'File No. 14/5 MINERAL DEPOSITS IN DHOFAR' [‎15r] (29/115)

[Confidential.]
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No. 90, dated Bushire, the 11th (received 23rd) January 1912.
From—J. H. Bill, Esq., I.C.S., First Assistant Resident (In the absence of the
Resident),
To—The Hon'ble Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Henry McMahon, G.C.V.O.,
K.C.I.E., C.S.I., Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign
Department.
In continuation of my letter No. 3205, dated 24th December 1911, regard
ing the proceedings of certain Madrasi gentlemen in the hinterland of Maskat,
I have the honour to forward, for the information of the Government of India,
No, 123 , dated 28 th December 1911 .- a copy of a further letter cited in the
margin, which has been received from the
Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Maskat, on the subject.
No. 123, dated Maskat, the 28th December 1911.
From— Major S.. G. Knox, I.A., C.I.E., Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and His Britannic
Majesty’s Consul, Maskat,
To— Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Cox, LA., K.C.I.E., C.S.I., Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
and His Britannic Majesty’s Consul-General in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
Bushire.
In continuation of my letter No. 1616, dated 17th December 1911, on the
subject of the visit of three Madras surveyors, I have the honour to report as
follows : —
2. On the 27th December, hearing that these gentlemen had -returned, I
asked that they should come and see me. Mr. Bayankar, the leader of the
party, came in response to my summons and informed me that the party left
Maskat on the 10th December and returned on the 23rd December; that they
did not go to the Batina but have been staying in the environs of Sib near His
Highness, and for the most part spending their time shooting in the neighbour
hood. They did, however, reach Nakhal and received from an Arab Munshi A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. ,
called Zohar, and from another old Arab who had also been a Mullah in His
Highness’ employ and is, so Mr. Bayankar thinks, called Khalfan, application
for assistance in digging wells.
They discovered no new minerals, much less the gold and silver, regarding
which, Mr. Bayankar states, His Highness was keenly interested, but they
confirmed their previous impressions as to the mineral deposits previously
reported. The Arabs, on hearing of Mr. Bayankar’s lead discoveries, at once
collected samples of the metallic ore he had pointed out and set about trying to
smelt the ore, but, as they were unsuccessful in their operations, they came to
the conclusion that there was certainly something shining in the rock but that
it was not lead and would be of no use for the manufacture of bullets.
Mr. Bayankar states that, while he has been prospecting, His Highness
has been paying the expenses of himself and his party and estimates that his
various trips may have cost His Highness about Us. 1,000 ; the chief items of
expenditure have been donkey and coolie A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory. hire. Mr. Bayankar declares that
he has been very well treated but his companions again suffered from illness.
3. On this occasion, Mr. Bayankar was exceedingly communicative and
gave me the following details of his career which will, I trust, enable higher
authority to trace the individual with precision and to form an idea of the
amount of reliance that can be placed on his statements. I should like to say
that he impressed me favourably.
Mr. Bayankar is a man of 33 years of age. He was educated at the
Coimbatore College which he left when he was about 17 years old. He has
been in the export and import business at Madras since 1900; and gives as his
reference in Madras Mr. P. Tirumealeachari, B.A., B.L., Advocate of the High
Court of Madras. In 1905, he visited Paris for about a fortnight on mining-
business with a Prenchman who paid his expenses. He stayed in Europe
altogether about a month and visited no towns of importance except Paris and