The Oskaloosa herald., 1900-07-05
THE PHILIPPINES GOLD.
MOST is FOUND IN EASILY Ac-
cESSI5LE DISTRICTS.
Indications Are That the Interior Is
Rich in Gold As the Natives
Seem to Have 1t
in Plenty,

Up to the present time most of the
| gold has been found in the easily ac-
cessible districts near the coasts,
though the natives Of the interior Of
| LuZon, a region but little explored,
traffic in the precious metal which
they evidently obtain from some Of
the inland streams. AS yet placer de-
! posits are the chief source Of the met
al, which has been worn by the rains
! from the mountain ranges and borne
down by rivulets and creeks to their
lower channels. In certain regions
there is not a stream, large or small,
whose sands do not show the yellow
trace of gold, while now and then ma
tives of the interior offer heavy mug
gets for sale. The gold thus buried in
the river sands and gravels undoubt-
eddy had its source In the mountain
ranges, whose quartz veins await the
hand and eye of the cunning miner
They may be rich, they may be poor,
only scientific study and exploration
can tell.
The principal gold-yielding region Of
Luzon is the district of Mambulao. The
metal has been found also in Minda-
mao, Mindoro Panay, Cebu, and the
smaller islands of Samar, Catan-
duanes, sibuyan, Bohol, and Panaon.
One Of the larger islands, Mindoro,
gains its name from its gold
deposits, it signifying NINA de ora"
gold mine.) The natives speak of
places in its interior whic2 are rich In
gold.
! The same is the case with the inte-
rior of the large island of Mindanao,
where gold is so plentiful that the ma
tives carry it about In bags for use IN
their ordinary buying and selling. Here
are the M!samis placers, the richest in
the archipelago, their yield to the ma
tive miners being about $50 ounces a
month. Rich qartz veins are said to be
known In this island, and there is one
such vein in the small island of Pan
aon, lying north of Mindanao, but
hitherto gold has been mined princi-
pally in placer beds, and these not very
rich, as compared with those Of Cali
fornia. Personally, know little about
these gold gravels, as 1 have seen only
some of their results. They are so
widely distributed and are worked In
so desultory a manner that their act
ual richness is largely a matter of
guesSwork. AS regards the mother OF
veins, have made no search for them,
and am quite sure that the Spaniards
have not troubled themselves in this
direction. They rest in virgin wealth.
waiting in their pristine state the COM
ing of the American mining inspector.
They will have to be deeply hidden In
deed if they escape his penetrating
eyes.
In truth, at present, only the edges
of the gold districts have, as a rule,
been worked. The absence Of roads
has proved an obstacle to the explora-
ton of the interior insuperable to the
easy-goiHg Spaniard. The natives
make their way through the dense for
ests, cutting a path as they go, but
these are tracks suited only to the
naked foot of the savage forester. Min
ing outfits and machinery require
roads of different kind, Bridges will
need to be built, highways construct
ed, and railroads laid before these ISL
ands can be properly exploited, and all
this means time, capital, energy, and
enterprise. So doubtless for a number
of years to come the gold must await
its master.-Raymon Lala in Review
of Reviews.