row of a low hill, and on this
spot they are very numerous; the pits are square, about four feet in
diameter, and of very variable depth; steps, or rather holes, are cut in
two of the faces of the square by which the workmen ascend and descend.
The instruments used are wooden-lipped with iron crowbars, by which the
soil is displaced; this answers but very imperfectly for a pickaxe: small
wooden shovels, baskets for carrying up the soil, etc., buckets of bark
to draw up the water, bamboos, the base of the rhizoma forming a hook for
drawing up the baskets, and the Madras lever for drawing up heavy loads.

The soil throughout the upper portion, and indeed for a depth of 15 to 20
feet, is red and clayish, and appears to inclose but small pieces of
lignite; the remainder consists of greyish slate clay increasing in
density as the pits do in depth: in this occur strata of lignite very
imperfectly formed, which gives the grey mineral a slaty fracture, and
among this the amber is found. {78} The deepest pit was about 40 feet,
and the workmen had then come to water. All the amber I saw, except a
few pieces, occurred as very small irregular deposits, and in no great
abundance. The searching occupies but little time, as they look only
among the lignite, which is at once obvious. No precautions are taken to
prevent accidents from the falling in of the sides of the pits, which are
in many places very close to each other (within two feet): but the soil
is very tenacious.

We could not obtain any fine specimens; indeed at first the workmen
denied having any at all, and told Mr. B. that they had been working for
six years without success. They appear to have no index to favourable
spots, but having once found a good pit they of course dig as many as
possible as near and close together as they can. The most numerous occur
at the highest part of the hill now worked. The article is much prized
for ornaments by the Chinese and Singphos, but is never of much value;
five rupees being a good price for a first-rate pair of earrings.
Meinkhoon is visited by parties of Chinese for the purpose of procuring
this article. There are at present here a Lupai Sooba and a few men,
from a place three or four days' journey beyond the Irrawaddi, waiting
for amber. These men are much like the Chinese, whose dress they almost
wear: they squat like them, and wear their hair like them; shoes,
stockings, pantaloons, jackets, tunic. They are armed chie