Evening star., 1896-01-11
WHAT ENGLAND IS AFTER.
Cares Less for Her Settlers Than fol
the NellOY Metal In Xenczueln.

Cares Less for Her Settlers Than for
the Yellow Metal In Venezuela.
From the Pittsburg Dispatch.
The richness Of the Venezuelan gold
mines, in the region to which Great
Britain lays claim, was the subject of an
interesting talk by William F. Harrison
last evening. Mr.. Harrison says that the
gold country is entirely covered by the
latest British claim, and it Is evidently
to secure this mineral wealth that the
shifting boundary line of British Guiana
has been bulged away out to the west,
cutting huge slice, shaped like the hole
a hungry boy makes In piece of bread,
right cut of the side Of the Venezuelan
territory. Mr.. Harrison Is by profession
mechanical engineer. In 1874 he went to
Venezuela as the superintendent of
steamer line, owned by an American COM
pany, which ran boats from Trinidad up
the Orinoco river as far as the old city of
Bolivar. Afterward he became interested
in gold mine, of which Remington, the
gun maker, of Ilion, y, Y, is the principal
owner. -,
son, ''is on the Yuruari river. in western
Yer ezuela, in what IS called Yuruary ter
ritory. That river flows into the Cuyuni or
Guiana river. Within a radius of nine
miles there were then, ten or eleven mines
Individual camps, where men did placer
mining washed in the streams.
1.-The quartz there is exceedingly rich In
free gold You can take lump of it, break
it apart like clay, and pick out little
pisces of pure gold larger than pea. Out
side of the quartz veins gold is found in
the earth or rock for several feet or yards
on either side You can find it along the
river banks and in the soil under the for
est trees.
lone day I and friend, western
miner, went down the Yuruari in skif
and mainly out Of curiosity, rowed up
little stream that flowed into the river
from the southwest. We had not gone far
when we found along the bank what we
called good signs. We pulled our boat
up and went exploring in the thicket. We
came upon a miners cabin, where there
had been digging for gold many years ago.
There was no longer roof on the nut, ,and
two trees of good size had grown through
the door,
THAT cabin had probably been occupied
by early Spanish adventures, perhaps 200
or 300 years ago. Men who walk in the
forest at night are in danger of falling
into pits made by miners who worked only
with a pick and with a shovel. The larger
mines are shafts. The one was connect
ed with was more than 200 feet down when
/ left there.
Gold IS not the only precious mineral
found there. The Indians used to come
down from the mountains carrying pure
gold and quicksilver, which they traded
ern Indians, only lazier. They will not
tell where they get the quicksilver, al
though the miners would very much like
to know.
"In the northern point of the disputed
territory, near the mouth of the Or1noco,
there are valuable iron mines, but I am
not we'll acquainted with that section
"All that country is very rich, but there
is little agriculture. Some sugar cane Is
grown and some cocoa. The chief industry
is cattle raising. From Guasapati, in the
| mining region, toward Upati, nearly $50
| miles to the northwest, there Is great
stretch of pampas almost devoted to cattle
grazing. They are raised principally for
| their hides and the carcaSses are frequent
| ly allowed to go to waste. The land Is
| owned in great tracts by rich VeneZue-
| lans, who employ scores and even hundreds
! Of poems. The hilly country is covered by
| thick forests Of hardwood exceedingly
valuable for some things. but hardly avail
| able for buildings or bridges or railroad
| ties. Most Of it will tear the teeth out of
| saw and is impervious to plane.
cat the time I was there no doubt eX-
! listed concerning the governmental Jurisdic-
| ton over this region. 1t was all under
| Venezuelan rule. Guzman Blanco was then
president. The British line was more than
| $50 miles to the east of the mining coun-
| try. New England claims great tract
| of land more than 800 miles wide, which
| was twenty years ago indisputably under
| Venezuelan rule 1t takes in all the head
waters of the Cuyuni and Yuruari, with
| the great hardwood forests, the fertile
pampas and the rich mines of gold