown ;
passing on the one hand into a grey, and on the other intoa red tint,
Occasionally we find beds of a light grey or whitish colour, variegated
with red and ferruginous spots or patches; but these are more frequent
in the upper portion of the series. Beds of shale and shaly sandstone,
and clays of yellowish and blackish grey colours, are associated with the
sandstones. Several of the beds of sandstone are highly calcareous, and
sometimes pass into calcareous grits.

On the upper beds of this series the station of Cherra Poonjee is

placed, and here we find, resting conformably upon
COPS E the sandstone, a series of beds of limestone, coal,
and shales, to which we shall refer again.

The sandstone beds are well exposed in the perpendicular cliffs of the
valleys adjoining the station. It is not, however, always easy to obtain
means of examining the series satisfactorily. The only paths, which pass
down the sides of the glens, have naturally been selected where some
fallen mass has produced a spur or slope along which the path can wind,
but where the rocks are concealed ; while the greater portion of the vertical
cliff is inaccessible. Most of the slopes also are clothed with dense
forest. It is therefore with some difficulty that the actual succession of
the beds is traced out, and I can therefore merely state the general divi-
sions of the group.

At the base, whenever it is clearly seen, and resting quite uncon-

formably upon the up-turned edges of the older

Succession of beds. 3 5
rocks, there is a thick mass of coarse conglo-

118 KHASI HILLS.

merates. The pebbles are chiefly of quartz, both crystalline and gra-
nular, all considerably rounded, and of all sizes, from six inches diameter
‘to one inch. Masses double this size are found, but are not common.
These are imbedded in a felspathic gritty cement. This conglomerate
is well seen in the Cherra valley ; and in places it is fully seventy feet
thick, forming a very well marked line of cliff along the sides of the
glen. On this coarse conglomerate rests a sharp semi-angular grit of
a dark brownish colour varied by numerous light specks. These are
scarcely-rounded fragments of felspar crystals, of a light flesh-red colour,
which give the rock a very peculiar aspect. Locally, these beds become
coarser and pass into a pebbly grit, and in this case, it can occasionally
be seen that these imbedded pebbles are partly of granite, and not
altogether of felspar (a). -With local variation in texture and coarseness,
these beds are at least 150 to 200 feet thick.
Over these come sharp grits of reddish-brown and greyish-brown co-
h lours,in which are many casts of shells, generally
хаа imperfect and fragmentary (cardium, &c.) Higher
up, the sandstones have a greenish-brown tint, and contain numerous
remains of echinodermata. "These beds become calcareous, and then
decompose into a brownish-red sandy rock, which on the fresh fracture
is a very hard mass of a bluish tint. Where the fossils occur in
the grits, they are only casts, or the place of the original shell is
filled with a soft yellow impalpable clay; where the rock is
calcareous, the shells of the echini are replaced by carbonate of lime.
It is almost impossible, owing to the nature of the matrix, and
to the highly crystalline condition of the carbonate of lime, to obtain
good specimens of these. At the base of the fossiliferous beds there

are locally developed some beds of a nodular dark grey shaly sandstone
(Mahadeo).

(а) These beds are well seen at the zig-zags, on the road to Teria-ghat from Cherra
Poonjee, of which they form a eonsiderable portion.

KHASI HILLS. 119

These beds containing the echini (Cyrtoma of McClelland) form a
well-marked line along the face of the Cherra valley, where the beds are
calcareous, and are again well seen under Mawm'luh, where they were
first noticed by Dr. McClelland (а). Associated with these echinoderm
remains, and occurring also a little below them, are large plicated
oysters, generally in fragments.

Over this group are numerous beds of soft earthy sandstones, of

А brownish and red tints, with intercalated beds of

B clay and thin shales. "These continue with little

intermission until the flat of Cherra Poonjee is reached, where thick-

bedded strong sandstones occur, not very hard, and of a reddish colour.

In these beds I have not observed any remains of shells, but impressions

of stems of large plants, very rudely preserved and in most cases much
too indistinct for identification, are not uncommon.

Over these sandstones, and separated apparently by a thin bed of
stiff blue clayey shale, comes the limestone which
forms the bluffs of the small detached ridge in
which the coal has been worked to the West of the station of Cherra

Poonjee. This limestone is here about 80 feet thick, separated above

Limestone,

by eight to ten feet of sandstone and shale from the coal, which again
is covered by alternating beds of soft grits and clays to the top of the
Hill (see below).

The thickness of the entire group, which I have just described, is,
. 6 near to Cherra Poonjee, not less than 2,000 feet.
Thickness of tertiary
group. Throughout the whole of this great thickness the
beds are entirely conformable, and are very nearly horizontal in position.

They are irregularly developed, beds of sandstone and clays often

(a) These beds of sandstone, which, being soft and loosely coherent, are readily acted
upon, and decompose into a friable sand in which the harder portions of the organic re-
mains continue imbedded, gave rise to the idea, which Dr. McClelland has published, of
their forming a sea-beach. The true relations of the beds, or so-called * beach," can be well
seen in the adjoining cliffs, where the conformable association of these beds with the other
sandstones may be traced.

190 ' KHASI HILLS.

thinning out, within the space of a few hundred yards, from some feet
to some inches in thickness, Throughout the entire series also, but more
especially in the upper portion, there is a frequent repetition of the most
remarkable cases of false bedding and oblique lamination, evidencing a
constantly repeated change in the force and direc-

False bedding. t k “А
tion of the currents, and in the other conditions
under which these beds have been deposited. The accompanying sketch

shows one, and by no means an extreme instance of this kind. (Fig. 5.)

б -

EL SSE ANNE
LL Lu RN

x Y 5
3 WAS

NOS

The beds are, I have already mentioned, nearly horizontal throughout,

Beds nearly horizontal. but dip slightly and continuously as a whole,
towards the South and South by West. This dip is very slight, but is
easily traceable when observed over a considerable area. And the same
fact is even more markedly seen when the range of the hills is observed
from the plains to the South at sufficient distance to enable the eye to
take in a considerable sweep. In the following sketch of these hills
(Fig. 6.), as seen from the River Soorma, near Sonamgunj, the sandstones
and associated beds, so well marked all along the range by the steep pre-
cipitous cliffs they form, as in the vicinity of Cherra Poonjee, are seen
gradually to drop down to the level of the plains, as they pass to the

West (a). The occurrence of beds of coal, which at Cherra Poonjee are

(a) The station of Cherra Poonjee is placed on the hills to the extreme right of
Fig 6. on the next page.

at the top of the hills,
nearly at the level of the

plains close to Laour,

Apparently
a general an-

ticli
jae near — wardsthe

West (as noticed by

several observers), is in

and to-

some degree a confir-
mation of this state-
ment. The same fact
appears to hold with re-
ference to the sand-
stone group towards
the East also, for we
find beds of the same
nummulitic limestone,
coal, and sandstone,
with the same group
of beds below them,
forming the hills near
Lakadong; but there
attaining only an ele-
vation of not more
than 2,500 feet, while
at Cherra they reach
4,500 feet(a).

(a) The thin outlying caps
of sandstone at Joowai are,
in this part of the hills, ana-
logous to the outliers of
Nungbr and Laidom, North
of Cherra Poonjee.

KHASI HILLS.

121

122 KHASI HILLS.

These sandstones stretch inland from Cherra Poonjee to near Mow-

Sandstones extend into PPlang (see Map), retaining on the whole their

hills. nearly horizontal arrangement, and presenting

throughout the same general lithological character. This horizontality
of the beds, and alternating disposition of the shales, grits and coarser
sandstones, is well seen in the splendid cliff which bounds the great valley
of Cherra to the North. Here also dark earthy grits, with iron pyrites,
are seen to alternate with the sandstones. The same series again occurs
in the cliffs bounding the valley North of Lairungoo (see Fig. 1). The
total thickness of the group has, however, considerably diminished here,
and the metamorphic rocks come much nearer to the surface. But little
change in the mineral structure of the series is traceable. At one or two
places along the route, patches of coal (of very poor quality however)
occur associated with the sandstones (as at the Northern end of the Na-
tive village of Cherra Poonjee ; about half a mile further оп; and near
Surareem), and occasionally blackish-grey shales, with numerous small
fragmentary impressions of carbonized vegetables. At the roadside
near the Kala-pani, beds of dark earthy and pyritous sandstones and
shales, similar to those near to Cherra Poonjee, occur.

Near to this, the sandstones begin to show the effects of the intrusion

ERO и e of volcanic rocks (to which we shall refer again),
pani. both in théir position, and in their texture. Drop-
ping into the valley of the Kala-pani, about half way down the South-
Eastern side of the glen, we meet with highly crystalline greenstone un-
deriying the coarse sandstones. The beds in junction with the greenstone
have been greatly altered ; their colour has become a deep purple ; they
are intensely indurated, and are in fact quartz rock. Further, instead of
breaking into the laminar and irregular pieces, which these sandstones or-
dinarily yield, a blow of a hammer fractures the mass into small prismatic
blocks, having a semi-columnar structure. The original lines of deposi-

tion have, in fact, been obliterated, and a new series of divisional planes

z KHASI HILLS. : 123

produced. These planes are perpendicular to the deposition planes of the
rock, and have a prevailing direction North-East and South-West, and
nearly at right angles to this. The dip is about 25° to the South-West.
On the Northern side of this valley, the sandstones again appear, here
again nearly horizontal, and forming the steep cliffs along the top of the
glen. (Plate VI). The road winds up the steep slope of the valley
side, and passes through a cleft in these sandstone beds. The greenstone
forms the whole of the river bed, and extends up the side of the valley

for more than one-half the distance. The lowest beds on the Northern

side are coarse pebbly conglomerates, greatly indurated. Passing over

the ridge into the adjoining and parallel little valley (between the Kala-
pani and the Boga-pani), we lose the sandstones again, and find a
continuous sheet of the greenstone forming the whole of the bottom
of the glen. Upon it rest on both sides the coarse conglomerates
and sandstones much indurated and disturbed. Thus under the
village of Maw-be-lurkar, conglomerate is seen very highly inclined,
and greatly indurated. Huge masses of this rock have in other
places fallen from their natural position and threaten to block up the
glen (a). Toward the Northern end of this glen, the originally conti-

> Р nuous covering of the sandstone has been denud-
Local denudation of o "

sandstones: ed, so as to leave only a few small outliers resting
*.

upon the greenstone, and forming the highest tops about here, Some of

these outliers are very small, not more than a few hundred feet square.
Along the line of road, the greenstone continues to show until the

valley of the Boga-paniis reached. In the bed, and on the banks of the

Wattam, the stream which here joins the Boga-pani (0), the greenstone is

(a) This little valley, although in the magnitude and grandeur of its features greatly
inferior to the larger glens close by, is yet one of the most beautiful in the hills, and owes
not a little of this beauty to the contrast between the steep cliffs of the sandstone above
with their dark and richly-coloured surfaces, and the steep grassy slopes of the greenstone
below. In this valley the edges of the beds of sandstones are remarkably rounded and
smoothed, as from the long continued action of water.

(6) Boga-pani.—Ka-um-yam, * stream of tears,” because it often prevents men from
crossing, or separates friends, or because it frequently carries off men in its torrent,

Kala-pani.—Ka-um-iong or black water.

Я
р

124 . KHASI HILLS. : °

well seen, but close adjoining in the glen of the larger river, there is a
magnificent exhibition of the disturbances to which the mechanical
rocks have been subjected.

In the valley of the Boga-pani, and covering a considerable area ad-
Obras adul joining, a series of very highly contorted and much
&c. altered beds of sandstones occur, which, both in
their prevailing mineral composition, their colour and arrangement, appear
to be totally distinct from, and also of much older date than, the sand-
stones near to Cherra Poonjee. The beds are at all angles, vertical and
nearly flat, rolled over and bent in the most fantastic forms ; several
complete arches or folds are seen cut through by the river, forming a
series of parallel curvings, which are even more beautifully seen owing

to the different tints of the different beds (Pig. Т). These contortions

KHASI HILIS.. 125

continue, though less markedly, all along the river valley. The beds of
clean grits have been so indurated, as to appear quite glassy and like
quartz rock; the grains still appearing distinct. The conglomerate beds
also are hard, have а taleose and soapy character, and the shaly
beds are more slaty. False bedding, of the same character as that
seen so commonly round Cherra Poonjee, is here observable; and
current-marking (a) is well shown on many of the beds. In mineral
texture they would appear much more nearly allied to the old slates
and quartz rocks before described.

Passing up to Mow-phlang, these sandstone beds continue to exhibit
gradually a less amount of change as they rise upon the hill. These rocks

Incipient cleavage. here exhibit also a tendency to a cleavage, or divi-

(a) Ihave in several places in this report used the term “current marking," which
I have been for many years in the habit of employing to express that peculiar structure
ordinarily called “ripple-marking. This latter term is decidedly erroneous, the structure,
as has been often remarked, not being the mark of a ripple, but rather a ripple itseif.
Current-marking is less objectionable, although the marks left by currents are so numerous,
and of such various kinds, that it is scarcely definite enough. “ Rippling” would probably
be the simplest and best term, although even this will to many convey the idea of water
being the only agent to produce such appearances. That this is not the case, the most
cursory examination of a sandy beach, or of the dry sands of a river-bed, will convince
any one. In faot, this peculiar structure is as frequently produced by the action of wind,
as by that of water; and may often be seen as perfectly marked in the dappled clouds of
the sky, as on the sea-shore. It is simply the result of the continuous passage of a fluid
over materials, whose pliysical texture admits of free motion among their particles ; this
passage or current of the fluid being only of such strength or rapidity as to drive, shove,
or impel these particles forward without maintaining them in suspension. Rippling ceases
to occur when either the size of the particles moved or the force of the current is so altered
as to alter the mode of progression of these particles. Any one, who will attentively
examine the motion of the dry sand of the sea-shore, or of a river-bed, will see, that in all
cases when this wavy surface is developed, the particles of the sand are regularly forced
up the long and wind-ward or current-ward slope of the ripple, and reaching the top, fall
by their own gravity down the steep or leeward side ; the same process being again re-
peated with succeeding particles, so*that the entire upper surface of the sand is in slow
and continuous motion. A sudden increase of the force of the wind or current, such as.a
sudden blast, will obliterate all this wavy appearanee, precisely as it would obliterate the
regular and continuous waving or rippling of the surface of water; and on the wind
re-assuming its normal force, this waviug will be again re-produced.

126 KHASI HILLS.

sion in planes, different from the planes of bedding; along these cleavage
lines many discolorations have taken place, which give the rocks a
much more variegated aspect and parti-coloured look, than they would
otherwise have had.

Close to the staging Bungalow at Mow-phlang, the same rocks are seen
cropping out on the hill-side and dipping here at an angle of 75° to
the South-East ; cleavage planes show here also, and give the rocks a
peculiar aspect. The prevailing direction of these planes is East and
West, and they are nearly vertical.

The same general dip of the mass of these rocks (to the South-Hast),

with many contortions and twistings, continues
р all across the country East of the Boga-pani, and
between Laikro and Uswirr Hill (see Map), forming on the surface an
undulating but tolerably level outline, but showing in bold escarpments
in some of the river gorges. This is well seen in the upper portion
of the valley of the Wattam stream. А few dykes of the greenstone,
which is so largely developed in the lower part of this valley, cut
through thé sandstones and appear on the surface.

Stretching Northwards from Mow-phlang hill, the sandstones and
associated beds form the level ridge along which the path to Shillong
hill passes. For some distance from Mow-phlang the same intensely
altered character continues in these rocks, but more Northerly the beds
seem less changed (as about Sadow village), and, forming the top and
some distance down the flanks of Shillong hill, we find sandstones
scarcely indurated or altered at all. They are fully as soft as, and in
other respects very similar to, the tertiary sandstones at Cherra.

I had no opportunity of tracing out the boundary of these sandstones
here, or of examining their connection with the granite to the South of
the hill.

But one of the most interesting facts in the history of these rocks is

well seen in several places nearer to Mow-phlang, and between that

KHASI HILLS. 127

village and Mawreng. I allude to the occurrence of veins of granite

Veinsofgraniteinthese Piercing them. These veins are in places one to

pede Ones. two feet thick, but generally smaller; they bifurcate

and pass across the bedding of the rocks, or along the planes of deposi-
tion; these planes being much contorted. The veinstone is a highly
felspathic, but smally crystalline granite ; mica black and brilliant ; the
quartz greyish-white, and the felspar with a slight pinkish tint. This is
the only place where I have seen this fact exhibited.

Unfortunately no organic remains whatever have been observed in

this group of highly altered sandstones; and I

Probable age. à Ux

had no opportunity of examining more than a
limited area, within which the actual connection of these sandstones with
the decidedly tertiary beds of the vicinity of Cherra Poonjee could not be
traced. But, taking into consideration the horizontal and undisturbed
position of the tertiary group, as contrasted with the strangely contorted
and upturned arrangement of the other, the loosely coherent and soft na-
ture of the one as compared with the intensely hardened and metamorphic
character of the other; and the fact just mentioned that these altered
sandstones are penetrated by granite veins, while the tertiary sandstones
rest undisturbed upon the unequally denuded surface of granite, I have
little hesitation in thinking that there may be here remaining portions of
a much older group of rocks : possibly, the representatives of some of the
rocks which occur in Central India and elsewhere.

This important question can only be solved by a careful survey of the
country to the West and South from Mow-phlang, which I was unable to
visit.

Separated by some miles distance from the sandstones near to Mow-
Gun NEIN phlang, and forming an isolated cap of very
sandstones. limited area, on the hill close to the village of
Nungbri are some beds of coarse soft grits, of a yellowish-red tint, with

finer sandstones and thin earthy layers. The total thickness of these

198 KHASI HILLS.

beds is not more than 50 feet. A similar cap of very similar sandstones
forms a long, narrow, flat-topped ridge, on which the villages of Maw-
sutai and Laidom are placed, about three miles North of Myrung. This
ridge stretches nearly East and West for about two miles, but with a
very irregular outline, and contrasts well with the wavy surface of the
adjoining country by its flat top and scarped sides, seen best from the
North. The extreme thickness of the beds of sandstone here does not
exceed 100 feet. No fossils were found in these sandstones, with the
exception of a few very imperfect impressions in one of the beds
near Nungbri, much too indistinct for identification, but which ap-
peared to be similar to those found in the Cherra Poonjee beds. They
were all vegetable remains. In the absence, therefore, of any fossil
evidence, and arguing only from the mineralogical character of these
beds, without the occurrence of any well-marked layer admitting of
identification at distant points, it is impossible to assert, positively, that
these sandstones at Nungbri and at Laidom belong unquestionably to
the. same series as the Cherra rocks; although I believe such to be
the case, and that these caps of sandstone are only the now detached
and outlying remnants of a once extensive series of beds which stretch-
ed continuously over these hills, and which have been subsequently
denuded. "These patches remain as a measure by which we can estimate
the amount of matter which has been removed.

Sandstones similar to those occurring near Cherra Poonjee are seen along

aoe usa eect the Southern flank of the hill range, as far East-
opas wards as Burr-ghat, and from this they continue
still further in the same direction. I have only had an opportunity of
visiting these districts to the East during two trips, in one of which I pass-
ed up from the plains to Joowai, and in the other went down from the
hills by the ridge of Molih, Nonkradem, and Kung-diah, to Lacat. I can
therefore only speak of the rocks exhibited in these two sections, although

there is no question that the same group of rocks continues all along.

KHASI HILLS. . Е 129

To the North of Nonkradem, the ridge on which that village is situat-
E E IR ed is separated from the similar level ground fur-
dem. ther to the North by a deep transverse glen (seen

in foreground of Fig. 8) in which gneissose and schistose rocks are well

à " NUN N
МЧ;
Үү, М

exposed. Resting nearly horizontally upon these and forming a cap on
their up-turned edges, the sandstones stretch almost continuously from
thisto Lacat. .At the northern extremity of this broad flat ridge, where
the ground narrows by the approach of the deep valleys on either side,
this sheet of sandstone is divided into several small outliers separated by
slight depressions in the ridge: some of tuese are not more than 100 yards
square. But, proceeding to the South, the sandstones gradually become
much thicker and form the entire surface. About Molih they form thick
beds of red ferruginous grits alternating with shaly beds and clays. Close
to the village to the North, some traces of coaly layers are seen.

The same ferruginous sandstones, associated with black pyritous shale,

continue to show along the ridge towards the South. In the sandstone

130 KHASI HILLS.

П

beds there are frequent nodular concretions, highly ferruginous. The

i i i ionall
"Herrrpitous beds witht beds continue nearly horizontal, but are occasionally

coal. inclined from 15° to 20%, Passing Southward to a

small village called Tung-ji-nath, we find these dark red ferruginous

sandstones resting upon other beds of a much lighter tint. Associated

with the latter there is a bed of good coal about three feet six inches

thick on an average (a). It is seen in a deep croom or ravine close to

the village of Tung-ji-nath. The section of the rocks immediately with
the coal is as follows, in descending order :—
ft. in.

Hard ferruginous grits, ... ... ... «+

Light reddish sandstone, sen ese ees Eien too

Dark-coloured shaly sandstone in thin laminae, 2

Sandstone of darkish colour,... ... ... ... 1

Dark-coloured shale, thinly laminated, 2 0 to 1

Coal, Sel M esit. сай.) р. ге)

Black shale in thin layers, ... ... ... ... 0

ey cy eco & Co c»

Soft dark sandstone, micaceous and carbonaceous
(thickness not seen).

This coal seems very similar in quality and character to the Cherra
о coal Тһе bed is partially exposed for about forty
feet on the face, and in this short space it varies

in thickness from four feet to three feet and a half: and within a few
yards of this to the West it has thinned out to one foot and a half.
Towards the East, as far as it is seen, it. continues of tolerably even

thickness. It dips very slightly to the East by North ; dense close jungle
prevented me from tracing it much further (D).

(a). From this bed subsequently to the date of my report, a considerable quantity of coal
was extracted and despatched to Calcutta.

(5) From large slabs of the thin-bedded sandstones of the neighbourhood, the defences of
Molih are built. These slabs are placed on edge and side by side, and form a wall about six
feet high. Through this the entrance to the village is by a well-constructed and covered gate-
way. The whole forms a rude defence, of little value certainly in the modern system of at-
tack, but which would have afforded a great protection against the arrows of any hostile clan.

KHASI HILLS. = 131

The БШ drops suddenly for about 400 feet close to this village on the
South, and below this there is a slightly undulating plateau very similar
to that of the Mahadeo, South of Cherra Poonjee. This continues to the
River Kowa-i-assa, a short distance North of the village of Kungdiah (a).
Sandstones of varied coarseness, with softer and shaly beds between,
continue all along, until, about a mile North of Kungdiah, beds of soft
fossiliferous sandstone, slightly calcareous, appear. The shells are pre-
served in carbonate of lime, and are well seen from the contrast of
their white colour with the dark greenish-brown tint of the rock. Traces
of coal occur close to Kungdiah. :

From this to the plains at Lacat, nothing but sandstones are visible,

for the most part ferruginous and gritty ; some
Near Lacat. s
pebbly conglomerate beds are also seen. In the
upper portion of this section, no limestone is seen corresponding to
that at the station of Cherra, nor does it show immediately at Lacat,
although abundantly worked at a short distance to the West of that
place. ў
Further to the East below Lakadong the same series of rocks is seen :
passing from Burr-ghat, where a thick coarse con-
MA UE glomerate occurs (similar to that at the base of the
sandstone group near Cherra) through a series of sandstones of varying
mineral character, but markedly similar to the succession at Cherra. The
same varieties of organic remains are here found also : and the same beds
marked by the presence of plicated oysters and of echini. These beds
occur at about the same distance below the nummulitic limestone, over
which the coal of Lakadong is found. In other respects also, the parallel-
ism of this lower bed of limestone at Lakadong, and of the series of sand-
stone beds beneath it, with the limestones and underlying sandstone

of the Cherra series, appears to be completely established.

(a) Singh Manick, the Kyrim Rajah, ‘generally resided here, in preference to Non-
kradem, the principal town of his territories.
E

1952 KHASI HILLS.

I have before alluded to the extension of these sandstone beds towards
the North from Lakadong. About three miles
North from Rombai, slaty sandstone and dark car-

And to the North.

bonaceous shales occur nearly horizontal. They are well seen in the small
rivers or streams. The slaty beds are shining and micaceous. The country
about here and towards Rombai (a) is chiefly grassy table land, a large
proportion of which is under cultivation. The same character, with the
interruption of a few rounded dells or glens, continues to near the village
of Bappung. These glens have a remarkably regular and constant direc-
tion, all bearing nearly due North-East and South-West, the steep scarp
of the rocks in all cases facing the North, while the Southern ridge slopes
gradually away. North of the village of Bappung, and a very short
distance from it, there is a well-marked ridge formed of horizontal beds
of sandstone, with a few shaly partings, sometimes dark-coloured, nearly
black and carbonaceous, with glistening specks of mica. This ridge has
a curiously-rounded outline, and is eaten into regular re-entering angles
and bays, like a shore long exposed to the wash of the ocean waves.
Not far from Bappung, in a low flat depression to the West and North-
West, granite isseen. It is largely crystalline, and somewhat porphyritie,
and in general aspect very similar (though not quite so large in grain)
to that near Lailangkot, North of Cherra. Its connexion with the sand-
stones is not very clearly seen. North of this, the rounded hills are
again composed of horizontal sandstones occasionally conglomeratic, and
frequently presenting fine instances of false-bedding. This latter is
common also in the beds to the South.

Similar sandstones and conglomerates are seen stretching along the

top of the hills, bounding the valley of the Men-

Along valley of the *

ЕА ~ tedoo River, in horizontal beds, resting uncon-

formably on the up-turned and degraded edges of

(a) About four miles North from Rombai, pines (Pinus chinensis) first appear ; they
become plentiful, large and healthy, a little North of Bappung.

KHASI HILLS. 133

the beds of gneissose slate. (Fig. 9.) The lower beds here are con-

nig. 9

glomeratic, occasionally coarse; large rounded pebbles of quartz, and
also of the hard gritty gneissose beds below, being imbedded in a fine
sandstone. This character changes to a fine gritty sandstone, formed of
sharply angular pebbles of quartz in regular layers. Intercalated with
these, are some slaty beds very irregularly developed, occasionally
carbonaceous, dark-coloured, and micaceous ; occasionally light-coloured,
compact and earthy. Deep ferruginous stains are frequent, and the
rocks have often, in consequence, a very variegated tint. The beds here
are perfectly horizontal.

The country between Nonkradem and J oowai, I had no opportunity of
visiting. The same sandstones, which I have been describing, evidently
continue across ; cut into, and denuded by the deep river gorges, in which
the other and older rocks are exposed. And the same rocks appear also
to continue further to the East from Lakadong.

134 KHASI HILLS.

I have already alluded incidentally to the occurrence of lime-
stone near to the station of Cherra Poonjee
and elsewhere in the Khasi hills, and, the
relations of the limestone to the coal at Lakadong in the Jynteah

Tertiary Limestone.

hills, will be pointed out. But the importance of these limestones, both
in a geological and in a practical point of view, calls for a more detailed
description.
The limestone is well seen in the small isolated ridge bounding the
station of Cherra Poonjee to the South-West. This
BR C sass little ridge rises with a steep and perpendicular
escarpment from the level ground of the station. Along its base an
irregular talus of fallen masses of limestone, coal, and sandstone
conceals the actual junction of its lower beds with the sandstone beneath.
In one or two points this is indistinctly seen, and a bed of hard blue stiff
clay, only a few inches thick, separates the mass of the limestone from
the sandstone, on which it rests perfectly conformably ; and is like it,
therefore, nearly horizontal The thickness of the limestone beds here
is at least 75 feet. In the texture and character of the beds slight differ-
ences are traceable, but these are not remarkable. As a whole, it is
similar throughout, compact, of a grey-blue colour, hard and splintery,
with an irregular conchoidal fracture. It is generally thin-bedded, but
some of the beds attain a thickness of two and three feet : these thicker
masses are, however, frequently divisible into others, the partings being
well seen when the rock has been weathered. The uppermost beds are
a little more earthy in composition, and between these beds and the
mass of thin bedded limestone below, there is locally a thin (from half
an inch to one and half inch) layer of calcareous sandstone interposed.
This is not, however, constant. Throughout the whole of these beds
бп fossils are found. In the compact layers, these do
urs not show on the fresh fracture of the stone, the

shells or other remains being entirely replaced by the limestone; while

KHASI HILLS, 135

in the more earthy beds they become distinct, and easily recogniza-
ble. In the lower beds small, nearly globular, echini ( Eehinolompas)
are abundant, associated with turrited gasteropoda (Cerithium, Tur-
ritella, dc.) ‘occasionally of good size. Above this, small corals with
nummulites, principally N. spira, are more prevalent, while in the
upper layers there is a greater variety of shells. Pectens of small size
and invariably in single valves occur; also Turritella, Naticz, Patella (2)
associated with Nummulites. The latter go through the entire series
of beds.

The limestone beds stretch with an irregular outline, but with a
Med BG he similar bluff escarpment throughout, Westwards to

near the village of Mawm’luh. From this the
outcrop turns again Eastwards, and passes to near Mawsmai Along
this face, and more especially towards Mawsmai, the limestone cliffs
. are much less regular, being broken up by numerous fallen masses, which
stretch out from the main mass of the rock, and are thrown into
ihe most irregular and fantastic outlines ; the beauty of which is greatly
increased by the curious shapes mto which the masses decompose, and
by the richly-varied tints, which the moss-clothed rocks present. The
whole is thickly covered with wood. Again, turning Northwards towards
‘Cherra, the mass of the limestone has been denuded along the depression
through which the road passes, and is found in a small detached outlier
to the East of it.

We shall notice again the direction of some of these cliffs of lime-
acta ш stone, and the probable cause of this direction.
Parallel to the principal faces of these escarpments
we find a series of jointing planes or fissures, accompanied by slight
disturbances in the position of the beds, Some of these are well
seen along the face of the cliffs Wes: of the station, ana produce very
beautiful pictorial effects, the fern-clad sides of the deep clefts being
brought strongly into contrast with the sunless depths of the chink

136

beneath. (Fig. 10.)
Independently ofthe
clear evidence which
these steep escarpments
of the

limestone

Denudation,
great caves,&c.

afford of the long con-
tinued denuding action
along the base of these
cliffs totally different

from theordinary causes

now in operation to de- =,

grade and remove these

rocks, there is further

proof of their having of
been subjected to much e

: 1
local excavation by run-

ning water in the seve-
ral large caves which

penetrate these rocks;

i
н ii

KHASI HILUS.

Fig, 10.

| |;

and whose smooth and „p

polished _ marble-like

sides, at once indicate Jl Ш)

8 |
the force which has ex- :

cavated them. Of these
the most remarkable are
those near Mawm'luh
and near Mawsmai at
opposite sides of the
ridge. That these caves

or excavations in the

i |

KHASI HILLS. 137

limestone were formerly much more numerous, may also be inferred from
the many sudden and sometimes nearly circular depressions which occur
on this ridge, and which have obviously been caused by the falling of
the rocks above into a hollow or excavation below, from which they have
subsequently been gradually removed. The same process is still in
operation to produce similar effects, though on a minor scale. The
NUM D waters of the many streams which disappear under-
ground in the adjoining district, are undoubtedly
gradually excavating the rocks beneath, and the support being removed
from the upper beds these must inevitably fall in, and be themselves
gradually removed.(a)
Limestone, very similar to that which occurs at Cherra Poonjee, is
found in large quantity at a much lower elevation
on the hill side. At the village of Tungwai

. (Tingye) there is a great extent of this rock exposed, and here there are

Limestone at base of hills.

large quarries from which many thousands of maunds of this stone are
annually removed. The limestone stretches from this up the hill side
for some distance. In general aspect and character it is very similar
to the limestone at Cherra, but presents in its lower beds some marked
differences. The occurrence of much larger nummulites, and of a large
Ovula (О. depressa) are among these. These differences are very much
less marked at Tungwai than to the East of the Walingtia River, where
there are immense quarries of limestone. Here the larger nummulites
(N. spira) become much more abundant, and are almost the only fossil
found in these beds. In other beds above these, the smaller foraminifera
abound, and also fossils very similar to those found at Cherra Poonjee.
The abundance of some of these small foraminifera, which form nearly the

entire mass of some of the beds, give the layers at first sight an oolitic

(a) In several places in this neighbourhood considerable streams go underground for
some distance. The stream seen іп Fig. 13 passes in this way under the cliff of limestone
and coal.

188 KHASI HILLS.

character, although, where the surface is а little weathered, the cause of
this structure becomes evident.
Near Lakadong.—l have already mentioned the mode of occurrence
и of the limestone at Lakadong; it is in every
respect similar to that at Cherra Poonjee. At
Lakadong, however, there are two distinct deposits: one occurring under
the coal of that place, and being, I believe, the parallel of the limestone
at Cherra: and the other, above the coal and overlying sandstones.
Of the latter deposit, which at Lakadong attains a thickness of at least
50 feet, there appears to be no representative at Cherra Poonjee.
Again, precisely as at Cherra Poonjee great deposits of a num-
mulitic limestone are found at the base of the hills, so below Lakadong
there is a great extent of similar limestone. This is seen on the banks
of the Harry River, North of the village of Pichadar Poonjee. The beds
here dip at a high angle (55° to 65°) to the South, and support a great
thickness, of sandstones and shaly beds, which are all conformable to
the limestone below.(a) To these deposits of limestone and their mode
of occurrence, I shall again refer.
Reverting to the nummulitic limestones of Cherra, there are some very
interesting appearances presented by the upper
M of portion of the deposit. In the mass of the
upper beds (which, as I have mentioned, are
more earthy than the lower), there are imbedded several small patches
of coal and coaly mud. The "upper surface of the limestone is also
very irregular ; and here and there filling up the hollows in this wavy
surface, and covered by the sandstone, are thin pieces of coal and coaly
shale. In one place the upper beds of the limestone have been removed
to the depth of some feet, in the form of a channel or gully, as if by

the action of a stream: and this gully has subsequently been filled in

a) Having merely seen these beds in passing up the stream, I cannot enter into an
5 y p 5 up , y
details regarding Шет,

KHASI HILIS. 139

with the sand now forming the beds of sandstone overlying the
limestone. These deposits of sand have naturally conformed to the
surfaces of the hollow into which they have been carried, but the upper
surface of each successive layer has gradually become more and more
level, the sand necessarily accumulating in greater mass in the hollows,
until, at a distance of about four feet from the general surface of the
limestone below, the beds have again become regular and horizontal.
This remarkable depression in the limestone, coincides with a crack or
joimt which passes nearly vertically through all the beds below, but

along which there is no dislocation or faulting (Fig. 11). That the

limestone beds must have been considerably indurated .ог at least
desiccated, previously to this excavation taking place, is evident from the
sharp and unbroken edges with which the horizontal layers of the
limestone come against the sides of the sandstone filling the hollow.
No soft mud, such as these limestone beds originally consisted of,
could have remained at the steep angle of the sides of this gully.

And I think it also evident, from similar reasoning, that the same

Е

140 KHASY AILLS.

forces which produced the excavation in the limestone must have
continued in operation during a portion at least of the time occupied
in the deposition of the sandstones above. The surface of the limestone
has been subjected to a wearing action of a similar kind, but in a
slighter degree, in several other places closely adjoining (see Fig.)
It is therefore clear that while all the organic remains contained in
the limestone point to its marine origin, although under no great depth
of water, the occurrence of the imbedded patches of coal in its upper
beds, and of the small and isolated pieces of coaly matter filling
up the hollows on its surface, aud the peculiar way in which it has been
excavated as by a running stream, combine to show that it must have
been brought to the surface апа subjected to sub-aerial forces prior to -
the deposition of the overlying sandstones.
Resting immediately on the limestone which we have just described,
there is a group of alternating beds of sandstones,
бшм shales апа coal, which form the uppermost beds

of the small ridge in which they occur. The section is as follows, under

the surface :—
ft. in.
Earthy sandstone beds, covered with jungle ...
Sandstone slightly tinted red ... ... ... ... +e 6 0
Shaly sandstone whitish and grey... ... ... ... 1 0
“Sandstone, earthy and ferruginous, with concretions
of ironstone 0
Grit, free and open grained, softer towards top ... 2 6
Sandy shales, thinshbeddedi hee MN dan con Еа 10
White grit, sharp and angular, no cement ... ... 7 O0
Coal сы, о сю =) ЕСИ
Shale greyish-blaek with fragmentary impressions of
vegetable remains ... ... e eom 16
Sandstone, hard, ferruginous and nodular... ... РОО

KHASI HILLS. 141

ft im.
Sandstone, thin shaly beds with carbonaceous parti-

cles, giving à blackish-grey colour to the rock ;

о

beds very irregularly developed ... ... 1 0 to 2
Ferruginous sandstone... CC es s sse. 8 0
Thin-bedded earthy sandstones ... ... ... 1 0 to2 0
Sandstone, hard, ferruginous, and earthy, very irre-

gular and varying from ... ... ... .. 3 Oto 6 0
Limestone (as described above.) j
The coal seen in the foregoing section becomes in the lower part of

the bed very shaly, and passes into the grey shale
on which it rests. A little to the South of this
section (which is taken just above the cliff of limestone facing the
station of Cherra), this thick bed of coal, which is here of uniform

quality throughout, becomes split up by several small intercalated

Character of coal beds.

layers and wedge-shaped masses of sandstone. These gradually increase
to the detriment of the coal, and shortly after the coal has died out

altogether. In the coal itself iron pyrites occurs, disseminated and in

D=
Сас

= EA

: SS 65 SSS E
= a. а a Sandsa COED Sard Shale cc.

Rigle.

142 KHASI HILLS.

erystalline lumps: it is found in all parts of the bed, both near the top
and bottom, but chiefly the latter. It is not however very abundant.
The accompanying sketch of a part of the coal-bed will show its
appearance where the intercalated sandstone is partially seen (Fig. 12).
The roof of the coal is a thick bed of whitish clean grit, composed of
sharp angular quartz grains, entirely without any perceptible cement.
Tt is occasionally coloured with deep ferruginous stains.

The whole series of beds is very nearly horizontal, and is sharply

scarped on its outcropping edges. The coal

Horizontal ; worked

by adits. has been extracted by means of adits driven in

horizontally on the bed, and the position of the seam has enabled the
required drainage of the mines to be effected with very little trouble
or expense. The entrances to some of these adits are seen in the

accompanying sketch of a portion of the ridge seen from the North,

and which also shows the general position of the mines (Fig. 13).

KHASI HILLS. 143

Coal is also seen near to Cherra Poonjee exposed on the road-side at
Coal near Cherra the Northern extremity of the native village;
коопе village. again about half a mile further on traces of coal
are seen, but in both these places it seems too much disturbed and too
irregular to be of any value.
Coal again occurs further to the North near the little village of
ME rude Surareem on the road-side, but in very small
quantity This out-crop would seem to be con-
nected with the thick bed which shows under the village of Lairungoo,
in the face of the steep glen, towards the East (see Fig. 1) Close under
the Southern end of the village, this bed of coal is six feet thick, dipping
about four degrees towards the North-West. The seat of the coal here
is dark carbonaceous shale, with fragmentary vegetable remains highly
carbonized, about one foot thick: under this is a reddish-grey sandstone.
Passing Northward along the face of the cliff, the coal thins out to one
foot, and again increases to five feet. Owing to the thick covering of
forest and of fallen debris, the section is not very easily made out.
Limestone of precisely the same character as that at Cherra Poonjee,
and containing nummulites and other similar fossils, occurs under the
coal ; separated as at Cherra Poonjee by thin-bedded and strong sand-
stones. The much greater distance of this bed of coal from the plains,
and the greater elevation at which it occurs, will prevent its being
economically used, excepting for local supply.
Coal is also found at, or near to, the village of Bairung, South of
Cherra Poonjee; and at a much less elevation
(1,250 feet above the sea level) It is seen in a

deep dell, or kind of amphitheatre, in the rocks. Imbedded in sandstone

Near Bairung.

there are some few irregular appearances of the coal It has been
slightly opened out, and worked. The dip is from 3° to 5° to the South.
The coal occurs in irregular beds of carbonaceous mud, mixed with sand

and clay, with occasional patches of tolerably good coal imbedded. It

144 KHASI HILLS:

ig in three distinct layers, and the section in descending order, is as
follows :—
ft. in.
Thick-bedded sandstone UD Moss, TH
Sandstone, hard and fine-grained ... ... ... ... 1
Coal, tolerably good, from 8 in. to ... .. . 1 6
Coal, or à carbonaceous mud, with many carbo-
naceous particles imbedded, so as to be slightly

inflammable: SE ecc oon ОООО
Sandstone, (clean sharp freestone) ... ... ... ... 11 0
Coal irregularly bedded, soft and earthy ... ... 1 6

From this section it will at once be evident, that no good coal can be
looked for from this deposit.

I had no opportunity of visiting the coal said to occur near to Cheyla,

Ned Ору A and further to the Westward near Laour. I have
Laour already referred to the coal found close to the
village of Tung-ji-nath, South of Nonkradem, and still further to the
East. :

As regards the extent of the Cherra Poonjee bed, which is the most

Extent of Coal at Important, it follows the ridge of the limestone
Gnerre (see Map), and crops out at intervals round its
bluff escarpment. Thus the coal is seen at the most Northerly point
of this ridge, and again near to the road from Cherra Poonjee to
Maw'smai But independently of the very irregular development of
the coal itself, and the want of continuity in the bed originally, a large
portion of the surface included within the outline of the limestone, as
shown on the Map, has been susbequently denuded of the upper beds
of sandstone, coal, &c., while, as I have already noticed, other portions
have been removed by falling into, and filling, large cave-like excava-
tions in the underlying limestone. I shall have occasion to refer again

to this question of the amount of coal to be found here.

KHASI HILLS. 145

A fault, or rather a group of two or three small faults, cuts this ridge
and has upthrown the coal, limestone, &c., on the
West about forty feet. This fault heads North
35° East or nearly North-East. It is rudely parallel with the face of
the ridge on the West, which has itself in all probability been the re-
sult of the degrading forces having acted upon or against a line of divi-

sion in the mass of the rocks. The main joints in the limestone have

Fault.

also the same direction,

Coal occurs at Lakadong in the Jynteah hills,
Near Lakadong.
and has been worked to some extent.

The village (Lakadong) is situated on a small elevated plateau or level
space, surrounded on all sides by crooms or valleys, some of which
_are deep. In the centre of this level space rises an irregular wooded
hillock, chiefly composed of thick-bedded limestone, which crops out
boldly on its sides. (Plate IX.)

By the road or path, Lakadong is distant from Burr-ghat on the

Н Hurry river about 7 to 7} miles, and is at an

CN E elevation of about 2,350 feet above the level of
the sea, or about 1,800 feet lower than Cherra. At Burr-ghat the road
meets the river, and here the coal can be transferred to boats.

