The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1899-10-25

pressed into the engineering de-
partment Of the service under the
officer in command, and he was one
of the principal designers of the
transforming of the ship Laguna de
Bay from a common carrier into an
armored gunboat, and he was with
the boat for time after she COM
menced service. 1T was a regular
arsenal" said Mr.. Curtiss to a
GAZETTE reported recently. We
had all kinds of guns on her, and
the boys behind them knew how to
shoot When the ''niggers' re-
belled against our authority on
Luzon the boat would steam up the
river, on either side of which were
a large number of small houses, out
of which would be fired shots from
the ''niggers. ;" Well, we poured
shots from Gatlings, Maxims, Colts,
etc., into them at the rate of 1900
bullets every 20 minutes, and when
we thought we got far enough
up we would steam back and repeat
the dose, and so we would 90 back
wards and forwards until the firing
from the shore ceased. Our work
was destructive, according to the
reports received from the boys on
shore, who stated that after the
insurgents had been whipped and
retired they counted 30 dead bodies
in single houses.
Mr.. Curtiss stated that there
was no doubt but what the island
of Luzon was rich in minerals. The
soldier boys from the mining States
could wash out gold wherever they
happened to be, and particularly
along rivers which found sources
in the mountains. The natives
found it, but mined it in the crud-
est manner, putting heaps of wood
over the vein and then starting a
fire so hot that it would melt out
what they wanted, and then they
would abandon the work until more
was needed. It all eventually got
into the hands of the lazy Spaniards,
A mill at most of the places where
these crude modes were practiced
would make a man Independently
rich in very short time, said Mr..
Curtiss. OF course, no one knows
just what the mountain range will
produce, but the place gold found
in the rivers which found their
source in the mountains suggest
that the mountains are rich in gold
and other metals. cit is stated
continued Mr.. Curtiss, ''that there
are one or two streams on the island
that the water is practically pois-
oned by reason of the copper at it's
source.
pearls and diamonds are there
in abundance, also, and it is a famil-
lar sight to see the lazy 'niggers' in
town with their hands covered with
diamonds, and moving their hands
SO as to bring out the sparkle and
fire of the precious stones. The
diamonds are cheap there-that is,
if you buy them with American
money, which is worth twice as
much as Spanish or Mexican money.
l have seen pearls there that were
great deal larger than a good sized
pea, and the most beautiful pearls |
ever saw. Natives having charge
of the pearl fisheries really become
wealthy in very short time. 1t is
said that the island of Mindanao,
the most southern island of the
group, has minerals of all kinds,
diamonds in particular, being found
there.
1.-The natives are all anxious to
get American money, and when the
native police in Manila received
about three times as much American
money as they did Spanish, during
the Spanish reign, for their SER
vices. they telt themselves very
rich indeed. s
STATE LAND SALE. s