The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-05-22
GOLD in A NEW LAND.
WONDERFUL PLACER MINING IN ES-
MERALDAs PROVINCE, ECUADOR.

Acres Of Dirt That Carries 900 to tho
( Cubic Yard - African Gold Mines Far
; surpassed-History Of the Discovery and
Development Of tho Rich Fields.
Otis S. Gage, a former resident of
Washington, but who some years ago
went to the goldflelds of Ecuador, has
just returned to America on visit. In
the course of q recent talk on South
American topics he said:
''In the province of Esmeraldas, in
the northern part of Ecuador, are gold
fields surprising in richness and extent
the famous mines of South Africa.
When first went into that region, six
years ago, it was almost terra incog-
nita, but the reports of engineers and
mining experts were SO encouraging
that capitalists in Great Britain, Can
ada and the United States became inter
ested, and it was without much difficult
ty that funds were raised to develop the
enterprise.
Nov there are six chartered COM
panies, owning an area Of go square
miles, and the Ecuadoran government
has, with the utmost liberality. given
them % years. exemption from taxation
and the right to import mining ma
chinery duty free. 1t is all placer min
ing, and the dirt is the richest in yel-
low metal that ever heard of, running
as high as 500 cubic yard, while the
conditions for extracting the ore are
perfect.
1T is a wonderful country, and to q
stranger the sights are so marvellous and
different from all that he has ever
known that a journey through it keeps
him in perpetual state of astonish-
menk While the foliage and vegetation
are dense and luxuriant, it is not hard to
clear the land, for the roots of the trees
are all above ground. In going up one
of the rivers the Indian boatmen who
pole yon along in canoes have to part
the long, streaming, ropelike parasites
chat depend from the trees along the
banks These parasites give a gaudy
look to the scenery, being Of every i'm
aginable color, and are quite commonly
used by the natives as ropes.
1T is hard work making your way
from the seaboard into the mining re-
gion, and the best the traveller can do is
mile an hour in the canoes, which are
handled with degree of skill that no
white man could hope to attain. The
current is not only very swift, but there
are numerous rapids, and here it is that
the boatman's cleverness is manifest.
The country abounds in pests, such as
the centiped and tarantula, but the peo-
pie escape them by building their houses
OH piles and use ladders for ingress to
their domiciles. Though it rains every
temperature at the foothills Of the Andes
is delightful.
Among the curiosities is hair
snake. From casual inspection it ap-
pears inanimate, but closer study
shows it to have life. There is also q
snake that barks and frog that jumps
20 or 80 feet with ease. They have q
way Of jumping into ones cottage and
striking against the wall with thud
! that is trying to the nerves of a new
conner. Along the stream have noted
echoes that surpass those of the Nam
moth cave.
"The larger part of the population is
composed of negroes. Both men and
women are of splendid physical devel-
opment, and they are an innocent, hon
Lest and kind hearted race. Before our
mines were opened the people went
without the least clothing. but now
they have got used TO minimum de-
,gTee Of covering. They speak the Span
7ish language and are very devout in
their observances of religion. Cor.
aSt Louis Globe Democrat.