Round the small plateau of Lakadong, the coal is seen in several

places, appearing in the face of the crooms, as
Mode of occurrence. well as in a few small pit-like hollows in the mid-
dle of the level ground. The whole area included in this plateau does
not amount to one square mile. Under the greater portion of this
space a bed of coal appears to spread, though very irregularly deve-
loped, and of this only a very small portion has hitherto been extracted.

Close to the village itself (at a on plan) the coal is exposed in a
small water-course. It is here about five feet-thick, dipping at a small
angle (4° to 6°) towards North by East with a sandstone roof and floor.

The roof is of sharp gritty texture, ferruginous, quartzose, and hard ;

146 - KHASI HILLS.

white and reddish in colour; irregularly bedded ,but firm, and would
form an excellent mining roof; under this from twelve to fifteen inches
of good coal; then about twelve inches of hard black micaceous shale,
difficult to work ; then about three feet of good coal, mixed here and
there with sandy masses, similar to those which occur in the lower por-
tion of the Cherra coal and at Bairung.

West of this (at b on plan) there is a deep pit-like hollow, overgrown
with jungle, whence some coal has been extracted. The bed where
thickest (to the North) is about three feet, not bad coal, though frag-
mentary, but it rapidly and within fifteen to twenty feet thins out to one
foot, and then dies away altogether. There is no appearance of any
fault or break, a very slight * trouble" which heads East and West being
all that is visible. A deep hole here pierces to the beds below, and ap-
pears to me to have principally resulted from the falling-in of the rock
in all probability into a large cavity or open space in the limestone
beneath.

The roof of the coal is here, as before, sandstone, but it appears some-
what softer and less coherent. The accompanying sketch (Fig. 14) will

give an idea of the irregular manner in which the coal is developed. .

ze 5 —
$ =]

dejen орош ый 7
‚ а hal. 5.6 Sandstone’.
Fig 14.

The dip here is N. 10° E. at about 5°.
To the North of this (at c) another working has been opened in the

face of a deep glen or croom, where the coal is of considerable thick-

KHASI HILLS. 147

ness and in great mass, but as in the other localities, very irregular.
There appear at first to be two beds here; but I am disposed to consider
it all the same bed. This appearance arises from the same parting of
hard black shale, which when first seen was not more than a foot in
thickness, having here assumed a thickness of not less than two feet
six inches to three feet, and being used as a division between the series
of workings. The coal has been wrought in open adits. The upper
portion or bed is about four feet ten inches to five feet thick ; it is fragile
soft, and easily broken, and produces in working a very large amount of
small coal, I should say very nearly one-half, certainly one-third. Under
this is the parting of hard shale varying from two feet three inches to
three feet in thickness, below which there are again other adits driven
into the coal below. This lower bed is in one place at least eight feet
thick, but within a short space it dwindles to four feet. The roof of the
coal here is sandstone, of the same lithological character as in the other
localities, It is from seven to eight feet thick. The floor is composed
of sandstone, in irregular beds, less gritty than that above the coal.
About eighteen feet below the coal and these irregular beds of sandstone,
we find thick limestone full of nummulites, and in every other respect
similar to the limestone under the coal at Cherra. We are enabled to
see this by the falling-in of an old cave in the limestone, by which a
deep hole has been formed towards the northern end of the croom. The
coal in this locality dips slightly to the North-East, but, from the
irregular development of the beds, it is difficult to say that it has any
definite dip at all.

Precisely the same beds have again been worked a little to the
North of this (about 50 yards), dipping here 30° South of East at an
angle of 8°. They have scarcely been cut into, the excavation not having
extended more than four feet from the face of the rock. There is here a
similar parting of hard shale, of about the same thickness, and of
the same lithological character as in the other localities,

G

148 KHASI HILLS.

A short distance to the North-East of this, another nearly circular
pit or eroom exposes the same coal again (at d on plan) In one place
the bed is from eight to ten feet thick, while within less than twenty
feet it dwindles down to one foot. At the Southern end of the croom
a fault or slip, the walls of which are very irregular, cuts it off altogether.
This break crosses the rocks from North-East by East to South-West
by West. The same nummulitic limestone as before is here seen at
about the same distance below the coal, eighteen to twenty feet, The
accompanying sketch (Fig. 15) represents the mode of occurrence of

the coal.

Fig 15.

The most extensive workings as yet opened are situated Hastward
of this, on the side of a deep croom facing to the East (ate on plan).
Here the coal has been excavated in five headings, which have been
carried in some distance (about 9 fathoms). The coal is about seven
feet thick and of good quality: but it varies, and in one of the headings

sandstone appears, cutting off the coal for half its thickness, and having |

KHASI HILLS. 149

much the appearance of being the result of a slip-fault. It has not
been opened sufficiently to make this clear. The beds dip slightly
1? or 2? to the N. N. E. The workings have been carried up towards
the out-crop, or on the rise of the coal, and a considerable portion of the
coal immediately accessible here has been, I should think, worked
out.

There are also a few small breaks in the coal, up-throws chiefly,
shifting it a foot or so. These head with the dip, or direction of inclina-
tion of the coal.

Detached from all these localities, and South and West of the rising
ground in the centre of the table-land, are two open crooms or hollows.
The one (at f on plan) most Northerly is very small, and at about thirty
feet below the surface is a very irregular mass of coal imbedded in
sandstone; a fault here passes across the rocks from North-Hast to
South-West, and cuts all off. In the other (at g on plan), still to the
South of this, a bed of coal is seen continuing for about one hundred
feet, not more than three feet thick, in places not more than one. It is
poor coal; the roof is of sandstone, yellowish, red in colour and ferrugi-
nous. The floor of dark slaty shale, slightly micaceous, dipping slight-
ly into the hill The edge of the croom runs North 30° West, and,
judging from the smoothed and scratched surface of the rocks, it appears
to be formed by a break running in that direction. z

In addition to all these there are two other crooms to the East of the
village, and close to it, where a thick bed of coal is seen, but has been
scarcely worked at all. (These are marked g on plan.)

North-East of the village, and distant about 21 miles, another thick

bed of coal is visible. I was informed by the

Different beds. ^

Khasis who showed me this coal that no other
European had previously seen it. The coal is in parts even twelve feet
thick, but it thins out again within a short space to three feet, and even

less. The roof and floor are here, as in the other localities, of sand-

150 . ` KHASI HILLS.

stone, dipping very slightly to the North or West. This coal is at least
two miles further from Burr-ghat than the coal at the vilage of Laka-
dong; but the Khasis asserted that it could be conveyed to the river at
the same rate as from the village.

Such is the mode of occurrence of this coal and of its associated
rocks. As regards the quality of the Lakadong coal, it is very similar
to that from Cherra. It burns briskly, blazes freely, leaves very little
ash, and possesses considerable heating and illuminating power. But
for domestic purposes, it is a remarkably good, lively, and cleanly coal,
like that from Cherra; however, it is open to the serious objection of
being very brittle and disintegrating readily. The whole mass of the
coal is traversed by very numerous little cracks or fissures, which tend
to split it up into smaller portions, and these fissures not preserving
that parallelism and regularity which render the * backs" in most Eng-
lish coal such an advantage in the working of them, but traversing the
mass in every direction, it results that not only is there a considerable
waste in the amount of small coal produced by the excavation, but also
that the large coal is itself procured in blocks of irregular form, and
consequently ill-adapted for convenient stowage. _

This, with the fragile nature of the coal, will, І am convinced, so
far as sed-going steamers are concerned, fully counterbalance the ad-
vantages which this coal has over some other Indian coals as regards
heating power; but this objection is much less forcible as regards river
steamers, or for stationary engines.

As regards the quantity of coal existing in the field, it is difficult
to form anything like a very accurate estimate, owing to the great
irregularity of its development; but we may, I think, fairly calculate
the quantity of coal easily accessible as being equal to one-half a square
mile with an average thickness of three feet, which would give about
1,500,000 cubic yards of coal, or about 40,500,000 cubic feet or

maunds. But, even granting that this estimate is beyond the actual fact,

KHASI HILLS. 151

there can be no doubt that there is a sufficient quantity to meet the
demands of many years to come.
IGNEOUS ROCKS.—GRANITE.—In describing the sedimentary rocks
Extent of area, in the preceding pages, I have in several places
incidentally referred to the occurrence of granite, both im veins and
in mass. The largest area of this rock which occurs in that portion
of these hills we have visited, is near to the large iron-washing
villages of Molim and Nonkrim. Its boundary stretches with an irre-
gular outline from the Southern flanks of Shillong hill, passing the
villages of Lungqueer and Mawreng, and crossing the Boga-pani a
little North of Laikro. From this the boundary turns Eastwards, and
skirts the river on the Southern bank towards the village of Lailangkot.
Another large granitic area occurs to the West of this, stretching from
the village of Lybersai, South of the ridge on which are placed the
villages of Cockleederah and Cudderah, towards Lunkoi.
Throughout this area, the lithological character of this rock is toler-
; ably persistent. It is a highly felspathic and
TRITT largely crystalline rock : the felspar being of two
kinds, one whitish-pink, which together with the other ingredients forms
the general mass of the rock, the other of a deep flesh-red colour in
large crystals, which, imbedded in the general mass of rock, give it à
porphyritie character. The quartz is generally of a greyish-white tint,
but not abundant, the mica blackish and greenish-black. Hornblende
does occur, but is rare. The granite frequently presents also another
character, often seen in such rocks, namely, the occurrence of large
masses of a harder texture, and slighlty different proportional composi-
tion, imbedded in the general mass. ‘These masses are never so largely
crystalline as the ordinary granite adjoining. Owing to the large
“amount of felspar which enters into the composition of the granite, it
decomposes readily, and for a depth of many feet from the surface is

quite soft and incoherent.

152 KHASI HILLS.

Imbedded in the mass, and almost as constant an ingredient ‘in the

Iron occurs imbed. COMposition of the rock as any of the other mi-

ded: nerals, occur small crystalline grains of titanifer-

ous iron, which, from their abundance locally, give the rock a very
spotted aspect. "They are not equally distributed, being absent or com-
paratively absent in the harder concretionary masses, and abundant in
the adjoining softer portions of the rock. There is no vein of this ore,
but it occurs freely disseminated, and associated with the other minerals.
It appears, on the whole, to be more abundant near to the junction of
the granite with the overlying rocks than elsewhere. As yet no exca-
vations have been made to any depth sufficient to enable an opinion io be
formed, as to whether the presence of this ore continues in depth
or not.

The simple mode of extracting this ore from the granite, adopted by

scs sped ыы the Khasis, is to loosen the soft and partially de-
composed granite, with a long iron rake, and
suffer the loosened masses and sand to fall into a running stream below,
by which the disintegrated particles are still further separated, and the
lighter minerals being carried away, the heavier portions including all
the iron ore remain, to be again more carefully separated by repeated
washings. In this process, the softer portions only of the rock being
removed, the huge lumps and masses of harder consistency, being
deprived of their support, fall and remain heaped around in the great-
est confusion, gigantic monuments of former workings. In many places
through the hills, huge piles of these great blocks, now perfectly over-
grown with moss, bear testimony to the industry of the natives in former
times. Some are of immense size, and the accumulation of these masses,
occasionally grouped in the most fantastic formis, gives a strikingly
characteristic feature to the scenery of the granite country. The accom- '
panying sketch of the valley of Nonkrim, will give some idea of the

great size and confused heaping of these blocks. (Fig. 16.)

KHASI HILLS. 153

This blocky character exists in all the glens within the granite dis-

trict, even where no iron workings have existed

Immense blocks left. К
: and where there has been no excavation, artifi-

cially, of the rocks. Contrasting the view already given (Fig. 9.) of the
ridge on which Nonkradem is built, its remarkably flat top, and preci-
pitous sides, with the glen to the North in the granite (Fig. 17) seen

from the same point, the difference is at once evi

154 | KHASI HILLS,

Granite of similar lithological character is seen again several miles

1 _ to the Eastward of the districts to which I have

et eo NA just referred. It shews on the surface four or

five miles North of Joowai, and again near to the village of Pooring,

and between that and Nurtiung. It is essentially the same in compo-

sition as that near Molim, though not quite so largely crystalline. The
boundary of this granite I had no opportunity of tracing out.

Independently of these more extended areas in which granite occurs, it

is seen in a few more limited and isolated positions.

Kull hill. 1 1
“МЕДЕ А. Of these the most remarkable is the curious and

very prominent rock, called the Kullong (a) (Fig. 18). This huge mass

of granite stands up boldly from the undulating surface of the country
around, looking like a great; dome of about 500 feet high. To the East
and North-East it slopes a little more gradually, and is thickly cloth-
ed with timber. On the Western and South-Western sides it pre-

sents a naked mass of rock rising nearly perpendicularly upwards of 700

(a) See also Fig, 3.

KHASI HILLS. 155

feet from the bottom of the undulations in the ground below. Round
its base some large and fine pine and other trees cluster, the dark
foliage of which contrasts beautifully with the naked and weather-beaten
face of the rock itself. This very remarkable rock is one mass of highly
erystalline granite, rising from the rounded knolls
of the gneissose country around. To the West,
judging from the immense blocks which are strewed over the surface,
the granite would seem to extend ; but on the South, the East, and the
Northern sides, the bedded gneiss and slates encompass it. It appears

Structure, &c.

to be in fact an exhibition by nature on a gigantic scale of a phenomenon
similar to that which may be seen throughout the entire of the granitic
area, and to which we referred above, namely, the occurrence of those
huge blocks of rock imbedded in, and of a similar character to, the mass,
though much more highly indurated. The Kullong rock would seem to
be a monster exhibition of the same fact, which no human hands have
exposed, but which the action of natural causes, continued for ages, has
laid bare. (a) |

In the same parallel with the Kullong, and to the East, granite
occurs cutting through, disturbing, and altering

CEN ө. the slates in junction with it, near the village of
Laidom. This exhibition of it is interesting from the fact of the outlier
of tertiary sandstones which occurs here, resting quite undisturbed
and horizontally upon the granite, as well as on the adjoining slates, the
surface of both having been planed down to the same general level
prior to the deposition of the sandstone upon them. The granite is

seen at both sides of the isolated cap of sandstone.

(a) As might be expected with a tribe whose prayers are chiefly, if not solely, offered
up to avert the wrath of spirits, whom they imagine to dwell in woods and rocks, this

Kallong is asserted to be the abode of a powerful demon, whose enmity a Khasi dreads much
to evoke,

H

156 - KHASI HILLS.

The occurrence of huge blocks of granite in several other places

throughout the hills, indicating the former exis-

Evidence of occurrence

рг tence of washings for iron ore, points also to the

existence of this rock in these places Time,
however, did not admit of a detailed examination of these localities. I
have therefore preferred, on the map, to include these within the
general area occupied by the metamorphic rocks, which are pierced by
innumerable granite veins, rather than to attempt an amount of detail
for which I had not sufficient data. Thus, at Nung-rumai, (Normai)
and at Nungklow, and in some other localities, there is no doubt of the
existence of granite, but it is probably very limited in area.
І have already described the occurrence of granite in considerable
Ne mass and also in veins of varying size and compo-
sition, in connection with the metamorphic rocks
of the Temshung valley to the East of Cherra Poonjee.
A reference to the map will show that the points at which granite
shows through the hills have a somewhat definite
d сир es arrangement, and occur on lines having an Eas-
terly and Westerly direction. Thus the granite
of Lunkoi on the West is continued by the granite of Molim and
Nonkrim, and still further East by that which shows near Pooring and
North of Joowai; while the line of the Kullong is shown further to the
East in the exhibition of this rock near to Laidom.
GREENSTONE.—This is another interesting form under which igneous
rocks are exhibited in the Khasi Hills.
The most important locality where these rocks occur has been al-
LUN ae ready alluded to in describing the sandstones of
Cherra, and the alterations which have resulted
from the contact of these volcanic rocks in a molten state. A few words
of additional detail will therefore suffice here. The rocks which form the

greater portion of the valleys of the Kala-pani and of the Boga-pani, with

KHASI HILLS. 157

the small intermediate glen, are throughout of а very constant lithologi-
eal character. They are all a basaltiform greenstone, dense and close-grain-
ed, with very few and small vesicles, or air bubbles.
Sa oc The rock divides into prismatic masses, assuming
in places a semi-columnar aspect ; but this structure is not well developed.
Where long exposed it decomposes on the surface into a ferruginous
ochrey sand. Near the junction with the overlying sandstones this
greenstone is traversed by numerous small veins of quartz which fill all
the cracks and fissures in the mass. These do not occur at any distance
from the sandstone, and appear to be the result of the subsequent filling
in of small cracks by silica derived from the overlying siliceous rocks.
This is the general character of the rock throughout the large area
over which it is exposed.
North-East of Mow-phlang greenstone occurs, not in the form of a
н great underlying sheet of rock supporting the
рге sandstones, but as a dyke or wall of this igneous
rock, cutting through the beds of the mechanical series. Here the
character of the rock is somewhat different; instead of the basaltiform
structure and composition, which prevail in the mass, it is diallagic
more largely crystalline, and is a true diallagic greenstone. I am dis-
posed to view it, however, notwithstanding this difference in aspect, as
connected with, and probably an off-shoot of, the great mass of greenstone
to the South.
Other dykes occur in the district South of the village of Laikro, which
have, though in a much smaller degree, the same mineral aspect.
All these dykes have a common direction, namely, they all head
sonans or strike nearly due North-East, coinciding with
the main or general direction of the great river

valleys in which the greenstone is so well exposed. (a)

(a) The road from Cherra Poonjee to Gowahatty in Assam passes for several miles
over this greenstone between the valley of the Kala-pani and that of the Boga-pani. This

158 ` KHASI HILLS.

B

Trappean rocks are also seen South of Cherra Poonjee. Below the
great ridge, or to the West of the hill under Maw-m'luh village, at an
elevation of about 2,400 feet above the sea, or about 1,700 feet below
the level of Cherra, and, forming the top of the small ridge which here
unites Maw-m'luh with the partially detached hill on which Laikenso
is placed, there occurs an earthy greenstone or claystone, in places very
ferruginous ; its fissures being coated with peroxide of iron. It is highly
vesicular, the cavities being filled with agates, and agaty flints, of
various colours. The rock itself is of a blueish tint. The high-coloured
flints, in which a deep earthy red is the prevailing tint, have been des-

cribed as jasper (Gleanings in Science, vol. i. p.

The colour in some pieces is good, but I‏ .)374 ا
did not see any lumps of good size ; and most of the pieces are greatly‏
shattered. -‏

An earthy greenstone similar to this is also met with in passing
down from the Mahadeo to Bairung village, and at about the same
elevation. The ground between these two localities is too densely
covered with jungle to permit its examination sufficiently for tracing the
continuity of this trap.

A thick vein, or dyke of highly crystalline greenstone, passes in a

Dyke near Mooshye. North-East and South-West direction across the

excellent road reflects the highest credit on the skill of Col. Lister, who planned and
executed it throughout. It is, with scarcely an exception, admirably laid out, and con-
structed ; while the remarkably well-turned bridges of cut stone, by which the larger
streams are crossed, show what can be done by the well directed intelligence of the natives
of these hills. The communication across the Boga-pani, one of the largest and most
dangerous streams on this line of road, was interrupted early in 1851 by the carrying away
of the Suspension Bridge in a great flood, which flood also swept away several other bridges
on the road. These latter have all been repaired, or renewed, but I am not aware
that any thing has been done to re-open the communication across this torrent, The
mail bags are still, I suppose, passed across during the rains suspended to a rattan stretched
between the banks, and the only means of crossing for some months in the year is by a

temporary bridge of the rudest construction put up by the natives.

KHASI HILLS. 159

rocks, a little West of Mooshye ; and a similar mass is seen to the East of
the villages of Rasheer and Pooring, holding precisely the same general
direction, and probably connected with that near Mooshye. It is of the
same basaltiform aspect as the greenstone seen near the Boga-pani and
Kala-pani rivers.

Looking at this well-marked direction of the various dykes or masses
E МЕ of greenstone seen within the area examined, and
p tertiary beds, its constancy, and taking it in connectiou with the

direction of the faults observed in the coal at
Cherra Poonjee ; with the direction of the principal joints or planes of divi-
sion existing in the limestones there; with the direction also of the great
lines of the river-valleys, which a reference to the map will show to be
remarkably parallel within the sandstone area, and which undoubtedly
have been formed along great lines of disturbance; we are, I think,
justified in concluding that the maximum force of these intruding igneous
rocks has been exerted in a direction nearly North-East, and that conse-
quent on this force there has been a series of divisional planes produced
in the Sedimentary rocks, which have a nearly parallel direction ; and
that these divisional planes, associated in some cases with actual dis-
locations or faults, have influenced very largely the operation of the
ordinary degrading forces in producing the present features of the
district.

GEOLOGICAL AGE, &C., OF THE ROCKS.—In the preceding description of
the lithological aspect and mode of occurrence of the various rocks in
the Khasi hills, I have not entered at all into the question of their
geological epoch, except in the most incidental manner. The full dis-
cussion of this interesting question can only be undertaken after a
careful examination of the fossils occurring in these rocks, and I shall
therefore reserve all details of this kind for a future occasion, at
present simply stating in the broadest way the general relations of the
rocks.

160 KHASI HILLS.

With reference to the mechauical rocks described above under the gene-
ral head of “metamorphic,” I have already stated
m огы BEDA that, so far as they have been examined, they are
entirely and completely azoic ; no trace of either
animal or vegetable remains having been found in them. The distinct
age of the two groups to which I have above referred is shewn by their
unconformability as well as by their different lithological character ; but
I have not attempted on the accompanying map to separate them, my
examination of the hills having been too brief and too limited to enable
me to trace their boundaries exactly. Of the still more recent sand-
stones, 1 have already briefly spoken above. There is a well-marked
group of sandstone and shaly beds greatly altered, very much disturbed,
and pierced by veins of granite, totally distinct from any of the more
recent beds, but the age of which cannot be determined in consequence
of the absence of organic remains. In lithological aspect, they greatly
resemble many of the highly altered beds of Central India and the
Nerbudda ; but this resemblance may be very deceptive. Possibly in
the absence of any evidence of their age, it may be the most convenient
way to consider them simply as secondary, without attempting any distinc-
tive classification, thus indicating their intermediate position between the
.metamorphie rocks below and the tertiary sandstones, &c., above. I was
at first disposed to view them as an upper group of the metamorphic rocks
themselves—a classification justified by their very highly altered condition.
But this would to a great extent mask the real circumstances of the case,
and they have therefore been set down as secondary. Their age is
to a certain extent very well marked by the intrusion of the granite
veins in them, while these are totally absent in the tertiary beds above ;
and also by their highly inclined and greatly disturbed positions.
The group of sandstones, limestone, coal, &c., occurring along the
Southern escarpment of the hills, is of much

Nummulites. А = :
greater interest. In these, many organic remains

KHASI HILLS. 161

occur, some of which have been incidentally alluded to. Of these cer-
tainly the most characteristic are the fossils of the limestone beds, and
among these the nummulites are most important. The existence of
these fossils in the so-called “ Sylhet limestone” had been long known.
It was pointed out by Mr. Colebrooke in his valuable paper on the
geology of the North-Eastern frontier of Bengal (a), and has subse-
quently been alluded to by several other writers. The tertiary age of
this rock, inferred from the occurrence of these fossils, had also been
more than once referred to, and generally acknowledged. In the most
recent account of the geological structure of these hills, Dr. McClelland
speaks of this rock, but refers it to the parallel of the upper portion of
the cretaceous group of Europe. The state of geological knowledge
regarding the distribution of these remarkable foraminifera at that time,
undoubtedly justifed this author in making such reference, although
from more recent researches geologists now agree in assigning the rocks
containing these nummulites to the earlier tertiary era.
But this reference of Dr. McClelland’s only relates to the limestones
found near Teria-ghat at the base of the hills,
Mu d adi as he distinctly draws a line of demarcation
between these and the limestones found close to Cherra Poonjee station ;
which latter, together with the associated coals, he refers to the
lowest portion of the coal measure group (b), and to the same age as
the coal beds of the Hazareebaugh and Nerbudda districts. It would
be quite out of place to discuss here the age of the latter deposits,
or that of the great coal-fields of the Damoodah and Adji It will
suffice to state simply that tliere are no grounds whatever for referring
the limestones, and other rocks which occur at or near to the village
of Cherra Poonjee, to an older geological epoch than those found at

the base of the same hills. They are both nummulitie ; they are both

(a) Geological Transactions, London, Vol. i. 2nd Series.
(b) Reports of Coal Committee, Calcutta, 1838, pp. 26, 33; and 1846, pp. 100, 103.

162 KHASI HILLS.

mineralogically alike, and both unquestionably belong to the same great
division of geological time. |

There is some little difficulty in ascertaining exactly what Dr.
McClelland’s views, regarding the arrangement of the rocks at Cherra
Poonjee, were. In the earliest announcement of his discovery of fossil
shells in these hills, made in September 1835 (a), he merely states,
“that he had discovered a large number of shells at various altitudes
from 1,000 to 4,200 feet, and even in and around the station of Cherra
Poonjee itself,” among which he thought he recognized Pecten, Turri-
tella, Melania, Serpula, Cirrus, Pleurotoma, &c., “and that these re-
mains were in rocks hitherto considered as primitive.” In the following
year, he exhibited to the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, the collections made
by him during his trip to Assam, and stated that fossil shells were
found in such number and variety at Cherra Poonjee, as to afford most
unquestionable evidence * of the tertiary nature" of the Khasi moun-
tains: and further, that when the specimens had been compared with
the fossils from the Paris and London basins, “it might be possible to
find their place in the Eocene and Pleiocene groups of Lyell.” While
this would seem to indicate that he referred to the epoch of the
formation of the rocks, and not to that of the formation of the moun-
tains, the next sentence appears to shew that it was the period of up-
heavement to which he alluded, as he thinks this is the first instance
of “any extensive deposit of fossil shells in the Sub-Himalayan rocks,
calculated to throw sufficient light on the period of their “ up-
heavement" (b).

In the following year (1837), a short communication from the same
author was read to the Geological Society of London, in which he refers

to the nummulitic limestone at the base of the hills, and to the occur-

(a) Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal, Vol. iv. p. 520.
(6) Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal, Vol. v. p. 519.

KHASI HILLS. 163

rence of fossil shells in a “well-defined marine beach” at about 1,500
feet above the sea, out of his collection from which he had identified
about twenty species as identical with Paris-basin fossils. Next refer-
ring to the Cherra Poonjee limestone, he describes it as reposing on
the sandstone of the hills, anl as having a'fordel him twenty-seven
species of shells, among which he identified Pileolus plicatus of Sower-
by.(w) “On this limestone rest the coal, &c.”(b) In the Report of
the Coal and Mineral Committee greater details are given; and in
discussing the question of the relative levels of the Indian coal-fields,
and the causes to which these may be referred, the same author states
that the coal of Cherra Poonjee is accompanied by rocks identical in
nature with those found bearing a similar relative position to other
beds of coal of the same (coal measure) formation ; refers the great
thickness of sandstone which occurs under the coal and limestone, to
the old red sandstone of English Geologists ; and alluding to the similarity
between the limestone which occurs beneath the Cherra coal and the
limestone of Central India, proceeds to state, with reference to the
researches of Mr. Scott and Mr. Cracroft, that, * no chronological dis-
tinction had been previously established between the limestones in this
quarter, although the Cherra rock is distinguished as a formation
from the nummulite limestone, as well by means of its fossils, as
by the beds with which it is associated."(c) The same author again
described more particularly the occurrence of these fossil shells in the
so-called beach, and states that in one place the echinida which occur
with them (Cyrtoma, of McClelland), are found “in a greenish-grey fri-
able sandstone, which will probably prove to be the equivalent of the

green saliferous marls of the upper new red sandstone."(d) Accord-

(a) This, however, is an oolttic fossil.

(b) Proceedings Geological Society, London, June 12, 1837.
(c) Report Coal Committee, 1838, p. 33. i
(d) Calcutta Journal of Natural History, Vol. i. p. 155.

164 KHASI HILLS.

ing to this determination, therefore, there would be in the Khasi hills
representatives of the old red sandstone ; of the carboniferous ; of the
new red sandstone ; of the cretaceous and of the tertiary groups.

Now whatever doubt there may be as to the relative position of the
limestones which occur at the base of the hills in many places, and those
found at the top, there can be no question whatever as to the relative posi-
tion of the sandstone in which these echini occur, and of the limestone
and coal of the Cherra Poonjee station, inasmuch as the succession of
beds can be uninterruptedly traced upwards from the one to the other.
1f therefore these sandstones, occurring on the slope of the hill, belong,
as Dr. McClelland thinks probable, to the new red sandstone group, it is
difficult to see how he can refer the limestone and coal, which occur
some 1,500 feet stratigraphically above them, to the carboniferous
epoch.

There does not appear to be any ground for supposing that this lime-
stone belongs to a different geological era from
the sandstone below it. They are both perfectly

conformable, and have formed a continuous and uninterrupted series of

Limestone and sand-
Stone conformable.

deposits, the calcareous nature of some of the sandstone beds proving
that the sources of lime existed long prior to the formation of the purer
calcareous muds, now constituting the limestones. It is possible that
some of the sandstone beds may have been geologically coeval with the
upper or latest portions of the cretaceous group of Europe (and this
question can only be decided by a careful comparison of the organic
remains): but there is little doubt that the Cherra limestone is of the
older tertiary or Hocene epoch. (a)

(a) While thus differing altogether from the conclusions of Dr. McClelland, I am
anxious to bear testimony to the general accuracy of his descriptions; and to state my con-
viction that the errors in his deductions arose as much from the state of geological know-
ledge at the time he wrote, as from any want of proper investigation ont he part of the
author. The notion; by no means fully exploded in 1838, that good coal could only be
found associated with rocks of a certain era in geological succession, would seem to have held

KHASI HILLS. 165 -

But although a question may exist regarding the geological date ot
the sandstones below, there can be none whatever that the sandstones,
coal, &e., above this limestone, are either of the same epoch as the lime-
stone itself, (and therefore Eocene,) or of a still later date. In either
case this Cherra coal (which has hitherto been referred to as the lowest
portion of the coal measures)(«) is undoubtedly tertiary.

I have above described the appearance presented by the upper surface

of the limestone, and the curious manner in which
ад а it has been scooped out, and the hollows filled
BEA ти either by sandstone or vegetable matter. For
such degradation of the surface, I conceive that a considerable time must
have elapsed, and a considerable change of condition have occurred.
And it is, therefore, possible that this bed of coal, and its associated
sands (for so slightly indurated are they that they scarcely deserve
the name of sandstone), may belong to a still more recent sub-division of
the tertiary group than the underlying limestone ; and that this may be,
at Cherra Poonjee, the last remaining relic of a series of beds corres-
ponding, in time, with the largely-developed groups of the Siwalik hills
and of the Salt range ; beds analogous to which the researches of Mr. Scotó

have proved to exist along the Western flanks of the Garo hills, not far
from the Khasi range.
No fossils have been as yet discovered in these overlying beds, which

would throw any light upon this question, and the occurrence of beds of
similar coal, much lower in the series, and associated with the sand-

stones (as at Tung-jinath), and of precisely similar nummulitie limestone

such sway over his mind, that to meet this difficulty, the stronger evidence of organic re-
mains (which Dr. McClelland to a great extent interpreted accurately) was rejected, or
explained away on an untenable hypothesis. Тһе extent of the author's researches during
his very brief visit is the most convincing proof of the zeal which he brought to his investi-
gations.

(а) Of course, all the reasoning founded on this assumption, and the comparisons thence
drawn between the coals at Cherra and at Hazareebaugh, &c., as to quality, and the cause
thereof, cease to be applicable. See Coal Committee's Reports,

166 KHASI HILLS.

repeated above the coal (as at Lakadong) tends rather to prove that they
all belong to the same formation. In either case, this coal, which has
here been so far mineralized as to produce а good blazing coal, of a fine *
jetty aspect and highly bituminous character, is the representative of the
thin and small patches of lignite which occur abundantly in the tertiary
strata of the North-West.

And this analogy strengthens the conclusions drawn from an examina-
tion of these deposits in the Khasi hills, as to the uncertainty of any con-
tinuance of these seams. Both with reference to the coal at Lakadong and
at Cherra Poonjee, I have already pointed out the very irregular manner
in which the beds have been developed, and I am inclined to think
that this is only another instance in which the deposits of vegetable
matter, belonging to this geological epoch, are of local and limited extent
resulting from local and limited causes.

With a few brief remarks on the disturbances to which these rocks
have been subjected, I shall conclude the foregoing outline.

The approximation to a linear direction (East and West) in the
i granitic areas has been noticed above. The only

BA AD really marked instance, however, of granitic in-
trusion, as distinct from granitic disturbance and elevation, does not
exhibit this direction (at Laidom) ; and from this and other circumstances,
it would appear that the line or axis of the greatest exhibition of gra-
nite has been a line of elevation, and not of intrusion or fracture ; in
other words, that the disturbances or dislocations on this line have been
long subsequent to the alteration of all the rocks affected. On the
other hand, the disturbances resulting from the exhibition of the other
class of igneous rocks (the trappean) have taken place along the lines,
or line of intrusion and of fracture. The coincidence in direction be-
tween these intrusions and the principal river-valleys in the Southern
part of the hills, and the dependence of the physical features of the

district on this geological structure have been noticed above.

KHASI HILLS. AGES

Along the base of the hills, from the parallel of Cherra Poonjee, to
Burr-ghat, not continuously, but with few interruptions so far as I know,
limestone is found extensively almost at the level of the plains Now
this limestone is of very similar character to that which is also found at
the top of the ridge. It contains many of the same fossils, and altogether
is very like the beds above. It is invariably at considerable angles of
inclination, from 40° to 60° (instead of horizontal as in the hills), and for
the most part this inclination dips away from the general range. This is
well seen South of Burr-ghat, and may also be noticed near to Teria-ghat.
Resting upon this low-lying limestone there occurs a great thickness of
sandstones of varying character, with intercalated shales. These are well
seen in the banks of the Harry river, leading up to Burr-ghat ; and
throughout, they appear conformable to е limestone. As I have already
stated, that in consequence of the season of the year, it was unsafe to visit
these localities, I can only mention the occurrence of these rocks, and
regret that I could not more satisfactorily examine them. But, coupling

the remarkable similarity of the limestones above

Probable instance of

E and below, with the remarkable continuity of the

beds at the base, I think there is evidence to show
that the present steep face of the hills on the South is formed along a great
line of disturbance and elevation, stretching nearly due East and West;
and that from this the very remarkable rectilineity in the direction of this
range has resulted. The direction of this line of steep escarpments
coincides with the direction of the granitic elevations, and has possibly
resulted from the same force.(a)
Accompanying this great disturbance there is also some confusion along
E the face of the hills, arising. from the necessary
occurrence of many great slips and fallen masses ;

and, the whole surface subsequently becoming densely clothed with forest,

(a) Dr. McClelland indicated the existence of a great fault along this line in his
accounts of the structure of these hills. Reports, Coal Committee, 1838.

' 368 KHASI HILLS.

it is no easy task to unravel its complicated structure, or to obtain a
clear insight into the causes which have produced it.

I shall here briefly enunciate a few of the principal conclusions

Qui VENE REDS resulting from a general review of the previous
descriptions of the geological structure of these
hills. These are: that the general basis of the-range is granite ; rest-
ing upon it is a series of metamorphic rocks, gneiss, micaceous slates,
quartz rocks, &e., which have been greatly altered, disturbed and con-
torted by the granite which now supports them; that in connection
with these changes there appears to be evidence to show that the line
of greatest elevation caused by this granite, or rather by the forces to
which this granite is the index, had a ‘direction East and West. Sub- j
sequently to these disturbances and alterations of the older slates, these
rocks have been subjected to long-contintied and great wear and denu-
dation ; and upon their degraded surface was deposited a series of beds
of sandy and earthy character, of varying composition, but in the aggre-
gate, of considerable thickness, which have subsequently been subjected
to great alteration. Another interval of considerable duration must now
have occurred, during which disturbing forces were again exerted ;
for, upon the upturned and degraded edges of these schistose and
quartzose beds, others have been formed of very different character, the
prevailing composition of which is sandy, and which, as a mass, give
abundant evidence of being shallower water deposits than the lower beds.

Again disturbances have taken place, contortions of these beds
have been forcibly produced by the exertion of great forces of intru-
sion and pressure; and these forces appear to have been accompanied,
if not produced, by the exhibition, on a considerable scale, and over
a considerable area, of volcanic-like masses, which have been emitted
in a highly heated condition, and have consequently exerted those
modifying effects which might be expected to result from such an

exhibition of heated masses on the large scale.

KHASI HILLS. 169

‘Above | and upon these again, another series of beds of varying
character, sandstones, limestones and coal, of considerable aggregate
thickness, was formed. "Throughout the whole of this series, from top
to bottom, in the conglomerates found at its base, in the clean sand-
stones higher in the series, in the fossils found in these beds, in the irre-
gularity of their development, and the constantly repeated occurrence
of current-marking and “false bedding," there is sufficient evidence to
prove that the entire group, not less than two thousand feet in thick-
ness, has been deposited and formed in water of no great depth. The
same evidence is extended by the organic contents of the limestones.
To admit of this occurring, there must have been a gradual and con-
tinuous depression of the surface within this area, maintained during
the deposition of the whole of the series. These sandstones have sub-
sequently been invaded by igneous rocks which have been forcibly
intruded among them, and have produced considerable alteration in their
texture and structure. There is no evidence to show the exact period
at which such intrusion took place; but it must have been subsequently
to the formation of all the sandstones.

The whole succession of groups has been subsequently elevated until
it attained its present position. There is no sufficient evidence to show
whether this elevation, or rather, the commencement, of this elevation,
was synchronous with or not, or was caused by or accompanied by, the
intrusion of the trappean rocks.

The elevation of the rocks to their present position must, however,
have been gradual and long-continued, to admit of the remarkable con-
ditions under which we find them as shown by the many detached and
small outlying portions at considerable distances from the main mass.

. Coincidently with and subsequent to this elevation of the hills, em
masse, the ordinary atmospheric causes of degradation, which, owing
' to the peculiar climatal conditions of the district, are here exerted with

great force, have been in operation to produce and modify the present

170 KHASI HILLS.

aspect of the surface. And, further, the action of these forces appears to
have been determined, as to the direction of its maximum effect, by a
series of lines of jointing and fracture, and occasionally of dislocation or
faulting, resulting from the earlier intrusion of the volcanic rocks.

The very gradual and continuous slope of the plains at the foot of the
hills, will show that long subsequently to the period of their elevation,
a sea had washed their base, and formed the widely-extended flats, from
which their steep escarpments rise.

Viewed in connexion with the geology of India, in a wider and
more general way, one of the first points which arrests attention is
the remarkable coincidence in the general direction of the main lines of
disturbance in these hills (Hast and West), and of those which haye
affected the coal-fiells, or “ Damoodah" and * Mahadeva” groups of Ben-
gal and of.Central India. Whether there be any synchronism, as
would appear probable, can only be determined by more widely extend-
ed examination. At the same time I would refer to the bearing on
this question of the supposition I have already thrown out (a), that
it may not be improbable that the great lines of disturbance
traceable in the Nerbudda valley, may be continued up the Assam
valley. But even if these disturbances be synchronous to a certain
degree, it will not at all follow that the whole extent of the disturbance
or fault was produced at the same time. Disturbances may have been
frequently repeated along the same or paralle! lines of weakness.

Again, the circumstances under which the nummulitie rocks occur
in the Khasi hills are curiously similar to that under which they are
found elsewhere in India. They are generally indicative of a moderate
depth of water (see page 169), and they are here also only found in the
proximity of the mountain range. It is remarkable that these facts
should be so constant, and that these nummulitic rocks should not

occur anywhere in the broad plains of the Indian peninsula. This

(a) Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1856. p. 250.

KHASI HILLS. 171

would seem to bear out Captain Strachey’s views that the elevation of
the Himalaya ranges, or at least of a great portion of those ranges, had
taken place previously to the deposition of the nummulitic rocks, and
that, in fact, these ranges formed the land from the shores of which the
nummulitic sea extended Southwards with a very gradually inclined
bottom. But what then are the representatives or parallel of these
nummulitic beds in the more central part of India? Can the group
to which I have already elsewhere (a) given the name Mahadeva
be in this position? And may not the irregularly developed beds of
limestone, which are found accompanying those sandstones, be the
faint representatives of this widely extended and largely developed
nummulitic limestone ? The solution of this question must be left for
further and more extended research.

Again, in connexion with the occurrence of an upper group resting
upon the true nummulitic rocks, in all known localities, extending from
Arabia and Persia on the West, to Burmah on the East, this upper group
being characterized generally by the presence of gypsum and of petroleum
(the “gypsiferous series" of Loftus (b), І would allude to the occurrence
of petroleum springs in the vicinity of Cherra, and also further to the
East near Cachar as an additional proof of the remarkable constancy
in general character and detail, which this important group of rocks
presents over such a widely-extended area.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.—Some of the striking peculiarities in outline
and general character of these hills have been already alluded to, and
have been illustrated in the sketches which accompany this report.

The curiously flat-topped plateaux of the range forming long swelling
grassy plains, marked here and there by small outstanding hillocks, which
scarcely interfere with the general level, cannot fail to suggest the idea of
long continued denuding forces acting at tolerably fixed levels. Of these

plateaux or terraces, a remarkable one is that on which the station of

(a) Jour, Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Vol. XXV, p. 252. (6) Quar. Jour. Geol, Soc. London, Vol. XI. p. 254-270,

K
$ `

172 HAST HILLS.

Cherra Poonjee is itself placed. This marks an elevation above the
present sea level of about 4,200 feet—an elevation which includes a vast
area in the Khasi Hills, and which is marked mot only by this flat
ground at Cherra Poonjee, but also by the flats around Nonkradem, at
the top of the long spur on which that village stands ; by the flats around
the Kala Pani; by those forming the beautiful park-like and wooded
downs around Joowye; and, again, more to the North, by the plains
around Nungklow. In fact the great mass of these hills would be brought
under the present sea level by a depression of 4,300 feet, only a few
isolated points remaining as islands where this extensive range now stands.

A second apparently well marked level of terracing is passed over on the
road from Cherra Poonjee to Teria Ghat at the Mahadeo, forming the
level of the top of the precipitous scarp of these hills which faces the
South. This marks a level of from 2,200 to 2,400, and similar plateaux
at the same, or very nearly the same elevation may be traced in other
places along the face of the hills. The flats under Tungjinath on the
Nonkradem spur, and the plateau of Lakadong, and of a considerable area
of country near it, are about the same elevation and of the same character.

A third, though less marked terracing, seems-to be indicated at the
level of 750 to 800 feet. Along the Southern face this is greatly con-
cealed by the dense forest which covers the hill slopes, but may be traced
in several places.

