56 THE KOLLUR DIAMOND MINE book II
CHAPTER XVI
Journey of the Author to the other Mines, and concerning the method of searching for Diamonds.
Seven days'
journey east of Golkonda there is another diamond mine, called Gani in
the language of the country, and Coulour in the Persian tongue.1
It is close to a large town on the same river which I crossed
1 This mine has been identified in the Economic Geology of India, by
the routes in vol. i. 140 and vol. ii. 73 with Koliur on the Kistna,
where, according to a MS. map by Col. Mackenzie, there was a mine in
1798. The word Gani is equivalent to the Persian Kan-i, signifying '
mine of '. It is found in use by writers of the present century in
connexion with another mine, namely Gani-Partial. It is the title for
this mine most commonly used in works on mineralogy and precious
stones, sometimes considerably modified in spelling, as Garee, &c.
But it cannot be correctly used as the name of the mine where the Great
Mogul or any other diamond was found. The date assigned to the
discovery of this mine by Tavernier, namely about the middle of the
sixteenth century, is of no value any more than the period assigned for
the discovery of the Bammalakota mine. One hundred years, the native
estimate, means a long time, that is all. Somewhere about the year
1622, William Methold, together with Andreas Socory and Adolf Thomason,
visited from Masulipatam certain diamond mines, which the first-named
describes as being situated ' at the foot of a great mountayne, not far
from a river called Christena', the mining town being 2 miles off, and
distant 108 English miles, or 12 Gentine leagues (gows, or gos ?) from
Masulipatam. In all respects, save as regards the distance, the
description of the mines and the methods of working correspond with
Tavernier's account of Coulour or Gani, i. e. Koliur. The distance
given by Tavernier is 36 coss, or 72 miles from Masulipatam—the true
distance is about 100 miles. In the Histoire generate des Voyages, vol.
xiii, p. 20, Methold is misquoted as though he said the mines were but
2 leagues from Golkonda, whereas he says 2 miles from the temporary
town, containing 100,000 persons, which had grown up in connexion with
the mines. He says that they were closed for a time, in consequence of
a demand made by the Mogul for a vyse (i. e. 3 lb. English, Tamil
Visai) of the finest diamonds. The farmer paid the King 300,000
pagodas, say £120,000, per annum for the mine, the King retaining all
stones above 10 carats. This sum is possibly an exaggeration—vide Purchas His Pilgrimage, 1626, vol. v. 1002. There is, as already stated, an account of the diamond mines of Golkonda and Bijapur in the Phil. Trans., vol. xii, No. 136, 1677. Ruins of houses, &c, and old mines are still to be seen at Koliur. (See Kistna Manual, pp. 170, 244.)
