He was the reverse of
cordial, probably wishing at once to prove importance and to give our
guide the cold shoulder: we persuaded him, however, to show us the Muku
concession, granted to Messieurs Lintott and Spink.
The ground which fronts the reef-ford reflects that of the left bank, and
is pitted with diggings, large and small. In a dry torrent-bed, running
north-south, was an oblong shaft, a native copy of European work, four
feet by six, and timbered in the usual negro way. Its further bank was a
high and steep slope of yellow clay with a midway step, containing another
and a similar shaft: to the north and west were many other signs of
exploitation. The rich-looking quartz of the lode is white and sugary,
with black streaks and veins: its strike is nearly meridional, between
north 20? and 25? east, and the dip 40?-45? east. A glance shows that
_Fluthwerk_ and 'hydraulicking' would easily wash down the whole alluvial
and auriferous formation to the floor of grey granite which has supplied
the huge 'cankey-stones' [Footnote: This proto-historic implement, also
called a 'saddle-quern,' is here made out of a thick slab of granite
slightly concave and artificially roughened.
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