It is impossible to do more than simply indicate the occurrence of
these terraces and their probable cause. To trace them out in detail
would require a much more accurate map than was at our disposal, or
‘than we could devote time to construct. And even with such an aid,
the inaccessibility of many parts of the hill sides, so as to determine
their relative levels with accuracy, would render such details only
attainable after great labour, risk, and time. Those which I have
mentioned are alluded to, not so much as specially connected with these

hills, as in illustration of the general fact, which every season's further

+

KHASI HILLS. 173

examination of India seems to confirm, that there have been in most
parts of the country long continued intervals of time during which the
denuding and degrading action of oceanic forces has continued to act ;
and has produced in places great table lands, or expanses of flat country,
or, where these do not exist, a remarkable uniformity in the general
elevation of the country, however broken up that general elevation
may be by isolated peaks, or separate but minor ranges, or by river
valleys and other depressions.

Another very peculiar feature in the Khasi Hills are the curiously

epi dor de deep and narrow gorges or valleys in which all

the rivers, in the Southern portion of the hills,
find their course to the plains. The level of the stream under Cherra
Poonjee is some 3,000 feet below that of the station: into the Mawsmai
valley the streams which drain the flat of Cherra are precipitated in
one unbroken leap over the sandstone scarp for about 1,800 feet, and
then fall rapidly over the steep talus for about a thousand feet more.
The same facts may be seen im the Maw'mluh valley, and may be
traced in all the valleys of drainage along the Southern face of the
hills. Further inland also, for a certain distance, the same character
of all the river valleys continues, and the streams of the Kala Pani and
Boga Pani both flow in deep and narrow gorges with very steep sides.
(See Plates IV., V., VL, and Fig. 1) —

Now, although believing that marine denudation has exerted its
powerful influence in modifying the features of these hills in former
times and at different levels, as I have just stated, it is not possible
to see how any littoral action, or any such ordinary marine action,
could have produced those long, deep, and sinuous gorges here seen.
On the contrary*these river gorges appear to me to have been excavated
almost entirely by the force of the streams which have flowed, and
still continue to flow through them. And they appear to me to

offer a magnificent instance of the almost incredible power of de-

174 KHASI HILLS.

gradation and removal, which atmospheric forces may exert under pecu-
liar and favorable circumstances. I have already noticed the causes which
seem to have influenced the direction in which those forces have acted.

It will not be easy for those who have been accustomed to inves-
E ME tigate countries where the average annual fall

of rain amounts to thirty or forty inches, distri-
buted with tolerable equality over the whole twelve months, to form a
fair estimate of the immense forces brought into play in these hills, where
the fall of rain in 24 hours is not unfrequently two feet six inches, or
equal to the whole year's fall in most places in Europe, and where the
annual fall, not distributed over the twelve months but concentrated
. into four or five, amounts to some fifty feet, or six hundred inches !

I took an opportunity of visiting one of the streams in these hills
after a heavy and sudden fall of rain. The water had then risen only
about thirteen feet above the level at which it stood a few days previous-
ly; the rush was tremendous—huge blocks of rock, measuring some feet
across, were rolled along with an awful crashing, almost as easily as
pebbles in an ordinary stream. In one night a block of granite, which
I calculated to weigh upwards of 350 tons, was moved for more than
100 yards; while the torrent was actually turbid with pebbles of some
inches in size, suspended almost like mud in a rushing stream.

To the denuding foree of these heavy and sudden falls of rain is

E ARRA also due the almost total absence of any soil in
the flats of the hills near the Southern escarp-
ment. All has, in fact, been washed away, and a thin crop of coarse
grass alone finds sustenance on the rocky surface. The marked absence
of trees, the growth of which is cut off as with the axe along the edges
of every flat, is largely due to the same causes, but algo largely to the
blighting storms which sweep over these hills. On the sloping sides of
the valleys trees grow abundantly, and at many places luxuriantly : there

they are sheltered, and abundantly supplied with moisture.

KHASI HILLS. 175

But this water exerts its degrading forces not only on the surface
of the flats, or where, in rushing over the precipitous scarps it excavates
deep basins beneath, but it pours through the many fissures and clefts
in the sandstone and limestone, and springs from the solid face of
the rocks at different levels, tearing with it fragments of the hardest
masses, and precipitating them into the gorges below.

The rapid degradation which these hills must undergo is well shown
a city od edition. by the vast a of suspended matter, which

is carried down by the streams issuing from them
during the rains. I have more than once seen streams which, in the
drier weather, were beautifully pellucid, so turbid and charged with
suspended matter, that a white card was invisible at the depth of one
inch and a half! that is, through a stratum of water of that thickness.
I have also measured the bulk of such sediment allowed to subside in
a carefully divided tube, and found it more than once to amount to one-
fifth of the total bulk, and in one case to very nearly one-third. In
all cases this sediment was a fine clayey sand. Taking these facts in
connection with the enormous fall of rain, it will be readily seen how
rapid must be the degradation and denudation of these hills.

Nor is this without other proof also. Mr. Griffith, in his journal,
notices the fact of the steady retrogression of the Mawsmai falls, which
he calculates to have been at the rate of five feet in the year, and
he even proceeds to calculate on this supposition the lapse of time
which must have passed since these falls were originally at the general
face of the rocky scarp of the hills, estimating that it must have taken
5,700 years for the falls to have receded to their present position.(a)
But without attempting any estimate of this kind, which must inevi-
tably be erroneously based on such imperfect and unsatisfactory data, —
the testimony of all the natives supports the conclusion that these falls

have continually receded, year after year.

(a) Griffith’s Private Journals, &c.—Calcutta, 1847,

176 KHASI HILLS.

I will here quote the account I gave in connection with a continuous
rattan ы series of meteorological observations in these hills
of a great flood which took place in the month

of June 1851 in these hills. During that month a heavy flood occurred
in the Boga Pani and other mountain streams, which caused much
injury, carried away several bridges, among others the iron suspension
bridge over the Boga Pani, and near the mouth of the same river
flooded and swept away a considerable portion of the large village
of Cheyla. It occurred on the 14th of the month, on which day
there was by no means so heavy a fall of rain as on many other days in
the same year, and a visit to the localities where the greatest damage
was done, at once showed that the greater proportion of the mischief
resulted not so much from the actual amount of rain that fell and the
rise of the waters consequent thereon, äs from the waters being impeded
in their course and ponded back by numerous slips of earth and stones,
carrying down with them trees and under-wood. The torrent meet-
ing with such obstacles must have been restrained, until its accumu-
lated force ‘burst through every barrier and swept every thing before
it. In parts of the Boga-pani valley, the rise was not less than 50 feet.
Next morning the richly wooded slopes of that valley were scored with
innumerable gullies and deep cuts, extending frequently from the level
of the water up to the very summit of the lofty banks. From one of
these deep cuts, in which a little trickling rill usually flowed, a mass
of stones of various sizes had been carried down, which I found, on a
rough calculation, to contain not less than five thousand tons of mate-
rial. The stones varied in size from 20 cubic feet to one or something
less; but all the smaller and finer material had been entirely swept
away. Of the large suspension bridge which had spanned the river,
not a vestige was left ; a single screw bolt, which had formed one of the
fastenings of the wall plates, alone indicated that such a structure

had ever existed ; and when the waters had subsided, one of the heavy

"

KHASI HILLS. 177

cast-iron standards which had supported the chains, could be seen about
250 yards down the stream, jammed between huge blocks of stone
in the river bed. In some of the little re-entering angles of the road, -
where a projecting rock had diverted the force of the stream and caused
an eddy to form in which the water had been comparatively still, fine sand
was heaped up to a thickness of from five to six feet. A thick range
of trees which formed a shady covering to the road for nearly a mile,
and between it and the river, was entirely and cleanly swept away,
and with it the strongly built revetment wall which supported the road.

The peculiar modes of distribution of such material, depending on
siccae ee i the rapidity of the current, the inclination of its

bed, and the fineness or coarseness of the mate-
rial, can here be studied with great advantage. There is, however, one
peculiarity. While the two extremes of such action are well seen, in
which the rushing torrent drives before it on its rapidly inclined bed huge
` blocks and masses, ог in which the more tranquil stream can only keep
suspended the finest debris, there is a comparative absence of all inter-
mediate stages. Within the hills, the river beds are strewed with rolled
masses and boulders of great size; but when the streams emerge from
these rocky gorges they pass almost immediately into a country of per-
fectly uniform level, and therefore become comparatively stagnant. At
a very short distance from the foot of the hills not a single pebble even
as big as'a nut is to be seen. And from this to the shores of the Bay
of Bengal one unbroken deposit of fine sandy mud and sand conti-
nues without interruption.

The curious way in which such turbid streams raise their banks above
the ordinary level of the country round, may be well seen after rain
at the base of these hills. Along the edges of the ordinary channels
of many of these streams high and continuous banks have been formed,
which are not uncommonly five and six feet above the general level of

the land all around. On these banks, fed by the continuous moisture

178 KHASI HILLS.

from the stream, thick coarse rushy grasses luxuriate. When the water
rises it naturally forces its way through these when they act completely as
a filter. I have many times seen water so turbid that it might almost
have been called mud, in which great clouds of suspended matter were
floated along, overflowing such banks, and rushing out at the other
side into the general flat of the jheels, perfectly clear, though dark in
colour: the breadth of the bank not being more than 3 feet! It is not
surprising, therefore, that these banks should continue steadily to rise. In
this way also, the striking contrast between the clear, dark coloured water
of the jheels, and the muddy turbid streams 1s readily accounted for.

The great difference in the physical features of the Northern and
Southern portion of these hills, has been described above; and the
coincident change in the geological structure of these two portions’
But, in addition to this change, it must be remembered as mate-
rially influencing the general result that the fall of rain within these
hills, and even at no greater distance than twenty miles to the North
of the Station, is little more than one-half of the amount which falls at
Cherra Poonjee, and along the outer scarp of the hills, where the rain-
charged-clouds which pass Northwards from the Bay of Bengal, and
over the flat country intervening, first meet the hills, and are suddenly
cooled down and deprived of their moisture. The different force also
with which the sea would act along the Southern scarp of these hills
exposed to the wide sweep of the Indian Ocean, and along the North-
ern, where its forces would be confined and limited by the long bay-
like indentation of the valley of Assam, has been very justly insisted
on by Dr. Hooker, (a) as, to a great extent, accounting for the difference
in character of the two escarpments.

These instances will suffice to show the rapid degradation which is
now progressing in these hills, and to prove that, however inadequate

they might at first appear, the ordinary atmospheric forces under the

(a) Himalayan Journals, Vol. II., page 324.

KHASI HILLS. 179

peculiar ciimatal conditions which occur in the district under consi-
deration, are amply sufficient to have produced, during the lapse of
ages, those peculiar and striking gorges which we have described.
And certainly few grander instances of the force and amount of fresh-

water denudation could be quoted.

FOSSILS.

NorE.— The unfortunate loss of the collection of fossils made by me during my visit
to the Khasi Hills, when on its way to England for examination, has prevented my
adding much to our paleontological knowledge concerning these rocks. In the valuable
work of Messrs. D'Archiac and Haime, on the fossils of the Nummulitie group of
India, sixteen species are given as occurring in Eastern Bengal. Of these, one rhizo-
pode (Alveolina ovoidea ) is identified ; six species of Nummulites, (JV. Scabra; obtusa;
Гисаѕата ; Beaumonti; exponens; spira), and a single species in each of the
following genera, but in all cases indeterminate :—Cardium, Modiola, Pecten, Ostrea,
Terebratula, Melania, Pileolus, Trochus, Cerithium. To this limited number I can
add, from a few poorly preserved duplicates which remained of my collection :

Nummulites perforata; N. levigata?; N. Lyelli? ; N. 2 species undetermined ;—
Echinolampas 1 species ;—Pecten corneus ?; P. Bouei 1— Р. species undet.; Nerita
Schmideliana ? Ovula depressa.

Some future opportunity may occur of replacing the lost collection, and it will then
be found that the fauna of the Nummulitic group in Eastern Bengal is nearly as rich

in species as that of well known localities in Western India.

ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY.

Iw the preceding pages, a brief outline of the Geological strue-
ture, and a few notices of the mineral products of the Khasi Hills have
been given. Some of these products are important, both from the ex-
tent to which they are wrought, and from their being the ereat source
of supply for the large demand of the Calcutta and other markets ; and
others from the possibility of their being applied to meet a demand
at present unsatisfied, It will therefore be desirable to enter into
somewhat greater detail respecting these.

The most important are lime, coal and iron; and in this order
I shall give a few further particulars of the circumstances under which
they occur, the conditions affecting their conversion, and the economical
purposes to which they are applicable.

LrwE.—The so-called “Sylhet limestone" has been long known,
І cannot find any record of its first use in the production of lime. At
least twenty years before the close of the last century, we find that the
Hon'ble Robt. Lindsay had directed his attention to this trade, and,
although known and carried on extensively before his day, he probably
was the first European who had exerted himself in the matter (4).
In 1828, Mr. Inglis was well established at Chattuc as an extensive ma-
nufacturer of lime (b) ; and in the year 1830, the * manufacture of the
Sylhet lime" is described as a generally known trade (е).

The neighbourhood of the Khasi Hills is still the great source of lime
for the supply of the Caleutta and other markets.

The extent of this trade, and the importance of the product as
an element of progress in civilization, demand a brief reference to the

circumstances attending it.

(a) Lives of the Lindsays, Vol. III. page 149.
(0) Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVIL, page 499.
(c) Gleanings in Science, Vol. IT, February 1830, pp. 61, 63, article signed T. R.

KHASI HILLS. 181

The principal localities of the manufacture are at Chattuc and
at Sonameunge, and. along the banks of the river Soorma between
these two villages (о). Тһе rude kilns in which the stone is burnt
stretch for miles along either bank of the river; and the many large
and well-constructed buildings, in which the lime is stored until required
for market, give an aspect of wealth, comfort, and prosperity to the
district which contrasts forcibly with the almost unlimited extent of marsh
and jheel that bounds the view on either side lower down the river.

Almost the entire range of the limestone quarries, along the base of the
hills Eastward from Laour to Burrghat belong to the firm of Inglis and
Co., whose principal Establishment is located at Chattuc. Westwards,
some smaller quarries are in the hands of Mrs. Stark, Mr. Sarkies,
and of some native merchants.

The extent and importance of the trade will be more evident from

Cee ыша. a consideration of the quantity of stone raised an-

nually, and of the quantity of lime produced.
On an average of 10 years, ending in November 1851, the amount of
limestone quarried on the borders of tne Khasi Hills is stated to have
been annually : —

By Messrs. Inglis and Оо, ... ... ..... . Maunds 14,48,550
Mrs. Stark, Mr. Sarkies and native

”

THELCHANUSS Ai et elas, Meese ОАТ salt m 2,931,500

Total average amount quarried annually, ... 16,80,050

equal to 60,000 tons of limestone yearly (0).

(а) The name of the latter village, (Sonamgunge,) appears to be derived from this ma-
mufaeture, and to be a corruption of Chunamgunge or lime village. 16 is a large and popu-
lous place, and the market-town for an extensive district. It is beautifully situated on
the Soorma where this river makes a sudden bend to the South, and commands an extended
view of the range of hills to the North.

(b) I am indebted to the kindness of Henry Inglis, Esq., Cherra Poonjee, for the
above information, extracted from the books of the firm for me: Mr. Inglis states that, “the
quantity given above, as burnt by natives, may һауе been a little less, certainly not more.

182 KHASI HILLS.

From this stone there have been burnt by
natives, who have for the most part purchased

the stone from Messrs. Inglis and Co. on the

average of ten years, annually, — ... ... ... Maunds 12,34,000
By Messrs. Inglis and Cos... ... ... ... 8 1,57,000

,, Messrs. Stark, Sarkies, &e, ... ...... m 80,000
Giving a total average amount of lime, ... A 14,71,000

The whole of this very large amount is quarried from the several
places along the foot of the hills, where the limestone occurs close
to the level of the plains, and from whence it can be removed by
water. The quarrying of the stone is carried on at all seasons, but
chiefly during the spring. and cold months; and the stone, broken
into pieces of convenient size, is piled up in suitable localities until
the rains in May, June and July fill the little streams from the hills
sufficiently to float the small dinghies or canoes which are here used.
As soon as this takes place, every available boat is at once employed for
the removal of the stone into the larger streams. It is scarcely possible
to conceive a busier scene than the neighbourhood of some of these
large quarries presents after a good fall of rain. Hundreds of men and
women are actively engaged loading their canoes, and then rapidly shoot-
ing down the narrow stream, while others are hastily poling the empty
boats returning up the current again to load, and shoot down the rapids
with their freight of stone. The whole place seems alive with eager
workmen, who, from experience, know well the necessity of taking
advantage of the rapid rise of the waters. So sudden is the fall of these
little nullahs, that even the light canoes, which draw only a few inches
of water, are frequently left stranded in the middle of their course.

In this way the greater portion of the stone is removed from the
quarries, these small dinghies carrying the limestone only into the

larger streams where all is quickly thrown on the bank, or into the

KHASI HILLS. 183

water near the bank, to be again re-shipped into larger boats for
conveyance to the place of manufacture.

In that portion of the hills which lies more immediately to the South
of Cherra Poonjee, the largest quarries are near

El nene the vilage of Tungwai or Tineye, from which
the stone is brought to the neighbourhood of Pondua, to be again
removed from thence to Chattuc. Other very large quarries are in the
vicinity of the great orange groves between Teria-ghat and Lacat, from
which also the stone is conveyed to Chattuc for burning.

The whole of this limestone belongs to the nummulitic group. It
varies but slightly in mineral character, and produces a good, sound, but
not very strong lime, of good colour, and which slacks readily. Some of
the beds are magnesian, and more gritty in aspect, and the lime from
these is somewhat darker in tint than that produced by the purer beds.

At present, the only fuel employed in burning this limestone is wood

or reeds (called nál), principally the latter, which
EUR mels n O e collected) imi Түсү: quantities from the
extensive jheels in the vicinity. The kilns are
placed on the banks of the river, which are cut down perpendicularly
for some feet to form the face, in which the opening into the lower part
of the kiln is made. The excavation is circular in plan, and nearly
semi-globular in shape; and generally of sufficient size to take, when piled
up, from 500 to 700 maunds of stone. After ignition each kiln is, in
ordinary weather, allowed to burn for about four days and nights, when
the burnt lime is removed from the kiln, at the top. The kiln, if sound,
is then again charged, again lighted, and, after a sufficient interval,
agam emptied.
. The system, in ordinary use in Europe, of drawing the lime from the
bottom of the kiln, and replacing it by fresh stone
ae and fuel at the top, so as to keep up a continued

combustion as lone as required, is quite unknown in this district. Such a

184 KHASI HILLS.

system, indeed, is quite incompatible with the rude and imperfect kilns
here in use, and also with the kind of fuel now employed. There can be
no question, however, that the cooling down of the kiln on the removal of
each charge causes a very considerable waste of heat, while the impossi-
bility of burning lime on the present plan, excepting during a few
months of the year, entails a great additional loss. The burning, at
present, does not properly commence until the end of January, or until
February, and must be completed by April.

Twelve hundred maunds of stone yield, on the average, one thousand
maunds of lime, and will require from 3500 to 4000 bundles of nál or
reeds for their combustion. The stone delivered at the kilns, on the
river bank, costs (1853) from 14 to 18 or sometimes 20 Rupees per
1000 maunds.

I have no doubt that the manufacture of this lime would be improved,

SUUS and at the same time rendered more economical,
meto Sa by the adoption of the ordinary form of lime-kiln ;
from which the lime is drawn below, aud the charge renewed from above,
while the burning is a continuous process Consequent on this would be
the use of coal, as the sole, or, at least, as the greater portion of the fuel
employed. For such purposes, the small coal (of which a large propor-
tion 1s necessarily produced in hewing the coal of this district) would be
most effective, and could thus be economized. At present while the
cost of removing this small coal would be the same as for large coal (viz.
4 annas per maund to Pondua), I am disposed to think that no great
saving would result from its use. But any improvement in the facility of
conveyance for the coal from Cherra Poonjee would inevitably tend to a
further economy in the manufacture of lime also. The highly blazing
character of the coal, and the consequent difficulty of keeping it burning
in close furnaces and in kilns, are, to a certain extent, objections to its
employment for such purposes: but this applies with less force to

the small coal; and a very few trials would soon point out

KHASI HILLS. 185

the proper proportion of fuel to be used, and the proper mode
of charging the kiln. On the other hand the very small amount of
ash or earthy matter in the Cherra coal would be decidedly in favor
of its use.

Much of this limestone would produce most durable, and occasion-

ally very handsomely-veined marble. It would

mate answer well for ordinary purposes, chimney

pieces, slabs for tables, garden seats and for flooring tiles. Of the latter

article, I believe, many hundreds are annually imported, of inferior colour-

ing and beauty to those which could be manufactured out of this Khasi
limestone.

The existence of coal in the Khasi Hills appears to have been first

brought to notice in 1815, when Mr. Stark re-

Mida ported that he had found some beds in the lower
hills of Sylhet, from which he forwarded specimens to Government. This
coal was examined at the Gun Foundry at Cossipore, at the Mint, &e. ;
and being favorably reported on, Mr. Stark offered to supply any required
quantity to the Government at one rupee and eight annas per maund.
This offer was declined, and he appears to have obtained permission to
bring to Calcutta any quantity during five years, free of charge. Not
finding sale however for the first cargoes brought down, he abandoned
the mines.

Mr. Jones, in a paper *on the mineral productions of Bengal," des-
cribes the Sylhet limestone, coal, &c.; but he does not appear to have
known of the coal at Cherra Poonjee (a).

It does not appear that much further was done (partly in consequence
of the disturbed state of the frontier) towards exploring these hills for coal
after this, until Mr. Cracroft in 1832 brought to public notice the exist-

ence of beds of coal close to the station of Cherra Poonjee(b). This

(a) Gleanings in Science, Vol. I., p. 281,1839.
(6) Journal Asiatic Society Bengal, Vol. I., p. 250, and p. 252,

186 KHASI HILLS.

discovery was followed up by the finding of other beds of coal in various
places in the adjoining district(a).

Regarding this coal, the most important information referring to the
few succeeding years is to be found in the Reports of the proceedings of
the Coal and Mineral Committee, published in 1838-1846.

Curing the years intervening between 1840 and 1844 a considerable
amount of coal was sent down from Cherra Poonjee, under the superin-
tendence of Colonel (then Major) Lister, the Political Agent for the Khasi
Hills, part of which was sent to Dinapore and the upper stations on the
Ganges, but the larger proportion was sent to Calcutta.

In September 1844, the Government right in the coal-mines at Cherra
(which are held under a lease for ever from the Rajah of Cherra, dated
the 20th April 1840, at a stipulated royalty of one rupee for every 100
maunds excavated by Government, reserving at the same time the right
of all subjects of the Cherra Rajah to mine on their own account, which
“the Government are not to prevent") was transferred on the same terms
to Mr. Engledue, then the Agent in Calcutta for the Peninsular and
Oriental Company, the mines to be worked by him, either on the part of
that Company, or on his own account.

It appears that, from that time, the quantity of coal annually extracted
from these mines diminished considerably. In 1846, Colonel Lister
reported that “the mines subsequently to this transfer had not been
worked with that spirit which was expected from the correspondence
prior to their being granted; and that only about one-half the
quantity which was formerly sent down from the Agency. had been sent
down during that season on the part of Mr. Engledue’s Agents, while he
thought the cost, instead of being reduced, would be greater by some 30
per cent."

These mines, having thus failed under Mr. Engledue's management,

` were transferred to the Sylhet Coal Company, or to their representatives,

(a) Journal Asiatic Society Bengal, Vol. L, p. 363, &c.

KHASI HILLS. 187

Messrs. Gisborne and Co., and have subsequently been under the
management of several different persons. In no year, however, does
there appear to have been forwarded from these mines an amount of coal
equal to that sent down by the Political Agent at Cherra Poonjee, during
the earlier years.

The great item of expense in the transport of this coal being the diffi-
culty of conveying it from the mines at the top of the hills to water-
earriage, Lieutenant Yule, of the Bengal Engineers, was ordered to report
“on the means of transporting the coal found near Cherra Poonjee
to the plains”; and early in the year 1842, submitted a very elaborate
and able report on this question. He suggested two distinct means
of accomplishing the object required; one, the formation of a road
for the whole distance from the level of the plains to the mines having
such gradients as would be suitable for the use of ordinary carts: the
other a mixed plan, in which part of the distance should be traversed
by an ordinary road, and part on self-acting inclined planes, or “railed
descents,” on which the descent of the loaded trucks should haul up the
empty trucks returning ; the speed, &c., being regulated in the ordinary
way. The former plan of a continuous cart-road would involve the
making of 162 miles of road, and the crossing of a river more than 200
feet wide, to bridge which would cost, by Colonel Garstin's estimate,
Rupees 7,000. The total expense of a mixed plan, of railed inclines
and road, was estimated by Lieutenant Yule at Rupees 66,584, for the
first construction. And this plan he strongly recommends in preference
to the other.

I cannot find that any thing further was done to facilitate the trans-
port of the Cherra coal subsequently to the submission of this report.
And to the present day, any coal brought down from these mines is
carried on coolies’ backs, as at the first.

It will be convenient here to investigate the actual cost of transport of

this coal,
M

188 KHASI HILLS.

In 1842, Colonel Lister had excavated at the mines and despatched to
Chattue, 44,350 maunds of coal. Of this quantity the cost at Chattuc
was 4 annas 49 pie per maund ; 39,750 maunds were sent to Calcutta at
a cost for freight, б, of 3 annas 22 pie per maund, making a total cost
in Calcutta of 7 annas 7} pie. Again in the same year, 65,955 maunds
were delivered iu Caleutta at an average cost per maund, including all
charges, of 7 annas 33 pie. In February 1844, 5,642 maunds were
despatched, at a cost on an average in Calcutta, of 7 annas 34 pie per
maund. In November and December of the same year, 90,940 maunds
were delivered at a cost (including loss of six boats) of 7 annas 94 pie per
maund. In October, November and December, we find 21,126 sent down,
but owing to part of the carriage for these coals having been provided
by the Commissariat, I cannot state the average cost in Calcutta.(a)

We have thus, on an experience of several years, the average cost of
this Cherra coal in Calcutta equal to 7 annas 61 pie per maund, or
Rupees 47 per 100 maunds. This was the cost inclusive of all charges
for overseers, weighmen, coolies, freight, &c., excepting only any charge
for superintendence and general management. I would add here, that
all the establishment required for this purpose was temporary, and
therefore more costly than permanent arrangements would have been.

Lieutenant Yule estimated that the cost of conveying to Pondua,
by his proposed plan, 100 maunds of coal, would be Rupees 22.778.
To this add the cost of freight to Calcutta, at least Rupees 21 per 100
maunds, and the cost would be Rupees 43,778 per 100 maunds in
Calcutta. In this estimate no allowance is made for cost of storage
and re-loading at Pondua.

Further, there is no charge in this estimate for the cost of original

construction of the road and inclines, nor any interest on the outlay

(a) For this infbrmation, I am indebted to the kindness of Colonel Lister in permit-
ting me to examine the contingent bills passed for the expenses attending the despatch of
this coal.

KHASI HILLS. 189

calculated. For the mere cost involved in repairs, wear and tear of ma-
chimery, &e, І conceive that at least 10 per cent. on the outlay should
be charged, independently of the interest on the capital invested.
Taking this as low as 5 per cent., there must be added to the cost, as es-
timated by Lieutenant Yule, 15 per cent. per annum on the original out-
lay of Rupees 66,584. Or, what will come to nearly the same thing,
we must consider this capital, or original cost, as to be repaid in not
more than seven years; or that to the annual cost there should be add-
ed the seventh part of the original outlay, or Rupees 9,500. This sum
should, of course, be divided over the whole amount sent down. If we
estimate this amount as not less than 200,000 maunds, this would add
to the cost per 100 maunds, as calculated above, :047 of a rupee. Or,
if only one-half this quantity (100,000 maunds) were sent down, it
would increase the cost per 100 maunds by .094 of a rupee.

Taking, however, the more favorable estimate, of the larger quan-
tity, it results that on Lieutenant Yule’s plan the cost per 100 maunds
in Calcutta would be Rs. 43.778 + .047 — 43.825, or per maund 0.438
of a rupee, equal to 7 annas 0.1 pie рег maund.

Even, therefore, estimating on the larger quantity taken above, and
without any allowance for re-loading at Pondua, the actual saving is
6 pie or one-half of an anna per maund ; or in British money one shilling
and nine pence per ton.(u) I should state, that І have above taken the
cost per 100 maunds as calculated by Lieutenant Yule for 100,000
maunds, and that he supposes that this cost (viz, Rupees 43.778)
would be reduced to Rupees 41.942 per 100 maunds, were the quantity
increased to 200,000 maunds, inasmuch as the “expense of establish-
ment for the railed descents” would remain constant. But I have done

go for this reason, that in none of his calculations has Lieutenant Yule

(a) Supposing that the whole quantity above calculated for, were sold in Calcutta at
8 annas per maund, thus producing Rupees 100,000, while the difference in the cost o£

wansport would be Rupees 6,250, this would give an additional profit of £ 6-5 per cent,

190 KHASI HILLS.

estimated for the cost of the trucks in which he proposes that the coal
should be conveyed.

His caleulation as to the quantity of coal which could be readily
conveyed down his proposed inclines is as follows :—“ Supposing each
"truck to measure four feet in length, by 2-3 in breadth, and 1-3 in
“depth, three such trucks would carry down 30 maunds each trip, and
"supposing only six trips in the hour, we might thus convey 180
“maunds per hour, 1,800 per day, or 54,000 per month.’(@) Now for
such work, at the least, there would be required an establishment of 250
trucks, (b) which would require for their construction and repair a con-
siderable outlay. And this consideration justifies, I think, my having
taken above the higher estimate of the cost per 100 maunds.

At the same time I am perfectly satisfied that, on other grounds,
altogether, a mixed system of ordinary cart-roads, and of railed inclines
would be found impracticable. The trucks which Lieutenant Yule pro-
poses would be useless on ordinary roads, while ordinary carts would be
equally impracticable on the railed descents. The entire distance must
therefore be railed, and the trucks travel throughout; and this would
be decidedly the best plan: or, the coal must be shifted at the top and
bottom of each inclined plane from the trucks to the carts, and from
the carts again to the trucks. This would imvolve six loadings and
unloadings of the same coals, and the waste consequent thereon : quite
sufficient, in my mind, to prevent the adoption of such a system of work.

I conceive, therefore, that this plan of accomplishing the distance

partly by ordinary roads, and partly by railed inclines is quite imprac-

(a) ‘This supposes 10 hours unbroken work in the day, and 30 days’ work in the
month ; which is certainly above the average amount that could be obtained.

(b) Supposing each truck to make two trips in the day, up and down or, to require
for loading, despatch, descent, unloading, and return to the mines, five hours, there
would be constantly in motion at the same time 90 of these trucks. The entire distance
by Lieutenant Yule's measurements is nine miles, and 702 yards ; or for the double trip
183 miles. This distance could certainly not be travelled in less time than I have caleu-

lated, viz., five hours,

KHASI HILLS. 191

tieable: and Lieutenant Yule has himself shown that the cost of trans-
port by a continuous cart-road, with gradients adopted to the use of or-
dinary carts, would be greater than the cost under the present system
of coolies, independently of any consideration of the cost of construct-
ing such a road. (а)

In the preceding part of this Report, I have briefly described the
mode of occurrence of the coal-bed at Cherra Poonjee, its thickness
and its accompanying rocks. I have also alluded to the irregularity of
its development, and to the presence of this character at all the points
where coal has been observed in the Khasi Hills. Tt still remains to
estimate, as fairly as can be done under these conditions, the quantity
of coal existing in the Cherra ridge.

The importance of this consideration has been most justly and
forcibly alluded to by Lieutenant Yule in his Report. Не says—* In de-
“ciding on the propriety of executing any work for facilitating the car-
“riage of the coal, the first question which arises naturally is, whether
“the Cherra seam is sufficiently extensive to justify entering on any
“measure of the kind. After having expended many Rupees in
“making the coal mine more accessible, it would be awkward to find that
“the coal also had been expended in the mean time. I have done as
“much to ascertain the extent of the seam, as could be done without
“going to a much greater expense than would have been justifiable
* without special orders on the subject. And I have connected the
* points at which I know coal to exist by a sketch. There is, I think;
“no reason to doubt that all these points are portions of an uninter-
“rupted bed of coal; and taking this for granted, I calculate the
“quantity of coal in the ridge with an average thickness of five feet,

“to be 50,000,000 of cubic feet, or about as many maunds."

(а) There is a serious objection to this plan, arising from the extremely wet climate.
The greater part of such roads should necessarily be paved with stone, to preserve them;
and constant travelling on such paved roads would very soon knock up any bullocks.

192 KHASI HILLS.

I have given his words in full, because, although I feel satisfied,
from the care which he obviously devoted to the investigation of the
questions referred to him, that he was justified in adopting such a con-
clusion from the facts that came before him, I have been myself com-
pelled to form a very different estimate. By a reference to his map,
the three points referred to by Lieutenant Yule are seen ; but after a
careful examination of the ground between, I can say that, so far from
there being an uninterrupted bed of coal uniting these points, a very
large portion of the district between them 1s altogether without coal.
And I believe that an estimate of one-third of a square mile of coal,
with an average thickness of from 3 feet 6 inches to 4 feet, will be
rather over than under the truth. "This would give in round numbers
from 10,850,000 to 12,400,000 cubic feet, or as many maunds (æ), or
from 387,000 to 447,000 tons.

In connexion with this point, and as a curious instance of the diffi-
culty of arriving at accurate results in such matters, I may briefly state
the various estimates of thickness which have been assigned to this
Cherra coal By Mr. Cracroft in 1832 (b), it was stated to be six feet
six inches, divided into 3 layers: by Colonel Watson (c) in January
1834 to be from 10 to 16 feet: by the same gentleman in the same
year, but a few months later, as from 16 to 20 feet (d) In 1857, in
the first Report of the Coal and Mineral Committee(@) it is given as
“15 feet in places,’ and in their last Report published in 1846 it is
stated to be 28 feet (f). And in a short paper communicated to the
Geological Society of London, through Mr. Lyell, Dr. McClelland gives

(a) This amount would not supply the present demand in Calcutta, for Burdwan
coal alone, for more than four to five years, without taking into account at all the pros-
pective increase of this demand ; or the large quantity of imported coal used. Or, taking
Lieutenant Yule's estimate of the amount capable of being sent down, viz., 54,000 maunds
a month, the whole would be exhausted in 16 to 18 years.

(6) Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. I., p. 252.

(c) Ibid, Vol. IL, р. 25. | (e) Тыа, Vol. III. p. 31.

(d) Ibid, Vol III. p. 142. | (f) Ibid, p. 127.

KHASI HILLS. 193

its thickness as “above 20 or 30 feet'(a). This great difference in
statement no doubt arises, in a great degree, from the extreme looseness
with which such assertions are commonly made, as when a bed of coal
is stated to be of * 20 or 30 feet" in thickness (a difference in thickness
of 10 feet being apparently considered perfectly immaterial), but I am
inclined to think that, in the present case, it has in some degree arisen
from another circumstance to which I have referred above, namely
that at the part of the hill in which this coal was first examined there
is a fault (or rather two or three small step faults combined) which
have an up-throw to the West of about 40 feet. It would be very easy
to be led astray in estimating the total thickness of the coal in this im-
mediate spot : and it is I think very probable that some of the ob-
servers measured the distance between the bottom of the coal on one
side of these disturbances, and the top at the other side. A glance
at the accompanying Sketch will explain this. (. Fig. 19). Although not
intended to represent the exact conditions of the case, this figure will

show the possibility of being misled in a hasty examination.

d

HM

—

LEL L

Fig 19.

The bed of coal is here represented as broken up and dislocated
by four small faults, which are all up-throws to the West. If then
this portion of the section were partially concealed by fallen detritus,

it would be very likely that the space between « and b would appear

(a) Proceedings of the Geological Society, London, Vol. IL. p. 567, June 14, 1837.

194 KHASI HILLS.

to a hasty observer the thickness of the bed of coal, although the ac-
tual thickness is only from @ to c. In this way a bed of only five or
six feet thick might assume an appearance of being 20 or 30 feet thick.

In the foregoing estimate I have confined myself entirely to the
coal found in the small ridge to the West of the station of Cherra
Poonjee, and in which the adits hitherto worked are situated. The coal
which occurs at the village of Lairungoo or Surareem is, from the great-
ly increased distance and increased elevation (some 700 feet), entirely
precluded from being profitably brought to market under present con-
ditions, while the small patches of coal which show on the road between
Cherra Poonjee and Surareem, are too limited in extent, too much dis-
turbed, and too poor in quantity, to be worth considering at all.

The coal at Bairung has proved very bad and earthy, and is in
small quantity ; and although possibly useful for lime-burning, brick
making or other such local purposes, would not yield any coal, which
would repay the cost of transport to market. "

The coal which is found to the South of Nonkradem is more fa-
vourably placed than any of the others, and there is probably a large
amount of it available; but from the way in which it is seen, it would
be impossible to form any opinion as to its extent, without expensive
boring operations.

As to the quantity of coal existing in the Lakadong coal-field, it
is difficult to form anything like a very accurate estimate, owing to the
great irregularity of its development. I think we may, however, fairly
take the quantity of coal easily accessible as being equal to one-half
a square mile with an average thickness of three feet, which would give
about 1,500,000 cubic yards or tons of coal or about 40,500,000 cubic
feet or maunds. The cost of transport of coal from Lakadong to Calcutta
is something less than from Cherra.

The season of the year, and the consequent very unhealthy state

of the swampy jungles at the base of the hills, entirely prevented my

KHASI HILLS. 195

visiting the various points to the Westward of Cherra Poonjee and to-
wards Laour, where coal is stated to occur; so that I can offer no opi-
nion whatever as to the quality or amount of coal found there. If the
statements regarding the occurrence of thick beds of coal in this direc-
tion at slight elevations above the level of the plains be credible, the
district would reward a careful examination. It could only be visited
with any safety, during the cold weather. If coal exist there in any
quantity, the probabilities are that it would be found to be very simi-
lar to the coal of Cherra Poonjee in quality. And independently al-
together of the statements of observers, the general dip or inclination
of the rocks, with which the coal is associated, (and to which I have
alluded before) renders it tolerably certain that it must occur at
a considerably lower elevation than the coal near to Cherra
Pocnjee.

I have not entered into the question of the possibility of bringing
these Coals profitably to market; nor did I feel justified in devoting
any of the short time at my disposal in these hills to the investigation
of any engineering projects for this purpose, further than was necessary
for ascertaining the comparative economy of the various plans hitherto
proposed. I was satisfied that any mixed system of transit, partly by
ordinary conveyances, and partly by machinery, would fail. I was also
satisfied that no one of the localities referred to, taken singly, held out
a prospect of sufficient coal to yield a fair return on the outlay required
for such works for its conveyance. But-at the same time I was con-
vinced that, were all these localities in the possession of the same
persons, possessed of sufficient skill and energy, and who would work
each in succession (the needful machinery for such operations being
transferred from one site to the other) it would be possible to ren-
der the undertaking a profitable one.

Into the details of any such plan it is not my province to enter ;

but І am certain that a little experience in the more economical systems
N

196 KHASI HILLS.

of recent mining operations would suggest much more simple and less
expensive plans of operation than have been proposed with reference
to Cherra Poonjee.

Nor does it at all come within my subject to discuss the probabili-
ty or improbability of such prices being obtained for this coal, as would
yield a profit on its working. The changing condition of the markets ;
the ever-varying charges for freight, &c., of imported coals; and the
constant alterations in the amount of demand and other considerations,
all so materially affect the question of profit on such undertakings, that
any opinion founded on an imperfect acquaintance with the general com-
merce of the country would be of little value. I have therefore pur-
posely confined my observations to an examination of the mode of oc-
currence of the coal, its extent and character, the cost under existing
arrangements for conveying the coal to market, and the schemes which
have been proposed for its more economical transport.

The quality of the coal at Cherra has been so frequently spoken of,
and written about, as being “greatly superior to the Burdwan” (in the
ratio of 12 to 10, or even of 5 to 4, it is said), and as “being fully
equal in every respect to English coal,” that it may be desirable to
give a word of caution on this subject, lest some might be misled by
such loose statements. The Cherra coal is undoubtedly superior to the
coal from the Damoodah valley; and, to the average of that coal, as it
has been hitherto supplied to the Calcutta market, after nearly two
years’ exposure, it is possibly superior in the ratios mentioned before ;
and it is equally certain that it is equal to some English coals, but it
is as certainly inferior to others. It is quick in its action, and there-
fore would generate steam rapidly : it cakes well but gives out a large
amount of smoke: it splits easily and from the absence of that definite
structure, which produces the planes of division known to English
miners as “backs,” or the joints in the coal, it breaks into unsymme-

trical pieces, and consequently would not stow well. From its composi-

KHASI HILLS. 197

tion (а) therefore, its quick combustion, and its irregular cleavage, I
conceive it to be at the least 5 to 7 per cent. inferior to good English
coal As a gas-producing coal, it is superior to any English coal import-
ed, both as regards the quantity and purity of its gas. And with
proper precautions in burning it might yield a passable coke.

But further, as regards any extensive or systematic working of these
mines, there is a condition at present attached to the authority under
which they are held, which, if continued in force, must effectually pre-
vent their being economically worked. І allude to the clause in the
lease, by which the lessee is prevented from interfering with any of the
subjects of the Cherra Rajah, who may extract coal on their own
account. So long as such be the case, no general system of operation
could be adopted, and no general arrangements for the ventilation and
security of the mines could be carried out, as these would be constantly
liable to interruption, at the caprice ef any unskilled native, who might
fancy to work in one part of the hill in preference to another. In fact,

almost all the coal hitherto sent down from these mines has been pur-

(a) By Mr. James Prinsep’s analysis, the composition of Cherra coal was water 7:0,
volatile matter 37:1, carbon 62:0, ash 0:9: while the average composition of good English
coal imported was volatile matter 31'0, carbon 67:3, ash 1:6. In a rude way these coals
may be taken to vary in value in the ratio of the different amounts of carbon contained, or
that Cherra coal is to English coal (average) as, 62: 67:3. Specimens of coals from this dis-
trict were forwarded to the great Exhibition in London in 1851, and subsequently along with
others from India were submitted to very careful examination by Captain Henry C. James,
B. N. L,under the superintendence of Mr. Lewis Thompson, an eminent coal consulting
chemist, and with the apparatus of Mr. Evans of the Westminter gas works. The results of
these analyses, specially directed to the gas-producing qualities of the coals, are given below
as submitted by Captain James to the Government of Bengal in January 1854 :—

There is no possibility now of ascertaining the exact locality from which these specimens,
given as from the “neighbourhood of Sylhet,” and “ Cossyah Hills,” were obtained, and
further, it should not be forgotten that in all probability the specimens sent for exhibition
were far above the average quality of the coal which they were intended to represent, being
picked and selected masses. But neglecting all these considerations, Captain James’ analyses
fully prove the value of the Khasi coal as a fuel, and more especially for the production of
gas yielding a clear and white flame.

in

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18 COA

KHASI HILLS.

