It has often been suggested as the "Ophir" of the time of Solomon, and doubtless, from its production of gems, it might deserve the name.
It has hitherto been the opinion of most writers on Ceylon that the precious metals do not exist in the island; and Dr.Davy in his work makes an unqualified assertion to that effect.

But from the discoveries recently made, I am of opinion that it exists in very large quantities in the mountainous districts of the island.
It is amusing to see the positive assertions of a clever man upset by a few uneducated sailors.
A few men of the latter class, who had been at the gold diggings both in California and Australia, happened to engage in a ship bound for Colombo.

Upon arrival they obtained leave from the captain for a stroll on shore, and they took the road toward Kandy, and when about half-way it struck them, from the appearance of the rocks in the uneven bed of a river, called the Maha Oya, "that gold must exist in its sands." They had no geological reason for this opinion; but the river happened to be very like those in California in which they had been accustomed to find gold.

They accordingly set to work with a tin pan to wash the sand, and to the astonishment of every one in Ceylon, and to the utter confusion of Dr.Davy's opinions, they actually discovered gold! The quantity was small, but the men were very sanguine of success, and were making their preparations for working on a more extensive scale, when they were all prostrated by jungle fever--a guardian-spirit of the gold at Amberpusse, which will ever effectually protect it from Europeans.
They all returned to Colombo, and, when convalescent, they proceeded to Newera Ellia, naturally concluding that the gold which existed in dust in the rivers below must be washed down from the richer stores of the mountains.
Their first discovery of gold at Newera Ellia was on the 14th June, 1854, on the second day of their search in that locality.

The first gold was found in the "Vale of Rubies." I had advised them to make their first search in that spot for this reason: that, as the precious stones had there settled in the largest numbers, from their superior gravity, it was natural to conclude that, if gold should exist, it would, from its gravity, be somewhere below the precious stones or in their vicinity.
From the facility with which it has been discovered, it is impossible to form an opinion as to the quantity or the extent to which it will eventually be developed.