own to a depth of about 260 feet. These, which were all
choked up, were followed down to the bottom, and valuable lodes were found
at about 150 to 260 feet. Nothing was found in the old native workings,
but remains of old chatties (earthenware pots) and the wooden props put in
to secure the sides. The native workings, in the opinion of Captain
Plummer, were evidently carried on with skill and efficiency, and appear
to be of great antiquity. Large quantities of water were found, requiring
pumping machinery working day and night for its removal. How the natives
in olden times got rid of the water is not known. It is supposed that
they must have done so by chatties, and by hand, with the aid of large
numbers of people. As no native iron tools[26] were found in the cases of
the two above-mentioned mines, it is evident that they were deliberately
abandoned, either from excess of water in them, or some unknown cause. As
the lodes they worked at the depths they reached were rich, it is probable
that the miners could no longer contend with the difficulty of removing
the large quantities of water. I am informed by Mr. Plummer that the main
lodes where the natives have formerly worked have, in nearly every case,
proved successful. Mr. Plummer has examined other districts in the
province, extending more than 100 miles north of Mysore city, and thinks
that there is a very large mining future for the Mysore country. I am
informed by one of the mine managers that from the quantity of charcoal
found in the old native workings, it is probable that the natives first of
all burnt the rock so as to make it the more easy of extraction, just as
they now burn granite rock in order the more easily to split off the
stone.

As the facts connected with these mines were brought very fully to the
notice of the Government at such an early date, it at first sight seems
strange that we have to skip over a period of about seventy years till we
again meet, in the "Selections" previously quoted from, any further notice
of the mines; but the neglect of them was evidently owing to the similar
neglect of coffee and other industries, which might have been pushed
forward at a much earlier date, and most certainly would have been, had
the Government taken pains to see that the information so frequently
obtained was published in an available and readable form, instead of being
buried in the various offices of the State. That more efforts were not
made in this d