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198
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KHASI HILLS. 199

chased from such Khasi merchants, who have raised and sold it. And
on a very few maunds indeed has the prescribed royalty of 1 Rupee
per 100 maunds been paid by the Government, or its representatives,
to the Cherra Rajah, as very few maunds have been raised by persons
in their employment. Just at present, while the coal is easily accessible,
it can be procured in this way as cheaply, if not more cheaply, than if
men had been paid to hew it, and the royalty paid on the quantity
extracted. But such indiscriminate and unsystematic working entails
an enormous waste of the coal itself. And no precautions being taken
to keep open the mines or to support the rocks above the coal, after
these workings have been extended a little, all will fall in, and mines
and miners be buried in one common grave. (а)

There is no such restriction affecting the mines at Lakadong, which
are the property of Government; the whole of the Jynteah hills, in
which they are situated, having passed into the hands of the Indian

Government, together with all the rights to mines, jungles, &c,

(a) The lease referred to above is in the following terms :—* To the Political Agent
Cossiah Hills, Cherra Poonjee. I, Soobah Singh, Rajah of Cherra Poonjee, hereby give a
perpetual lease to the British Government of the Cherra Poonjee coal-beds, now being
worked, situated within my territories, known by the names of Oosdir, Ooskan and Non-
kreem Hills. The terms of the lease, mentioned in the following paragraphs, are to be con-
sidered final and binding :—

“ Ist. I am to receive for all coal mined by Government servants at the above places
1 rupee for every 100 maunds. I wil on no account demand more. The Government
are not to prevent my own subjects from working on their own account at the above mines ;
and such of my subjects as do so will settle and pay to me direct for-all coals they may
mine at the above beds. The Government have the power, however, to prevent others than
my own subjects from mining at the above places, without their previous sanction and order,

* 2nd. The above terms to be held good for a perpetual period. I will on no account
ask for any new arrangement to be made.

“3rd. Should at any future period any new coal-beds be discovered within the
limits of my territories, I hereby agree to make them over to the British Government on
ihe above terms." Dated 20th April 1840.

The lease granted by Beera Singh and Ram Roy, Cossiah Sirdars of Bairung Poonjee,
and confirmed by Soobah Singh, Rajah of Cherra Poonjee, was in all respects similar, and
bore the same date. It granted the right to work the Coal at Bairung.

200 KHASI HILLS.

previously held by the Jynteah Rajah, who resigned all claim to them
in 1835.

On the other hand, the coal which is found to the South of Nonkra-
dem is in the territories, and under the control of Singh Manick, the
Kyrim Rajah, who is still independent.

I fully anticipate, however, that the coal of Cherra Poonjee, and of
this frontier generally, even though it may not be possible to bring it
with profit to the Calcutta market, will turn to great and useful account
at some future, and not very distant period. I cannot anticipate that
the extensive districts of Sylhet, Cachar and Munnipore, with the pros-
pect of an increasing traffic from the Hast along this valley, can be much
longer deprived of the benefits of steam communication. The noble
river Soorma stretches in one continuous course throughout the entire
distance, and is navigable for steamers of the ordinary size without the
interruption of a single dangerous spot, and at all seasons, as far as
Chattuck (a), while ordinary boats of considerable size can proceed as far
as Silchar, and smaller bonis паты further. This unbroken line of
water communication, stretching for more than 350 miles from Calcutta,
seems specially adapted for such an enterprise; and, if once a steam
communication be opened along this river, the coals of the frontier will
prove highly valuable for the supply of the requisite fuel, at an economi-
cal rate. There may not be at the present a sufficient trade in this
direction to render such a project remunerative; but this was equally
the case in other localities, and there can be little question that any
increase in the facility and rapidity of communication with these dis-
tricts must tend to develope new and to extend the existing sources
of trade. Moreover, such a system of inter-communication would

appear to be especially desirable in a district where every road is co-

(a) A rapid, passable however during one-half of the year, prevents steamers from
proceeding further than Chattuc.

KHASI HILLS. | 901

vered with water for some months in the year and communication can be
maintained only by boats.

I have above referred to a great superiority of the Cherra coal over
other Indian coals for the manufacture of gas.

IRON. The manufacture of iron appears to have been carried on in
these hills from time immemorial ; and by all the tribes inhabiting them.
Very soon after the British occupation of the Khasi hills, this manufacture
attracted attention. In a short notice of these hills (a) in 1829, it is re-
ferred to ; and in the same year Mr. Jones, writing of the mineral produc-
tions of Bengal (b), recommends Pondua, at the foot of these hills, as an
excellent site for an iron mill, for the manufacture of bar, bolt and hoop
iron. Mr. Walters (c), in his account of a trip across these hills, refers
to this manufacture, and gives a rough sketch of the furnaces in use for
smelting. А few years later, Lieut.-Colonel Watson detailed the circum-
stances which appeared to him to render Cherra Poonjee a favourable
site “for the erection of an iron and steel manufactory on an extensive
scale.” (d) And still more recently Lieutenant Yule published a very
good account of the processes adopted in washing and smelting the ore ;
and the manufacture of the iron (e). Mr Cracroft (f) had ten years
before described the same process, though not so fully, and had published
а sketch of one of the Khasi smelting furnaces in operation.

The system at present followed in these hills, both in the extraction
and washing, and in the subsequent smelting of the ore, being precisely
the same as it was twenty years since, it will be quite unnecessary to do

more than refer to the papers quoted above for description of the details
of the several processes.

(a) Gleanings in Science, Vol. І, р. 252. | (0) Ibid, Vol. 1 ЖБИ
(c) Asiatic Researches, Vol XVII, p. 499, published in 1832; excursion made

in 1828.
(d) Journal Asiatic Society, Vol. IIT, p. 25, January 1834.
(е) Ibid, No. C XXIX, p. 853, 1842. "

(f) Ibid, Vol. T, p. 150, 1832.

202, КНАЅІ HILLS,

The principal sites of the mining operations within the Khasi hills
are near Molim, Nonkrim, Lailangkot, &c., on the granite district of
that neighbourhood; and more to the West near Lungkoi In other
places, where no washings for ore are now carried on, the enormous blocks
of granite strewed over the surface, and piled up in gigantic masses
bear evidence to the former existence of workings, of the magnitude
of which they remain the lasting monuments. ‘The richest portions of
the washings have been generally on the outskirts of the granite area,
or near its junction with the rocks that rest upon it.

The only ore worked in these hills occurs in the form of a fine sand
consisting of minute crystals of titaniferous magnetic oxide, which are
irregularly distributed in the mass of the softer portions of the granite
rocks, and also occasionally in some of the gneissose beds. The upper
portion of the granite is partially decomposed to a considerable depth,
and this scft and easily yielding rock is not quarried, or mined, but
simply raked into a small stream of water conducted along a little
channel formed at the base of the small scarp, or face of rock, from
which the ore is obtained. The process of washing is carried on
precisely as Mr. Yule described it in 1842. The manipulative skill of some
of the Khasi women, acquired by long practice in these operations, is very
great; hence a very small proportion of the ore is lost in the washing.

With very few exceptions this ore is not reduced or smelted in the
villages, adjoining which it is procured. It is sold in baskets of a
tolerably fixed size and shape, seven of which contain about three
maunds of the ore. It is carried, often for many miles, to the villages
where the smelting furnaces are situated. In most cases the crude
iron, as it comes from the smelting furnaces, is again brought to market
and carried to other villages, where it is manufactured into tool sand
other articles for market.

By much the larger portion of this cutcha iron, in the balls or

lumps in which it comes from the smelting furnaces, is sent to the

KHASI HILLS. 203

plains, where it meets a ready sale, It is brought on the Northern
flanks of the Hills to the several marts in Assam, and on the Southern,
to Pondua, Lacat, Chattuc, &c, where it is purchased in large
quantities, and chiefly, or at least very extensively used in the manu-
facture of the double hook-like nails, with which the planks of boats are
united; and for which there is a great demand at the large boat-building
villages on the Soorma River (Azmerigunj, Beetalung, &c.).

Of the iron, which is converted within the Hills, the greater portion
is wrought into codalies (or the native form of shovels or spades), or into
the large chopper-like knives or dhows, which the Khasis use (v). In
all manufactures of this kind, an almost total division of labour has been
established by eustom; the making of each being confined to different
individuals, and generally speaking even to different villages.

The manufacture of codalies is carried on extensively in some
villages, in workshops differing entirely from the huts in which the
first smelting or reduction of the ore is carried on. Those in which
this manufacture is conducted are generally open sheds, of an oblong
shape, the fire being placed at one end. Under this rough cover, formed
simply with poles supporting a roof, five men are engaged ; one sits at
the end of the shed, on a sloping bank behind the hearth, and works
the bellows with his feet. Another superintends the fire, and directs
the operations One of the divided lumps, into which the smelted ore
has been made, is then placed in the fire, and, being raised to a good
red heat, it is roughly but rapidly reduced from its semi-circular form into
a more regular and bar-like shape. It is now again fired, and when
heated is with a single forcible blow united with the small piece of iron

which is to form the handle ( Fig. 21 а) and which has been previously

(a) The Khasi dhow is a straight cleaver-like knife, one edged, from 12 to 15 inches in
length, and set in а handle of 10 to 12 inches long. In a Khasis hands, it is an effective
tool, and forms his chief weapon, (offensive and defensive) his axe and his knife. Fortunately
of late years it has beén used almost exclusively in the felling of trees, &c., and in ordinary
labor.

0

204 ё KHASI HILLS.

roughly formed. Re-heated, it is then beaten out into the first form of the
codalie (Fig 21 b). It is again heated, and an additional change
of form given to it. The mass which at first was about two inches
thick has now been reduced to about half an inch, or thereabouts ; and,
about four inches wide at first, it has now become seven or eight.

Another heating again reduces this, and gives it more form. This is

Fig. 21.

the fifth time it has been fired, and it is again heated three times more,
and each successive time brought more nearly to its finished state.
Up to this stage of the process the four men have been all engaged in
the forging ; now the one man, who has charge of the fire, singly con-
tinues to improve the form and complete the fashioning of the codalie.
The hammers used by these smiths appear at first sight very
awkward and unwieldy. They are very Jong in the head, being from
12 to 17 inches, only one-faced, with the handle inserted near to
the end of the head. This handle is frequently not much longer than
the head of the hammer itself. This peculiarity in the forms of the
hammers leads to a marked difference in the mode of using them, as
compared with that which an English mechanic would adopt. A Khasi
smith never swings his hammer, however heavy, but simply lifts it
vertically, and the force of the blow depends on the weight and impe-
tus of the hammer itself, as it falls, rather than on the muscular power

of the person who wields it. The general form of the hammers used

KHASI HILLS. 205

by the Khasi smiths is shown below (Fig. 22). Few of these exceed
6 Ibs. in weight.

Pig. 22.

The anvil on which the work is carried on is simply a rounded
block of the hard granite found in the adjoining district, and the ring
of the hammers on the stone, as each successive blow is given, produces
an extremely musical effect, which at а little distance sounds like the
chiming of melodious bells.

The fuel used is entirely charcoal, soaked in water, and kept in a
large earthen basin-shaped place next the fire.

The pig iron, as described by Lieutenant Yule, is produced from
the smelting furnaces in nearly circular lumps or balls, which are sub-
sequently split or divided into two parts. Each of these blocks or balls
makes two codalies, or each half-ball will make one. Each of these
balls weighs on an average seven seers, while each codalie weighs not
quite two seers. Three seers and a half, therefore, of cutcha iron are
required to yield two seers of the manufactured iron, showing a loss
arising from the impurity of the iron as it comes from the smelting of
about 43 per cent.

The ordinary out-turn of one hearth, or the labour of five men
per day, is 10 codalies. The pig-iron is sold at the rate of six to eight
blocks for 1 rupee, and the codalies sell for about 34 annas each, or five
for a rupee,

206 KHASI HILLS.

After being formed, and worked-up hot, all these codalies are
thoroughly cold-hammered and finished on a smoothly-polished stone
anvil, This portion of the work is done by the three men who are not
engaged at the fire in the forges during the short intervals of labour
while the mass of iron is being heated, or when their services are not
required in the forging of the heated mass. And after finally being
finished, as far as the forging is concerned, the codalies receive a rough
kind of semi-polishing, or brightening, which is accomplished in a most
ingenious way. They are carried in numbers by the women or young
girls to the bank of some adjoining stream. A common handle is pro-
cured, into which each codalie is successively inserted, and then it is for
a few minutes rapidly driven into the moist sharp sand of the river.
This acts precisely as a grindstone, the sharp-cutting edges of the small
quartz grains in the sand soon giving a clean and smooth surface to the
spade.

A large number of these codalies are annually sent from the Hills
into Assam, in addition to the quantity required for the supply of the
Khasis themselves. But I was informed that even in the immediate
vicinity of the Hills, English manufactured spades could be purchased
at as low a price as these Hill-made tools, and were of a superior
quality, bemg more durable.

The quality of this Khasi iron is excellent for all such purposes
as Swedish iron is now used for. The impurity of the blooms, however,
as they are sent to market, is a great objection to its use, and the waste
consequent thereon renders it expensive. It would also form steel or
wootz of excellent quality. I have no doubt that the manufacture could
be greatly improved, and possibly extended. The great defects m the
present system are, the want in the first instance of a means of sustain-
ing a sufficiently high and equable temperature in the hearth, so as to
keep the whole of the mass or bloom of metal in a molten state at the

same time, and thus more completely separating the slag from the

` KHASI HILLS. 207

purer metal; and, of some more powerful means of expressing the slag
from the spongy metallic mass than the slight hammering it now receives
with a wooden mallet or club.

But I do not think (judging of course from the portion of the hills
I had myself an opportunity of visiting) that the manufacture of this
iron could be very much extended, owing to the scanty dissemination
of the ore in the rocks, and the consequent high cost of obtaining it.
At present the want of any permanent supply of water prevents the
natives from working for more than a few days during the year, whilst
the rains are heavy, and they can readily obtain sufficient force of water
for the washing of the ore from its matrix.

I would here mention, that although I have never heard that any
gold has been observed during the washings for the iron ore, when if it
occurred in any quantity it could scarcely have escaped notice, still on
amalgamating a large amount of this ore, or rather on agitating it in
contact with some mercury, I obtained distinct traces of gold although
in very minute quantities ; but too trifling to admit of its profitable
extraction. It is more than probable that in some other localities it
may be found to occur more plentifully, and that these Hills, or the con-
tinuation of the same ridge to the eastward, may prove to be the source
of some of the gold found in the rivers of the Assam valley. (a).

Such is a brief sketch of the various products obtained from the
Khasi Hills, and of the purposes to which they are applied. And if this
outline should lead to further investigations, and tend to direct the
attention of any to this district, and so increase the number of its
visitors, Iam satisfied, that whether profit may be derived from such
investigations or not, much pleasure will result from a sojourn amidst
the most lovely scenery and in a most salubrious climate ; and among
a people presenting many interesting points for study, and many excel-
lent traits of character.

APPENDIX.

Elevation above the Sea of various localities in the Khasi Hills.

@егганнооптеву у ici) cog! Кез. SEED e less
Kala-Pani (Bridge), ...... E Ebr coon Mid
Boga-Pani (road near Bridge), ..

Mow-phlang, .

Soh-iong (Syung MN Gc con one) Am | mes С

сд (Native Village),... ... .. E
mS MRE Aho ceo ао оо оо 9-2.

Nungklow (Bungalow),... ... ... 5

i Bori-pani (below он) level of Sansan Bideei
Bori-pani level of water, ......
Shillong Hill,

Mawm'luh (gate of Village),.. x5 Боб Lands" Goo CES. “pe

ШаПаЧео (Бос) ЕНИ ЮЕ
» (Guard House),

Tungwai (Village), .. ... ...

Bairung, ... ох ico

Kullong rock (ton с.

» level of top of knolls to the South of the Rock,

Monai Village on road to Kullong, ...

TUER Ey ect ENERO REC sce nace Entei ae “sce trees
Lailangkot, ... ... sse an.

Nun р ооо оа «О te оо О

iDomrong; See) | seel cue сс

Kala-Pani (ridge to South of у

Joowai (Jynteah Hills),

Mentedoo River (at ford on road from js oowal Е та И

Rombai, ......

Oomsatung, ...... co ES Mte Ee
Lakadong, ndis Coo Ao P UD cen
Дашту eco cu о хо vxo оо ox

satu

DNE

The ршде. are elevations of places of minor йолы, ыйл for

geological purposes ;—
Top of Greenstone seen under Mawm'luh, ... ..,
“ Jasper beds,”

Feet.
4118
3179
4451
5931
5355
5901
5537
4585
2380
2339
6124
3852
2623
2188

210
1242
5684
5210
5067
5205
5703
5406
4748
5300
4230
3845
3578
3234
2294
3411

3222
2384

APPENDIX.

Feet.

Level of “ Fossil beach” of Dr. McClelland, under the village of Mawm'luh,
(* Cyrtoma” beds), ... ... ELE dpt sape ss osa s prr (al
Level of Fossil beds, above Teriaghat, Е E ESD
Teriaghat, above Sea, .,. .. PEU eS

Top of Metamorphic Rocks, South а of. the Coe Valley, so — £... 2155
Ditto ditto ditto, three miles further to the North, — .. .. .. ... .. 2913
Living Bridge, near junction of the valleys of Temshung and Mawsmai, .... 977
Bamboo Bridge, about three miles to the North in the same Valley, .. 2811
Maw-ring-rin, (three large stones on ridge North of Cherra), ... ... .... 4823

Top of Waterfall, North end of Cherra Valley, |... ... . 4860
Level of Assam Read, at small toll house, North end of Cues Ре
Native village, оза om оо соз соо сю ою ою о> Со юл 4498

Native village of Cherra Poonjee,... ... ... ... .. on "ощ 4897 to 4572
Bottom of zig-zags, on road to Teriaghat, .. ... sse see ... see ... 1498
Level ground below ditto, sandstone abounding in SUD EDO Tien. sosta O

The above elevations have all been determined from observations made with a
mountain Barometer of Newmar's latest construction, and obtained from the Mathe-
matical Instrument Department, Caleutta, and observed synchronously with another
stationed at Cherra Poonjee. The elevation of the Bungalow which I occupied there
(n 1851) was obtained from the average of 112 observations, synchronous with those
made at the Surveyor General’s Office in Calcutta: the instruments used in my observa-
tions having been carefully compared with those in Calcutta, and reduced to the
same standard.

The elevation of this point at Cherra Poonjee, having been thus established as 4118
feet above the level of the sea (or above the datum determined for Calcutta, namely
18.11 feet below the cistern of the Standard Barometer there), the elevations of all
the other localities have been determined by adding, or subtracting from this ascertain-
ed height, the difference of elevation due to the different readings of the Barometer.
This has been done in preference to comparing each observation with the Calcutta
readings as being much more likely to afford correct results. The greatest elevation
reduced from the Cherra observations was 4144 feet ; the lowest 4065.

On the Geological Structure of the Nilghiré Hills (Madras) by
HENRY Е. BLANFORD, EsqQ., Geological Survey of India.

Tug Nilghirí or Neelgherry Hills, well known as the principal Sani-
ае рони tarium of Southern India, form a small lofty
eR due MEMOS table land at the Southern extremity of the wide
spreading, but far less elevated plateau of Mysore, and constitute the
Southern termination of the Ghats. Like most of the isolated hill-
tracts of the Peninsula, e. g. the Shevaroys, Pulnies, and Anamulies, the
Neelgherries rise abruptly from the lower country around them, and
are bounded on all sides by short precipitous spurs, the remains of a
former great escarpment, which, in the course
severe of long ages, has been thus broken up by the
unceasing action of the numerous streams pouring down from their
surface.
The greatest length of the Neelgherry plateau is in a N. E. and
S. W. direction, or from Rungasawmy’s Peak,
mrt overlooking the Guzzlehutty Pass, to Sispara,
a distance of 48 miles, while their greatest breadth from the Falls
of the Pykara at Cót Mullay to the termination of the Mailur
ridge does not exceed 20 miles. The Northern and North-Western
portions of the great boundary escarpment of the Neelgherries are

ені едш: of less relative height than those bounding the

RON gu das (Уш, other sides of the plateau, the Mysore country

at their foot being itself an elevated tract bounded by the Eastern
and Western Ghats, the former of which trend off in a North-Easterly
direction from the North-Eastern corner of the Neelgherries, while the
latter commencing opposite to Makurty Peak pass off in a Westerly
and North-Westerly direction, forming the Northern portion of the
magnifieent amphitheatre of hills seen from Sispara and Makurty
Peak (Plate XI).

NILGHIRI HILLS.

The drainage of the Northern and North-Western portion of the

Юре CEN NOHEA hills flows down towards the Mysore country by
escarpment. numerous small streams, the principal of which is
the Pykara, and the large stream (the Moyaar) resulting from these
and from the drainage of the adjacent, part of Mysore, passing through a
deep gorge cut by its own denuding action in the Mysore plateau, flows
down near Guzzlehutty to joiu the Bhovani River at the foot of the
Ghats and of Rungasawmy’s Peak.

On the Eastern side of the hills, and below the Eastern Ghats
the low country of Coimbatoor stretches away,
a barren sandy tract, dotted over at distant
intervals with a few low rounded hills, and, except during the first few

weeks of the North-Eastern Monsoon, clothed with but little other

Coimbatoor country.

vegetation, than a few wiry cacti and ewphorbias and stunted
banyans, which rather increase than diminish the desert-like aspect of
the country.

The elevation of Matepolliam, a large village of Coimbatoor, near
the foot of the hills, is 800 feet above the sea.

From Rungasawmys Peak, the great escarp-

S. Eastern escarpment
and drainage.

ment of the Neelgherries trends away in a South-Western direction,
following, or rather directing, the course of the Bhovani River which
flows at its foot, and receives the drainage of the Southern portion of
the Neelgherry plateau. The country to the South of the Bhovani

Hill country to South 99 Seeu from the summit of the hills near Mailur
93 Кашыкка. is shown in Plate XII. It is covered with lone
ridges of hills for the most part low, and running parallel with the
escarpment, with small alluvial plains intervening, through which flow
the Bhovani and its principal tributaries. One or two of these ridges,
such as that known as Lambton’s Peak, (shown to the right of the
sketch,) rise prominently to an elevation not much inferior to that of

the Neelgherries, but they are either entirely isolated or communicate

NILGHIRI HILLS. 218

with the great mass of the hills by ridges of much less elevation.
These ridges terminate to the South West in a low spur project-
ing from the South Western corner of the Neelgherries, and forming
a portion of the great watershed of the Indian Peninsula. This hill
tract, extending from the foot of the Neelgherries to the neighbourhood.
of Palghat, is covered with a dense jungle through which the villages
of the Erulars are sparsely scattered, and which abounds in wild
Elephants, Tigers, Bears, Nilghai, Sambur, and such animals as are
only found in the wildest jungles of the Peninsula.

The Great Western escarpment of the Kundahs (a name given to the

E E South Western portion of the Nilghiris) extend-
ment. ing from Sispara to Makurty Peak, or rather to the
head waters of the Pykara river immediately below Makurty, completes
the circuit of the Hills. There is perhaps no scene in Southern India
more grand and imposing than this gigantic escarpment. Rising abruptly
from the low jungle covered plains of Malabar, to the lofty surface
of the Koondah plateau, an elevation of nearly 8000 feet, it presents an
apparently almost precipitous hill face covered with dense jungle, fur-
rowed but not broken up by the innumerable hill torrents which course
down its surface, and glisten like silver threads amid the dark green
foliage of the forest. It would seem at first sight perfectly inaccessible
from the plains below, and such it is throughout the greater portion of its
extent. It is only at Sispara that with considerable engineering skill,
a road has been constructed, forming a communication between the
hills and the low country of Malabar, and it is from this road that the
finest view of the escarpment is obtainable.

To pass now to the description of the plateau. As might be in- `

B uie, Бышы. ferred from the preceding, a great difference in the
character of the scenery is perceptible on ascending
from any of the hill ghats to the surface of the hill country, a change

due, partly to the different aspect of the vegetation, but principally to

214 NILGHIRI HILLS.

the different nature of the two great physical agents which have
operated in giving form to the hills on the surface, and to those forming
the edge of the table land.
It has been already mentioned that the gorges which break up the
Аи lateral faces of the hills, and up which the princi-
fresh-water action: pal roads are carried, have been cut out by the
attrital action of the streams flowing down from the plateau They have,
therefore, the precipitous sides, and are separated by the steep ridges
which always result from extensive fresh-water denudation in a mountain-
ous country. The surface of the Neelgherries, on the
D NT. E other hand, is undulating in the extreme, and the
streams which carry off its drainage, meander with a comparatively
gentle fall through rounded grassy hills, but rarely forming any thing like
a large rocky bluff, while the valleys never present the slightest approach
to the character of a gorge except in some of the deeper valleys of the
Kundahs, where, from causes to be explained in the following pages,
the rainfall is far greater than on the surface of the Neelsherries
proper, and the denudation produced thereby consequently greater.
It might be inferred, therefore, even from a casual glance at the Neel-
i gherries, that the hills on the plateau owe their
Due to marine action. k r
form to marine action, it being a well established
fact, that rounded hills, and an undulating country, are invariably the
results of such action. But on the Neelgherries we have a further
proof that the sea has formerly washed over what is now the highest
portion of the table land, in the existence of a series of escarpments,
hune e Op: imperfect indeed in many cases, and much cut up
menin by the subsequent action of surface water, but still
distinctly recognizable to the practised eye, and sometimes traceable
for a distance of many miles continuously. The most conspicuous of
these superficial escarpments crosses the hills in a S. W. direction from

the rise of the Pykara near Makurty Peak, and forms the boundary

NILGHIRI HILLS. 21

Qa

of that elevated portion of the plateau to which the name of the
Kundahs has been given.
The hills are, for the most part, but slightly wooded. They are
generally covered with a coarse grass, or in the
пае more rocky parts with a low scrub, and the patches
of loftier forest, termed Sholas, are, as a general rule, confined to the
valleys and water courses, and the more protected portions of the
hills There are, however, many exceptions to this mode of distribution,
and numerous isolated patches of various extent are conspicuously
dotted here and there over the slopes of the hills They have
a very peeuliar appearance, the boundary of each Shola being sharp
and distinct, so that the pedestrian passes in a few steps from the open
hill side into a dense thicket. The Botany of the hills is a subject
foreigu to thai of the present report, and will therefore not be entered
upon here. All those desirous of information on points connected
therewith, may be xeferred to the works of Dr. Wight as containing
the most reliable information.*
Previous to the commencement of the present Survey, the Geology

Previ Р of the Neelgherries had attracted the attention
revious writers on

Geology of Neelgherries. of severa] persons who had visited the hills,

* In the Introduction to the “Flora Indica" we find the following summary of the
flora of these hills given by the Authors of that masterly essay :—

* The ravines and shady slopes near the undulating summits of the Nilghiri hills are
oceupied by thickets of small trees and bushes, like those of Ceylon, but probably com-
posed of a greater number of species, all of which are equally characteristie of similar
situations in the Khasia, as Ternstramiacee, Michelia, Symplocos, Photinia, Пех, Eugenia,
Vaccinium, Gaultheria, Myrsinee, Rhododendron arboreum, Pittosporum Laurinee, with
Rubus, Cotoneaster, Desmodium, Jasminum, Euonymus, Indigofera, Daphne, Euphorbiacee,
Antidesmece, Willow, Melastomacec, and a vast number of others. Of forms that do not extend
to Ceylon, are Willow, Gnetum, Viburnum, Lonicera, Rosa. Balsams attain their maximum
in the Nilghiri and Travancore mountains; and amongst European forms are Alchemilla
Potentilla, Gentiane, and Labiate ; Agrimonia, however, which is found both in the tem-
perate parts of India and in Ceylon, is absent from the Nilghiri. Flora Indica Vol. I p. 196
Introd, Essay,

216 NILGHIRI HILLS.

either for pleasure or with professional views, and a brief notice of the
facts published by these observers may fitly precede the present
detailed report.

The earliest description of the Geology of the Neelgherries, and at
the same time the most detailed that has hitherto
been published, is that of Dr. De Benza, which

appeared in Vol. 3 of the Journai* of the Madras Literary and Philo-

sophicalSociety. In this notice Dr. De Benza gives a very full, and for the

Dr. De Benza.

most part, accurate description of the Mineralogy and Topography of
the. Hills, but in his Geological observations, he has fallen into the very
natural error (considering the state of Geological Science at the time
at which he wrote) of regarding the great mass of the rocks as of
Plutonic origin, and has described as Granite, Syenite, &c., rocks which, in
point of fact, are of an entirely different nature. In other respects Dr. De
Benza's report is very excellent, and it evinces in every page instances
of the careful and minute observation of the writer.

In 1844-45 a series of letters descriptive of the topography, ethnology,

Captain Congreve and gedlogy, &e, of the hills by Captain Congreve
QE and Dr. Burrell, appeared in the Madras Spectator
Newspaper, but never having been reprinted in any more lasting
form, there can be but few, if any copies extant. +

Some brief but very excellent observations on the Geology of the

Notes M Report on Hills are also contained in the Report of the
edite Ilan di Medical Topography of the Neelgherry Hills,
printed by order of Government in 1844. This Report, like those on
the Medical Topography of other Districts, is a compilation, and it is
not stated by whom the Geological portion of the Report was furnished.

* This description previously appeared in a less complete form in the Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. IV., p. 413, August 1835.

+ Dr. Burrell, now Superintending Surgeon of the Centre Division, very kindly
furnished me, however, with some items of information on the Geology of the Hills, which

will be introduced in their proper place (H. F. B.)

NILGHIRI HILLS. 217

Ta 1848 Captain Ouchterlony, of the Madras Engineers, published in
the Madras Journal of Literature and Science*
Captain Ouchterlony.

a valuable Memoir containing such information
on the Geology and Statistics of the Neelgherries as he had collected
during his detailed survey of the hills) This Memoir contains but
little geological information, however, except such as is of economic
importance, and in his description of the hills, Captain Ouchterlony
appears to have fallen into the same errors as Dr. De Benza and some
others of his predecessors.

Finally, Mr. Adolphe Schlagintweit published during the last two
iis UH RU years} a few remarks on the direction of the faults
and joints in the rocks of Mysore and tne Neelgher-
ries taken in connection with the foliation and cleavage of the same rocks.
Mr. Schlagintweit's stay in the Neelgherries was, however, too brief, to
permit of his making any detailed examination of the country.
Of the details of the hill Geology, therefore, much information
Е the: prepa had been collected previous to the commencement,
PREVOJ: of the present Survey, but owing to the rapid
advance in Geological knowledge generally, and especially in that of
Indian Geology during the last few years, it was highly desirable that
this information should be re-tested, and the whole, with such new facts
as might be collected during the present Survey, brought together into
a general report, and recorded in a permanent form in this series. With

this preface we shall proceed to the immediate subject of this report.

GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERS.
The rocks constituting the Neelgherry Hills, and indeed those of

Todi psp o the South Western part of India generally, belong,

згасне, with a few rare exceptions, to the schistose ог,

* Old Series, Vol. XV., No. 34.
+ Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal, New Series, No. LXXXVI,

918 NILGHIRI HILLS.

foliated class, which have received from Sir Charles Lyell the appellation
of Metamorphic rocks. The use of this term is perhaps premature, until
the really metamorphic nature of these rocks im all cases be clearly
established. The evidence of the actual metamorphism of the vast spread
of similar masses, forming the bottom rock over the whole surface of
the Indian Peninsula, and probably extending far into Central Asia, as
well as of the enormous tracts of Gneiss and Mica Schist occurring in
other countries* is yet very deficient, and although, as will be fully
explained hereafter, certain observations made during the course of the
present survey seem to indicate that the schistose rocks around Coimba-
toor, and possibly those of the Neelgherries also, are rocks of sedimentary
origin, altered and rendered crystalline by heat, it is perhaps better for
the present to restrict ourselves to the term Gneissose rocks, Gneiss+
being the best known and most typical of the series.
The other rocks of the district consist of alluvial deposits, a few small
basaltic dykes, and some quartz veins on the hills ;
UAE rocks of Neel and in the plains, of numerous small granite veins,
which are especially abundant in the neighbour-
hood of Sunkerry Droog to the East of the Cauvery. No trace of Granite
or of any rock of that class has been discovered on the Neelgherries.
GNEISSOSE Rocks.—The rocks of this class occurring in the Neelgher-
CS RUE ries and the surrounding country are extremely
varied in mineral character, and frequently assume
an appearance, which would lead a casual observer, or indeed most persons
who have not made these rocks a matter of especial study, to regard
them in many cases as rocks of Plutonic origin. A careful and extended
examination, however, will show that, however indistinct their foliated
structure may be in places, they invariably pass

Distinct from true
бор; by insensible degrees into those of a more typical

* Darwin on South America ; Strzelecki on Australia, &c.
+ The term Gneiss is frequently used throughout this Report as a generic, implying the
Gneissose rocks in general.

NILGHIRI HILLS. 219
Gneissose character, and in no case do they form igneous veins, or
present any appearance of intrusion. 16 is principally in the elevated
country that they exhibit a granitoid appearance ; in the plains generally,
the foliation is extremely well marked, a fact which, hereafter, may prove
of some theoretical interest.
The minerals principally entering into the composition of the foliated
rocks are Quartz, Hornblende, Felspar and Garnet,
Mineral Composition. ар these occur in the most varied relative propor-
tions, one or more of them being frequently absent. Mica occurs
but rarely throughout the hills, and indeed appears to be an exceptional
mineral in this part of India generally. Besides the above there are some
few minerals of local occurrence, viz :— Magnetic
Accidental Minerals. Tron, Hematite, Specular Iron, and Graphite, and
as the results of decomposition, the various earthy forms of the
Hydrated Peroxide of Iron, such as Ochre and Laterite ; and
Kaolin,
Of the minerals of occasional occurrence, the Oxides of Iron are the
most abundant. They occur forming short irre-
Боли. gular bands or masses in the Gneiss, such bands
generally running nearly in the direction of the foliation. Hzematite and
Specular Iron are far more common on the surface than Magnetic Iron,
but from their massive structure and mode of occurrence, they are pro-
bably Magnetic Iron peroxidized by atmospheric agency. The most
important masses of Iron ore occur above the village of Karrachola, a mile
and a half West of Kotergherry, and on a small spur of Dodabetta, over-
looking the Dhobi's village. Dr. Burrell informs me that from the same
locality, he has a piece of Magnetic Iron which is
ерен Tron: sufficiently magnetie to carry a bodkin eighteen
grains in weight. Another rich deposit of a similar nature occurs about
three miles east of Jackatalla, where the Hematite is interfoliated with

the gneiss, in broad strings of the pure mineral,

220 NILGHIRI HILLS.

The foliation, wherever seen, is tolerably constant in its direction

over the whole of the Neelgherries ; this direction
Meio: approximately coinciding with that of the great
Southern escarpment of the Neelgherries, the Bhovani river, the
Eastern Ghats, and many of the priucipal ridges on the surface of the
plateau, especially those to the south of Ootakamund. Its prevailing strike
is between N. E., S. W. and E. N. E., W. S. W., the
principal exceptions to which occur to the North
East of Ootakamund in the neighbourhood of Daversolabetta, where the

foliation is somewhat variable ; but even these variations are very local.

Its strike.

The foliation is but rarely strongly marked, and never on the
surface of the hills assumes anything approaching

Ex das. гозу "to а schistose character. It is most distinct in the
neighbourhood of Kotergherry. On descending

the Coonoor Ghat a striking difference is perceptible in the structure

s. The foliation :
БШ башыр On the of the rocks e foliation becomes strongly

plains. and even coarsely marked, and in the neigh-

bourhood of Matepolliam a coarse hornblende schist composed of thick
alternating lamin of quartz and hornblende is seen protruding from
the ground in large slabs, resembling the old tombstones in a country
churchyard. Passing Southwards towards Coimbatoor, the rock becomes
more compact, the foliation still being very distinct, and such is the pre-
vailing character over the whole of the low country between the Neel-

gherries and the Shevaroy Hills.
It is in the very hornblendic variety of the Gneiss, such as prevails
оно OEE the North-Western portion of the Neelgher-
Gneiss. ries, that the foliation is the least marked. In
this, which is a hard tough black rock, breaking with an even fracture,
and consisting of an intimate intermixture of quartz and hornblende
with some garnets, but little trace of foliation

Indistinctly foliated. д А 3
is usually perceptible, especially on a freshly

NILGHIRI BILLS. 221

broken surface. On weathered surfaces. the foliated structure is more
apparent. In some localities, e. g. at the Seegoor Ghat, the rock weathers
into smooth rounded blocks presenting no appearance whatever of
Gneissose structure. It is undoubtedly such varieties as this which have
been described as Syenite, Greenstone, ќс., by Dr. De Benza and other
writers. That in reality they are mere abnormal varieties of the foliated
rocksis proved by their invariably passing into these latter, and by their
never forming veins or exhibiting any appearance of intrusion. A
similar hornblendic Gneiss forms the whole of the North-Eastern or
loftier portion of the Kundahs, where itis much decomposed, and pro-
duces a thick covering of ferruginous clay and lateritic gravel.
Another very striking variety of the Gneissose rocks, and which
Quitter telepathic has been described as Peematite by Dr. De Benza,
Gneiss of the Koondahs. js опе occurring near Sispara in tke Koondahs.
That when seen in a hand specimen only, it bears some resemblance
to Pegmatite or Graphic Granite, is undeniable, but when seen in
the mass, it is found to pass gradually into the hornblendic Gneiss
around, and close examination shows that the peculiar arrangement of the

Peematitic appearance . WO component minerals, quartz and felspar, is

Боа о анод, really due to an imperfect foliation, the lenticular

threads of quartz being all arranged in the normal direction of the
foliation. A somewhat similar rock to this, but of finer structure,

Occurs also to North Occurs near Ootakamund, in the valley to the

Ootakamund. Р :
Э N. W.of Daversolabetta or Snowdon*, and again

a much more extensive spread occurs to the North of Mailur forming
а belt about three miles in width, passing from
the foot of the Kundahs to the Kaitee valley
at the foot of the great ridge of Dodabetta. The last mentioned |

And at Mailur.

rock contains, in addition to the quartz and felspar, Carnets in great

quantity.

* So termed by the residents of Ootakamund,

222 NILGHIRI HILLS.

The most common variety of the Gneiss over the central part of the

hills, where, however, its mineral composition is
ORO NS extremely variable, is a finely grained rock com-
posed of quartz, garnet, and hornblende, with a variable proportion of
felspar. It usually exhibits an indistinct foliation, and almost inva-
riably on the weathered surfaces ; it is very decomposable, except on the

large precipitous faces, which occasionally present

Spheroidal decompo-

A themselves on the slopes of the spurs of the
sition,

Dodabetta range, and when so decomposed
breaks up into spheroids which scale off as the decomposition pro-
ceeds and remain embedded in a mass of quartzose ferruginous clay
arising from their decomposition. The cause of this decomposition
will be treated of in another place. When large undecomposed faces
of the rock are exposed it sometimes shows a tendency to split off
SL E шп in enormous slabs slightly curved to the form of

the hill side. The cause of this is not very
apparent, but it may possibly be due to the heat of the sun causing
the exposed surface to expand rapidly, and thus separate from the
underlying cooler portion of the rock. After heavy rains, the earthy
decomposed mass becoming saturated with water, frequently rushes

down as a great landslip, scattermg the em-

зор. bedded boulders, often of enormous size, over
the valleys and low grounds. A large landslip of this kind which
took place some years since on the side- of

таза ee ara ао eo e spot near which the road
to the Sispara Ghat passes, has given the name of Avalanche, usually
pronounced Avalanchy, to the locality. Such landslips are not unfrequent
On Kaitee Escarp- ON the great escarpment overlooking the Kaitee
oe valley to the S. E. of Ootakamund, and cause great
injury to the Coonoor Road, which is carried along the face of this

escarpment, The gaps formed by similar landslips are frequently notice-

NILGHIRI HILLS. 223

able on the steeper hill-sides, and in their protected hollows the

sholah jungle is very luxuriant.
A variety of Gneiss, very similar to that last described, but containing
more hornblende, forms that portion of the hills to

wae the N. W. of the Pykara Bungalow (Fig. 1), and

Fig, I.—Hard bands in gneiss, near Neddiwuttam.

a curious feature of its mode of decomposing is worthy of mention

as bearing on the structure of the rock. Bands
Hard bands in Gneiss. $ ү
` of hard rock ате seen protruding from the hill

sides in broken masses, and always running in the direction of

the foliation. The same peculiarity is observable

Himagala* range. p

in many parts of the Himagala range (so called

by Dr. De Benza) which extends from Makurty to Neddiwuttam

west of the Pykara River, and it is especially

pw marked around Makurty where the rock is very
hornblendic.

'Traces of banded structure coincident with the foliation of the rock are

also observable throughout the central portion

Banded structure of

Gneiss around Ootaka- of the hills around Ootakamund. In many
mund.

cases the mineral variations of the rock appear
to conform to the strike of its foliation, but it is rarely possible to

224 NILGHIRI HILLS.

trace this for any distance, and the mineral bands either become lenti-
cular or break up and die away in the mass.

Another variety of the foliated rocks, although not occurring on the

hills, must be mentioned, both on account of its

Coimbatoor Limestone.

economic importance, and because it exhibits the

banded structure more clearly than any of the other varieties referred

Fig. II.—Thin alternations of limestone and gneiss, weathered ;—near Coimbatoor.

to. This is the Crystalline Limestone, a notice of which has already
appeared in the Madras Journal of Literature and Science.* It oc-
curs about five miles to the South of the Station of Coimbatoor, form-
ing a band of variable thickness which passes in an E. N. E. direction
along the foot of the broken range of hills which forms the extreme
Southern termination of the Neelgherry hill district. These hills,

Banded structure of Which run parallel to the limestone band, and also

Боа Bie. to the foliation of the gneiss in this part of the

District, consist of repeated alterations of crystalline limestone and gneiss
in bands of from one to a few inches in thickness, and the unequal
erosion of the limestone and gneiss has given the hills a jagged ap-
pearance, very apparent when viewed in the direction of the bands of

structure. Two sketches illustrating this are here given (Figs. 2 & 3).

* New Series, Vol. IIT, No. V.

