THE TURQUOISE MINES OF PERSIA.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1847, 31 July 1907, Page 32

THE TURQUOISE MINES OF PERSIA.

(By EL C. Ringler Thomson.) Everyone interested in precious stone., probably knows that the only turquoise mines in the world worth the name are situated in the Persian Province ot Khorasan. These mines are not worked by rke Persian Government, but are farmed out, like the taxes, to private individuals, who usually object to visitors, as possible spies seeking to injure them. In 1895, however, the mines were leased in partnership by an influential chief and a banker at Meshed, both of whom happened to. be well disposed and under some obligations to our Government, and gladly furnished me with a letter to their superintendent on the spot, directing him to show me all there was to be seen, and to render me every possible assistance. Armed with this order, I set out from Meshed with eight servants, eleven animals, and three tents, and crossing the Binalud rangs of hills by a pass tOCO feet above sea-level, reached the mines in three days. The village of Magadan (Persian for "mine”), where the. miners live, is situated on undulating ground 5100 feet above sea-level, and from it we rode for a mile up a gently ascending track until we reached the foot of a modest hill—or mountain, as it would be called in England—a thousand feet in height. All the mines are on the south face of this hill,; and from the first on the east to the last on -the west the distance as the crow flies is not more than half a mile; but the hill is steep and has many ridges, separated by deep ravines, so that to arrive at a mine within a stoned throw of; another may entail half an hours’ .journey up and down the hill. Yve first visited the Reish mine, •which was the only one being worked with any vigour, and which was producing meet of the turquoises then being sent to the market.' It is almost at the summit of the hill," at an altitude of more than 6000 feet above eea-level, and to reach it we had to' dismount and ascend on foot by a’ very steep, rough path, to the distress of Saji, who was a very corpulent man. The mouth of the; shaft, which was about five yards in diameter,, was inside a small oave, where .we found two hulking fellows reclining ,on their backs and turning -with their bare feet a very rickety, creaking, antiquated wooden wheel, dating back to the time of Zoroaster —or earlier—which brought up the debris from below in a rough sheepskin apology for a bag, holding perhaps a couple of double handfuls. The wheel was fixed over the centre of the shaft, and a third man, a featherweight opium smoker, as soon as the bag appeared, had to run along a sort of greasy pole to fetch it. This pole had one end projecting over the centre of the yawning chasm, and a foot, perhaps, of the.other end rammed into a small mound of loose earth on the floor of the cave, from which I removed it with a-gentle kick. I then pointed out to the manager the extreme danger the man was incurring, but he only smiled; and the featherweight himself relieved him of all responsibility by looking reproachfully at me, reolacing the end of the pole in the loose e.arth, patting it a couple of times, and then continuing his work. As soon as he had replaced the empty bag on the hook, the two gentlemen on their backs lazily removed their feet from the wheel, and it went down with a run some forty feet, where it was received by three other men similarly engaged with another wheel, on a ledge in the shaft, who lowered it again another forty feet to where the mine commenced. The miners themselves descended by means of a diagonal passage leading into the shaft four or five yards from the bottom, and from there scrambled down its rough sides, a feat I could not have performed without removing my riding-boots and some of my clothing; and as it was a comparatively new mine, with nothing to be seen in it but men tunnelling in different directions, by the dim light of wretched lamps in an atmosphere rendered foul by blasting, I decided to forego the experience.

Emerging from tne cave, we found half a dozen men. perched close together on a ledge, breaking with small hammers the fragments of rock as they were brought uo from below, and filling little bags at their sides with the rough turquoises, which are all sent to Meshed to be dressed. On other narrow ledges above the cave, a number ox half-naked urchins were sifting the soft debris. And' a couple of overseers were carefully watching both men and boys, to prevent. them secreting any of the precious stones—or, at least, to note the factif' thev saw theni doing so, so that in the evening there might be a> fair division of the spoil. The hags came up pretty fast and seemed to contain a vast number of-turquoises—of sorts. Unfortunately, though this mine is very productive, the colour of its turquoises cannot be depended, upon, and is liable to . fade.' - d f- ; • A’H• •' / I afterwards visited, all the mines of note. There were said to be a hundred with names and a. hxindred without, but neither the Haji nor any of the miners could name more than twenty. Of these, eight or nine were formerly very extensive, but all bad fallen in or become dangerous. There were five or six other mines of modest proportions. The rest were mere burrows, with just room enough for one man to enter them in a cramped position, and extended only a few yards down in a diagonal direction. - u •; '. ... / ‘ _ Originally the mines were worked by the Persian Government, and were, then well directed, and had vertical shafts and lateral galleries for light,.,, air,,:, and entrance, but as.soon as they-were leased out the farmers (who - are liable to be ejected at any moment, and who consequently strive against time to recoup their outlay) cut away, the rock wherever turquoises were, visible, arta, as a consequence, tile mines fell m. v Some o| .yfexp.LPf - ne old Zaki mine, for instance, has now a ver-

