Burmese natives dredging the river-bed and searching dried gravel for rubies, Mogok, Burma
Photograph
Underwood & Underwood
American, 1880–1931
Burmese natives dredging the river-bed and searching dried gravel for rubies, Mogok, Burma
ca. 1906
Gelatin silver print
Image: 7.6 x 7.6 cm (each)
Mount: 8.8 x 17.8 cm
Gift of Eastman Kodak Company
Inscriptions mount recto (printed): Underwood & Underwood, Publishers./New York, London, Toronto-Canada, Ottawa-Kansas./Works and Studios/Arlington, N.J. Westwood. N.J./26/s 912/(26)-9035- Burmese natives dredging the river-bed and searching dried gravel for rubies, Mogok, Burma. Copyright Underwood & Underwood.
mount verso (printed): It is a five-day journey up here from Mandalay, the/last three days spent on horseback, climbing over steep/mountain paths and pushing through tiger-haunted/jungles./The valley where you are now was once the bed of a/great river draining a large district of this northern/part of Burma. The volume of water has been much/reduced partly by nature and partly by the artificial/device of canals, leaving most of the bed dry as you see/it at present. For centuries the Burmese themselves/have resorted here to search the gravel for rubies./These Burmese pay no attention to the methods of/western newcomers, but carry on their operations ac-/cording to the custom of centuries past. The men you/see yonder wading in the streams and stooping over/their work are scooping up wet sand and gravel, watching/with sharp eyes for the precious stones. It takes prac-/tice to enable one always to distinguish a ruby in the/rough, but expert eyes do unerringly recognize a valu-/able stone where a novice might suspect nothing of its/difference from the accompanying waste stuff. These/ruby hunters are exceedingly honest; a man can safely/leave one of these heaps without any guard-he can/leave a handful of sorted-out rubies in plain sight while/he goes on an errand./Observe the prevailing use of either European um/brellas or huge straw hats of native manufacture to/protect workers from the fierce heat of the sun. The/valley here is in nearly the same latitude as Calcutta./From Notes of Travel, No. 19, copyright, [blank] by Underwood & Underwood./Burmese natives dredging the river bed for rubies. Mogok, Burma. [translated into six languages]
mount verso (stamped in blue ink): 4641
mount verso (stamped in red ink): FRESNO COUNTY FREE LIBRARY
mount verso (printed): It is a five-day journey up here from Mandalay, the/last three days spent on horseback, climbing over steep/mountain paths and pushing through tiger-haunted/jungles./The valley where you are now was once the bed of a/great river draining a large district of this northern/part of Burma. The volume of water has been much/reduced partly by nature and partly by the artificial/device of canals, leaving most of the bed dry as you see/it at present. For centuries the Burmese themselves/have resorted here to search the gravel for rubies./These Burmese pay no attention to the methods of/western newcomers, but carry on their operations ac-/cording to the custom of centuries past. The men you/see yonder wading in the streams and stooping over/their work are scooping up wet sand and gravel, watching/with sharp eyes for the precious stones. It takes prac-/tice to enable one always to distinguish a ruby in the/rough, but expert eyes do unerringly recognize a valu-/able stone where a novice might suspect nothing of its/difference from the accompanying waste stuff. These/ruby hunters are exceedingly honest; a man can safely/leave one of these heaps without any guard-he can/leave a handful of sorted-out rubies in plain sight while/he goes on an errand./Observe the prevailing use of either European um/brellas or huge straw hats of native manufacture to/protect workers from the fierce heat of the sun. The/valley here is in nearly the same latitude as Calcutta./From Notes of Travel, No. 19, copyright, [blank] by Underwood & Underwood./Burmese natives dredging the river bed for rubies. Mogok, Burma. [translated into six languages]
mount verso (stamped in blue ink): 4641
mount verso (stamped in red ink): FRESNO COUNTY FREE LIBRARY