NILGHIRI HILLS. 225

The striking resemblance of this banded structure to that seen fre-

6 quently in limestone rocks, where thin bands of
Ne limestone and shall repeatedly alternate, and

Fig. IT,—Thin alternations of limestone and gneiss, weathered ;—near Coimbatoor.

the regularity and continuity of this rock for a distance of seven miles
and probably even more, render it difficult to believe that it can be
other than a really metamorphosed band of sedimentary rocks, and
afford the strongest evidence of such an origin that has yet been obtained
in this part of India.
INTRUDED Rocks.—The intruded rocks of ће Neelgherries are of one
kind only, viz., a compact basaltic Trap, which
B dep, D pe o occurs in small dykes at one or two localities
in the Northern part of the Neelgherries, and
on the Western edge of the Kundahs. We may however, also con-
sider under this head, the largely crystallized

Granite common іп granite veins which аге by no means uncommon

low country. 7 j
in the foliated rocks of the low country, and are

most numerous in the neighbourhood of Sunkerry Droog in the Salem

District. To the East of this locality they become more and more

bo
r5
©»

NILGHIRI HILLS.

scarce, so that in the Shevaroys, and probably

None in the Shevaroys. also in the other hill groups around Salem, no

trace of them is visible. In this respect, therefore, these hills resemble
the Neelgherries.

Trap.—A large portion of the hornblendic rocks described in the

preceding section have been noted as Greenstone,

rblendie rocks de- А
Med "m Trap really Syenite, &c., by Dr. De Benza and other observers,

Enos but careful observations have proved that such
are but part and parcel of the great foliated mass, and in no case intruded.

The only rocks which can be really regarded as
Trap dykes small and

trap rocks are a few small dykes marked as such
rare,

in the accompanying map (Plate X.) These,
although exceedingly small, had previously been observed by Dr. De Benza
and Dr. Burrell, and afford sufficient proof of the
pee m previously careful and minute observation exercised by both
these observers. The dyke marked as passing
through Daversolabetta was only seen in two localities, viz., on the Nor-
reap bat Арс thern slope of that hill, about 200 yards from the
betta. summit, and again to the North West in the bed
of a small watercourse on the western side of the valley, and in both
eases consists of several small parallel dykes, varying from two to ten
inches in width, and consisting of a tough compact basaltic rock. That
occurring to the North of the Pykara road is
Near Pykara Road.
very similar to the above. It is only visible for a
short distance, and no trace of it was found elsewhere in the hills. The
direction of these dykes is about N. W. or nearly
PU DE at right angles to the foliation of the gneiss.
The only other locality at which Trap has been observed is the
neighbourhood of Sispara at the South Western
Described by Mr. King. extremity of the hills. Mr. King, who examined
this part of the hills, describes the trap as follows :—“ Between the Sis-

NILGHIRI HILLS. 997

para Road and the North Western edge of the plateau there are traces of
sc RN very spell trap d mes which increase in number and
extent in the neighbourhood of Sispara, the Gneiss
through which these dykes have penetrated being more quartzose and
Character of Gneiss at Telspathic, and having a more contorted foliation
Separa, than that on the Neelgherries ; its general direction
is N. 70'E. At the same time the laminz of the Gneiss are broader and
more distinct, especially those of the quartz, which widen out in some places,
so as to resemble veins of that mineral when seen in detached blocks.
A mass of trap, some square yards in extent, occurs on the North
side of the road between the first and second mile-
NI A stones from Sispara, having a convex surface, the
same as that possessed by gneiss, and is only to be distinguished from the
latter by the absence of lamination, and its being very much jointed
or split up in a direction W. 40. N. It is not very hard, breaking
up with plane surfaces, which have a slightly metallic lustre. The
boundary between this rock and the gneiss is very apparent, but when
masses in which the two occur together are broken up, they do not
separate at the junction, but split across it in preference.
On ascending the slope on the Sispara side of the gorge called the
| Devil's gap, the trap is seen cropping out between
TOT е beds of gneiss, and sending off branches across
the bedding and foliation, or between the laminz of the latter. The
gneiss when in contact with these dykes is coarser, and the laminae wider
than elsewhere in the vicinity, while the dykes themselves are more split
at their surfaces of contact than towards their interior. The widen-
ing of the lamin of the gneiss is very well seen at the South-
ern end of the small plain of New England,
» o where portions of a trap dyke occur inter-laminat-
ed with the gneiss. Here the quartz bands attain a width of 10 or 18

inches, but thin out eventually to the ordinary thickness of the laminze."
R

228 NILGHIRI HILLS.

From the absence of any evidence bearing upon the age of these
Age of Trap not Small outbreaks of trap, it is impossible to say
шиг, whether or not they are connected with the
great outbreak of the Deccan. Similar dykes have been observed in
the Mysore country, and it is probable that an
Trap Dykes in Mysore. TES
examination of these, and of the country inter-
vening between Mysore and the great trap spread of Central India
may enable us to solve the above problem.
GRANITE.—lt is remarkable that although veins of this rock are of

No Granite on t, 1189960 occurrence throughout the Coimbatoor

чш. and part of the Salem districts, with the excep-

tion of the Neelgherries and Shevaroys, and perhaps the other hill
tracts, that no intruded mass of this rock has been observed. As be-
fore mentioned, Sunkerry Droog, to the East of

BEER DIR the Bhovani, appears to. be a focus where the veins
are most numerous, and the hill on which the old fort or Droog stands,
as well as the gneiss of the surrounding country to the distance of
.some miles is perfectly cut up in every direction

Mineral composition. A К à ы MTS
with granite veins. (See Fig 4). This granite is

Fig, IV.—Gneiss hill pierced by Granite veins near Sunkerry Droog.

NILGHIRI HILIS. 229

a ternary compound of quartz, felspar, and mica, all largely crystallized,
and the rock is consequently very easily decom-
anes! mineral posed and broken up. The only other minerals
hitherto observed in it are Magnetic Iron, Garnets, and Beryls, both
олаи а! Kan- of the opaque and aqua-marine varieties. "These
e latter occur at Kangyam in the Coimbatoor
district, and an excavation was formerly opened by Mr. Heath for the
purpose of obtaining them. The works have been now abandoned,
and the excavations are filled with water.
With regard to the age of this Granite little more can be said than of
Age of Granite un. that of the Trap. To judge from the appearance
[по of the veins at Sunkerry Droog more especially,
the gneiss must have been rigid at the period of the intrusion
of the granite, and it would seem, moreover, that the country must
have undergone some dislocation, since, although tolerably numerous
in the neighbourhood of Matepolliam, no trace of them is to be found
on the hills, the gneiss of which must, therefore, have been elevated above
the sphere of their penetration. It is therefore desirable to defer the
further consideration of this subject, until the low country of Coimbatoor
and the plateau of Mysore have been carefully investigated.
DISLOCATIONS AND MINERAL VEINS.—It is necessarily somewhat diffi-
cult to establish satisfactorily the amount and

Difficult to determine о с : В =
dislocations in Gneiss direction of the dislocations which have taken

vs d place in a country consisting solely of foliated
rocks, inasmuch as the only evidences even of the existence of
such dislocat;ons are to be found in the effects produced by them on
the physical features of the surface, and, in comparatively rare instances,
in the presence of mineral veins. Evidences of both kinds are fortu-
nately to be found in the Neelgherry country, sufficient to enable us at
all events to ascertain the direction of those great lines of faulting
which have determined the form of the principal hill masses under
consideration.

230 NILGHIRI HILLS.

Mr. Adolphe Schlagintweit in his “Report on the progress of the
Pura AI UNE Magnetic Survey” published in the Journal of
Sagina, the Asiatic Society of Bengal,* has already
recorded his observations on this subject, and his conclusions, although
rendered somewhat obscure by what is probably a typographical error,
appear to be very similar to those independently arrived at by the
present surveyors.
There are three principal systems of faulting, two of them probably
synchronous, and at right angles to each other,
Three systems of faults. б 7 ay Ns р
being those which coincide with the lines of the
Eastern and Western Ghats respectively, and a third probably subse-
quent to the above, and contemporaneous with the final upheaval of
the Neelgherry plateau.
The first of the systems of dislocation, viz., that to which the forma-
tion of the Eastern Ghats is due, has an E. N. E.

direction, varying occasionally to N. E., and there-

First System.

fore about coincident with the general strike of the foliation. To
this system belong the great faults with a down throw to the South-East
ROM E which have produced the Eastern Ghats and the
other line of escarpment. South-Eastern escarpment of the Neelgherries,

and those with a North Western down throw, which have given rise to the

great Кораћ escarpment, and that at Neddiwuttam, both of which face

-towards the North-West. To the smaller dislocations of this system
may be attributed the valley of Pykara at the foot of the * Himagala"

range and the great South-Hastern escarpment of the Dodabetta range

(See Fig. 7) both on the plateau of the hills, and having a down throw

to the South-East.
The second system is nearly at right angles to the preceding, and
È has a W. N. W. direction, varying to N. W.,

Second system. ! X
where it meets the former system in the Neel-

* No. II for 1857, New Series No. LXXXVI.

NILGHIRI HILLS. 281

sherries. 16 comprises the Western Ghats and the smaller Neelgherry
Western Ghats and Escarpment of the Kundah range, or that which,
ка escarpment facing to the North-East, commences at the
Pykara river, and passing thence behind Avalanche, terminates near
the village of Keel Kundah, overlooking the valley of the Bhovani
river. These two escarpments, although in precisely the same line,
| face in different directions, and it is therefore

D Ru E probable that the disturbance which gave rise
to the latter was of subsequent date to that which produced the
former, but took place along the old line of dislocation, the upheaval
being on the opposite side. Another line of fracture belonging
Faults near Koter- tO this system is that which crosses the hills
ghemy. from St. Katharine’s Falls to the Elk Fall in the
neighbourhood of Kotergherry, on the North-Eastern portion of the
hills, and it is to this that the gorges below these two falls are originally

due.* "There does not appear to have been any great amount of distur-

. bance along this line, so far as can be judged from the present aspect

of the country, but the evidences are sufficiently clear to warrant the
belief that such a fracture exists.
The third great system of faults is that to which the Northern
: boundary of the Neelgherries, the short Southern
mU escarpment of the Kundah range, the extreme
terminal escarpment of the hill country of Palghat and probably some
smaller dislocations in the hilly country intervening between the
Why regarded as а Neelgherries and Palghat, belong. The first of
istinc sys these might at first sight seem to ramify from the
line of disturbance of the Eastern Ghats, which at their junction has very
nearly the same direction, but the existence of parallel lines of faulting

elsewhere, all of which are connected with the upheaval of the Neel-

* The description of this line of fault d furnished by Messrs C. Oldham and H.
Geoghegan, who alone visited this part of the hills,

232 NILGHIRI HILLS.

gherries as a group, and the incompatibility of such a series as synchro-
nous with either of the two systems above enumerated,* induce the belief
that it belongs to a separate and subsequent system of dislocations.+-

According to the above, the following is the series of successive
UE ш disturbances which have mainly given rise to
the preceding. the present physical aspect of the country.

The first great disturbance which took place was the upheaval of

RN SESS the Ghats, and the intervening plateau of Mysore,

the two main lines of dislocation meeting and

possibly terminating in the Neelgherries. The great fault, or system
of faults, along which the Neelgherry or Avalanche escarpment of the
Kundahs was afterwards upraised, probably gave rise to the terminal
portion of the Western Ghats, the down throw at that period being
towards the South. Many smaller dislocations more or less parallel
to the two main lines would be produced during such an upheaval,
and in some of these the isolated hill mass of the Neelgherries may
have been subsequently upraised to a far greater elevation.

The second great disturbance which produced the Neelgherries may

Formation of the Neg. А@Ү@ followed the former, either after a certain
BAe interval, or as the closing act of a long period
of elevation, the upheaving force being more concentrated. The area
upheaved was bounded partly by pre-existing lines of fracture, and
partly by a newly formed series, having an Eastern and Western direc-
tion. During the same period, minor disturbances broke up the
country for some miles to the South, and also produced some of those

escarpments which have been described as occurring on the Neelgherries,

* Hopkins, Geol. Trans. Vol. VII., part 1.

+ Mr. Adolphe Schlagintweit, in his paper previously referred to, states his conviction
of the existence of a line of dislocation along the course of the Moyaar river, which flows
in a deep gorge through the Mysore country, a few miles to the North of the Neelgherries.
This part of the country has not yet been examined by the Survey, but if, as is extremely
probable, Mr. Schlagintweit’s supposition be correct, such a line of fracture would belong
to this third system.

qe

NILGHIRI HILLS. 23

and which were subsequently much modified in form by marine action.

It is not improbable that the Neelgherries have
NS s ОК EA been upheaved en masse to some extent, since the
Bis ORI REUS ванае of the plateau received its present form,
and since that portion of the country has been raised above the sea,
for the mural escarpments which bound the Neelgherries are far more
precipitous than we could imagine them to have been, had they been
‘subjected to marine action during a long gradual process of upheaval
from the sea.

Of the Geological periods during which the disturbances just enumer-

CRUS teal epach of up ated took place we can learn nothing in this part
heavals not ascertainable. of the country, there being no sedimentary rocks
that can furnish any clue to this important problem.

The Carnatic, and the country through which the Godavery flows,
are the districts most likely to afford the much desired information as
to the epochs of disturbance in the Indian Peninsula.*

In describing the great limes of fracture in the rocks of the Neel-

Ree уш easton be gherries, no notice has been taken of the small

classed with any system. quartz veins occurring in various part of the

hills imasmuch as these minor disturbances can scarcely be referred to
any distinct system. They are in most cases of
Of no economic value. x Е

no great length or width, and of no economic

value. The vein stone in all of them is a pure white quartz, occasionally

* From the subsequent Survey of the cretaceous rocks to the North of Trichinopoly, it
‚ is proved that the Collamullies and Puchamullies, two groups of Gneiss hills between
Trichinopoly and Salem, and about 90 miles East of the Neelgherries, have been upheaved
during two successive epochs of disturbance. The first of these occurred after the depo-
sition of the lower cretaceous series of Southern India, (a group, which appears to be
of newer date than the Neocomian rocks of Europe); the second, at some period subsequent
to the formation of the upper cretaceous series of the same district. It is possible that the
former of these epochs may have been synchronous with the upheaval of the ghats, and
that the latter, during which the disturbance was evidently more local, was contemporaneous
With the upheayal of the Neelgherries as a group.

284 NILGHIRI HILLS.

containing a few crystals of Pyrites of tolerable size, and which appear
to have the form of the pentagonal dodecahedron.
ene In the vein which is seen cropping out on the
hill side where the Avalanche road crosses a stream about 7 miles from
Brown Hematite how Octakammund, there is a small quantity of Brown
found: Hematite (Limonite) filling the cavities in the
quartz. This is sometimes seen forming irregular pseudomorphs of
the Pyrites, and it is evident that it has resulted from the de-
composition of that mineral. Captain Ouchterlony mentions haying
à found a speck of copper Pyrites in a loose block
a NR derived from one of these quartz veins, but no
trace of that mineral has been found by the Surveyors after careful
and repeated examination of the veinstones. It is possible the Iron
Pyrites, or Mundie above described, may have been mistaken for the
more valuable cupriferous mineral.
Weathering of Rocks.—Before proceeding to describe the series of

physical changes by which the hills have been

Weathering principal-

ly a chemical question. denuded to their present form, a few words must

be said on the decomposition of the rocks. There are many points
connected with this subject of a purely chemical character, and which,
although of great geological importance, can only be worked out in the
laboratory. Thus, without a carefully conducted chemical analysis, it
is difficult to assign a reason for the unequal and irregular decomposition
which obtains in many cases in rocks of apparently identical mineral
composition. This appears indeed occasionally to be due to the
varying relative amount of felspar present, and
Dependant on the bo ^ к
amount of felspar and probably also to local variations in the composi-
hornblende present. И E
tion of the felspar, but what these differences are,
and in what manner they affect the stability of the rock, chemical
examination alone can determine. As a general rule, those rocks from

which felspar is absent, or in which it is only present in small quantity,

NILGHIRI HILES. 285

are but little liable to decompose, and, бп the other hand, those which
contain no hornblende, although much felspar be present, are generally
but little affected by the atmosphere.
The most decomposable variety of the gneiss is that which has been
Spheroidal weather- Already described as occurring over the central

P3 part of the hills, and weathering into spheroids.

This spheroidal decomposition does not appear to be caused by auy
dudo шшш. peculiarity in the intimate structure of the rock,
but rather to be the consequence of the jointing
by which the rock has been broken up, probably during the upheaval
of the hills, as a secondary effect of the great forces which produced
the dislocations treated of in the preceding section. The weathering
of the rock commences at the sharp edges and angles of the jointed
fragments, gradually rounding them off, until the cuboidal mass, throw-
ing off coat after coat of decomposed rock, tends to assume a spheroidal
form. The original joints are soon obliterated in the decomposed mass,
and the result is a number of spheroids of hard rock, of various sizes,
remaining imbedded in a sandy clay more or less ferruginous, and still
retaining traces of foliated structure, when such structure has been ori-
ginally very distinct.*
When arock is very hornblendic, such as occurs over the tract mark-
ed on the map as “ Hornblendic Gneiss,” the iron

Highly — hornblendie
dose originally contained in the hornblende becomes

thoroughly peroxidised and hydrated, and by a species of erystallization
forms a mammillated coating of impure Limonite, (Brown Hematite)
exactly resembling the characteristic surface of laterite. At one locality
Hear the road from Ootakamund to Makurty, and about two miles from
the Pykara river, a highly hornblendie band of rock has become thus

partially decomposed, and the fragments rolling down a steep hill side,

* See Report on the Coal-field of Talcheer, Pages 41, 42, where two drawings are

given, illustrating this peculiarity of weathering.

236 NILGHIRI HILLS.

have accumulated and become cemented together, formmg a rock un-
distinguishable from many varieties of the laterite of the plains.

The probable origin of There are no absolute beds of laterite on the
issus hills, but observations made in numerous localities
on the plains, where this rock occurs in true beds sometimes even con-
glomeratie, seem to show that the materials may have been derived
from a similar source to the above, and except that they have been
probably distributed by water over the surface of the country instead of
accumulating by simple gravitation, the mode of consolidation into
laterite may have been also very similar.*

The manner in which the gneiss of Makurty weathers, leaving hard
medie Ea bands projecting from the surface of the ground,

has been already adverted to, and the phenome-

non admits of easy explanation, viz., that the hard bands are more
quartzose than the gneiss on either side, and hence they disintegrate
far less readily.

lt is unnecessary to do more than mention the occurrence of kaolin,
$ which has been noticed in two or three places on

RU the hills, viz., on the road between Pykara and
Neddiwuttam ; in the vicinity of Fairlawns, on the road from Oota-
kamund to Avalanche, and im a valley about two miles South of Oota-
kamund (See Map). The origin of kaolin, and the chemical theory
of its formation are too well known to require comment. That of the
hills only differs from the kaolin of other countries in being formed
by the decomposition im situ of a very felspathic variety of gneiss,
instead of being the result of decomposed granite. The masses of

this mineral at the localities mentioned do поё
Not valuable.

appear to be very extensive, and the mineral

itself contains too much iron to be of much economic value.

* Subsequent observations on the Laterite of Tanjore confirm this view of the origin of
that rock.

NILGHIRI HILLS. 997

The cuttings on the Cantonment road between the Church and the
Olub-house of Ootakamund, expose a mass of highly

Bii ferruginous clay, evidently arising from the de-
composition of the gneiss im situ. The bands vary in tint, the varia-
tion being probably dependeut upon the quantity of hornblende in
the original rock. Some of this clay is sufficiently colored to serve
as a pigment, but it does not appear that it has ever been tried for this
purpose.

The alteration of Magnetic iron into Hematite is a well known

result of atmospheric action. The localities on
mien the hills which exhibit instances of this have
been already referred to.

Denudation and recent Geological changes.—In treating of the
denudation to which the Neelgherries have been subject, two different
and consecutive periods—the former an epoch of marine action, the
latter of atmospheric agency,— may be separately considered.

If the physical aspect of the Neelgherries be compared with that
EI ial acgect of Nesl- of the lower ranges of the Himalayas, as, for
БЕЛЕН example, the hills around Darjeeling, the differ-
ence, notwithstanding their similarity of lithologie structure, of climate
and elevation, is so apparent as to strike the most superficial
observer. While the latter hills consist of a system of sharp backed
precipitous ridges, drained by a corresponding system of ravine like
valleys of enormous depth, the slopes of which up to an elevation
of 10,000 feet are clothed with a dense luxuriant forest jungle, scarred
here and there with the debris and bare rock surface of a recent land-
slip, the former present an undulating surface of smooth grassy hills,
and the ravines and gorge-like valleys, so characteristic of the Himalayas,
are in the Neelgherries confined for the most part to the outer preci-
pitous slopes of the plateau, In the Kundah portion of the plateau

fi
we have a country of intermediate character, the hills -being more

288 NILGHIRI HILLS.

whale-backed than on the Neelgherries Proper, and the valleys, especially
those of the main streams, assuming more of the gorge-like aspect.

The cause of this variation of physical character in the Himalayas,
the Kundahs and the Neelgherries Proper, is to be found in the vary-
ing amount of fresh water erosion to which each of these hill tracts

Rainfall and its re- аЗ been subject, and this in its turn is depen-
sults. dent on the rain-fall, and the area of the system
of drainage in each locality. There is reason to believe that the
Himalayas, as well as the Neeigherries, have been originally exposed
to marine action, and this at even a later period than the Neel-
gherries; but the great deposit of moisture, in the form of rain
and snow, which takes place over the Southern slopes of the Hima-
layas during the South-East Monsoon, collecting in streams and
glaciers, long ago ploughed out deep valleys through the entire moun-
tain mass, the rock of which, although a gneiss very similar to that
of the Neelgherries, is far more rapidly decomposed, owing to the dense
vegetation with which it is covered. In the case of the Kundahs,
the amount of rain-fall is as great as that on the wettest part of the
Himalayas,* the Kundahs being so situated as to receive the full force
of the South-West Monsoon, which blows from May to September,
and deposits over these hills and the Western Ghats the vast torrents
of vapour collected in its passage over the Indian Ocean. The rain-fall
on the Kundahs is thus far greater than on the Neelgherries, which
are to some extent, protected by the former from the effects of the
South-East Monsoon, and where the rain-fall consequently does not
exceed about 90 inches, and hence the Neelgherries, although of larger
area, exhibit less extensive erosion than the Kundah Subdivision of

the same hill-group.

* It has been stated to be as mueh as 250 inches at Sispara whereas the rain-fall of
Darjeeling is only 180 inches. At Khersiong, however, the position of which more resem-
bles that of Sispara, the rain-fall must be much greater than at Darjeeling.

NILGHIRI HILLS. 259

In both cases, the denudation is less than in that of the Himalayas,
and this partly because, as already stated, the rock decomposes less
rapidly, but principally owing to the comparatively small areas of
drainage of the Kundahs and Neelgherries, and the consequent ab-
sence of any gigantic river-torrents, such as gush down from the vast range
of the Himalaya. Indeed, the drainage of the hills pours down by seve-
ralindependent streams, those of the Neelgherries uniting in the plains
below and flowing finally into the Cavery, while the single stream
which collects almost the entire drainage of the Koondahs flows down
to the Western Coast.

The country immediately around Ootakamund, which is the loftiest

Evidences of marine Part of the hills, is naturally that which has been
seton least altered by the action of fresh water, and
it is here consequently that the evidences of the previous marine
action are most clearly seen. The station of Ootakamund is situated
in a broad undulating valley, immediately at the foot of Dodabetta,
(the loftiest point of the hills, and is surrounded on three sides by Ше.
steep spurs of this range, while on the fourth or Western side of the
Station, the plateau undulates gently away to the Himagala range,
only interrupted by two prominent hills situated immediately to the
right of the Makurty road, about 4 miles from Ootakamund. The
best view of this part of the hills is obtained from the new Koter-
gherry road at various points on its Dodabetta ascent.. The general
outlme of Dodabetta as seen from a distance is much rounded; it
appears as a prominent mass of hills bounded on the greater part
of its circumference by a tolerably distinct escarpment. This escarpment

Escarpment of Kaitee 15 especially visible on its South-Eastern side
еу. which overlooks Kaitee valley (See Fig. 5),
and again to the North and North-West of Jackatalla, where the
projecting terminations of several spurs present a striking resem-

blance to the rocky headlands of parts of the South Coast of

240 NILGHIRI HILLS.

England. The ground between these prominent spurs has been much
hollowed out by the streams pouring down from Dodabetta, and it is,

therefore, only by viewing the general contour of these hills from some j

Fig V.—View of the Dodabetta and Kaitee escarpment.

little distance that their cliff-like character becomes apparent. Passing
from Jackatalla towards Kotergherry, the escarpment may still be traced,
although much obliterated by the subsequent formation of valleys.
About half way between Jackatalla and Kotergherry, it turns to the
West, and seen from any point on the Northern part of- the hills it
presents a bold rocky face terminating in Daversolabetta, a lofty conical
peak a few miles North-East of Ootakamund. At this point, the es-
carpment cannot be very distinctly made out, but to the West of Da-
versolabetta, the upper part of the escarpment appears to turn round
to the South and join that overlooking Ootakamund, while the lower part,
which is extremely well marked, although of comparatively less elevation
than that of Dodabetta, and at a somewhat lower level, passes below
Marlimund and Seven-Cairn hill, crossing the Seegoor road, aud forming
the termination of the pass of that name, and finally merges into the great
boundary escarpment of the hills. To return to our starting point, the es-
carpment above Kaitee valley may be traced for some distance to the South-
West as seen in the foreground in Fig. 5, and finally dies away, or rather
appears to be broken up into smaller escarpments, whieh, in the course

of time, have become nearly obliterated by the erosion of the hill streams.

NILGHIRI HILLS. 241

The other principal escarpment on the plateau of the hills is that
Escarpment of Kun- of the Kundahs, a prominent feature as viewed
dahs. from the neighbourhood of Ootakamund. Tts
position has already been described when speaking of the lines of
dislocation in a previous part of this report, and there can be but little
doubt that like most large escarpments, it was originally produced by a
great fault, but it is equally certain that its form has been subsequently
modified by marine action, and that being of nearly the same elevation
as the great mass of Dodabetta, it must have been finally upraised
from the sea at about the same epoch. Its face has been much furrowed
by streams, but less than would have been the case, had the drainage
of the Kundah plateau poured down towards the Neeleherries, instead
of being collected in one large central stream as already described.
The Eastern escarpment of the Himagala range appears to have been
originally continuous with that of the Kundahs, but there is now a deep
gap between them formed by the Pykara river, which originally com-
menced at a point much to the South-West of its present head waters,
and the ridge, which, at a former period, probably united Makurty hill
and Tukulhullybetta at the Northern extremity of the Kundahs,
has been washed away by the united action of the Pykara on the one
side, and the stream which flows down to the South of Makurty on the
other. The annexed sketch is a view of Makurty with the Pykara at
its foot, the gap between Makurty and Tukulhullybetta being concealed

242 NILGHIRI HILLS.

by the clouds which roll up through it from the Western Coast. Beside
the principal elevated masses of Dodabetta, the Kundahs and the Hima- ^
galas, there are several small insular outliers, such as that to the North-
West of Mailur, the Hoobicul Droog and the adjoining hills, the hills
to the East of Coonoor, and the two prominent hills already mentioned
to the West of Ootakamund, all which are bounded partly at least by
escarpments, more or less distinctly marked. Subsequent fresh-water
denudation has much modified, where it has not destroyed, most of
the pre-existing features of the hills, in some cases rendering the
escarpments still deeper and more marked, in others cutting through
them and breaking them up into rounded spurs, so that it is only by
observing their general outline from some distance, that an idea can
be formed of their original appearance.
In connexion with the fresh water denudation of the Neelgherries, a
feature of much interest as bearing on the origin
TUQUE of certain of the present valleys, and affording
strong presumptive evidence, that at least portions of these valleys existed
previous to the final changes of level in the hills, is that of the deposits
of alluvium, which, as shown on the map, have been formed by some of
the larger streams. The largest and most striking of these is on the upper
part of the Pykara river, along the course of which it, extends for a dis-
tance of more than two miles in a direct lie, lapping round the spurs
of the adjoining hills, and stretching for short distances into the small
lateral valleys which debouch into that of the Pykara. At its lower
extremity, the hills advance from each side to the banks of the river,
and the stream which up to this point meanders gently through a narrow
green plain, here gushes with a considerable fall over a hard band of
hornblendie rock which connects the steep hill spurs on the opposing
banks, This feature is common to all the alluvial deposits in the hills,
and shows clearly that such valleys have been originally closed by a

natural bund or dam of hard rock, through which the stream has

NILGHIRI HILLS. 248

slowly eut its course, and the remains of which exist in the terminal
spurs and rocky ridges already alluded to. An instance in which this
is especially obvious is on the great feeder of the Pykara, which rises
on the Eastern flank of Tukulhullybetta.* (See Fig 7.)

>. х f, М)
үү И
ЇЇ |

Fig. VII.—Alluvial plain on a feeder of the Pykara River near Tukulhullybetta.

On the Mailur road, about 7 miles from Ootakamund, another very
good instance is seen, and the gorge which closes the alluvial plain, and
down which the Mailur road passes, is very fine and rocky.

From the above descriptions, it is evident that at some period in the

HL PAIR geological history of the hills, there were several
lakes of a serpentine form occupying what are

now drainage valleys, but which were then closed by a ridge of hard
rock since cut through. Now 1р is evident that any obstacle closing

a valley excavated by running water must be of subsequent date

* It is proposed by Mr. Fraser to take advantage of these natural bunds, and by filling
up with an artificial bund the gap formed in them by the stream, to reconvert ther ber
part of the valley into a lake or reservoir, such as was undoubtedly its original condition.

т

244 NILGHIRI HILLS.

to the formation of the valleys, and therefore, if the Neelgherry
valleys now occupied by alluvium be really of fresh-water origin, as
seems most probable, there must have been, subsequent to their forma-
tion, some changes in the levels of the country, which by stopping the
drainage converted the pre-existing valleys into lakes. In such cases,
the drainage would seek an outlet either by cutting still deeper its old
channel, or in another direction by cutting away a low ridge, or through
some open fissure, and in course of time, if the rock at its new point
of exit be hard, the stream would cut a narrow gorge-like channel
such as has been described, and through this the lake would be
finally drained. There are indications that something of this kind
has taken place in one or two instances. Thus the stream which
has been mentioned as flowing down the gorge throush which the
Mailur road is carried (See Map) may originally have followed the
course of the Avalanche road to the South. A slight elevation of
the country to the West of the Mailur road, and the simultaneous
formation of a small fissure along the line of the present gorge, would
convert the valleys now occupied by alluvium into a large lake, until
the stream had sufficiently enlarged the present gorge to carry off
the water.

The above appears to be the most probable explanation of the
origin of these alluvial plains. The form of the valleys which they
occupy precludes the idea that the former were excavated by any
other agent than the hill streams, and such being the case, it is, as
already stated, only by subsequent disturbance that they could be
converted into lakes.

Economic Geology.—Almost the only article of any economic value
furnished by the crystalline rocks of the Neelgherries is stone, whether

Pane M for the purposes of building or road making. The
various forms of the Gneissose rocks are abund-
antly obtainable for either of these purposes, but for the former they

NILGHIRI HILLS. 24

©

have been hitherto extremely neglected, the only building in which stone
“Hitherto but little has yet been employed being a private house in
ncn Ootakamund, which, from its singularity in this
respect, is generally known as Stonehouse. The reason for this prefer-
ence of brick over stone is undoubtedly its comparative cheapness; and
the advantages of the superior durability of the latter material, and what

ES uk on the Neelgherries is a matter of no small import-
ance—its dryness—have been sacrificed to present
saving in cost. Were the bricks employed for dwelling houses properly
burnt and vitrified, the most weighty objection to their use—damp-

Bricks used are very DeSsS— would not obtain; but they are in most,

шет. if not in all cases, of native manufacture, and
being made of a very sandy clay, and but slightly baked, they are so
absorbent, that except in the dryest and most elevated situations, the
houses constructed with them are scarcely ever dry, and many are the
fevers, rheumatic attacks, and similar affections to which their valetudina-
rian resident are consequently subject.

Quarrying on the large scale is almost unpractised in this country,

Selection of Building 20d should stone be required for buildings to

stone. T E
^ be hereafter erected on the Neelcherries, some

care woull be necessary in the selection of a proper stone, and a
favorable site for working, in order that the expenses of quarrying and
the carriage of the stone be as small as possible. In many parts of

Peculiar structure of Mysore the foliated rocks exhibit a great tendency

Е 55 ot Mysore, to scale off in large slabs, varying from a few
inches to one or two feet in thickness, and as this variety of the rock is
very free from vertical joints, long narrow post-shaped blocks, and slabs

How worked. of various sizes are readily cut by means of a row -

of iron wedges driven into holes previously cut with the chisel.*

* In Mysore the electric telegraph wire is supported on stone posts of this description
upwards of twenty feet in length, and averaging about nine inches square in section.

246 NILGHIRI HILLS.

On that part of the hills East of Billicul which overlooks the Mysore

Gneiss on the Neel. Country, Gneiss of a somewhat similar structure
opa occurs, and again.on the Lovedale flank of Elk
Hill near Ootakamund ; in the Kaitee valley ;* and very extensively on
the Northern escarpment of the Dodabetta range. In these localities,
the slabs are in most cases much thicker than those quarried in Mysore,

Well adapted for quar. but this would be no disadvantage were blocks
uS required for building purposes. Blocks of any size
and tolerably definite in form might be separated by a proper arrange-
ment of blasting holes.

The rocks of the Neelgherries are but rarely well jointed, and when

dedu they are so, the stone appears to have a greater
tendency to decompose in consequence. There are,
however, one or two localities on the Coonoor road where the rock is
advantageously jointed for quarrying purposes, and large blocks of a more
or less rectangular form might be obtained. The Gneiss of the Kundahs,

Ee ee ae especially in the neighbourhood of Sispara, is very
finely jointed, but the great distance of that loca-
lity from the inhabited part of the hills, and the difficulty of transport,
preclude the possibility of working the stone profitably.

By far the most valuable of the crystalline rocks described in this

а. Memoir is the limestone near Coimbatoor,]- which

Discovered by Dr. WAS first discovered by Dr. Cornish, the Civil

Cornish: Surgeon at Coimbatoor. This stone might not

only be employed for the manufacture of lime of great purity, but

moreover, owing to its softness and its non-liability
Useful for lime-mak- 5
ing, or as a building to decompose, might be advantageously used as
stone. 337:
building stone, except for such parts of a structure

* My colleague Mr. King furnished me the notice of these localities.
+ The major portion of these remarks were embodied in a Notice of this limestone
published in the Madras Journal, Vol. III, page 60, new series.

NILGHIRI HILLS. 247

as present sharp angles, and are at the same time exposed to much
mechanical wear. Being moreover susceptible of a high polish, and
very transparent, i& would afford a very beautiful material for internal
For internal decora- decorations, the effect of which would be enhanced
tions: by the judicious selection of slabs of various
tints. Pink and grey, occasionally approaching white, are the prevailing
Best locality for a Colors of the stone. Perhaps the best locality
TE in which to open an experimental quarry for
working this stone would be at the Eastern extremity of the low
ridge crossing the Palghat road, and about three quarters of a mile
to the East of the road. The stone is here very homogeneous in
composition, and appears to be sufficiently jointed to render quarrying
an easy process.* The situation of the limestone is very favorable as
ES affording facilities of transport. The trunk road
from Coimbatoor to Palghat and the Western
coast crosses the band, as has been already mentioned, at about five miles
from the former station, and the Railway from Madras to Calicut and
Beypoor passes for some miles along its out-crop. Thus by opening
quarries at the side of the line the blocks dressed in the quarry
might be placed on trucks and conveyed to any point on the line
without the expense of reloading.
On the plateau of the Neelgherries, there appears to be no limestone,

No limestone on the €ither crystalline, or in the form of kunkur, and

се. for building purposes, this latter material is brought

at a considerable expense from the plains of Coimbatoor, where it occurs
in occasional patches of varying thickness. The supply for the barracks
All lime brought from DOW erecting at Jackatalla is brought up in the

Coimbatoor. unburnt state, packed in bags carried by bullocks,

* As the locality was not within the area to which this report is specially devoted, only
a cursory examination of the Limestone was made, and a more minute survey might possibly
discover other spots equally, or even better, adapted for quarrying.

248 NILGHIRI HILLS.

[3

and is burnt in kilns erected near the barracks; а mixture of peat and
wood being employed as fuel.

The ores of iron are tolerably abundant at several localities on the
hills, the most plentiful being the Hematite and

Tron ores abundant, but

fuel scarce. A 5 K А
Күрөшү Magnetic iron, which occur intercalated in the

Gneiss (see page 219). The comparative scarcity of fuel renders it
however improbable that any of these ores can be smelted with advan-
tage on the hills, and on the Malabar coast where fuel is abundant,
iron ores are sufficiently plentiful to render it unnecessary to resort
to the hills for a supply.

Quartz of great purity occurs abundantly in the form of veins,
especially in the valley crossed by the Avalanche
road, 7 miles from Ootakamund (see map). It

Too opaque for optical is for the most part very white and free from iron,
ШЕШЕН but not sufficiently pellucid to be of any value

Quartz plentiful.

for optical purposes.
Various earthy iron ores result from the decomposition of the rock

Earthy iron ores ap- %7 situ, and some of these appear to be sufficiently

a UU rich to be employed as pigments. The localities

at which such occur have been already referred to at page 237.

John Gray, “ Calcutta Gazette” Office,

249

On the Geological structure and Physical features of the Districts of
Bancoorau, MIpNAPORE and ORISSA—DBENGAL.

THE country referred to in the following Report, and included within
СРИИ P MEA the limits of the accompanying map, (plate XIII.)

was geologically examined during the working
season of 1857-58. The province of Orissa, which includes the districts
of Pooree, Cuttack aud Balasore, was examined by Mr. W. T. Blanford,
assisted by Mr. Harry Child; the district of. Midnapore, lying north of
Orissa, by Mr. Joseph G. Medlicott and Mr. W. L. Willson; and the
district of Bancoorah by Mr. Oldham, who also visited a large portion of
Midnapore and adjoining districts. The details, given in the following
notice are derived from the Reports of these gentlemen, for each of the
districts examined by them, and combined into one general review of the
structure of the entire area.

To the districts actually surveyed during the season of 1857 has been
added, on the map, a portion of the Talcheer field already described in
these memoirs. This addition will shew the relation existing between
the two districts; while the separate map of the Talcheer district, on
double the scale of the present plan, will give the details. It will be seen
that the outline of the area, geologically examined, is extremely irregular
towards the west, arising from the fact that no topographical maps of
that portion of the country exist. It was not, therefore, examined by
the Geological Survey. The total area of the districts, now published
for the first time, is (exclusive of the part of Talcheer included) more
than 14,000 square miles, extending along the right bank of the rive?
Hooghly, and the east shore of the Bay of Bengal, from Burdwan in
north latitude 23° 13’ to Ganjam in latitude 19° 22’. The river Damoo-
dah (Damuda) forms the northern boundary of the area referred to, and

the Chilka Lake its southern extremity.

250 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

This extensive area may, in a general way, be viewed as consisting of
E two distinct geographical portions, one a broad ес
pansive plain varying in breadth from a few miles
to nearly sixty, and which borders the sea and river Hooghly; and the
other a limited area of more elevated ground, studded with numerous
hills, and which, in all its geographical relations, is connected with the
hilly country to the west.
Almost the entire area of tlie northern districts of our map is includ-
Tm PM ed in the former of these divisions, and with the
exception of small patches of hilly ground to the
extreme west, the districts of Bancoorah and Midnapore are com-
posed of a great widely-spread plain of gently undulating ground,
the elevation of which above the mean sea-level is very trifling. This,
plain is, near Balasore, broken up by the range of the Nilghirri hills
but again stretches to the West, beyond the limits of our map, along the
valleys of the Byturnee and Brahmini rivers. From this, southwards,
the more hilly ground gradually approaches the sea-coast until near
Ganjam and the Chilka Lake, the hills almost reach the shore.
The eastern portion of this flat ground is almost a perfect plain, chiefly
under cultivation, while more to the west and along the foot of the hills
the surface is much more irregular and undulating, and is, for many hun-

dreds of square miles, covered here and there with large patches of low
scrubby jungle and coppice-wood.

The great flat, which we have just noticed, consists mainly of the com-

eisai ne a bined dels of the large rivers which here dis-
charge into the sea. The Hooghly, the Damooda,
the Roopnarain, and Kossye, have combined to form the alluvial flats
of Bancoorah and Midnapore, while the Byturnee, the Brahmini, and
the Mahanuddee, have produced the flat plains of Orissa. These fluvia-
tile deposits are still going on, and the peculiar outline of the coast

seems to be entirely due to their advance.

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 251

On looking at a map of the shores of the Bay of Bengal, it will be
e ont. seen that He general line of the western shore
from the Chilka Lake southward, for nearly four
hundred miles, runs almost due south-west, and is remarkably continuous
and straight. ' A little to the north of the Chilka Lake, Orissa is seen to
project some miles beyond this general run of the coast line, while
southward also another great projection of the coast line occurs near the
mouths of the Godavery and the Kristna; these projections being appa-
rently due entirely to the fluviatile deposits brought down by these large
rivers gradually gaining on the sea.

The more northern portion of the flats of Orissa Province, that is, the
part extending from the Soobunreekha river to the Boorahbullung, belongs
geographically, to the Midnapoor and Hidgellee country, (Bengal) and
from Balasore for about twenty miles to the south-west is a district of
older alluvium noticed below, similar to much of that which occurs on
the skirts of the delta of Lower Bengal. Throughout the northern parts
of the Province of Orissa there is much similar older alluvium, but to
the South of the Brahminee river this is not seen.