tical shaft 250 feet in circumference and 60 feet in depth to its fallen-in roof, and a burrow of another 60 feet through this roof, and yet even at this depth there is no trace of the original mine. The old Abdul Rezai mine, which is on the extreme east, was also of immense size, and produced turquoises of lasting colour, but it fell in a few years ago, and I found it in the possession of one solitary individual, groping among its huge mounds of debris in the hope of alighting on a valuable stone. This was the last of the great mines to fall in, and now the perfect turquoise is only to be found occasionally at the mines and in the detritus which has been washed down from the hill. The work in the Khaki (earthy) mines —l.e., in the detritus, is light and easy, -an3 generally undertaken by old men, women and children, and the indolent, who pay a day each for the privilege. All they have to do is to dig up two or three feet of the soft eodl and to sift it, and as a rule they just about earn their bread, supported always, however, by the hope that some day a treasure will turn up which will put them beyond want for the remainder of their lives. I employed four men, with an overseer as detective, on this work for one day, with, naturally, no result; for, as the Haji was kind enough to explain, if one of the men had, unobserved, discovered a good stone, he would have swallowed it, and if observed, it would have been sold and the proceeds shared by the party. The diabolical appearance of the. overseer impressed me with the conviction that the turquoise formed his chief article of diet. But thgNgli of late years perrect turquoises are seldom found, an abundance of fair and imperfect stones are turned out daily and sent to Meshed. All Orientals prize them, and the very poorest like to possess even a green and spotted one set in a ring of tin. In Russia, too, they have been greatly esteemed for a long while past, and on other parts of the Continent; and recently they have become fashionable in England.

The perfect turquoise should be of a beep eky.-blue colour and of conical shape; the flatter the stone, the lets its value. All over - Europe the turqoise of a very light blue shade seems to be generally preferred, but it is not nearly so beautiful to the eye of the expert as that of a deep cerulean (not British sky. but Mediterranean) blue. Besides colour however, the perfect turquoise must have an unmistakable quality, difficult to describe, which the Persians call Zat (caste). The reader will perhaps faintly comprehend me if I say that the turquoise of good Zat has a dreamy appearance about it, and looks more like a piece of sky that a stone. Zat is to the turquoise what Charity, according to St. Paul, is to the Christian, and without it, colour and shape are of no avail. The slightest tinge of green in a turquoise renders it practically valueless; yet one sees constantly in the windows of eminent London jew■llers absolutely green turquoises magnificently set with diamonds; many of these no donbt, were originally of good colour, but after a time faded or assumed a green tinge, which could never happen to be a really good stone. The fact is, English jewellers know very little about the jem. Sometimes a mere sjcck on one will develop© into a large blur and spoil it; and it should be esI’Pcially borne in mind by intending purchasers that dampness wili eften temporarily revive the colour of a faded stone. No one in Meshed would dream if buying a turquoise of any reputed value without keeping it by him for a few days. At Ma’adan, the miners generally brought their turquoises to me all night (when the colour cannot be distinguished), and always in their mouths, disgorging them into their hands, unobserved as they thought, before entering my tent. These I would never look at, but waited 'for the men who came in. daylight with their turquoises, and pressed me to take them on trial. In short, there is no precious stone oo liable to prove deceptive to the purchaser as the turquoise, unless he be skilled in reading it.

Formerlv, superb turquoises could be obtained at Mashed without trouble for a few shillings, but the suppression of Turcoman raiding_Jxy the Russians and the opening of the Tranecaspiau Hallway made the town, easy of access and raised their value tenfold, and now they are as dear there and as difficult to procure as in London. Most of the stones, immediately they are cut, are sent in the gross direct to Moscow. There io little doubt that the hill still contains abundance of good turquoises, but the lessees, fearing ejection, will neither go to the expense of reopening the old mines nor of sinking fresh shafts. Only an infinitesimal portion of it and that on the south side has been excavated, but everywhere there nve evidence of the mineral. The cavities on the hillside are seamed with it, and for some distance before the mines are reached the ground is littered with it in every, stage of composition. In one of the earlier stages it is.a sort of soft cream-coloured chalk, which is> said to have medicinal properties, and which I saw the people eating with apparent zest. Near the mines one can pick up turquoises the size or a walnut or larger, but full of flaws and of a dirty green colour and therefore valueless. Shortly after my return to Meshed I sent for a hale kali, or stonecutter, to come to ray house with hie apparatus, and dress some of the turquoise I had brought in a rough state from the mines. Accordingly, at the appointed time, a venerable old gentleman, 'nbmed.. Kalbi p,eza, or the dog of Reza (the saint over whom the celebrated shrine at Meshed is erected) presented himself, accompanied bv his ©hagird, or pupil, a very small, dirty boy, carrying a large, dirty bag. This boy will for years apparently do nothing but carry the bag, run messages, and, while his master is at work, sit idly- contemplating- mischief. Nevertheless, some day. when he i® bigger,

