Gems.—But
the chief interest which attaches to the mountains and rocks of the
region, arises from the fact that they contain those mines of precious stones which
from time immemorial have conferred renown on Ceylon. The ancients
celebrated the gems as well as the pearls of " Taprobane ;" the tales
of mariners returning from their eastern expeditions supplied to the
storytellers of the Arabian Nights their fables of the jewels of
"Serendib;" and the travellers of the Middle Ages, on returning to
Europe, told of the " sapphires, topazes, amethysts, garnets, and other
costly stones" of Ceylon, and of the ruby which belonged to the King of
the island, "a span in length, without a flaw, and brilliant beyond
description." (d)
The
extent to which gems are still found is sufficient to account for the
early traditions of their splendour and profusion; and fabulous as this
story of the ruby of the Kandyan Kings may be, the abundance of gems in
Saffragam has given to the Capital of the district the name of Ratnapura, which
means literally "the city of rubies." (c) They are not, however,
confined to this quarter alone, but quantities are still found on the
western plains between Adam's Peak and the sea, at Nuwara Eliya, in
Uva, at Kandy, at Matale in the Central Province, and at Ruwanwella
near Colombo, at Matura, and in the beds of the rivers eastwards
towards the ancient Mahagam.
But
the localities which chiefly supply the Ceylon gems are the alluvial
plains at the foot of the stupendous hills of Saffragam, in which the
detritus of the rocks has been carried down and intercepted by the
slight elevations that rise at some distance from the base of the
mountains. The most remarkable of these gem-bearing deposits in the
flat country around Balangoda, south-east of Ratnapura; but almost
every valley in communication with the rocks of the higher ranges
contains stones of more or less value, and the beds of the rivers
flowing southward f.rom the mountain chain are so rich in comminuted
fragments of rubies, sapphires, and garnets, (/) that their sands in
some places are used by lapidanies in polishing the softer stones, and
in sawing the elephants' grinders into plates. The cook of a Government
Officer
North
Saffragam; 13, Pleonaste, Badulla; 14, Zircon, Walawey-ganga,
Saffragam; 15, Mica, Abundant; 16, Adular, Paths Hills, North-east • 17,
Common felspar, Abundant; 18, Green felspar, Kandy; 19, Albite, Melly
Matte; 20, Chlorite, Kandy; 21, Pinite, Patna Hills: 22, Black
tourmaline, Nuwara Eliya; 23, Calcspar, Abundant; 24, Bitterspar,
Abundant; 25, Apatite, Galle Back; 26, Fluorspar, Galle Back; 27,
Ohiastolite, Mount Lwinia; 28, Iron pyrites, Peradenia; 29, Magnetic
iron pyrites, Peradeuia, Kajawelle; 30, Brown iron ore, Abundant; 31,
Spathose iron ore, Galle Back; 32, Manganese, Saffragam : 33, Molybdeu
glance, Abundant; 34, Tin ore, Saffragam; 35, Arseniate of nickel,
Saffragam; 36,"Plumbago. Morowa Korale; 37, Epistilbite, St. Lucia.
,1 Travels of Marco Polo, a I'enetinn, in the Thirteenth Century, London,
1818. e In the vicinity of Ratnapura there are to be obtained misses of
quartz of the most delicate rose colour. Some pieces, which were
brought to me in Colombo, were of extraordinary beauty; and I have
reason to believe that it can be obtained in pieces large enough to be
usel as slabs for tables, or formed nto vases and columns. I may
observe that similar pieces are to be found in the south of Ireland,
near Cork.
/ Mb. Bakes, in a work entitled The Hifie and the Hound in Ceylon, thus
describes the sands of the Manic Ganga, near the ruins of Mahagam, in
the south-eastern extremity of the island.—" The sand was cutnposed of
mica, quartz, sapphire, ruby, and jacinth; but the large proportion of
ruby sand was so extraordinary that it seemed to rival Sinbad's story
of the vale of gems. The whole of this was valueless, but the
appearance of the sand was very inviting, as the shallow stream in
rippling over it magnified the tiny gems into stones of some magnitude.
I passed an hour in vainly searching for a ruby worth collecting, but
the largest did not exceed the size of a mustard seed."—Baker's Rijle and Hov.ndL in Ceylon, p. 181.
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