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Page 186. Source of the gold found in rivers.

It has been generally thought that the particles of gold,found among the sands of rivers, have been torn off by theviolence of the stream, in passing over some rich beds orveins. The observations of Mr. Pailhes, in the memoirbefore mentioned, seem to prove, that the gold is not con-fined to any particular spot, but disteminated, though verysparingly, through all the adjacent earths; and that theparticles found in the rivers proceed from part of the bankswalhed down by floods and rains, the lighter earth beingcarried away by the current, while the gold particles, withthe ponderous black sands and flints, settle to the bottom.

The author relates, that those who employ themselves incollecting the gold, sometimes anticipate the effect of thefloods, by privately cutting down or undermining the banks,that the gold particles may be separated, which occasionsfrequent law-suits between them and the proprietors ofthe grounds: That in the town of Pamiers, situated on oneof the celebrated auriferous rivers, Ariege, on digging forwells or foundations of buildings, the earth thrown up isalways found to contain particles of gold : That he has dis-covered abundance of auriferous tracts in other parts ofthe territory of Foix, insomuch that he imagines it wouldeven be more difficult to procure water for the washing,than to find the gold : and that besides the gold met with-in detached particles, the flints that accompany them con-tain also gold, which might be separated to advantage bystamping and walhing. A quantity of these flints was sentby Mr. Pailhes to the academy, but in the allays made ofthem they appeared to be merely ferrugineous, yielding /

near half their weight of iron, without any mark of gold.

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