he will suddenly kick over the traces and start on his own account as an ustad, or master, and will then be found to be a perfectly skilled workman. It is thus in Persia with every trade—baker, shoemaker, tailor, etc. The master employs the boys oh no wages (except a piece of bread) to carry his implements or to run messages, and tries to prevent him from acquiring knowledge of his art, lest he may soon lose him; but the young mind is receptive, and the work having become a sort of forbidden fruit, cue shagird feels it a point of honour to strive every moment the ustad’s back is turned to master it, and consequently soon becomes expert. I recommend this system to the promoters of technical education. The old hakkak was possessed of charming manners, and was so deferential that I could not prevail upon him to fix his wages for half a day’s work. -Me declined to discuss the matter, declaring that he lvanted no remuneration at all, and that it was sufficient that I had honoured so poor a slave as himself by summoning him to my palace. So finding it hopeless, I dropped the subject and invited him to get to work. He then selected a spot under a large, shady tree in ray garden, and desired me to supply him with a nice carpet to sit upon, which I did, and after feeling its texture and appraieng it to himself quite audibly at ten times its value, ho leisurely proceeded to make himself quite comfortable on it, paying me compliments all the time. Presently he commenced to put his machine together. He first placed on the ground in front of him a little! plank of wood with two holes in it a foot and a half apart, into which he inserted two upright posts, each a foot in height; then he ran a rod trough the centre of an exceedingly hard disc, made of emery and gum, eight inches in diameter, and placed the cncLs of the rod in the nicks at the top of the two' uprig lit posts; lastly, to steady the machine, he laid one end of a bar across the plank and seated himself on the other end. He then set the disc in motion with an antiquated fiddle-bow seen everywhere in the East. With his right hand he rapidly worked the bow, and with his left pressed the rough turquoise against tlie side (not the edge) of the spinning disc, removing it every few seconds to - examine it and dip it in water. With wonderful rapidity the shell or reck was removed, and the) stone expertly ground to the most suitable size and shape. The turquoise in its original state is roughly reniform—i.e., kidney shaped. Perhaps it will have cue or more flaws in the centre-, when the hakkak will, if possible, make two or more stones of it, or it may fall ba pieces of itself. The first he started upon appeared to be the size of an almond, of a lovely blue colour -and excellent Zat, and even this wary old man believed I had secured a treasure, but the result was only three small good stones. The next, he said, would turn out to be an Arabi (showing brown cracks on it) and only worth two krans (9d); but as he proceeded with the cutting it improved immensely,' and he deemed it politic to hedge by remarking: “If God wishes, it will be a good stone.” Then he went a step further and said: “Please God the Merciful, it has no defect.” But now a defect appeared. and when I invited the oracle to pronounce a further opinion, he plied testily: “I am not inside it; God Knows best.” In the end it turned out to he a fairish stone, worth a few shillings. I than asked him what caused the cracked appearance of the Arabi stone, and,-not knowing, ho replied: “God didn’t want that there shouldn’t ie a defect.” He gets the stone into shape, but it is stil 1 rough and unpolished; the hakkak therefore changes the disc for one a little larger of fine sandstone (margal), which in a few revolutions renders it completely smooth. The final polish is given by rubbing the stone on a piece of Russia leather (bulghar) about £-incli thick on which is spread Gome turquoise dust. This -ie called jela dadian (to give it brightness), and readers the face of the turquoise, in a few seconds', like enamel. The whole cutting and polishing of a stone takes but a few minute©. Turquoises which are too small to be held in the hand against the disc are glued to the end of -a stick and then rubbed on a slab of sandstone.

As I have stated, it is .difficult to procure a good turquoise in Meshed, even at a high price, but of fair and inferior stones there is no lack, and the petty dealers contrive to present them for sale in the most attractive form and to conceal blemishes by many artful methods. The usual method of covering flaws, specks, and other defects on turquoises is by means of inscriptions in gold cunningly engraved upon them The Persian alphabet is more or less a kind of Moise code of dots, curves and dashes, which can be manipulated with the addition of a few flourishes to conceal all blemishes and to convert a comparatively worthless stone into one of great value. The inscriptions are generally love mottoes of terms of endearment — such as “Naznin,” which means “darling,” “Fidayat shavam.” “I am your sacrifice”--i.e., “Yours body and soul”; “Bia,” '‘Come,” and so forth. Sometimes a verse of the Koran will be inscribed, or a couplet from Sa’adi or Hafiz, such as: “Waiting is the cure for separation, but what can I do: I am not able (to wait)?” These engiaved turquoises are generally sold in Meshed, glued on to the end; of a piece of stick, around which red paper has been' neatly wrapped to set them off. They are used for various purposes of ornamentation, especially for studding th® metal heads . of kalians (pipes), sometimes turquoises. are carved as cameos or made into seals. ) They are, in fact, .utilised in manifold ways.—B. C. Bungler Thomson, in the “Windsor Magazine.”