In the extreme south of the province there is a large indentation in

з the hills, which has formerly been a bay in the

sea. The advance of the river deltas has, how-
ever, hemmed in this area on the north-east, and a spit of sand from the
hills near Ganjam has joined to these delta deposits across the mouth,
leaving inside a large expanse of salt water known as the Chilka Lake.
This lake, which is about 40 miles long, by about 12 miles in width
at the widest parts, has only a narrow passage uniting it with the sea,
and is being gradually filled up by the detrital matter brought into
it by the few hill streams, and by the small portion of the water of the
river Mahanuddi, which it receives through the channels called the
Dyah, the Min, and one or two other small streams. It is now in

few, if in any places, more than twenty feet in depth, and if an engineer-

252 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

ing project, lately proposed, be carried out, and a large portion of the
flood waters of the Mahanuddi be turned directly into the Chilka Lake,
thefiling up in future will probably be far more rapid than it has
hitherto been.
The spit of sand and mud separating the Chilka from the sea is
S RAM MNT peculiar. ds a certain extant au may be lodksed
upon as a river-bar upon a gigantic scale, being
formed where the tidal current of the Bay of Bengal, coming up ina
north-easterly direction from the coast of Vizagapatam and Ganjam,
meets the waters of the river Mahanuddi. Moreover, from the pre-
valence of south and south-east winds in the Bay of Bengal, and the
heavy breakers produced by them along this coast, the tendency of the
sand and pebbles of this shore is to travel northward. This, doubtless,
has been the main cause of the formation of a spit towards the north-
east from the end of the Ganjam hills. In illustration of this, it may be
mentioned that pebbles of gneiss, granite, conglomerate and sandstones,
and even fossils* occur in abundance on the shore near Pooree. These
pebbles must be derived from rocks washed by the sea, yet no rock
comes down to the shore, to the north of this, nor for many miles to the
south. The pebbles must therefore be derived from those localities to
the south, where, in the neighbourhood of Vizagapatam, rocks do occur
along the sea shore.
The hilly ground forms a small part of the western portion of Ban-
coorah, being a continuation of the broken country
E a of Puralia, on the west. There is no marked
ridge of hills, however, but the ground rises irregularly and interrupt-
edly from the alluvial plains. In Midnapore, this hilly country only occurs

at the extreme north-westerly corner of the district near to Sildah.

* Only one species has been found, a Meroe, from some beds, the locality of which is

as yet unknown. Both valves frequently occur together.

[ТТС ү" ^ MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. : 253

Of Orissa, the hilly part consists of a country dotted over with de-
tached peaks and small ranges, which become more sparse and scattered
to the east, being there separated from each other by plains of deep allu-
vium. Further to the west they are generally surrounded by laterite,
which rises to a considerable height above the alluvium; the latter in the
more undulating country, although still covering considerable tracts
being confined to the neighbourhood of the streams.

From these general facts, we may probably infer that the condition of

Former condition of the whole district before the present deltas com-

Бшк menced forming, was a region, ог (if, as is highly

probable, it were subaqueous) a sea-bottom, formed by an undulating
Mule Venakueter ep? Surface. of rock, from which arose numerous
Шш. rocky islands, large and small, themselves the

relics of a former denudation.

An exception to this prevailing insular arrangement exists in a mass
of low hills, west and south-west of the town of Cuttack. A small dis-
a e eu trict of sandstone occurs there, in which the hills
tack, not so. are massed together in ranges, and seem to have
undergone less marine denudation than has taken place in the adjoin-
ing areas of gneiss-rocks. On their western edge, they are escarped ;
to the east they sink down towards the plain. As the rocks composing
these hills are comparatively soft, and the hills themselves of no great
elevation, it is evident that they have never been subjected to the same
marine action which has planed,away the mass of the gneiss of Bankee,
Khoordah and other districts in their immediate neighbourhood, leaving
only' a few (isolated peaks. Consequently, this sandstone itself must
be of later date {than that denudation, unless, as is possible, but not
probable, it was cotemporaneous.

Within the area described above, the following classes of rocks are
found :—

l. Hypogene and metamorphic rocks; various forms of gneiss, and

254 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

quartzites, with associated intrusive igneous rocks, trap and

syeuite.
2. Sandstones of the Kuttak or Atgurh field.
3. Laterite.

4. (a) Older alluvium.

(5) Alluvium of the river Deltas.

5. Blown sands.

With the single exception of the small group of sandstone,rocks lying
south-west of the town of Kuttak, all the hills of the district included in
our map are composed of metamorphic rocks, with associated igneous
intrusions.

METAMORPHIC Rocks.—A reference to the map will shew that
within the limits of the area included in it, the metamorphic, or gneiss-
ose rocks occur only in irregular patches along the western edge. In
reality this area includes nothing more than a few of the more easterly,

and projecting headlands of that great extent of

Great extent. 4 v
gneissose rocks, which cover such an immense
space to the westward, stretching from the boundaries of Bancoorah>
Midnapore, and Orissa to Hazareebagh and Nagpore, and which form
the prevailing rocks over many thousand square miles, regarding even
the geography of which very little is known, and concerning the geo-
logical structure of which nothing has been ascertained, excepting in the
most cursory way. i

The detailed examination and description of these rocks naturally,
therefore, connects itself with that country, of the ancient shore of which
the little projecting promontories which occur within the area now
mapped only form the small headlands.

It will, therefore, be both impracticable and useless to attempt any
thing more at present than briefly to indicate the general structure and
arrangement of these rocks, reserving any general considerations as to

their relation until that country to the west has been more fully examined.

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 255

The great fault," which marks the southern boundary of the coal
fields of the Damuda, passes immediately south
of Manjia or Medjia Hill, just outside the N.

Western limits of Bancoorah district. In the northern portion of this

Manjia Hill.

district, and across towards Malliarah, the rocks stand up boldly in
well marked ridges, or bands, the prevailing character of which is horn-
blendie, associated with granitoid gneiss. Strong massive runs of the
hornblendic varieties stretch across the country in tolerably continuous
Moss cb lines; the general strike of these is nearly east‘and
west, or a little to the north of east. Many of
these runs are very highly crystalline. They are traversed by granite
veins. The more felspathic varieties have yielded to decomposition
more readily than the others, and are generally coincident with slight
depressions in the general surface, in which deposits of clay, and sandy
clay with kunkur are not unfrequent. The rocks all appear to dip to
the north at high angles.
Two or three small and badly seen trap dykes are observed cutting
across these rocks and heading a little to the west
FUE. ofnorth. They are in no case of any great width,
and appear to have exerted a very trifling reaction on the adjoining
rocks.
Near to Ramchunderpoor and the Damuda, there is a considerable
area of a curious granitite rock composed of
Granitite.

quartz and felspar (white) with imbedded crystals

(always twins) of a second felspar of a leaden grey colour. It looks

* This fault passes south of the little hill of Manjia, and close to its base. The hill
itself is composed of a conglomerate of peculiar aspect, the pebbles are all of considerably
rounded pieces of granitic rocks, of felspar, pegmatite, quartzose gneiss &c., in a matrix
of sand composed of felspar and quartz, the former being the cementing. matter. The

bedding is very irregular, but on the whole constant ; the beds strike a little to N. of
east, dipping 8° to 10° to the north, forming a bold scarp to the south, within a few yards

of which horndeni rocks are seen.

256 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

very massive but continues to the west, associated with the hornblendic
rocks. It occurs in great rounded bosses which have a marked charac-
ter and curiously spotted aspect from the darker imbedded а e
Highly felspathic and rapidly decomposing gneiss is associated, and
some beds of hard quartzose granular rocks.

The same prevailing hornblendic character of the rocks, some of the
masses or beds having even a diallagic character, continues southwards
to the small hills of Кога, or Koro. This hill is sharply scarped to the

aded: north and west, and, on those sides, stands up

boldly from the flat country around ; but on the
east it descends gradually into the general level. It is composed entirely
of a granular quartzite of light greyish-white colour arranged in flaky, or
flag-like, masses or layers, more like a thin-bedded indurated sand-
stone, than ordinary gneiss. "These flaky layers are nearly vertical,
underlying about 10° to the north. The rock is in thin layers not more
than a few inches thick, all adherent but very easily detached.

There is a marked jointing, which is vertical and heads nearly due

north and south. Jin addition to the foliation or
dpa lamination ofthe layers in the mass, there is also,
although not very distinctly seen, a kind of curved parting or division
in the rock corresponding rudely with the outer surface, and giving a
curiously rounded, though by no means polished, look to the top of the
bosses. This is precisely analogous to the curved lines of division or
partings, which are so frequently seen in the more granitoid masses of
gneiss through this country.

This small hill of Koro is exactly in the same line as the more marked
rise of Susinia to the west in Puralia; and it may not improbably be
connected with some line of faulting or disturbance, whieh may be

traceable when the country to the west is examin-
EOS ME MN ed. There is a marked change in the direction

of the rocks north and south of this line, which seems to confirm such a

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 257

supposition. The quartzose gritty rock of Koro is to a limited extent
used by the people in the neighbourhood for quern-stones, curry-stones,
&c.* í
Close to Koro hill on the S. West, hornblendic schists occur, traversed
PS by numerous veins of pegmatitic granite, all of

Granite veins. б 5 5
which have a common direction W. S. W. to E.
N. E., and similar veins occur even more abundantly a little further to
the south. They seldom exceed one foot in width, and are frequently
not more than a few inches thick, but they may often be traced for.
hundreds of yards, the fleshy-white colour of the felspar contrasting
strongly with the dark greyish-green of the decomposing hornblendic rocks
about. They form frequently alittle sharp ridge, and look like a great
white cable stretched along the surface. Schorl is abundant in them,

MUR frequently constituting more than a third of the
whole mass, and with a pinkish felspar in largely
crystalline masses, and pure quartz, forms the entire rock.

Near to a small village called Kendbursa, a little west of Gungajole-
ghati, there is seen a thick vein or dyke of porphyritic greenstone, which
runs N. W. It is nearly 60 feet wide.

To the south of Koro hill, the gneissose rocks, which to the north had

exhibited a prevailing strike to a little N. of

CaS IS east, all have their strike well marked to a little
W. of north, and are more quartzose. Obscurely seen trap dykes tra-
verse them near Moheshpur, and Chandpur. The rocks become marked-
ly hornblendic, and with granite veins very similar to those noticed
above, as we approach the town of Bancoorah, by Poorunderpur, and
towards Kessurah. To the east, the gneiss becomes gradually covered

up with laterite masses, and coarse sandy clays.

* Tt is similar in composition, &c., to the stone sold in Calcutta as “ Burdwan
paving stone,” which is, I believe, all derived from near Susinia Hill to the west. Koro
Hill stands close to an excellent road, and within a short distance of the present terminus
of the railroad at Raneegunj, and the stone from it could be very economically obtained,

B

258 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

Iu the town of Bancoorah itself, and to the west of it, gneiss is abund-
antly seen, shewing in the same way as is common

LA over the country in great rounded bosses, the
tops of swelling masses which just peep through the more recent deposits
of lateritic and gravelly character.

South of Bancoorah, veins of epidotic granite may be traced cutting
through the gneissose rocks, and heading nearly
east and west. And here and there, along the
western boundary of the district of Bancoorah, gneissose and hornblen-

Epidotic granite.

dic rocks may be seen shewing just beneath the surface of the ferrugi-
nous gravel and laterite-clays which there prevail.

Inthe Selye Nuddi, at the S. W. corner of the district the rocks
are well exposed ; there they are seen to be much

HS PAN disturbed, and cut up by many irregular veins of
granite. This granite along the edges is highly micaceous, the mica
being in large crystalline masses of whitish colour. Felspar is also
abundant, and. schorl locally so, but not equally distributed. The beds
of the gneiss strike nearly N. and S. dipping to the W. at 85°. On the
whole they are hornblendic, but are intercalated with many thin seams
of gneissose and granitoid character, and also some thicker beds of
hornblendic rocks. The granite veins cut across the beds, or occasion-
ally pass along the strike for a little way, in a most capricious way.

These gneissose and hornblendic rocks continue into the district of
Puralia, beyond the limits of our map.

The most easterly point at which these rocks crop out from beneath
Д she lateritic flats in Midnapore district, is near the

village of Sildah, about 30 miles west from Mid-

napore town. Here, grey and dark-grey micaceous schists with hard
gritty bands are seen in a stream close to the village. The gritty bands
shew the bedding of these slaty rocks well ; they dip to the east, at an

angle of about 40°: the slates abound with andalusite in small crystals.

-

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 259

About eight miles west of this, a low ridge of ground rises rather
suddenly from the lateritic plain, of which it here forms the boundary,
Schists &c., near Sil- This ridge is formed of grey and blueish grey
GEHE micaceous schists with bands of a more gneissose
character, some of the beds being very similar to those seen in the stream
near Sildah. The general direction of this ridge is about 30? to north
of east, agreeing with the strike of the rocks, which are at a high angle
(75°). To the west of this ridge, there is a group of hills, of irregular
shape with no generalbearing, but occurring rather in isolated masses
separated by valleys. "These are principally composed of hard grey and
greyish white gritty quartzites and large lenticular shaped masses or
irregular veins of vein-quartz associated. These rocks form a portion of
a series of beds which extend from the commencement of the ridge just
TRUST CM А noticed for several miles to the west and north.
The general section (ascending) is as follows: com-
mencing from the rocks of this most easterly ridge, which are the
lowest. First, fine grey and blueish grey micaceous schist (with anda-
lusite) and more gneissose bands; then, dull leaden grey slates more
earthy and less altered, with hard grey, and greyish white quartzose
grits (quartzite in parts); next dark blue schist with bands of horn-
blendic rocks, of some thickness, sometimes occurring as lumpy masses,
and crystalline like greenstone, but more frequently flaky and of an
- ashy character: then again, deep blue shining. and silty slates, with sur-
faces much wrinkled, and much cleaved, the cleavage planes being
at right angles to the bedding; and finally, the uppermost beds here
seen, are dull yellowish brown ‘and purple clayey schist, also cleaved
similarly to those just mentioned below them.
As a whole these rocks are much twisted and contorted. The bands
п Н of quartzose grits generally form the high peaky

and precipitous hills which are dotted over this

area; the blue slates, and traps, occurring in the lower grounds and

260 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

valleys between them. It is not easy to find a steady section of the
rocks in any given direction for any great distance—and the general
succession as given above, has been obtained from several points. The
thickness seems to be very considerable, although
"Thickness. Sts В

it is difficult to form апу accurate estimate of it.
Before it can be ascertained, the country to the north and west of the
Midnapore district must be carefully examined.*

All over these hills, but principally in the northern parts, are scattered

masses of iron-slags, the refuse of former iron

Iron slags abundant. :

smeltings. And, at the present time, iron is
smelted to a considerable extent by the natives. The system adopted
differs in nothing material from that so often described, and which was
noticed in the report on Cuttack (ante, page 12).

Commencing from the north of Orissa, the range of the Nilgiri or
Balasore Hills, runs just outside the boundary of
the province for about 50 or 60 miles. These
hills have their northern limit on the banks of the Booraballung River,
about 12 miles W. N. W. from Balasore. From this point they run
in a broken range, formed by 3 short detached hills, (in a pass between
two of which the village of Nilgiri is situated) for about 16 miles, nearly

due south. Thence their escarpment runs for 8 or 10 miles to the west,

Nilgiri Hills,

and then continues for 30 miles in a general
W.S. W. direction, the hills terminating at the
valley of the Byturnee. Onthe northern part of the range, these hills

Nature of the rocks,

* Mr, Willson, whose long experience on the ‘Geological Survey of Ireland entitles
his statement to every attention, justly remarks—* I would notice here the close resem-
* blance there is, lithologically, between the rocks forming this small group of hills, and
“those which occur on the flanks of the granite in the south: east of Ireland, particularly
“ the purple, and yellowish clay slates with their associated quartzites, which are yery
* similar to those “ Cambrian” beds in Ireland, in which fossils have been found ;

“© namely, Oldhamia and Annelide tracks."

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 261

consist of excessively granitic rock, so granitic indeed, that it is only on
viewin i

ee 18 the hills on a large scale that the true

direction of the foliation becomes evident. Its

strike is then seen to be nearly parallel with the escarpment of the

range, 10° to 20° E. of N. near Nilgiri, while further S. W. near
dudit ў

ies ugjuri, it £ nearly N. E. and S. W. There are

very few indeed of the largely crystalline granite

veins generally so abundant in the more com-

Trap dykes. :

pact forms of gneiss. Trap dykes, However, many

of them of very great size, are numerous, and most of them, if not all,

appear to run parallel with the foliation of the

Inaccessibility of hills. : с А :

gneiss. The dense jungles on these hills, their

steepness and inaccessibility, renders an examination of them exceeding-
ly arduous. They rise toa considerable height, Nilgiri hill, the loftiest
or nearly the loftiest peak, being 1,786 feet above

Height. z
the sea, and many other summits are but little

inferior in elevation.
Interfoliated with the gneiss there are found in one or two places
x bands of a chloritie rock approaching serpentine
ш in texture, and quarried to a considerable extent
by the natives. This rock will be noticed again in reference to its
jü uses. The principal localities in the Nilgiri hills
сои S д, are situated a few miles S. of Nilgiri, and near
the villages of Santragodia and Goojadeeha. There is also a quarry
about 2 or 3 miles west of Jugjuri and there are others scattered

over the hills.

A few miles W. S. W. of Jugjuri, and near the village of Paikpada
Nature of rocks near Пё rocks alter considerably. They become a
Jugjuri. - hard, tough, indistinctly crystallized hornblendic
rock resembling in hand specimens a greenstone. The foliation is better

marked than to the N. E. in one respect, viz: that its direction can

262 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, е.

be distinctly seen in the large masses of rocks. It continues to strike
about N. E. and S. W. with a dip to the S. E. of about 50". The
rock is highly jointed, and in some places presents a structure ap-
proaching the columnar. :

Still further to the S. W. and near the Splundi Nuddi, quartz schist

Ditto near Splundi Comes in, well foliated and sharply cleavable.
River, Occasionally it contains a small quantity of talc,
and is of a greenish colour, in other places it is slaty. A detached hill
near Buquiepfir* is formed of these quartzite rocks, and so is all the
range from near this to the S. W. extremity near the village of Rogadi,
with the exception of the immediate neighbourhood of the Splundi Nuddi
at the spot where it leaves the hills. Here syenite occurs and the same
rock also forms a detached hill near Darrapur. АП the S. W. portion of
the range is free from the trap dykes which are so conspicuous to the
N. E. of Jugjuri.

There are no hills S. of this within the boundary of the provincef till
the Brahmini is passed, nor does any gneiss occur.
me ОЕ To the south of that river in the killahs of Bul-
E rampoor, Mudpoor, Dinpoor, Kulkullah, &c., and
scattered over the country to the east as far as pergunnah Ultee, there
are numerous hills more or less isolated, and all composed of gneiss.
Along the Brahmini near Bulrampoor, and thence east and south for
some miles the rock is compact and occasionally even exfoliating, as in
the Nilgiri hills, but, further south, a peculiar form of gneiss, generally
more or less decomposed, comes in. It 15 marked by numerous red
blotches, the remains of disintegrated garnets. A steatitic mineral is
common in the fissures. This form of the gneiss is occasionally quarried

for various purposes, its softness rendering it easily available.

* This name should be Bakipür.
t The mass of the Nilgiri hills is outside the province, but in many places the range

forms the boundary.

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 263

Phe strike of the metamorphic rocks in this part of the country is very
variable, in places it is 10 or 15 degrees N. of E. to
S. of W. in others as much S. of E. to N. of W.
"The ranges have a general E. and W. run, those tending to N. and S. being

composed of several smaller hills with the prevailing E. and W. strike. -

Strike of rocks.

Many of these are not correctly marked on the published maps, there
being no ranges but several detached hills, which are separated from each
other by plains of alluvium or laterite; others of the hills here shewn on
the maps however are quite erroneous, none existing in the places where
they are marked. In the detached hills E. of the Kuttak road, the strike
is different from that in those more to the W. thus in Neltigree hill it is
S. 40° W. and in the hills just south of Chutteea Bazar S. 10° to 20° W.
The hills near the Mahanuddi W. and S. W. of Kuttak are of sand-
stone, but the province extends up the river on its
southern bank for 30 miles, and includes the
estate of Bankee, which contains some fine hills ; the main peaks, as usual
` detached, running in a semicircle from near Bankeegurh to the village of
Bydessur. ‘These hills are partly of the garnetiferous gneiss, like those
North of Kuttak, partly of more compact and hornblendic rock. Bankee
Peak is of very quartzose gneiss, The strike varies in a peculiar man-
ner, the rocks having a general tendency to dip inwards towards the point

which might be considered as the centre of the semicircle of peaks.

Bankee,

Both strike and dip are, however, very irregular and varying, especially
in the two hills South of Bydessur.

There is a large undulating plain south of these peaks, partly covered
with laterite, through which the gneiss rises at

intervals. In the extreme west of the province
around Bollghur and Goreallee, there are two very barren ranges of no

Country S. of Bankee.

great height, running east and west, and formed of compact gneiss,*

striking in the same direction as the hills run.

* The rock here and elsewhere termed compact gneiss is a granitoid variety very hard
and compact, with blotches roughly crystallized of white or pinkish felspar.

264 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

The province boundary then returns eastward, and from this point

Country from! Khoor- nearly to the Chilka Lake none but detached hills
deb to Neal] EEE occur, all of which are of gneiss, the plains be-
tween them being of laterite and alluvium. The group of hills near
Chutterma are composed of compact gneiss, most of the others are of
garnetiferous rock with occasional bands of quartzose gneiss. Such are
Khoordah hill and the smaller hills about it, and also those east of the
Kuttak and Ganjam road between Rammeswur and Monglajuri.
Throughout the country south of the Mahanuddi, dykes of all kinds are
rare, trap is entirely wanting, and granitic veins seldom seen.

The more compact forms of the gneissose rocks exhibit exfoliation very
finely, and this is especially the case in the northern
parts of the Nilghiri hills. The strike is shewn by

Exfoliation of gneiss.

strike. : В :
Box UT the preceding details to be very irregular, but, ne-

vertheless, the tendency seems to be; throughout the area, for it to conform
to a general east and west direction, as is the case in so many other parts
of the country.

SANDSTONES.—As stated above, the only place, within the districts -
по ues Кд included in our map, where the older sedimentary
sandstones. rocks occur, lies to the S. West of the town of
Kuttak, in the district of Atgurh. Неге sandstone rocks compose a
small cluster of hills, quite uncultivated and covered with dense jungle.

These rocks consist of coarse grits, sandstones, and conglomerates,

with one band at least (perhaps more than one),
IUE of white or pinkish clay which is largely dug by
the natives. In this clay a few indistinct vegetable remains have been
noticed ; none of which, however, were sufficiently well preserved or
well marked to be of use in ascertaining the affinities of the beds. At
the base, or what appears to be the base of these strata, on their west-
ern edge, is a coarse conglomerate, the pebbles being chiefly of quartzite,

a few being of an altered and hardened sandstone.

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 265

Throughout this small area, there is a prevalent dip, to the east and

south-east at low angles not exceeding 5° or 6°

ys The whole area is surrounded by flats of laterite

and alluvium, so that very little can be ascertained concerning the rela-

. tions of these sandstones to the underlying rocks. It is impossible

therefore to say whether they are let in by faults or not. Towards the
eastern edge, they are generally covered up by laterite.

It has been already suggested* that these beds probably belong to the
Mahadeva group, or, at least, to the rocks sup-
posed to represent that group in the Talcheer
basin. They certainly resemble those rocks, in their lithological charac-
ter, more than any other described beds of the neighbouring district.
At the same time, it must be remembered that a similarity in mineral

character, in the case of such beds as coarse sandstones is insufficient

Age.

alone to establish clearly the connection between the rocks, in two distinct
areas separated by sixty miles of intervening country, which space,
so far as is known, is entirely devoid of any outlying, or detach-
ed portions of similar beds. While, therefore, it appears that the
information at present in our possession tends to connect the rocks of the
Atgurh basin with the Mahadeva series, rather than with any other
known rocks, that information is still far from sufficient to warrant the
expression of a decided opinion as to their identity. In both places, the
rocks are unfossiliferous, and in the absence of rocks in this Kuttak
basin belonging to the Damuda or Talcheer age, which would afford evi-
dence of superposition, mineral character alone remains.

LATERITE, &c.—Although the lateritic and associated rocks or sands

Ei and gravels, no where within the limits of the
district of Bancoorah, assume the same importance

as more to the south in Midnapore or Orissa, they still constitute a very
marked feature.

* Report on Talcheer Coal Field—ante, page 68.
С

266 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

' Passing over the great flats of clay and sandy clay which extend for
Physieal character of ШАШУ miles to the west of the river Hoogly into
RES Bancoorah, the ground gradually becomes more
broken, more elevated, and at the same time less cultivated. For the
most part these broken swells are covered by low coppice jungle, the
hereditary abode of charcoal-burners, whose labours have gradually
removed every thing which could be called a tree, and left only the stumps
and young shoots where formerly noble sal trees flourished. Around
the few villages here and there, some large trees still remain, indices of
what was, years since, the condition of almost all thiscountry. The
whole surface is composed of long low swelling ridges of this character,
interrupted by irregular bays and spits of the more recent sandy and
kunkury alluvium which stretch into the higher grounds of the ferru-
ginous gravels and sands, and form stripes of cultivation separating the
jungles. This character becomes more marked along the lines of the
larger streams, each of which has its own river-alluvial deposits. In
Bancoorah these streams are, as compared with the area, more numerous
than further south, and the outline of the lateritic deposits becomes

therefore more irregular and less continuous. (See map).
In the small map, given herewith, no attempt has been made to se-
parate the true massive laterite, that which occurs

Ps ale IA in hard massive beds and blocks, from the laterite
gravels, which have all the appearance of being the result of the de-
composition and re-arrangement of this more massive laterite. These
ferruginous gravels in some places seem to pass by almost imperceptible
changes into the solid laterite, and in a few instances have become re-

lo. cemented into a mass not easily distinguished from
bero that. rock, and which, in fact, has been .and
would be called laterite ; while on the other hand they pass by equally
insensible gradation into a coarse sandy clay containing only a few of

the ferruginous nodules of the laterite sparsely disseminated and barely

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 267

sufficient to give a red tint to the whole. In this case also kunkur, that
is calcareous kunkur or gootin, is frequently associated.* Тһе two
extremes, of a sandy clay full of kunkur, and with nodules of laterite
few and sparse, and of a gravelly rock composed almost exclusively of
ferruginous nodules, similar to those which constitute the massive late-
rite, pass into each other, and it is impossible to draw any marked line
of separation. :

That this sandy clay and gravel, often ferruginous, often calcareous, is

More recent than La- 2 More recent and a more widely extended deposit.
terite, than the true massive laterite, is undoubted. But
neither the scale of the map at our disposal nor yet its accuracy was
such as to admit of a separation of them on it. In most cases therefore,
the older alluvial deposits (in all probability marine) of the country are
included in the area coloured as laterite. ,
. In the northern part of the district of Bancoorah, this laterite does not

ый. зрна соуег апу great area, between the alluvial flats
along the river Damuda on the one hand, and the
gneiss on the other. It is seen near Barjorah and Shaharjora ; south-
wards near Kharary, resting on gneiss; and in thin patches of no great
extent, nearer to the town of Bancoorah. In the higher and more broken
grounds extending to Sonamooky, and the Dalkissur, it is seen covering
the greater part of the swelling coppice-covered ridges, for the most part
gravelly in its character, but here and there forming thick, solid and
massive beds. (Bursinghee; Chooa-mussena; Radhanuggur; Puttra-
mara; Kurwan; Ramband, &c.) Toward the west, it becomes thinner

and less marked, and gradually more mixed up with the debris of the

gneiss.

* The nodular ferruginous rock, which most geologists would call laterite, is generally
known to the people of this district as Áunkur, or iron-kunkur, while the calcareous con-
cretions, which are so common, and so universally used as the source of lime, and which s

geologist would call kunkur, are universally known as gootin,

268 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

The flats of the Dalkissur now intervene, and south of this stream,
laterite again shews, forming similar long low swelling ridges of broken
ground, and covering the greater portion of the district, extending from
Bancoorah, south of Bishenpur to Buniapokur, and so passing into the
district of Midnapur.

There are two or threé points of interest connected with the mode of
occurrence of this “ laterite” which deserve a

CHEST Ds puer notice, In every case, within Baneoorah:
where it has been seen, it is detrital ; that is, it contains pebbles of quartz
and often of other rocks also, but chiefly of quartz. Not unfrequently
these imbedded pebbles, and fragments increase in number, until the
rock becomes a coarse ferruginous conglomerate. This, however, in
most cases, occurs under circumstances which lead to the supposition
that it is only the re-aggregation of the surface debris of laterite rocks,
and other matters; and that it is, therefore, of a more recent formation
than the great mass of the laterite itself. This conglomerate has a
peculiar aspect from the fact that the imbedded quartz fragments are
generally of clear glassy quartz, the peculiar lustre and transparency of
which contrast strongly with the deep dull red of the ferruginous
matrix. Layers of sandstone frequently occur with this conglomerate,
irregular in their development and arrangement.

Apparently associated with these laterite deposits, there аге seen in
Bancoorah in one or two places, thinly bedded sandy shaly layers of an
ochrey tint and earthy texture, some feet in thickness here and there, but
having apparently no extension. These are well seen at the east end of
the great tank near Bishenpoor, and further to the east on the road
between that and Baniapokur. At first sight these would be taken for
small remaining portions of a more widely extended series of beds,
different from the laterite, but they seem rather to be instances of the
local occurrence of a more earthy, and regular deposit in the midst of the
generally gravel-like laterite around.

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 269

Near Sonamookhy, to the east, this recent conglomerate, which

га

forms an upper cake-like coating where the lateri-
Gravel beds.

tic rocks occur, rests upon a bed of loose quartz
pebbles forming a coarse clean gravel. Most of the pebbles are well
rounded, some of them being as big as a man's head. The same ora
similar bed of coarse loose quartz gravel is seen again, south of Birsin-
gha (about 2 miles south).
Another point of interest connected with these laterite deposits is this,
Gneiss debris in la- Ша in proportion as we approach the gneiss
terite, rocks to the west, in the same proportion do the
number and the size of the fragments ВЕ quartz, felspar, and other debris
of those rocks increase, clearly indicating the source from which such
have been derived.

The laterite itself gradually thins out, as noticed above, and dies away
toward the west, becoming broken up into isolated patches of smaller
and smaller extent and. thickness until at last a few loose blocks may be

- the only trace of its former occurrence. On the other hand the deposit
becomes more continuous, and thicker towards the east until it is
covered up by the clays. i

Over these lateritic rocks, there is widely spread a sandy clay often
itself composed to a large extent of the small rounded nodular concre-
tions of the laterite, and passing from this into an ordinary sandy clay
with kunkur, (calcareous). In this also, the relative amount of those
lateritic nodules steadily increases as the lateritic masses are approached.
These older-alluvial deposits are often of considerable thickness, but
have not, in Bancoorah, by any means so great a development as in
Burdwan to the north, or Midnapore to the south.

In the district af Midnapore; the lateritic rocks cover an immense area.

AV Mana They are here also less cut up by intervening

porc patches of alluvial deposits, along the streams, &c.,
and therefore form a more continuous sheet of rock. .In the majority of -

270 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

cases the only variety visible at the surface is that gravelly, pisolitic,
and nodular rock which has been already noticed. In very few places
are any good sections of this rock exposed, and its general appearance is
that of a continuous layer spread over the country, swelling here and
there with a gently undulating surface, the waving rolls of which are,
slightly elevated above the alluvial plains adjoining. The rise in the
ground is in fact so gradually formed that the difference of level is only
noticed when seen from a little distance. These long low swells of
lateritic gravel and laterite, are chiefly covered with low coppice, with
occasional patches of grassy land ; but their dry, parched, and stony,
soil is ill adapted for cultivation.

The same peculiar feature, which may be generally noticed in Ban-
coorah, is always observable here also, that this great sheet of laterite
appears invariably on both sides of these long swelling undulations to
dip under the small alluvial flats adjoining, and to rise again beyond.
(See below).

Throughout the whole of Midnapore the surface laterite, or that

| which we have alluded to above as-detrital laterite,

3) es : invariably contains in more or less abundance
small rounded fragments of other rocks. The proportion in which these
occur in the ferruginous matrix of the rock is very variable. Occasionally
they constitute the mass of the rock, and the laterite then becomes a
coarse gritty sandstone of red-colour, and in mo lithological character
differing from many sandstones of very different geological date. Often
the rock becomes conglomeratic, pebbles of quartz, and rounded frag-

ments of other rocks being imbedded, these pebbles

MS NU TM being coated, as in other ferruginous conglomerates,
with oxide of iron (near Midnapore). About four miles south of Midna-
pore also, near Jowfulla, the rock, which is well seen, is very conglomer-
atic, large pieces of quartz and jaspery rock, and well worn fragments

of other rocks being.of common occurrence. From this coarse conglo-

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 271

meratic variety, every gradation may be traced into a homogeneous
e mass composed of small nearly spherical nodules of sandy

s PES ferruginous matter generally speaking arranged
f in concentric layers, with a black or nearly black
„central spot, or nucleus. This is occasionally composed of magnetic-
iron, but is often decomposed and is then in the state of a yellowish
ochre, or has disappeared and left a small cavity.

One of the most remarkable features about this curious rock is the
extraordinary regularity or uniformity in the size

Uniformity in size of
modules. of these small nodular concretions, or rounded

masses. Few of them are so much as one inch in diameter ; the pre-
vailing size being from one half to three quarters of an inch, but over
many square miles of such a deposit it would be almost impossible to
discover a single nodule double this average size. !
Frequently this detrital or nodular laterite is like a loose gravel, each
nodule being separate and free, but not uncommonly it has been cement-
ed into a solid mass, which can be quarried like any other rock. Many
places may be seen in pits along the road side, where this gravelly later-
ite is extracted as road-metal for which it is admirably adapted ; and in
these pits the connection of the more solid variety, with the more loosely
coherent, may be traced. In all cases it seems to have resulted from
a reconsolidation or subsequent cohesion of the previously free particles
or nodules: and this seems to have been produced by the infiltra-
tion of water, which decomposing and partially taking up the iron
has again re-deposited it, forming a cement between the nodules. This,
recementing is always seen along lines of jointing or cracks, by
which such water has trickled through the rocks, and the solid
portions are seen irregularly disposed along the irregular directions of
such infiltration. |
These re-cemented masses Р the nodular laterite (kunkur, or iron

kunkur of the natives) formed from the already dried-up and exposed.

272 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

particles, generally fall to pieces on exposure; in this respect as in
others, differing from the more moist and clayey varieties of the so-
called laterite, the peculiar character of which is to become harder on
exposure and desiccation. 1
In very few places can the actual contact of this curious rock,
<“ laterite,” with the rocks which underlie it, be
АДА traced in this district. Close to Midnapore town
an excellent section is seen near Gop House and to the west of the
station. Неге in some places what looks like the decomposed upper
surface of the gneissose rocks can be just traced,
RET E but no where sufficiently exposed to enable a de-
finite opinion to be formed of their character. This soft and clayey
mass with sharp angular pieces of quartz is here and there cemented
by peroxide of iron into a mass closely resembling the ordinary laterite
of the country. The laterite itself is of very variable thickness, in places
not more than a foot or two, while under Gop House more than fifty
feet are exposed of solid blocky laterite, arranged in large tabular
masses or beds which have a slight dip or inclination to the south. This
here rests upon a greyish-white and reddish clay, soft, soapy, and
felspathic, and in most respects like the ordinary kaolin clays resulting
from the decomposition of felspathic rocks. There is, in this locality, no
passage observable between the two rocks. The clay* below is but
slightly impregnated with iron, which in fact, only shews in ferruginous
patches or stains, while the mass of the laterite above, in immediate
junction, is of the most typical character. All this “© laterite” contains
rounded fragments and pebbles of other rocks, of small size, the clay

beneath being quite free from such admixture.

* This non-porous clay, covered by the open and fissured laterite above, forms the
water level of the district, Wells sunk through the laterite, north of this, passed through
some sixty feet, meeting no water until they had reached the clay below.

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 273

In the central and southern divisions of Orissa, “ laterite” covers a very
i) ortos. Euge area. In the northern part of the province
it occurs in a compact form only along the base of
the Nilghiri hills, which it generally but not invariably skirts, and from
the base of which it in many places extends for from half a mile to a
mile into the plains. But around Balasore a peculiar gravelly variety
of this singular rock appears forming a bed some five or six feet thick,
and at a short distance beneath the surface of the ground. This bed
occurs in a tract of undulating alluvium, and is not compact as near the
hills, but gravelly and sandy, consisting mainly of ferruginous pisiform
nodules, and having generally the appearance of a bed reconstituted from
denuded “laterite.” It does not follow that this has been its origin, but
it presents that appearance. This does not extend far to the south, and
it dies away also towards the hills. Further to the south, it occasionally
recurs, generally in the dry, gravelly and kunkuriferous soils of the older
alluvium; but it is also sometimes found in alluvium quite undistin-
guishable from the recent delta deposits, as, for example, at the village of
Teelochundpur, close to the river Kursooa, the northern branch of the

river Brahmini, and just to the west of the Cuttack road.
South of the Brahmini, and thence to the Chilka Lake, laterite forms
a raised terrace-like plain around nearly all the

Terrace-like plain. | 4 3

hills, excepting those few which occur far out in
the alluvium. It sometimes stretches across from hill to hill, and is
covered by alluvium in the hollows, in which it evidently ih many cases
underlies the more recent deposits. Indeed it probably underlies the
whole of the recent alluvium, and seems to have covered the country up
to a certain height, as if the undulating surface of the region to a cer-
tain altitude had been converted into this singular ferruginous formation.
It is seldom seen above this altitude, and its level dips rapidly towards
the East, so that the area it covers around the more easterly hills
becomes more and more circumscribed, until at length in the isolat-

ed peaks far east of the main clusters, no laterite at all appears, and
D

274 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

it seems to be covered up by the alluvium. To-

Dips to east, rises to
west. ^

wards the west, on the contrary, it rises to а height
sometimes of 60 to 80 feet above the plain, and outliers of it occur upon the
surface of the gneiss or sandstone. Laterite even caps some of the low
sandstone hills upon the Mahanuddi, as is seen near Naraj and Bolpada,
yet somewhat further west it recurs in the lower ground forming an
extensive plain which bounds the sandstone on its northern and north-
western edge. This plain, however, being at some distance from the
river, while the previously mentioned localities are on its bank, may not
really be lower than they are, although it ap pears to be so.

The accompanying Sketch section will serve to illustrate the relations -
of the alluvium, the laterite, and the metamorphic rocks.

Fig. 1. Sketch-section shewing the apparent relations of the Alluvium, the Laterite
and the Metamorphic Rocks.

a, alluvium ; 5, laterite; c, gneiss, &e.

The depth to which this rock extends is very variable. Frequently
30 to 40 feet are exposed, and there are hills of it
at least 80 feet high.

Towards the south-west end of the Chilka Lake no laterite occurs

Thickness of Laterite.

although the general form of the country is similar

C a to that further to the north-east. The undulating

ground is here composed of gneissose rocks. As this district of Ganjam

however has not yet been closely examined, the absence may be account-
ed for by a closer survey.

ALLUVIUM.—ÓOf the two kinds of alluvial deposits to which allusion

has already been made, little need be said. The older is distinguished

by being more sandy, and probably always con-

se Nas taining more or less laterite gravel. The country

covered by it is undulating, the surface having been modified by denuda-

tion, and the newer alluvium occurring in the river valleys—kunkur

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 275

very generally accompanies it ; but this is also, though in a somewhat
less degree pretty generally distributed in the more recent alluvium
also, and in some places the nodules are very large.

It is extremely difficult to separate the two varieties, as they frequent-

EE нин ly pues into each other by insensible gradation
and in some places laterite may be found beneath
the soil in a perfectly flat country, in which every thing induces the
belief that the alluvium is recent.

On the southern bank of the Chilka Lake in one or two places at an
elevation of 20 to 30 feet above the present flood level is found a bed of

mud with shells.* A similar deposit occurs at

Shells in alluvium. 5 , ?
some places on the spit between the Chilka and
. the sea. The shells ( Cytherea casta and Arca granosa) are marine and
do not, so far as ascertained, at present inhabit the Chilka Lake,
although one of them the Cytherea casta is common in the estuary con-
necting the Lake and the sea. On the other hand, the shells now
abounding in the Chilka, as for example Cerithium fluviatile and Modiola
emarginata do not occur in this deposit. This affords evidence of an
elevation of the land, since the recent period, when the Chilka had
freer communication with the sea, than it, at present, has.

As a general rule, however, all the alluvial deposits are unfossiliferous ;
the only shells that are seen are afew fresh water mollusca, common
in rice fields and marshes.

Blown sand.—Blown sand occurs along all parts of this coast which
face the south-east. In some cases, these sand hills cover a considerable
tract, as near Pooree, where they are two or three miles across. When
such is the case, their area is generally bounded on each side, towards

the land, and towards the sea, by a range low

Ranges of sand hills.
5 (60 to 80 feet at the most) but still higher than

* These are collected and burned for lime.

276 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

the ground between; other ranges more or less obliterated occurring
further inland. On the inner range there is almost always vegeta-
tion, and it seems to serve as a boundary for the barren land, which
is prevented from being covered with grass, by sand from the sea
being continualy, in high winds, blown upon
it. There can be little doubt, that each range
of sand hills marks an old sea coast, and it seems probable that
the sea has retired, that is, that the land has been elevated not

Mark old coast lines.

continuously, and uniformly, but at intervals, and by interrupted
lifts.

The evidences of the gradual rise of land in Orissa are numerous.
It is probable that the cliff-like escarpment of the
Nilgiri range, and the clusters of isolated hills .
evidently once islands, which dot the province, have been brought to
nearly their present form by denudation of an ancient date. But that

a more recent agency has also tended to modify their shape, seems

Gradual rise of land.

shewn by the laterite conglomerate. But these are no evidence of a
recent rise of land. Within the memory of man, however, the tide
came further up the rivers than it now does, so much so, that the export
salt golahs had to be moved further down the Brahmini This may, how-
ever, be merely due to the raising of the delta by fluviatile deposits.
It is said, that the Black Pagoda, when first built, was on the shore;
now it is two miles inland, and on the inner row of sand hills, above
mentioned; a fact which renders it probable that it was originally built
close to the sea. It is also stated by the natives that Balasore was once
on the shore, but it seems doubtful if such can have been the case in
historical times.

