The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1898-09-28


ring examined the sulphur deposits
of Taal, not far from Cavite, and de-
clared them of excellent quality. Dr..
Kato pronounced them as capable Of
yielding 500, 900 tons of sulphur at a
fair profit. They are utilized by the ma
tives only, the Spanish authoriti' aav-
ing refused any concession to open up
the property.
Among valuable sedimentary rocks
are marble, white, yellow and mottled,
gypsum and alabaster, iron ore, Ignite,
brown coal, cement rock, slate, lime
stone and sandstone. The gypsum is
quite pure and yields first class plas-
ter Of paris. The alabaster varies in
color, ranging from white into several
pleasant tints. The iron ore is OF varl-
Gus kinds. A deposit at Zebu is largely
pyrites and is well suited for making
sulphur and oil of vitriol. In Negros
and southern LuZon are fine beds of
limonite. or bog iron ere, and hematlte,
or red iron ore They are quite free
from sulphur and phosphorus. In Mo-
rong is wonderful bed of rich iron ore
resembling the magnetic of Lake
Champlain At Angot is one OF the
richest iron ores known. 1t approaches
the Juragua ore Of eastern Cuba and is
noted for its purity. The supply seems
inexhaustible The mines were once
worked by an English concern, which
figured out profit of so per cent per
annum upon capital Of not less than
500, O0O But they did not know the
country. What with sedulas and special
taxes, inspectors and assessors, military
commanders and half caste politicians,
transit duties and export taxes the profit
was turned to loss. Then when they
closed their works temporarily, hoping
to obtain relief, the workmen and SOL
diers stole all the stock, the machinery
and, piece by piece, the buildings them
selves. Complaint was made to the gov
ernor general, who promptly and polite
ly ordered an investigation. This was
over so years ago, and the investigation
is still going on. The mines are now
worked by natives who make enough
in one day to support them week
Respecting Ignite and coal, opinions
are so various that no judgment can be
given until thorough geological survey
has been made. There are millions Of
tons Of both fuels in Luzon, Mindanao,
Negros, Panay and especially Zebu. AT
Zebu they crop out upon the surface and
have been used by the inhabitants for
cooking purposes from time immemo-
rial. While there is no doubt as to the
quantity, there is much as to the quail
ity of the coal. In Manila Spanish pro-
moterS exhibit first class specimens OF
anthracite, semibituminous, bitumlnous
and brown coal, but every report from
British, German aud Scandinavian cd
gineers who have used native coal III
their steamer furnaces Is that it con-
tains so much Stag, sulphur and phos-
phorus as to make it dear at any price.
The local Spanish steamers use 1t and
pronounce it satisfactory, and the Span
ish navy uses it in those waters. AS,
however, coal is carried to the Philip
pine ports from Borneo and Australia,
it may be inferred that the mines which
are worked do not furnish a good artl-
Gle, vet it does not follow that all Of the
beds are alike. On the contrary, 1t is
probable that they are unlike and that
there are deposits of coal equal to the
samples shown by spectators.
Petroleum exists and is found in Lu-
zon and Mindanao 1t is utilized By the
natives for medicinal purposes and for
household use. bot not industriaiiv