Economic Geology.—The rock most generally employed for building
purposes in these districts is “ Laterite.” This
is largely used in the construction of the walls of

houses, and in buildings also of greater pretension. Few rocks present

Building stones,

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 277

greater advantages from its peculiar character; it is easy to cut and
3 shape when first dug, and it becomes hard and
o tough after exposure to the air, while it seems to
be very little acted on by the weather. Indeed in many of the sculp-
tured stones of some of the oldest buildings, temples, &c. in the
district, the chisel-marks are as fresh and sharp as when first built. It
is, perhaps, not so strong, nor so capable of resisting great pressure, or
bearing great weights, as some of the sandstones, or the more compact
kinds of gneiss, but it certainly possesses amply sufficient strength for
all ordinary purposes. It is largely used at the present time, but has
also been employed from the earliest period from which the temples
and buildings of the country date. And the elaborate specimens of
carving and ornament, which some of these present, shew that the
nodular structure and irregular surface of the laterite does not prevent
its effective use for such purposes of ordinary ornamentation, as mould-
ings, &c. Another advantage it possesses over other rocks is the
facility of transport, it being generally found in the low grounds, and
often at no great distance from some of the many streams which traverse
the vicinity.
Slabs from four to five feet long are easily procurable of this rock.
They are quarried in a rude but effective way ; a
т уте. groove is cut with a rudely pointed pick round
the slab: another is made underneath, and then a few wedges driven in
split off the block. The more loose and gravelly forms of the laterite are
universally used for road-metal for which purpose they are admirably
adapted.
In Orissa, gneiss and sandstone are also quarried in places for build-
ing purposes. Ancient sculptures on both are
= ana RD found. The caves of Khundegeree, and the tem-

ples of Bobanessur are both of sandstone, while temples with statues of

Hindoo deities carved in gneiss are common in many districts as on

278 MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c.

Neeltigur hill.in pergunnah Ultee, and the large statues at the Black
Pagoda of Canarue near Pooree. The variety generally worked is one
of the kinds of garnetiferous gneiss. At Neeltigur, millstones are manu-
factured to a considerable extent, in other places drinking cups are
made of gneiss,

The chloritic and serpentinous beds in the gneiss are manufactured

into plates and basins, wherever they occur. In
paar ri Midnapoor district and close to its boundary in
Maunbhoom, and in the Nilgiri hills are the principal seats of the manu-
facture in these districts. The rock yields a beautiful compact and very
tough material, though soft and easy to work. It is admirably suited
for fine carvings as may be well seen in some of the beautifully sculp-
tured doorways of the Black Pagoda, which are carved from this variety
of rock. Blocks of almost any size can be obtained, the only impedi-
ment being the difficulty of transport from the high hills on which it
generally occurs.

The most general use of this rock at present, however, is in the ma-
Used for plates, bowls, nufacture of plates, bowls, basins, &c. which are
&e, in common use all over the country. The tools
employed in the manufacture of these are of the rudest kind. A short
round bar of iron pointed at one end, and a wooden mallet suffice to
procure from the rock a piece, of size sufficient for a plate or bowl.

МГ This is rudely cut into the intended form by
the quarryman on the spot, and the thus half-
finished materials are brought down from the quarries or holes on
the hill side, and finished by different workmen in the villages
below. This is done partly by hand with finer tools, partly on
a simple lathe. The finished plates, &c. are then transported to
the markets by merchants who deal in these articles, and who
generaly have the whole produce of villages secured by contract
before hand.

MIDNAPORE, ORISSA, &c. 279

Under the thick mass of laterite seen at Gop House, Midnapore, a
white clay is seen of no great thickness, and dis-
Eo colored here and there with ferruginous stains.
Similar clay is also seen to the west in several places. Again southward -
near Cuttack, on a hill a little west of Kukkur, in another near Naraj,
and at some other places in the sandstones, a bed of soft white
clay occurs; this is largely extracted and used by the natives in dress-
ing leather, and also mixed with water as a wash to ornament their
houses. It might prove a good material for porcelain,

Many of the alluvial clays, when not kunkuriferous, make very tolera-

ble bricks, and are generally used for that purpose.

280

Note on the LaATERITE of Orissa, by W. T. BLANFORD, Geological
Survey of India.

IN my notes on the Geology of Orissa, embodied in the preceding
Object ‘of the present ^ Рарегә I mentioned some of the peculiarities of
paper. the mode of occurrence of the “ laterite” so widely
distributed in that province, and especially iu the southern portion of
it. Amongst these peculiarities, I remarked on the manner in which
it forms a raised terrace-like plain, surrounding the hills, and rising to
a greater height above the sea towards the west than to the east;
its absence above a certain level in each locality, and its variable thick-
ness, as also the peculiar form it assumes in the northern parts of the
province. The object of the present note is to describe more fully the
circumstances attending the appearance of this remarkable rock, and to
suggest briefly a few theoretical explanations which may account for
some ofits characteristics. And in so doing, I cannot pretend completely
to explain its origin. I confess myself unable entirely to appreciate the
causes of its very singular nature and constitution, nor is it surprising
that what has proved a riddle to probably every investigator of Indian
Geology should still remain unsolved. Neither do I wish the conclusion
to be drawn that what may serve to explain the mode of occurrence of
“ laterite” in one position in Orissa will equally account for its exhibi-
tion in other localities ; e. g. in the enormous masses which cap the
Rajmahal Hills in places. І only wish to offer, rather as suggestions
than as theories, hypotheses which may partially explain its existence in
the locality which has fallen more particularly under my notice; trust-
ing that if my present views should, as they very possibly may, hereafter
prove erroneous, they may nevertheless have the effect of drawing the
attention of more competent observers to the study of this rock, and that
the latter may, by clearly explaining its origin, remove a stumbling block

from the path of Indian Geology, and a disgrace from its reputation.

NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA. 281

The term laterite has been vaguely applied to many forms of rock,
PETTI of the All agreeing in being ferruginous, but varying
term “ laterite.” in coherence and in composition. In Orissa and
Bengal, it-has usually been confined to the dark reddish brown substance
so commonly seen on the surface of the ground; and which, when
exposed to the action of the weather, assumes a rough nodular surface,
and is frequently permeated by hollows of irregular shape and direction,
It also becomes covered with a glaze-like coating of brown peroxide of
iron. |
On a careful examination of this rock in situ, it 1s seen that it com-
ODE ot "eb difer- prises two kinds, essentially distinct in nature and
ent rocks. composition, and that one particular form invari-
ably overlies the other wherever the two occur together.
I. The form which generally appears at the surface, (it being rarely
Ld M MUN that the lower Bin is exposed by the denudation
of the upper), consists mainly of round ferruginous
nodules, about à to } of an inch in diameter, in a matrix of dark reddish
brown clay, which is generally more or less sandy. The nodules have
a coating of brown hydrated peroxide of iron, and, when broken, some
are seen to be black inside, others appear to be formed of concretionary
peroxide of iron, others again are evidently ferruginous pebbles of de-
composed gneiss, or of sandstone, if that rock prevail in the neigh-
bourhood. -These little nodules are frequently scattered over the

country by the denudation and disintegration of the deposit containing

* ^

them.
In places this substance is so soft that it may be cut, though with

e etate OE ERES. difficulty, with a spade; in other places it hardens

tion. into a firm rock, sometimes cohering only in the

form of large blocks, the intermediate portion remaining loose and
gravelly, but frequently forming a hard mass which covers the surface
for considerable areas. It is only at the surface that this rock becomes

E

282 NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA.

thoroughly hardened, the lower portion requires exposure to give it
E ROT ON firmness and strength vig exposed it becomes
cavernous, owing to the washing away of the softer
portions, and apparently a chemical change takes place, whereby the
iron becomes altered from the state of anhydrous peroxide, (and some-
times perhaps also of magnetic oxide,) into that of brown or hydrated
peroxide. To this chemical change the coherence may perhaps partly
be attributed; much, however, is doubtless due to the mere thorough
drying of the clay by the heat of the sun. The rock passes from
this compact form, by insensible gradations, into

“ Laterite gravel." 5 у E
: the gravel like “ Laterite” of Balasore and its

vicinity.

In the immediate neighbourhood of hills, and sometimes even for a
Evidence of its detrital COUSIderable distance from their base, instances
origin. are numerous, in which pebbles and boulders,
frequently of considerable size, abound in this deposit. There can be
no doubt that these are the result of denudation and transportation, and
not of partial disintegration of the underlying rock, because apart from
their rounded form, which alone is strong evidence, even if not of itself
sufficient to prove that they have been rolled by water, the foliation in
different boulders does not coincide, and moreover blocks of many dif-
ferent varieties of the metamorphic rocks lie side by side. Near hills of
quartzose forms of the gneiss, the ferruginous deposit sometimes passes
into a grit, consisting of the mere detritus of the hill cemented by iron.
But “ Laterite" frequently extends over flats of many square miles in
area, and, at a distance from hills, similarly good evidence of the origin
of the rock is wanting.

In some rare cases, the surface of a rock, either gneiss or sandstone,
is exposed, the hollows in which are filled by this form of * Laterite."
A beautiful illustration of this occurs in the Máhánadi river, nearly

opposite the village of Simlibhánd, 3 or 4 miles above Cuttack. On

NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA. 283

a small rocky island, on which stands the temple of Deválsur, not only
are the small cracks in a conglomerate occurring thére, which belongs
to the Atgurh basin sandstone, filled by a nodular ferruginous sub-
stance, but some of the pebbles have been removed and are replaced
by it, so that the conglomerate appears as if containing pebbles of
laterite. A little lower down on the opposite (north) bank of the river,
the same ferruginous rock is seen to fill the hollows, caused by wear in
a sandstone. In both cases it can scarcely be the result of any thing
but deposition, in its present form, on the subjacent rock. It may, how-
ever, be caused by the re-consolidation of denuded laterite.

The gravel containing ferruginous nodules in great abundance near
Balasore also contains pebbles and saud transported from a distance;
indeed as before remarked, it is merely a modification of the more ordi-
nary form of the rock. This modification is not, however, confined to
the neighbourhood of Balasore, where it appears to rest on alluvium,
but occasionally occurs resting on gneiss, in other parts of the province.
This gravelly form of the laterite may in some places be'contemporaneous
with the older alluvium and formed from denudation of the more mas-
sive variety.

П. The underlying variety greatly resembles the former wherever

riis ERA ii exposed, as it ndun and becomes covered
with a brown glaze in the same manner. It is
nevertheless of an entirely different constitution, and, where it rests on
gneiss, is always found to consist mainly of a true clay, generally more
or less mottled, and much more ferruginous near the surface than below ;
it varies in colour in consequence from red above to yellow at a short
distance beneath, and, at a greater depth, to nearly white. It contains
a few pipes, of small diameter, evidently produced by the percolation
of water. Throughout the clay occur irregular pieces, varying in size
and shape, but seldom exceeding two or three inches in thickness, of

a hard stony ferruginous substance, which sometimes appear, when

284 NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA.

broken, to consist mainly of concretionary peroxide of iron, with fre-
quently small angular pieces of clear quartz, but more frequently of
a mottled rock, which is evidently decomposed gneiss. Probably the
more ferruginous concretionary masses are the same, but changed in ap-
pearance by being more strongly impregnated with iron.

The deeper the section, the less appears to be the quantity of iron,
i . and the smaller the number of ferruginous lumps,
M e E until at length the bed passes into a white clay
"inn containing particles of quartz and felspar, folia-
tion then becomes gradually apparent, and no doubt can remain that
the formation is tke result of the alteration, in situ and by surface action,
of a metamorphic rock. Indeed the change only differs from the usual
course of conversion of a felspathie rock into kaolin, in the peculiar
impregnation with iron, and the tendency to a segregation of that iron,-
in the less decomposed portions of the mass.*

Sections are occasionally seen in wells, in which the quartzose layers
of the metamorphic rocks extend unaltered into the argillaceous mass
of “ Laterite,” which has been formed by the decomposition and altera-
tion of the more felspathic portions, and in one particular instance, near

Paikesae, a village a little west of the Dyah river, a section was seen,

* Fresh sections of laterite are naturally not easily found; those available being
chiefly wells in process of sinking, and, as the water which usually rests upon the
lower and most argillaceous portion of the decomposed gneiss is, in most cases, reached at
a small depth, they are seldom of much value. Old sections are of no use, for reasons
which are mentioned further on. Many of the above details were first observed at a well
and boring at Daltola, near Khürdah, which was made by Captain Harris, the Surveyor
of Cuttack rivers, who very kindly supplied me with specimens taken at short intervals
in the depth. "The well was dug to a depth of 26 feet, when water was reached, and then
a boring was sunk nearly 50 feet further. The upper 6 feet was formed of the nodular
and sandy upper deposit, below 6 feet the argillaceous lower form of laterite came in, and
was, at the top, dark red in colour, at 12 feet reddish brown, at 20 feet dark yellowish
brown in part, light yellow in others, at 25 feet all yellow or white. The boring from

below this shewed a gradual passage into gneiss, but-the unaltered reck was not reached,

NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF OBISSA, 285

in which unaltered blocks of the subjacent gneiss rock, preserving its
foliation, were seen entirely surrounded by a mass of * Laterite."
When sandstone forms the underlying stratum, it is seen to pass into
Р a ferruginous deposit, in a similar manner to that
Euer in which the gneiss does. The resulting “ La-
terite" is generally much more gritty, but sometimes it much resembles
that formed above gneiss. This is probably where the sandstone is
very felspathic. The rock, when formed by the alteration of sandstone,
may however always be distinguished by containing fragments of that
rock strongly impregnated with iron.
* From the preceding description of these two forms of rock con-

КО ыу! “of founded under the name of laterite, it fol-

the two forms. lows :—

1. That the overlying form contains pebbles and boulders evidently
transported from some distance, and is consequently the result of depo-
sition from water.

2. That the underlying form is clearly and unmistakeably the result
of the alteration, zz situ, of the rock on which it rests.

These two different rocks are clearly distinct therefore, both in com-
position and in origin. It is manifestly unscientific to continue to con-
found them under the same name.

The name laterite was applied by Dr. Buchanan Hamilton in all
probability generically. The name (brick-stone) however, was given
on account of the employment of the rock in building, a purpose to which
the detrital form is far more frequently applied, at all events in Orissa,
than is the variety formed by the alteration of igneous or metamorphic
rock or of sandstone. The detrital form moreover is that most com-
monly seen and best known, and to it I shall consequently in the present

paper restrict the term of Laterite.

* The two forms of Laterite have been remarked by several previous observers, and the

difference in their constitution is clearly explained in Lieut. A. Aytoun’s account of the

286 NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA.

The underlying form varies so much in constitution according to the
ERA rock from which it is derived, that arcc aum
petrological term will include all its varieties.
As a rule however, it is, when derived from gneiss or other felspathic
rock, a more or less ferruginous clay varying in purity. To such sub-
stances the name Lithomarge has frequently been applied, and it seems
the most applicable'in the present instance, it being understood that
all the impure varieties derived from quartzose metamorphic rocks or
sandstone are here included in the term.

Many instances occur in which the Lithomarge appears to pass into

от аеро laterite, and therefore, despite the clear evidence
LithomargeintoLaterite. of their distinct origin, it has been supposed that
the latter is merely the result of a further alteration of the former. "The
small nodules so abundant in Laterite, and so characteristic of it, are
sometimes found, though only in small quantities, in the upper part of
the decomposed rock beneath, especially where it has been exposed.
There is nothing unnatural in the formation of small nodular concretions
of iron in a highly ferruginous rock, consequently their presence in both
is no proof of the two kinds of rock being iden-

Its explanation. р ©
tical. And, with regard to the cases of apparent

Geology of the Southern Concan, Edin. New Phil. Jour., vol. iv. p. 67. "Their relations to
each other have however hitherto, so far as I am aware, not been explained and a critical
re-capitulation of their differences appears the only method by which to appreciate the
connexion between them. Many of the points mentioned above have been noted by other
observers, as by Mr. Stirling (Asiat. Resear. Bengal, vol. xv, p. 163,) in the locality
described in the present paper. It will be seen that I differ from all previous observers
(at least with all with whose writings I am acquainted) in accounting for the iron in the
altered clay or underlying form cf laterite, This iron has always, I believe, been con-
sidered as derived from the decomposing rock beneath,

It is only right to add that this paper was written before reading Lieut. Aytoun's
valuable description of the laterite of the Western Coast. It will be seen on comparing

the two descriptions that the rock of the Conean is precisely similar to that of Orissa.

NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA. 287

passage, all which have come under my notice, and they are very
numerous, have occurred in old sections, which are utterly untrust-
worthy for the purpose of investigating the phenomena of these ferru-
ginous deposits, for water impregnated with iron runs from the upper
formation down the sides, and the whole surface becomes, by weather-
ing, hard, irregular, and homogeneous, with the well known appearance
` of blocks of Laterite, which have long been exposed to the air. Few,
good sections moreover are seen in Orissa, except in wells, which
are difficult of access for the purpose of careful inspection, while exca-
vations for building material are generally confined to the detrital
form.

It remains to ascertain the source of the large quantity of iron in

What is the source of laterite and the underlying clay, and the method
TRE ON by which these rocks have become impregnated.

It is evident that if we can determine the manner in which the iron

SRI UU course did.ib penetrated the rocks, we shall have advanced a
Penerrate LHe rocks? step towards ascertaining its source. Now there
seem to be three possible ways of accounting for its presence in the two
formations. We may suppose :—

I. That the Laterite was originally an ordinary detrital deposit, and

that it and the underlying rock were together
oo impregnated with iron. In other words, that the
source of the iron was extraneous :

II. That the Lithomarge is the source of the iron, and that Laterite
is merely the result of its denudation and re-consolidation :

III. That Laterite is an original ferruginous deposit, and that all, or
nearly all the iron, contained in the Lithomarge, is merely obtained
from the former rock by the percolation of surface waters.

Of these three hypothesis, the first is the least probable. From what

imaginable extraneous source could iron be sup-

Pro, et con. 1 ; ;
plied, which should, over hundreds of square mile

288 NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA.

of country, so impregnate the rocks, that they contain at times no less
than 24 per cent of iron,* or nearly 35 per cent of the peroxide? But
even assuming this to be the fact, the only source of the iron must be
ferruginous watersf covering the country, and in that case, in places
where the detrital deposit was thin or wanting, the clay beneath would
only be more strongly impregnated with iron. But so far is this from
being the case, tnat,. where Laterite is thin or only slightly ferruginous,
the clay appears to be nearly or entirely destitute of iron beneath, and
wherever the latter appears without the former, there is evidence of a
denuding action having removed the Laterite.
The following section, from a well which was being sunk at Gerin-
- gapatna, a village not far south of Chandkar on the Cuttack and Ganjam
road, illustrates the poverty of the ferruginous clay, where Laterite is
only slightly developed.
ft. in.
Surface solls e$ * vis г tees cee, rer EE rs me: RISE ORO
Ferruginous gravel, (Laterite of the sandy form and poor in
iron) see eee eee ш. Hee ser see sme се en
Ferruginous clay (Lithomarge) ees ... ... .. sre see
Variegated clay, bluish grey with red spots, containing pieces
of decomposed gneiss, and evidently the result of the alteration
ofthat rock GO ase ECOL (cose esol cme) eee eno" odo. osocco O
In the neighbourhood, where the Laterite was of the ordinary thick-
ness and coherence, the clay beneath was highly ferruginous to depths

of 15 feet or more.

* Laterite from Daltola, Cuttack, gave ... ... ses serer 24:5 per cent. of iron,
Ditto from Kattiwar, W. India, gave ... .. .. .. 228 ditto ditto.
Ditto from Tanjore, S. India, gave ... ... ... seer 93:4 ditto ditto.

Т If from any other source, such af mineral springs, 16 is Tretie that the deposit

should be similar over any considerable area.

NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA, 289

s

For these reasons, we may safely conclude that the above hypothesis
is untenable. '

The second hypothesis by no means explains the fact of laterite being
confined to a certain definite level, as is the case in Orissa. Were it
true, we might expect to find Lithomarge on the hills, Laterite on the
low grounds, and it would only be natural to anticipate, that, in a great
number of cases, each rock would be found not associated with the
other. This by no means agrees with the facts observed, for so con-
stantly does Laterite occur wherever Lithomarge does, unless there is
evidence of the former having been denuded, that it becomes evident
that the existence of the latter is dependent on the presence of the
former, and all probabilities therefore point to the last hypothesis, viz.:
the derivation of the iron in Lithomarge from the Laterite, by the
percolation of surface waters, as the only theory in accordance with
the facts. And the quantity of peroxide of iron which saturates the
surface of the clay below Laterite in old sections is good additional
evidence of this passage of the iron from the upper into the lower
formation.

But another point yielding valuable evidence upon this question is

"EE i the mode ie ашин of ihe an as regards
oe ош the quantity contained in various parts of each

rock.

Assuming the first hypothesis to be correct, we should expect,
either that the quantity of iron throughout the two formations,
from top to bottom, would be the same; or that it would diminish
regularly, from the surface downwards, to the water level of the
country.

Assuming the second, the Laterite would probably be the richer
formation, since in the process of the disintegration of the mass, formed
by the decomposition of gneiss and other rocks and its redistribution by
water, the non-ferruginous portion, in consequence of its lower specific

F

290 NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA.

gravity, would have been separated from that richer in iron, and would
have been carried away to a greater distance; but the Lithomarge
beneath might be expected to be of nearly uniform constitution through-
out; or, at all events, its richness would be independent of its depth ~
below the surface.
` Assuming the third, we shall certainly find a much larger quantity
of iron in the laterite than in the lithomarge, and whilst, in the
first named rock, the quantity will be uniform throughout, or dim-
inished very slightly from the surface, in the latter it will decrease
in quantity rapidly and regularly with the depth, as far as the water
level of the country. Below that level it may probably remain uniform.
It has unfortunately only in one instance been found possible to
Tom ieee been) Ond obtain specimens of these rocks, at regular in-
Co Ine EIDE tervals from the surface downwards to a consider-
able depth. The result therefore must be looked upon as imperfect
until confirmed by fresh experiments. So far as they go, however, they
completely coincide with the last proposed hypothesis, that of the
laterite being the source of the iron. i

The locality whence the specimens were obtained was a well and
boring near Daltola.* The section there exposed was—
WELL.

JAterite; э. ee ese) ev. esci mese aso ENE Io N EBORE CU:

Lithomarge passing downwards into white and yellow clay, 20 .,

Water level ас ЛИ e EE ONE

BORING.
White clay passing downwards into decomposed gneiss, ... 443 ,,

70

25

tole

* See note, anle, p. 284.

NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF

The following were the results of assays :

At 4 feet the specimen (Laterite)

» 8

» 64
» 702

33

taken contained ...

(Lithomarge) ,, 5j
(ditto) » »
(ditto) 25 5
(ditto) 55 »
(ditto) ss, 5

WATER LEVEL.
(clay) » »
(ditto) » »
(ditto) X »
(clay) ээ $5
(ditto) р 5
(ditto) ^ $
(ditto) э d
(ditto) ES ES

ORISSA. 291

r

per cent of iron,
24:53
18:71
15:30
1611
ce me LOW
8:37

4:80
соодо . 4:08
5:34
3:85
441
716
568
5:67

These assays shew a sudden change, and a diminution of nearly 6 per

cent. in the quantity of iron contained, between the laterite and the

lithomarge. Thence downwards, as far as the water level of the country,

there is with one exception, a perfectly uniform diminution in the quantity

of won.

And when it is considered that lithomarge is far from homo-

geneous in composition, and that it contains masses far more ferrucinous

than the rest of the rock, a single exception to the regular-diminution, if

surprising, is so only on account of its singularity. Neglecting therefore

the quantity of iron found at 16 feet, and dividing in proportion the

difference between 12 and 20 feet, we have the following decrements in

the percentage of iron from the surface to the water level.

At 8 feetfrom the surface (inlithomarge) thereis 5*82 percent less than at 4

22

29

12 ,,
16 ,
20 ,
M,
38 ,

( in ditto )
( in ditto )
( in ditto )
( in ditto )
( in ditto )

» s» 9'4l per cent
» 2'94per cent
» » 2°36 per cent
1:63 per cent

» „

» » 3/57 per cent

feet (in laterite.)

» » » 8 ,(inlithomarge).

ЭИУ ple (тоату
Bom m e iati).
» » »20 , (in ditto).
о Б Guiditto)s

292 NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA.

This sudden decrease at the water level points strongly to infiltra-
tion from above. Below the water level, the amount of iron contained
is very nearly uniform, averaging 5:13 per cent.

These results coincide exactly with the theory above proposed. They
also agree nearly with what- might have been

Therefore the laterite ü :
was the source of the expected were the first hypothesis correct, but

К reasons for dissenting from its conclusions have
already been given.

To ‘recapitulate, I have endeavoured to shew that, in Orissa, two
formations have been confounded under the name of laterite;—that of
these the lower is produced by the decomposition of felspathic rocks
near the surface, and the infiltration of iron into them ;—that the upper
is a detrital deposit, and that it is the source of the iron, with which the
lower опе is impregnated.

It only remains to ascertain the source of the iron in laterite, and

What is the source of the mode of formation of this extraordinary de-

the iron in laterite itself. posit, Unfortunately T am obliged to confess that,

on this point, the most interesting in the whole history of the formation,

І can add little or nothing to what is already known. The only sugges-

tion I can offer towards its elucidation is the following. А
Over many districts of gneiss rocks in Eastern India, and probably

Ў ; г ў А k
Possible source ofthe 1 Other places, there are found, in variable

ferruginous nodules. quantities, scattered through the soil, some of

the small ferruginoùs nodules which form a considerable proportion
of the mass of laterite. These, when broken, are mostly black inside,
they almost always contain magnetic or some other form of iron ore,
and quartz sand. They are generally rough outside, on account of
grains of sand adhering to them, but when they have been rolled in
Streams, aud even when shaken together slightly, the sand comes off,
and they are then seen to be covered with a crust of brown peroxide of
iron.

In sandstone districts, small pieces of highly ferruginous.sandstone

NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA. Ma

are similarly found dispersed through the soil in places. They are
frequently, as in the Tributary Mehals of Orissa, used as iron ore by
the natives.* e

The source of the nodules first mentioned is possibly this. Let us

‘And the mode of their SUPPOSe a metamorphic rock of the average con-
formation. stitution of those forming the greater part of the
surface of Eastern India to be gradually disintegrating by the action
of the weather. It contains felspar, hornblende, quartz, magnetic iron,
and a little mica. Тһе felspar and hornblende become, by weathering,
clay or a similar substance ; the quartz splits up into sand. The violent
tropical rains pour down upon the mixture; the fine sand, the clay, and
the mica are easily washed away, the coarser sand remains, and, with it,
the magnetic iron, in virtue of its high specific gravity, like ore on the
washing floor of the miner. "This magnetic iron is partly in small lumps,
partly in fine particles, and although its indifference to the action of the
weather has enabled it to resist the influences which have decomposed
and carried away the minerals which accompanied it, it, in its turn,
becomes subject to the changing action of meteoric waters. It com-
bines with oxygen and water, and is gradually converted into the hydra-
ted peroxide of iron, and, in the change, it agglutinates the surrounding
sand more or less firmly. The nodules which are black and metallic
inside are those which, having been originally most compact, have
undergone the least change. Those which contain angular fragments of
quartz, or small pieces of partially decomposed gneiss, are formed by the
agglutination of the surrounding sand by the iron oxide in process of
change. Those, lastly, which have а concretionary structure, may owe
it to the gradual change of the mineral composing them, the alteration
having proceeded slowly and uniformly from their surface towards their

centre, or they may be true concretions, formed by the peculiar ten-

* Report on the Talcheer Coal Field. Antep. 71.

294 NOTE ON THE LATERITE OF ORISSA.

dency of some bodies to accumulate substances of a similar structure
around them.

However formed &here can be but little doubt that these pisolitic
nodules are the source of all or nearly all the iron in laterite, the
greater portion of the metal being still contained in them. The re-
mainder of the mass is merely sand and clay cemented by iron supplied
by the nodules.

The laterite of Orissa has undoubtedly been subjected to marine
ache ieee action, as shewn by the boulders which are found
albo ame eR sdb contained in it around the hills, —once islands,—
which dot the plains of that country. It is by no means impossible that
this marine action has carried further the action of rain in separating the
lighter sand from the heavy ferruginous particles, and in spreading the
latter evenly over the surface of the country. The greater height to
which Laterite ascends in the western part of the Province may be due
to a greater rise of land in that direction.

But these ideas are merely put forward as suggestive speculations.

Bat DUET OUR I believe that they may serve partially to explain
Conn US рашын, a very remarkable natural phenomenon, but it is
extremely probable that they are far from containing the complete
elucidation of all the facts. I can only trust that more fortunate ob-
servers may succeed in thoroughly investigating and explaining not only
the Orissan, but also the many other Indian Rocks, which have hitherto

been confounded under the name of Laterite.

CAMP NEAR AUD
lst February, 1859.

On some fossil fish-teeth of the genus CERATODUS, from MALEDI, South
of Nagpur, by THOMAS OLDHAM, т. г. D., F. Е. S., Е. G. S. and
Superintendent of Geological Survey of India. — '

Tue genus Ceratodus was originally established by Agassiz,* to receive
several varieties of fossil teeth, presenting remarkable peculiarities in
external form, while agreeing in their internal structure and texture
with other teeth belonging to the genera Peammadus, Cochliodus,
Strophodus, &c., included in his great sub-division of PLacorps.

These teeth are all composed of two distinct layers ; the upper, being
of enamel-like texture, composed of closely set tubes, and presenting
externally, where worn, a finely punctulated surface ; the other, or
lower layer, of bony structure, composed of reticulated tissue, like
that of cartilaginous fishes in general, this reticulated tissue being
closely set where the bone was thin, and loose and open, where it was
thick ;. the external surface, where perfect, being smooth.

The form of these teeth was described as presenting on one side a
smoother edge or border, straight or approximately straight through a
portion of its length and curved in the remainder, while the opposite
edge or border of the tooth was marked by several projecting ridges or
horns; whence the name of the genus.

Under this genus, Agassiz separated and gave specific names to four-
teen different varieties, stating distinctly, however, that he did so only
provisionally, until the discovery of better preserved and more numerous
specimens enabled him to determine how far the differences he had no-
ticed depended really on any specific distinctness, how far on the position
of the teeth in.the upper ог lower jaws, ог how far on age. And cer-
tainly, as has been forcibly pointed out by Quenstedt,f the specimens fi-

gured by him seem to demand this caution from their imperfect condition.

* Agassiz. Recherches sur les Poissons fossiles. Vol. III. p. 129.

T Handbuch der Petrefactenkunde, p. 186-7.

296 ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH.

From the examination of all the specimens to which he had access,
Agassiz arrived at the conclusion that, in all cases, the comparatively
smooth, or unhorned side of the teeth was that which was internal in the
jaw, the horns or projecting ridges being external; and that these teeth —
were not arranged in more rows than one in the mouth of the fish, but
that in each side, of the upper and of the lower jaws, one tooth only
was fixed making four teeth in all in the mouth. Не concluded also that
the straighter portion of the smooth side of the tooth was anterior. This
being granted, it followed that all the horns of the tooth would be point-
ed forward, and those which were, in this case, the posterior horns were
also the larger, and more marked. Agassiz also pointed out two
distinct groups of these teeth, one flat and broad, the other comparatively
elongated with more elevated ridges or horns. He alludes to the possi-
bility of one of these varieties belonging to the upper jaw, and the other
to the lower, but without fixing the point.

He considered the fish, to which these teeth Е to have been
more allied to the Cestraciont group, than to any other. Subsequent ob-
servers, in adding somewhat to the knowledge of this remarkable genus,
have referred it to a different position. Bronn places Ceratodus among
the Chimeridz, as does also Plieninger, who has described several species
from the Muschelkalk and the Keuper. A few other species or varieties
have been figured in different works, but little has been really added to
our knowledge of the genus. Quenstedt* has recently described another
variety (Ceratodus Cloacinus) from the beds below the lias, (“ the forerun-
ners of the lias”). This was also nearly the geological position of all
previously known species. Only one species has been found so high as
the Stonesfield slate (Ceratodus Phillipsii) all the others being from beds
lower in the series, and ranging from the upper * Bunter Sandstein” of
the vicinity of Magdeburg to the boundary breccia between the Keuper

and the lias.

* Der Jura, 1858, p. 34.

ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH. 297

During the present summer, I had the gratification of receiving in a
letter from the Reverend J. Hislop of Nagpur, (whose contributions to
our knowledge of the Geological structure of the district in which he
was located are well known to Geologists,) a sketch of some teeth which
he stated to have been picked up by an intelligent native (named Virapa),
near to a village called Maledi, about 150 miles S. S. E. of Nagpur, and
about 30 miles from Kota. This man, who had some experience in col-
lecting, had been despatched to the neighbourhood of Kota, a well known
locality for fish remains, to collect Coleopterous, and other insect exuviæ,
which had been noticed some months previously in specimens brought
from thence by Dr. T. Jerdon. In this object he was comparatively un-
successful, but he was rewarded on his route by the discovery of these
fish-teeth at Maledi. |

The sketch forwarded by Mr. Hislop, I at once recognized'as in all
probability representing a Ceratodus tooth, and pointing out the interest
attaching to this discovery, from the well marked geological horizon to
which the genus belonged, I requested the favor of his allowing me to
see and draw the specimens. To this he at once, and most liberally, con-
sented, and I was soon in possession of the specimens represented on the
accompanying plates (Plates xiv, xv, xvi) These were well preserved,
although in parts broken, and abundantly supported my original suppo-
sition, from Mr. Hislop's sketch, that they were in reality Ceratodus teeth.

Of teeth, of different kinds, there were seventeen specimens ; accom-
panying these were two specimens of Coprolites; a mass consisting of
several pieces of bones cemented together, principally of the thick bony
plates of the head (?) one terminal portion of a bone, and one or two
small fragments, which were useless.

The most cursory examination of the teeth shewed that there were
representatives of both of the sub-divisions noticed by Agassiz, namely
of flat and broad teeth, and of longer and more elevated teeth. A little

more careful examination of the specimens shewed that these two groups
ө

298 ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH,

differed'also in another, and very marked, respect. The flatter teeth in
all our specimens had five horns, that is, the two terminal points, and
three intermediate; the more elevated teeth on the contrary had only four
horns, that is, the two terminal points and two intermediate horns.

This fact at once suggested that these two kinds or varieties might
fitinto each other; and on examining further it was found that in
several cases these flatter teeth fitted perfectly to the other and more
elevated teeth. There remained, therefore, no doubt, that whatever
their position in the jaw might be, we had in these two groups the upper
and the lower-jaw teeth of similar individuals.

There was, however, no direct evidence as to which belonged to the
upper jaw, and which to the lower. In aimost all cases the' tooth-mass
was detached from the bone which originally supported it. One speci-
men still retained a portion of the bone, and with considerable care
I was able to relieve this from the ferruginous clayey concretion which
had formed round it, and to discover in part the true form of the bone.
"This is seen Fig. 1. Pl. xiv. é

It also appeared that the bony or lower layer of the teeth was in all
cases deeper and stronger and thicker, in the more elevated and more
prominently ridged teeth, than in the flatter specimens. From this I
was led to conclude, that the teeth having the more massive and strong-
er osseous attachment belonged to the upper jaw, while the flatter teeth
probably belonged to the lower jaw. If this be granted, out of the
seventeen teeth which I received from Mr. Hislop nine were upper-
jaw teeth of Ceratodus, of different kinds, and eight belonged to the.
lower-jaw.

Agassiz noticed the curious fact, that out of seventeen specimens
to which he had access, no less than eleven had their hornlike projec-
tions on one side, or belonged to the same side of the mouth ; and only
six to the opposite. In the same way it is curious that out of the nine

upper-jaw specimens which we have, six belong to the same side of the

ON FISSIL FISH-TEETH. 299

mouth (the left, according to our supposition) and only three to the
other side: while of the flatter group, which we suppose to be lowei
jaw specimens, seven belong to the same side, or the left side, and only
one to the right.

If our supposition as to the position of these teeth in the jaws of the
animal be correct, (and a similar idea was previously thrown out by
Quenstedt) an examination of Agassiz's figures seems to shew that he had
only six teeth belonging to the right jaw, of which only two were upper-
jaw teeth, and four were lower, while he had eight teeth of the left jaw
of which all were lower-jaw teeth. At present, these Indian specimens
throw no light on these very curious facts ; but they appear to confirm
very strongly the doubts which have more than once been thrown on the
correctness of Agassiz’s supposition that there had been only one tooth on
each side of each jaw.

Mr. Edmund Higgins, writing in 1853* stated that his collection of
Ceratodus teeth at that time amounted to about 140 varieties—and
that among this large number he could scarcely say that he ever met
with a duplicate! We believe his collection has now extended to nearly
200 varieties with the same result !

No spines have been as yet found in these rocks in India, and we are
not therefore able to throw any light whatever on the suggestion of
Agassiz that the spines, called by him Nemacanthus, belonged to the
same genus as the.teeth to which he gave the generic name Ceratodus.

We do not intend to assert in the following descriptions that the
varieties to which we have given names are really distinct species. It is
simply useful to distinguish such well marked varieties for future re-
ference. It is highly probable that some of them may prove identical
with others found in Europe, but not yet figured or described. Mr.
Higgins, as cited above, gives 21 names.as of distinct species, but-un-

fortunately no descriptions or figures accompany this list.

* Morris’ Catalogue of British Fossils, 2nd Edition, page 320.

300 ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH.

OrRATODUS HISLOPIANUS. N. S.
Plate xiv. Figs. 1—7. Plate xvi. Fig. 1.

Of this marked variety we have three specimens belonging to the
same jaw of the elevated class, (or upper-jaw) and two of the more flat-
tened (or lower-jaw) opposite sides.

The outline, in plan, of those which we suppose to have belonged to
the upper jaws of the fish, is rudely an isosceles triangle, the two shorter
sides of the triangle being slightly curved, the longer side being formed
by an imaginary line joining the terminations of the horns, or projecting
points of the external side of the tooth. The inner sides are of nearly
equal length, that which was posterior being slightly more curved and
shorter than the other. Of the ridges of the tooth, the first, or that which
on Agassiz’s supposition was placed foremost in the mouth, is, as com-
pared with the others, flattened and broad, and in the old and worn teeth
becomes worn down into a slightly concave irregular furrow or depression
along ће middle. Its point or termination is obtusely rounded. The
second horn is sharp, and forms a very marked projection separated by a
deep bay or furrow from the first. The line of its continuation is marked
on the surface of the tooth by a ridge, which passes in a right line to the
highest point or summit of the tooth. The third horn or ridge is similar to
the second, andis even more prominent, and strongly marked, and the
continuation of its line is equally marked by a sharp ridge passing also
in a right line to the apex of the tooth. The posterior horn was large,
strong, and well marked, being also much sharper, and less obtuse
than the first or anterior horn (Pl. xiv, Fig. 2,). Seen in profile, the
outline of these upper-jaw teeth rises in a continuous slope from the
anterior part of the tooth to the central apex, and gradually falls from
that to the posterior point of the tooth also. (Fig. 2. Pl. xiv.) The
upper surface of the teeth, where they have been exposed to wear, ex-
hibits in perfection the curiously punctulated surface common to all

these teeth: but is also marked by small irregular and partially conflu-

ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH. | 301

ent little pits or depressions, arising partly from some slightly irregular
wear of the surface. The outer and nearly vertical edges of the teeth
present a highly enamelled and polished surface, erossed longitudinally
by numerous striz, or slight ridges of growth.. The edges of the late-
ral horns or spurs are marked by two or three sharp tooth like serrations
or projecting points, formed by these ridges.—(Fig. 1, Pl. xvi., Figs. 1

and 5, Pl. xiv.)

' The flat, or lower-jaw tooth of the same species (Figs. 4 and 5.

Рі. xiv) 15 very different in outline. Seen in profile, the upper surface is
nearly flat, and parallel with the lower surface of the enamel layer, the
very marked and prominent ridges of the tooth projecting above the ge-

пега] level. Of the total thickness of the tooth, two thirds at least be-
long to the enamel layer, the osseous layer being very thin. The ridges

or horns become regularly more marked and prominent from the front of
the tooth backwards to the centre or fourth ridge which is the most

prominent.. The first or anterior horn is in this tooth marked by a slight-

ly convex rise along the middle of its upper surface, corresponding to, and

fitting into the slight depression or furrow mentioned as being on the

corresponding anterior horn of the upper-jaw tooth. The other projec-

tions are sharply ridged and prominent.

The general outline of these teeth is not so triangular as that of the
upper corresponding teeth. The inner edges are less curved, and meet
at a more obtuse angle: the line joining the ends of its projecting horns
or spurs, would also be much curved, and not as in the corresponding
upper teeth, nearly straight. The worn surface of the tooth is ex-
actly similar to that of the upper teeth, the whole being finely punc-
tulated, and having also numerous little irregular pits or depressions.
The same bright enamelled surface crossed by numerous striz of growth
shews on the sides of the tooth. Projecting from the bony surface of
the tooth below, there is a small projecting process for the attachment
of the muscles giving motion to the tooth (Figs. 4 and 6, Pl. xiv.) The

‚ 302 ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH.

lower surface of all the teeth is concave and hollow for the entire length
of the tooth. (Pl. xvi, Fig. 1). Two teeth are shewn in contact in
Figs. 6 and 7, Pl. xiv ; but unfortunately the artist has reversed what we
suppose to have been their true position and has put the lower-jaw tooth
uppermost in both cases.

. Among all the specimens the only instance in which the teeth were
found attached to the bones of the jaw is shewn in Figs. 1 and 7, Pl. xiv;
and although very imperfect the general form of the bone may be made
ouf. The inner curve of the edge of the bone is seen, and gives some
key to determine the general form of the jaw. "The bone was thin and
concave below, a well marked and widely rounded depression or furrow
traversing its entire length. Unfortunately the posterior portion of the
bone is broken, but it can be seen that it continued to extend for some
distance back; and was probably expanded laterally.

This species more nearly resembles Ceratodus serratus and C. Phil-
lipsii, of Agassiz than any other figured by that author. But the
distinctions are obvious on comparison. I am disposed to think that both
the species referred to have been figured from specimens of lower-jaw
teeth; and it does not seem at all improbable that both. may even belong
to the same species, but of different ages. One marked differeuce be-
tween our Indian specimens and the teeth figured by Agassiz is the
rounded and obtusely blunt point of the anterior horn, which, in his
species, is represented very sharp or even bicuspid; unless, as may be
the case, the two first points of Agassiz’s Fig. 18, Pl. xix, Vol. iii, in
reality belong.to one horn or ridge, the surface of which has been worn
down in the centre, so as to give a somewhat fallacious appearance of
division into two points. In our species also the ridges are narrower,
sharper, and more prominent, and divided by wider, and deeper furrows.

There is, however, a close relationship between the Keuper C-
serratus and the Stonesfield-slate C. Phillipsti and our С. Hislopianus.
C. runcinatus (Plieninger), is even more closely allied, but differs in the

ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH. 303

much more acute (nearly a right) angle at which the two portions of the
inner margin of the tooth met, and in the more closely adjoined horns
or ridges. It is from the Lettenkohle of Hoheneck (Triassic. Upper
Muschelkalk of Thuringia;.

The species is dedicated to the Revd. S. Hislop of Nagpur, one of the
most successful cultivators of Geology in India and author of some most
valuable papers on the structure of that district.

Found in ferruginous clayey beds near Malédi, 150 miles S. S. №.
from Nagpur.

í
CERATODUS HUNTERIANUS. N. S.
Pl. xv.. Figs. 1—6. Pl. xvi. Fig. 4.

This species is at once distinguished from all figured Ceratodi by the
strongly marked, and greatly elevated “ridge which bounds its internal
border or edge, and which gives it so peculiar a form. The inner edge
ofthe tooth is greatly curved, the larger and anterior portion being
about one-third longer than the posterior. "These two portions form an
obtuse angle (about 125°) at the points of meeting, this angle marking
also the highest or culminating point of the interior ridge of the tooth.
This ridge or raised edge of the tooth is here so marked that its total
height from the surface of the osseous layer is double the total height
of the horns or ridges at the other edge of thetooth. In general outline,
(looking down on the tooth) the form is an obtuse scalene curved-sided
triangle the base or longest side being formed by an imaginary line
joining the points of the horns or projections. The anterior portion of
the smooth internal edge is slightly and continuously curved, and is
considerably longer than the posterior portion, the latter is also ,
curved. In profile, this variety differs materially from C. Heis-
lopianus. The edge rises suddenly from the posterior horn (РІ. xv.
Fig. 2; Pl. xvi Fig. 4) to nearly its greatest height and con-

tinues fo form @ most prominent ridge to the point of the curve or

304 ‘ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH.

apex of the tooth; and thence it gradually drops to the level of the
anterior horn.

The first horn, or projecting point is obtuse, and on its upper surface
becomes, after use, worn down to aslightly concave or depressed furrow,
which passes up towards the apex of the tooth. The second horn is
sharper, and more prominent, and the line of its continuation is marked
by a blunt ridge, which continues.in a slightly curved line towards
the apex, until at about half the distance it loses itself in the general
concavity of the surface of the tooth. The third spur is similar, but the
ridge which marks its continuation on the upper surface of the tooth
is more marked and continuous. This ridge, in worn teeth, is separated
from the last or terminal ridge, (which terminal ridge is at the extreme
edge) by a deep furrow forming a sharp depression between the third
and fourth, or last, horn. PI. xv. F igs. 1 and 2.

The internal edge of the teeth is formed of a nearly vertical surface
of bright enamel, marked by numerous crossing striz of growth, and
forming a regular wall of enamel of nearly an inch in height—(8,ths).
This enamelled surface is continued all round the tooth. (Pl. xvi, Fig. 4.
Pl xv, Figs. 1—4.) Where worn above, the surface is, as usual, closely
punctulated, but is also marked by numerous little depressions, which
are often confluent, and are transverse to the length of the tooth, thus
causing a series of small transverse, irregular, and ill-marked furrows on
the surface.

As compared with the great thickness and size of the enamel layer,
the bony layer of the tooth is thin and small, not being much more than
one-fourth the thickness of the former. It is marked below by a deep
furrow, or concavity, passing along the greater portion of the length of
the tooth, and by a thickening of the mass, forming a rudely projecting

process, just beneath, or in a line with the apex of the tooth.

The lower-jaw tooth of this species is shewn in Pl. xv. Figs 3, 5,6. As
in the preceding species, its outline forms a marked contrast with that

ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH. ; 305

of the upper teeth, being almost perfectly flat on the surface, with ill
developed ridges and furrows. The first or anterior horn of this is, on
surface, slightly convex, corresponding with the slight concavity or
depression in the analogous surface of the upper tooth, as mentioned
above. The second and third ridges are nearly alike, and are more
slightly marked than the first. The fourth is still more prominent
and larger, and the ridge of its continuation makes a well marked rise
on the general surface of the tooth. The fifth or last spur is broken
_off in our specimen, but it must have been less prominent, and marked
than the fourth. То this specimen. Pl. xv. Figs. 5, and 6, no bony layer
is attached ; the under side, as well as the upper, is. closely punctulated,
and also marked by numerous strongly cut curved fossettes, giving the
whole a very worm-eaten aspect.

The two teeth are shewn in contact Pl. xv. Fig. 3.

Among the varieties figured by Agassiz, C. Kaupii appears to be the
most nearly related to this. It is, however, very distinct. It is not by
any means so elevated or thick a tooth, the ridge bounding it, is not so
continuous, and the general form of its outline appears to have been
more irregular.

' The species is named after the Revd. Robert Hunter, for many years

the active fellow labourer of Mr. Hislop iu his researches in Nagpur.

Found with the last.

CERATODUS VIRAPA. N. 8.
1 Pl. xiv. Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.—Pl. xvi. Fig. 2.

In general outline and form, this much resembles the last described
species, but at the. same time offers very marked distinctions. The
tooth is broader, and more massive, as compared with its length ; the
upper face exhibits a much larger proportion of flat surface; the ridge
and furrows are less sharp and defined, but more rounded and open, The

anterior inner edge of the tooth (upper jaw) is straight or nearly straight
H

306 ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH.

for two thirds of its whole length, when it curves rapidly round to the an-
terior horn, or projecting point of the tooth. ‘The bounding ridge behind,
also, though sharp, well marked, and high, is less so than in C. Hunterianus.
It does not gradually diminish with a continuous slope to the first ог an-,
terior horn, but at a little more than one third of the distance it drops by
а sudden step to nearly the general level of the surface of the tooth.

These differences appear to be constant in all the specimens we have
seen, and to be sufficient to mark a specific difference or at least to be
sufficient to justify our separating them under a different name for the
present. They may possibly arise from difference of age in the in-
dividual, even supposing the supposition, that there was only one tooth
in each jaw, be proved tenable. | i "

In the small collection forwarded by Mr. Hislop, we found a very strong,
large, and massive tooth, which on trial was found to fit these teeth with
tolerable accuracy. It is a flat five horned tooth, Pl. xiv. 8, 10,
and, as we suppose, therefore a lower jaw tooth. The general surface of
the tooth is flat, or slightly convex, the interior edge, corresponding
to the lofty ridge in the upper tooth, being depressed and rounded in
this. The ridges and horns are strongly marked and project consider-
ably above the general surface, | being separated by flatly concave
depressions. _ Besides the fine punctations on the surface, there are
numerous irregular pittings, or little depressions.

The bony layer in this tooth is more massive and stronger than in
the others; its thickness being equal to that of the enamel layer. The
lower surface is marked by a long furrow, or curved concavity, and on
the outer edge there is a well marked projection, or bony process, similar
to that noticed in the other species, Pl. xvi, Fig. 2.

The species has been named after the intelligent native Collector, who
procured the specimens, forwarded by Mr. Hislop; and who was also the.
Collector of many other valuable fossil remains from the district of Nagpur..

Found with the last.

ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH. 307

CERATODUS OBLONGUS. м. S.
Pl xv.—Figs. 7, 8.

The only specimen we have of this variety is unfortunately imperfect.
But there. would seem. to be abundant ground for separating it from
„all the others already noticed; both from its general form and. re-
lative proportions. It is of the flatter five ridged group of teeth. It is
broader than any of the others, and is evidently an old, and much worn
tooth. The inner edge is peculiariy straight for two thirds of its length,
when it suddenly bends outwards at an angle of about 130°. There is a
very obtuse, and slightly marked ridge or elevation along the inner
edge, and between this and the ridges of the spurs of the tooth, there is
a depression. ` The first horn is blunt, but slightly projecting, and is
marked by a continuation of the low ridge or elevation which bounds the
tooth on the inner edge. • Тһе second horn or spur is sharp, very pro-
minent, and rises by nearly one, half its depth, above the general surface
of the tooth. The continuation of it forms a ridge which is nearly
parallel to the outer edge of the anterior spur; and which does not, as
in the other species, converge to, or nearly to, the centre of the inner
edge of the tooth. The third horn, or spur, has apparently been very
prominent, but in the old specimen before us it is obliquely worn down
to an irregular surface, which has removed the elevated projection, of
the top or point of the spur. The continuation of its ridge also is nearly
in a line parallel with the anterior inner edge of the first horn. The
furrows between these horns are comparatively broad, rounded, and de-
pressed.

The posterior portion of the tooth is unfortunately broken off.

The bony layer is strong, massive, and thick, with, as in all the others,
a furrow or continuous curved depression along its entire length.

The surface is beautifully punctulated and has besides little, nearly.
circular, depressions or fossettes, irregularly disposed. In addition the

whole surface is beautifully striped in irregular contour lines, giving

908 . ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH.

a damasked appearance to the tooth. These lines seem to result from a
slight difference in the closeness of the tubular structure, resulting in
a difference of colour in the fossilized tooth. These different layers of
colour being worn down on the irregular surface of the tooth, thus shew
in curved lines like contours on a map. i

Found with the last.

Pl. xv., Figs. 9 and 10. represent a small tooth, evidently totally
unworn and young. I have not thought it desirable to distinguish it by

any name. It may possibly be the young form of C. Hunterianus.

COPROLITES.

Pl xv., Figs 11 and 12 represent two specimens of Coprolites,
found along with these fish remains. They are enclosed in a thick
concretionary layer of the ferruginous clay, in which they occur, which
assumes the general form of the inclosed Coprolite. On breaking off
this outer coating the true form, and spiral structure, of the Coprolite
itself is seen within. They are composed of a white and powdery sub-
stance with some slight ferruginous stains. They still contain a large
amount of phosphates, and, if occurring in any quantity, would doubtless
prove a valuable manure. ? | j

A piece of the rock in which these teeth are found, with several
pieces of bone cemented together in it, is shown in Pl. xvi., Fig. 5. The
principal of these are large plates, like some of the large bony plates of
the head. (? Saurian) There is also a vertebra, long and thin. Figs. 3, 6, 7
and 8 on the same plate (xvi.) represent other fragments of bone found in
the same beds. And I think there can be littl& doubt that the locality
from which these teeth and bones have been procured, will, on closer
examination, yield many more specimens and varieties, and in all proba-
bility many in better preservation, possibly even entire fish.

It is much to be regretted that Mr. Hislop has not himself been able

to trace out the geological position, and relations of these rocks. The

ON FOSSIL FISH-TEETH. 309

character of the teeth above described. appears however so marked that
there can be little doubt as to the geological age of the rocks, in which
they occur. And taking this evidence in connection with the previously
described Brachyops laticeps (Owen)* from Mangali to the North, and
with the fish remains of Dapedius and Lepidotus from Kotah to the south,
of Maledi ; and also with the general character of the plants as described
by Mr. Hislop himself from Nagpur, I see no’ reason why we should
hesitate to say, that there exist in this portion of the Nagpur district, a
series of beds, which represent in India the lower mesozoic era of
European Geologists.

There is equally little doubt that these beds will yield a rich harvest
of new and valuable contributions to our knowledge of the fauna and
flora of that period.

There is as yet no sufficient evidence to show how far this group
extends, or what its thickness and relative importance may be. Nor can
this be hoped for, until the whole country is continuously examined, and
the true relations of these beds as to superposition, disturbances, &c.,
established. In truth, from mineral characters, these beds were by
Mr. Hislop at first supposed to be tertiary. And it is by no means
improbable that mistakes of this kind may have occurred in other places
also, and.that some of the plants and other remains supposed to be of
more recent date, may prove to belong to very different groups, from
those to which they have been referred. A systematic survey of the
district, will alone clear away these doubts. Meanwhile, Mr. Hislop has

in this, as in many other ways, contributed largely to the final result.

* Quar. Jour. Geol. бос, London, Vol. xi, p. 37.
» » » » y Ml X, p. 371. `

Yt ў: UM
A

E "I3 {{ wet,

Geological Survey of India Vol I PEI Platit.

Cn Stone by L . Schneewerss.

Printed by H. M. Smith at the Surveyor Generals Office Calcutta December 1856

fum Nem 1| meni qms T

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GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA.

1127200177272

MAP

OF THE

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IN THE

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wilh portions of adjoining districts. |

SCALE 4 BRITISH MILES =1 INCH.

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Ther map is api with slight alleratans trem the «пилла Surveys made under the Superintendente of Captain Saxten Ass Juri йул on Wess

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INDEX

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СА Bala fet page PL „———

Op kasra paper and Lith: by EM Smith at fe Surveyor Generals Office Calcutta Dear ig.

MAnaMADL RIVER =

Geol Survey of India Vol I. PY PUM.

=} Sea level

1500 feet

7

gee level
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|
N 35°W
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Geol! Survey of India Vol I. PY РЕ.

Sea level

SECTION

1 CONTIN*

1500 Feet

N 35°W

=| — Sta level
—1 1500 fat

SECTION Il.

UE Î Mahadewa Group

= Damoodeh Group

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SCALE FOR HEIGHTS AND DISTANCES
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Inh by E.M. Smith. Surv Geni? Office Calcutta. Nov* 1856

Geol" Survey of India Vol. LEV.

AL Frarerdith Calcutta 1857.

MAWSMAI FALLS.

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VALLEY OF KALA PANI RIVER.

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and adjoining districts GEOLOGICAL COLOURS AND SIGNS |
EASTERN BENGAL | E zu HERS:
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CALE 4 BRITISH 7 NCH
э 6 то tiles
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The wur North of the Station of Cherra Роот | }
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of the Station is compiled Irom various seures coal -
Дд? | Ж ООУ,
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| 5 Oe ИЙ суз ig dial E. {
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| Д Malin a „ :
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As iat seri X / S [E] tad PINNAS гел. in degres thus 70.
ЛЕКЛЕ, Я 3 jT мәле: ө qs =
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/ REA || ( Harr 1 this la Assam valley
7 7 | | | yf |
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WITH WATER DURING/ SEVERAL MONTHS EACH YEAR E N «© олов Haut
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Geol: Survey of India. ET Vol. 1. Plate VIL.

Geological Section of the Khasi Hills
FROM
TERIA-GHAT TO NUNC KLOW

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x Great реси at head of Cherra valley, А
y d „$ srr behind Section. SUN
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Section’ continued

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Gneiss, Micaceous, and guartxosy states with occasional korrblendic beds greatly altered бу Cranite of which many veins are Seer, Small outliers of sandstone abNunghree and асот. N.
Scale of heights and distances
One Inch = Tivo Milts

FL 5280 5 Miles

ON TRANSFER PAPER BY MUNNEERODDEEN & LITH: BY U.M. SMITH SURV: GENL'S OFFICE OALGUTTA FEB: 1458.

Geol: Survey of India. Vol: 1 РЕЛ

COS

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Plan
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On ‘Transfer paper by Mahummed Azeem. lath by M Smith. Surv Genl: Office Calcutta Reb 1858.

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GEOLOGICAL COLOURS AND SIGNS.

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Gneissose rocks

Trap dykes

Quarts veins

Tror ores

Fouls by Wlede ares

Vot: РІ

vangrag # олту 3021)

INDEX

X dd 17A

x

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA.

Geological Map

OF THE

SOUTHERN INDIA

SCALE
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GEOLOGICAL COLOURS AND SIGNS.

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Quarts, vens
Tron ores

Foals by whale teris

T-BLAOKLITIRT ч WATERLOO STREET. CALCUTTA,

EE ыыр ی ج‎ ела уч

Geol Survey of India. Vol: Pl X1.

On Stone by HL Frazer. T Black Clrmuo-Lithr:4 Waterloo St
WESTERN GHATS AND PLAINS OF MALABAR FROM MAKURTY .

NILGHIRIS,

TOM
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Geol? Survey of Тий,

Vol-T Pl XIE.

On Stone by H.L Frazer.

VALLEY

OF BHOVAN!
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NILGHIRIS.

FROM MAII

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Sale 8 Br Miles lo an Inch.

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Geol: Surv. of India FIFI

H.L. Frazer Lith T Oldham dirext Ualcutta.

PLATE XIV.

Figs. 1—7. €CERATODUS HISLOPIANUS. м. 3.
Fig. 1. Upper-jaw Tooth, with portion of jaw attached.

2—3. Ditto ditto side view.

4—5. Lower-jaw Tooth, top and side views.

6—7. Exterior and interior views of the two Teeth in contact.

The position of these teeth has been, by an error in drawing, reversed; that, which is
supposed to have been the upper-jaw tooth, being placed lowermost.

Figs. 8—12. CERATODUS VIRAPA. М. Б.

Figs. 9,11, 12. Different views of upper-jaw Tooth.

Figs, 8,10. Ditto ditto of lower-Jaw Tooth. м А

ТР ДААЙ BID MT
NORIS VBE ANN lvl 4

(oa ДМ, EAE seo E fg ИДЕЙ
TE, saved vut ж b add дй m

ip OTe
AR ASA RE

POAT 4
j

UH

MR i ФА

1 5i б 3 M f A : б До | | ; | y

А

vss
Cs бт doe NT nU

These teeth, by i the same error

which is uppermost in the drawing being s
р

Figs. 5,6. Lower-jaw Tooth, юра and si да vie
3 SER aes муар
я Figs. 7, 8. (CERATODUS OBLONGUS. N. Б.

Fig. 7. Side view: Fig.

Top view.

1

Figs. 9, 10. Young Tooth? Ceratodus.
ae zx

12. Cormoirms. E
A UE

Shews tho Coprolite, with spiral arrangement donis by ЕЕ om the concretionary mass,
v 5e

ds

with which it is covered as in Fig. 12,

Geol: Surv: of India. Ica AOU

T Oldham dirext

Calcutta

PLATE XVI.

Fig. 1. End view of CERATODUS HISLOPIANUS, showing the longitudinal furrow along base of tooth.
Fig. 2. CERATODUS VIRAPA, shewing ditto.
Fig. 4, CERATODUS HUNTERIANUS, ditto ditto. a

Figs. 3, 5, 6, 7, 8. Fragments of bones found with the teeth in same beds.

Geol: Surv:of India. PL. ¥ VI.

H L. Frazer Lith. T. Oldham dırexê Calcutta .

INDEX.

A.
PAGE.
ACcTINOLITE, crystals of, in hornblende
schists, 40
Alluvium, occurrence of, 85.45; ; depth
undetermined 69; two ages, 266,
274; more recent dis laterite, 257;

shells i in, 275; in кыгы, ... 242
Ampal, 37
Analysis of coal, 7, 8, 9; ; of iron, 31 ‚71;

of laterite, 205 . 291
Anamullies, оз 211
Andalusite, -.. 299
Animals met with in Orissa, 35
Annelide tracks, on rippled sandstones, 52
Antigura, 56

Apatite crystals of, in felspathic granite, 37
ae notes on the auriferous deposits

E 90 94

pone of gold, 93
Atgurh sandstone district, 4, 43, Lone
264 ; age of, 265; principally grits 68;

character of basin 83 ; age of, a D

Avalanche, dto 222, 931
B.

BaniNaTON, Mr. sends specimens of iron

and ores from Kuttesbaga, ZG
Bairnng ron AS ... 143
Balasore, оо 2,33, 69
Balham, cc соз ХО
Bamrah, ne dd:
Bancoorah, Geology of, . ... 249
Banka, ore used at, 5 RAS
Bankee, country near, 229602
Bappung, eee cos fI
Bapur, 70
Bay of Bengal, direction of shore of, ... 251

Beatson, Mr. . reports on coal of Tal-

cheer, c eo (G
Benagaria, 38
Beryl, crystals of, or pseudomorphes, it in

hornblende schists, ёсе 87 929
Bhovani river, Toe Loo
Bijgole, pat АО, DSN De
Birbhoom, iron worked 12, form and

size of bellows used, ... ИО
Bishenpur, «e .. 268
Bodhpur, 252 on GP
Bogapani River, Vs 123, 196, 173
Boheahroh coal, сор 79 80
Boinpur р 58, 63, 67
Booda nullah, 19
Boraberna and Konjiri “fault, 53, 62,

64, ө 68, 72

. à PAGE.
Boripani river, Bn 109, t10,
Boulder bed, 47, 50

Boycott, Dr., assays of gold by
Brahmini river, 2, 7, 33, 45, 54 : gold
from sands of 88

Building stones, in Nilghiris, 244; in
Orissa, 276
Burdwan coal field, compared with Tal-
cheer, ace 76, 78
Burrell, Dr. dc 216
Burrghat, aos 131
C.
CARBONACEOUS shales of Gopalpra-
sad, 59, 61
Carter, Dr., his classification of rocks,
44, 81, see ... 84
Cauvery river, ; . 218
Cave, Lieut. 101

Ceratodus, teeth of, 295; ‘new species of 248

Charcoal, use of as fuel, 135 timber em-
ployed. 14, 86 ; ; heating power of, 26;
yield per square mile of forest, 97;
wasteful mode of preparation, 14, 85, 86

Cherra Poonjee fall of rain at, 99, 101;
Maps of, 100; lower parts of the ridge
unvisited, 101; situation of, 102, 106;

elevation of, 106; coal at, 186, 193;
quality of, cro 3 Tn
Cheyla, 144

Chilka lake, 950, 251; “depth of 251;

cause of, 252; shells i in, . 952
Clays, 505 . 279
Cleavage, 112 125

Coal. Talcheer, 5, 6, 7; “analysis of by
Dr. O'Shaughnessy, 7; by Mr. Pid-
оп, 8; no workable beds found,

shales of Gopalprasad, 59; fossil
mee found in, 59

Coal near Cherra Poonjee 117, 140; at
Surareem 122, 143; at Tungjinath
129, general character, 141, 150, 196;
gas producing, 150, 198; near Bairing,
143; ; near Cheyla, 144 ; quantity of at
Cherra, 187 ; at Lakadong, 150 ; ex-
pense of transit, 188; thickness yari-
ously estimated, 192; quality of, 196;

analysis, -. 198
Coimbatore, 212; ; limestone near, 224, 59
Colebrooke, A Mr, A . 161
Congreve, Cap t. сос ... 6
Coonoor ghat, iM 290, 942
Coote, E 111, 115

ii

Pace.

INDEX.
РАСЕ.
Cornish, Dr. discovers limestone at Flux, none used in iron smelting, 14;
Coimbatore, o8 . 946 ash of charcoal, serves for, 17, 20;
Cot Mullay. ОО .. 211 none, except kunkur, in the field,
Current marking, . 125 where to be sought, 20,
Cyrtoma, 509 . 119

Darron, Capt. examination of aurifer-
ous deposits of Assam, by, 90,

Damoodah, or Burdwan Coal field, 74,
67, 78; Damoodah group, 46, 56, 64;
name why adopted, ... cec

Daversolabetta, 221, trap. at,

De Benza, Dr., Ee

Deinchi, acd о

Dunkenal, 4

Denudation, i in Talcheer, ` evidences of,
34, 45, 65, 83; unequal, 65. 74;

greater in west of field, 66 ; denuda-
tion of lower beds, 65; "of upper
gists.
» in Khasi Hills, marine, 171 5
water, 173, 174; rapidity of,
„in Nilghiri hills, b
Dereng fault coo 53,
Devil's gap,
Diamonds in ? Mahanuddi,
Digaroo stream,
Dihong river, rich in gold,
Disturbances main line ofin Khasi hills,

fresh

170; in Nilghiris, — .. !
Dodabetta, 219, 221, 222,
Dolham, Ou 68,
Doramookh,

Dourisai, = 53,

Dykes, granite and traversing gneiss,
34; absence of basaltic, or other dykes
in coal district, Talcheer, Dio 83; in
Bancoorah, 255; in Nilghiris,

Е.

Economic geology, 180, 244,

Elevation, gradual, of the coast of Cut-
tack, and of whole of ‘Peninsula, note,
89; of places in the Khasi Hills,

Elk fall,
Epidotic granite,

Е.

Farse-bedding, 120,

Faults, Cherra Poonjee, in coal, duoc.
tion of, 1455 corresponds with that of
dykes, 159; probably SRM fault along
hill face, 3o

— in Nilghiris,

— ''alcheer, 53, 60, 645
downthrow,

Felspar,. and felspatic gr anite,

Floods, in Khasi Hills, ..

amount

93

84

. 226
5 216

04
44

Foliation, in Nilghiris, 5E
Fossils, vegetable, 59, 76, 81; ausu.
82; loss of fossil collection, 100, 179;
in tertiary sandstones, 118,
Fuel, charcoal alone used in smelting,
10; waste of, 14; importance of con-
sidering, 24; heating power of, 26;
abundant supply of, . 98;
Furnaces, now used for Iron smelting,
14, 15; kinds recommended, Renton's.

21, 22; Eckmann's, 23; expense of
erecting, se. ө
G.
GANJAM,

Gangpur, Coal of, (Cape Saxton), 9
Sedimentary basin of,...
Garnets in gneiss (Talcheer), 40, 41; in
Nilghiris, 255
Сато hills,
Ghora hills,
Glaciers, no evidence of,
Gneiss, varieties of, 39; metamorphosed,
Gold, reported, 4, 30; localities of, 88,
Gold, deposits, Assam, 90, 94; not SET
situ, 92; produce, 92, 93; assays of,...
„ in Pegu, 94; probable occurrence
throughout Malay Peninsula, &e. 96,
Goora-mora,
Gopalprasad, shales of, &e., 6, 59,
Gop house (Midnapur), ...
Gossan, ore resembling, ...
Granite, character of, “37, 88; veins of,
near Cherra, 111; near Sohiong, 113;
at Oomgot, 115; in sandstone, 197;
extent, 151; composition, 151; blocky
character,
Graintoid gneiss in Nilghiris,
Graphite, ccc
Greenstone, near Mowphlang, 112;
near Kalapani, 122; general charac-
ter, 157; dykes of, 157; earthy, near
Maw-m’ "luh,
Grits, lower or ШЕЙН аә. 47; upper « or
Mahadeva,

221,

60.

eee m

Gusirimal, 54,

Gutiapal, соо ose

Guzlehutty pass, E os

Gypsiferous series, ase ass
H.

HÆMATITE,

Hannay, Col. examination of auriferous
deposits of Assam by, with Capt. Dal-

ton, 90,
Haughton, Capt. Geology of S. W.
Frontier, ouo КЕ

87

.. 220

131

87

29

153:
220
219:

. 158
64
55
36

211
171

. 219

93
74

iii

INDEX.
РАСЕ. PAGE.
Hazareebagh, 73 | Khasi hills, 99, 103; gravel hills at base
Heating power of charcoal, 2-096 of, 103 ; river gorges in, 05
Himagala range, oe 223, 241 | Khoordu country, 4
Hindole, ... Ö | Khoordah, 264
Hislop, Revd, Ј,, 38, 44 ; ; comparison of Kittoe, Lieut. reports on coal, OD
his Nagpore series, 74; Mangali Kodakong, de. ve 41
shales, 81; Mahadeva hills, 84, 85, 88 Konchompur as 54, 73
Hondapa, со ... 86 | Kondaigula, coc 68, 73
Hoobicul droog, ced 242 | Konia, =ó UNS
Hooker, Dr. J. D. 178 | Konjiri fault, ... 53, 62,67, 68
Hornblende, 39, 40 ; Hornblendie rocks. Konkurapal, we 61, 62
near Cherra, 111; gneiss in Nil- Koro hill. 256, 257
ghiris, С .. 220 Kotergherry, 219, 220, 240
Hunter, Revd. R., 38, Vi 74, 84, 28. 88 | Kowa- -j-assa river, PI
`| Kullong rock, 108, 154
ps Kündahs, 2 213 ; trap at, 227; faults, 231
Kunediah, 131
Ics, evidences of former existence, pro- Kunkerai oop 60, 625 70
bably ground ice, 49, 50 56 | Kunker, only flux and difficulties m
Igneous rocks, 36 ; action on gneiss,... 38 паша 20; oceur throughout alluvium,
Indrajarbah 79 2, and on gneiss, 87
Inglis, H. Esqr. + 181 Xo stream, adh 5
Tntasora, 66 | Kutterbagea, 2. 341 6
Iron, “Iron clay” noticed by Stirling Kuyo, see ehh ay
1, 3. 4;in Ungool 7 ; mentioned by
Samuells, 8; quality of 11; kind of L
ores used, 13; smelting processes, 4
14, 15 ; sources of, 85; encouragement
to work, gg | LABOR scarcity of, 87, 88
Iron, in granite, Khasi Till, БИЕ mode Laborers, poverty of, ... vee 12
of extraction, 152; manufacture of, Lacat, ә, 100, 129, 131
901; sites of mines, 202; mode of Laidom, ә. 121, 128, 135
smelting, 202; produce, 203—5; Laiga, e. 48, 56
quality, e ... 206 | Laikro, sas 126
Tron, in Nilghiri, 219, 248 ; specular, ... 219 Lailangkot, te ... 182
Lairungoo, 122
3. Lakadong, 109, 121, 131; Coal at, 145
Lambton’s peak, Sx - 212
JACKATALLA, : 219, 939 | Laterite, position of, 3, 13; origin of,
Jarbah, Er QUSS) 69, 70, 71; in Midnapur, 265; extent,
Jasper, Wu TOS 267 ; interest of, 268; in Bancoorah,
Joowai, д 114, 133 268-9; pebbly and pisolitie, 270, 271;
Jorasingah, un MSS in Orissa, 273; in terraces, 273; thick-
Jugjuri, 2 Eoo ness of, 21. its uses, 277; mode of
Jynteah hills, .. 108 | quarrying, 277; origin of, 280; dis-
Jynteahpur, . 109 tribution of Iron, in, 290; source of
ditto, e ae ОО
K. Laour, 121; Coal near, ... ww. 144
Limestone, tertiary, 118, 119; thickness
Karrer valley, 291, 939 of, 134 ; extent, 135; fossils, 135, 179;
Kalapani river, 122, 173 faults, 136; near Lakadong, 138; de-
Kuliakota, Kii .. 38 nudation of, 137, 165; amount quar-
Kaolin, ў 219, 236 wried, 181; mode of burning, 183; pro-
Kamlong, БЕ 36, 54 duce, 184; near Coimbatoor, 224, 247
Kandusa, "e .. 4g | Lister, Col. eco . 101
Karakprasad, Р 4l, 44 Lungking-tung-now, 112, 113
Karrakehola, iron at, .. .. 219 | Lunkoi, ө ... 156
* Кайта” shales name Proposed by Dr.
Carter, 184 М.
Keonghur 4 6
Kerjang fault, 53,54, 68, 73 MAGNETIC Iron, don
Khandgui hills, cap ». 4 |Mahadeo, terrace at, — ... ve 118

iv INDEX.

Paar.
Mahadeva group, 45, 64, 69; probable
age, not more ancient than the Per-
mian epoch, 82; name why adopted,

84; possible epoch, aoro ln
Mahanuddi River, oon 2, 33
Mailur, boc EOD
Makusty* peak, - 211, 936, 241
Mangia hill, 255
Mangali shales (Hislop ‘and Hunter),

their possible position, 81
Marble, ^53 185
Marlimund, ood ... 240
Martaban, gold i in, ooo a. 94
Matepolliam, со 212, 220
Mawm'lu, ood 109
Mawsmai, 250 109
Mawsmai, 198
‚ McClelland, Dr., 161; his. views, 162
Meaytau, - OA
Medulia nullah, oco 59, 61
Mentedoo, River] 109, 114, 132
Metamorphic rocks, varities of, 39, 40,

41; in Khasi hills, 110 ; character of,

111; azoic 116; two groups of, 116, 160
Midnapur, 2 2, 705 'geology of, 949; allu-

vial flats of, 250; slates, &e , .. 958
Mills, A. J. Esqr. on Talcheer, 6
Minerals, in gneiss of Khasi hills, 115
Mogulbundi, aS mae Nap)
Moherbenj, 4, 6
Moisture (in wood) amount of, eos "98
Molih, «og 129
Molim, ceo ... 156
Moolpal, cbo оо
Mooshye, боо ... 158
Mosianota, oco ong || OD
Mowbelurkar, . 193
Mowphlang, 107, 109, 118, 122, 196
Myrung,. " 108, 1136, 128

N.
NacPum, 37, 44; comparison of beds

of, бод &o di
Neddiwuttam,' 223
Nerbudda, occurence aii the Damuda

group in, ао 0079
New England (Nilghiris), 207,
Newrag hill, 25: озо" G
Nilgurh, 6

Nilehirri hills, near Balasore, 2 33,

250; structure of, ... 260
Nilghirri hills, Madras, position and e
elevation of, 211; general surface,
caused by marine denudation, 214;
gorges in, fresh water, 214 ; Botanical Р
features, 215; no granite, ... 218
Ningrakota, Gao oos SA
Noa- dehing, aks zo 9l
Nonkradem, ..100, 107, 199, 133
Nonküm, bo 153, 156
Numunlites, us 160, 179

РАСЕ.
Nungbree, co 113, 128
Nungklow, en 104, 108, 156
Nungrumai (Normai), ... 113, 156
Nustrung. бс ... 109

О.

ОснкЕ, PE 219, 937
Ochterloney, Capt., 217

Oclitie age assigned to equiv. valent of
Damuda group, » by Messrs. Hislop and

Hunter, c.. rho wel!
Oomgot rill, ane 109, 115
Ootakamund, "o. 221, 223, 239
Orissa, Geology of, 249; river Deltas

in, . 250

Ouli valley, 61, 67, 73
Owen, Prof., description. ‘of Batrachian

remain from Mangali shale, .. 82
P.

PaLamow, د‎ Go ws
Palghat, осо ... 218
Parghat, 250 SD
Patrapara, 57, 59, 61, 65
Pegmatite, eco 37
Pegu, on gold from enc 94, 98

Permian epoch? that of Mangali shales, 81
Physical features, of Khasi “hills, 102,

171; of Nilehiri hills,.. l9
Piddington, H. analyses by, 9, 81, 71
Platina, with gold, 91
Poonoo, hae 79, 80
Poorah, 53, 54, 68
Pooring, 115, 159:
Pulnies (hills), 502 a iti
Punna sandstone, name proposed by

Dr. Carter, ses sae) 7684
Purungo, pao 47, 50
Purtabahal, соо оаа AS
Pykara, as 211, 223, 243

Q.
QUARTZ, ano 38, 72
R.
RaAMGHUR, E 78,79, 80
Ramidi, 530 36, 38
Rampur, we 36, 44, 54, 74
Rasheer, хо бөз ies
Кази], o9 D 70
Ranu hill, 35
Rehrakol, aes 44, 48, 53, 78
Righy, Lieut., sends specimens of build-

ing stones, oar 8)
River gorges in Khasi hills, 105, 173
Roches montonnées, боз Me
Rombai, obo eos. ا‎
Rungasawmy's peak, ... 211, 212

INDEX. My

КА
РАСЕ.
Sapow, oe on LS
Sakuasinga, cc ox GS
Salem, 21.1225
Sal wood, abundant, 7; "used for char-
coal, 14, 24; probable yield per acre
undetermined, 27; mode of burning, 86
Samuells, Mr., sends specimens of
coal, 550 S SIE
Sandstones, tertiary; 117, conglomer-
ates, 118, 1922; fossiliferous, 118;
thickness of group, 119; outliers of... 127
» Secondary, 124; probable age of,
127; near Kuttak, ... ... 253
Santapara, ae 4l 43
Schorl, one 36, 37 257
Schlagintweit, M. M. 217 230
Sea beach, supposed ancient, ooo JB)
Sedimentary rocks of Cuttack, 43; divi-
sion of three-fold, 45; probable ‘thick-
ness, oco .. 46
Seegoor, ceo ... 240
Serpentine, 261; uses of, 278; mode of
working, оо .. 278
Seven Cairn hill, end ... 240
Shevaroys, Жо 211 226
Shillong hill, ses 111 126
Shué-gween, gold washings near, 94;
richness of gold at, ... ce WE
Sildah (Midnapur), due 20259
Silhet, 102, 104; gravel hills of, 104;
plain of, cao ... 106
Sirdapur, 0 ... 54
Sirgooja, apo oe e
Sirpara, A 211 297
Sitabaldi, 77
Slates, roofing; 112; black near Sohiong, 113
Snowdon (Nilghiris), 222]
Sohiong, оса “. 118
Sonamegunj, 120
Sonamookhy, 269
Soorma River, 555 120
Splundi river, óco 262
St. Catherine’s falls, 231
Stirling, A, Esqr., account of Orissa,
mentions Iron, AE DA

Pace.
Sumbulpur, a 67 74
Sunkery droog, ci 218, 225 228
Surareem, E elo)
au
TAKUA, 48, 68 73

Talcheer basin, 3, 6; group of rocks,

46, 56 81
Temshung river, c 111
Tengria nullah, HEN | 35, 40, 69, 60, 65
Terraces in Khasi hills, ... va
"Tesselated sandstone, appearance; &е., 50
Tikiria nullah, 35 63

Timber, estimated yield per acre, &с., ... 27
Trap in Nilghiri, 225; in Khasi hills,
157; absence of in sedimentary rocks
in Kuttak, 205 37 83
Tukulhully betta, cen 241 943
Tung-ji-nath, oce 20130
'Tungwai, cap NEY
U.
ULANIJORE, occ ocn GD
Umret, ae AR
Ungool, eee ..34, 44,59,61 70
Uswirr hill, 5G . 126
У.
Voyrsry, Dr. finds limestone between
Cuttack and Nagpur, ... 20 83
Үү
WALINGTIA stream, “r coo UE
Wattam ditto, 123 126
Weathering of rocks, . 234
Williams, D. H. report on the Kymore
mountains, &c., 73, 79; on the Damoo-
dah valley, 74, 78; comparison of the
Damoodah and Ramghur fields, 78 7
Z.
111

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INDEX. р ү

8.

Pace.
SADOW, 200 ... 6
Sakuasinga, соо 38
Salem, coc. EDS

Sal wood, abundant, 7; "used for char-
coal, 14, 24; probable yield per acre

undetermined, 27; mode of burning, 86
Samuells, Mr., sends specimens of
coal, 9
Sandstones, tertiary; 117, d
ates, 118, 122; fossiliferous, 118;
thickness of group, 119; outliers of,... 127
» Secondary, 124; probable age of,
127; near Kuttak, ... 258
Santapara, 41 43
Schorl, 36, 37 257
Sehlagintweit, M. М. . 217 230
Sea beach, supposed ancient, 119
Sedimentary rocks of Cuttack, 43; divi-
sion of three-fold, 45; probable "thick-
ness, ceo 46
Seegoor, . 240
Serpentine, 261; uses of, ‘278; mode of
working, tec coo 205)
Seven Cairn hill, 3 -.. 240
Shevaroys, ccc 211 226
Shillong hill, 111 126
Shué-gween, gold washings near, 94;
richness of gold at, ... cs B5
Sildah (Midnapur), co . 259
Silhet, 102, 104; el! hills of, 104;
plain of, ... 106
Sirdapur, con coo 54:
Sirgooja, con ЕА
Sirpara, oco 211 227
Sitabaldi, cec co We
Slates, roofing, 112; black near Sohiong, 113
Snowdon (Nilghiris), ... c DAN
Sohiong, соз 118
Sonamgunj, toc cos, 120)
Sonamookhy, 269
Soorma River, ОЛО 120
Splundi river, Ses 262
St. Catherine’s falls, ... 231
Stirling, A. Esqr, account of Orissa,
mentions Iron, one 19574

E PAGE.
Sumbulpur, 67 74
Sunkery droog, 218, 225 228
Surareem, n .. 122

T.
'TAKUA, 48. 68 78
Talcheer Desin. 3, 6; group of rocks,

46, 56 81
Temshung river, ЖИ
Tengria nullah, EE 40, 59, 60, 65
Terraces in Khasi hills, . о ШЙ

Tesselated sandstone, “appearance, &e., 50
Tikiria nullah, 35 68
Timber, estimated yield per acre, &c., 27
Trap in Nilghiri, 225; in Khasi hills,
157; absence of in sedimentary rocks

in Kuttak, 37 83
Tukulhully betta, 241 943
Tung-ji-nath, nee . 130
Tungwai, . 137

U.
ULANIJORE, ona go OA
Umret, oe meer rl
Ungool, 2 ...34, 44, 59, 61 70
Uswirr hill, i . 126
We
Voysry, Dr. finds limestone between
Cuttack and Nagpur, ... 20 83
Үү
WALINGTIA stream, cb соо. Иб]
Wattam ditto, ^en 123 126
Weathering of rocks, ... 234
Williams, D. H. report on the Kymore
mountains, &c., 73, 79; on the Damoo-
dah valley, 74, 778; comparison of the
Damoodah and Ramghur fields, 78 7
Z.
ZIRCON, «111

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m ay dn unm

MEM m t m "i К ain фа
| DD jn £t
d 1А RUP Кы
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Tis SRI indo 13 TE iss
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INDEX. M.

S.
РАСЕ.
Sapow, cec .. 196
Sakuasinga, ecb cro. BE
Salem, wee 225

Sal wood, abundant, 7; "used for char-
coal, 14, 24; probable yield per acre

undetermined, 27; mode of burning, 86
Samuells, Mr., sends specimens of
coal, E ا‎
Sandstones, tertiary ; 117, conglomer-
ates, 118, 122; fossiliferous, 118;
thickness ‘of group, 119; outliers of,... 127
» Secondary, 124; probable age of,
127; near Kuttak, ... соз. 958
Santapara, со 4l 43
Schorl, con 36, 37 257
Sehlagintweit, M. M. . 217 230
Sea beach, supposed ancient, 119
Sedimentary rocks of Cuttack, 43; divi-
sion of three-fold, 45; iae ‘thick-
ness, 46
Seegoor, . 240
Serpentine, 261; uses of, ‘278; mode of
working, wee $248
Seven Cairn hill, ... 240
Shevaroys, 211 226
Shillong hill, 111 126
Shué-gween, gold washings near, 94;
richness of gold at, эю 09
Sildah (Midnapur), . 959
Silhet, 102, 104; gravel 1 hills of, 104;
plain of, ... 106
Sirdapur, 255 пБ BEL
Sirgooja, “he ene. И
Sirpara, S 211 227
Sitabaldi, . Ос ona ҮЙ!
Slates, roofing, 112; black near Sohiong, 113
Snowdon (Nilghiris), con PEM
Sohiong, cec 113
Sonamgunj, oce ... 120
Sonamookhy, ce осо Hi)
Soorma River, сос os. 20
Splundi river, a суу 0090)
St. Catherine's falls, 231
Stirling, A. Esqr., account of Orissa,
mentions Iron, ч TEM

PAGE.
Sumbulpur, 67 74
Sunkery droog, 218, 225 228
Surareem, соо 122
E
TAKUA, 48. 68 73
Talcheer basin, 3, 6; group of rocks,

46, осо 56 81
Temshung river, c ll
Tengria nullah, iss. 40, 59, 60, 65
Terraces in Khasi hills, . con ЙН
Tesselated sandstone, appearance, бс. 50
Tikiria nullah, 35 63
Timber, estimated yield per acre, &C., 27
Trap in Nilghiri, 225; in Khasi hills,

157; absence of in sedimentary rocks

in Kuttak, oco 37 83
Tukulhully betta, 241 943
Tung-ji-nath, .. 130
'Tungwai, . 137

U.
ULANIJORE, ate an GP
Umret, a 77
Ungool, 4.94, 44, 59, 61 70
Uswirr hill, 3s ecc Ир
У.
Voysry, Dr. finds limestone between
Cuttack and Nagpur, ... 20 83
Үү
WALINGTIA stream, осо ... 187
Wattam ditto, Geo 123 126
Weathering of rocks, .. . 234
Williams, D. H. report on the Ky more
mountains, &c., 73, 79; on the Damoo-
dah valley, 74, 78; comparison of the
Damoodah and Ramehur fields, 78 7
Z.
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