Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-03-31

seldom goes five miles beyond Il. The
head. hunting natives Rave to some ex-
tent kept the Spaniards out OF the
mountains. so that the country is TO
large extent UNEMPLOYED.
A few weeks ago General Grant led
his regiments across the mountains
northeast OF Luzon into the province
OF Zlmbales. The men tell me their
way was through the woods and across
streams which bore good indications of
carrying gold. AT one place Captain
Parole and some other officers washed
a double handful OF gravel and in IL
found five fakes OF gold. In most Of the
beds OF the streams color was found,
but nowhere were there any signs OF
quartz deposits
About two hundred miles by sea north
Of Manila Is port called Vigan, There
are now soldiers there, and expeditions
have been recently made into the noun
talns at the east In this region gold
is also to be seen In the hands OF the
natives They wash It, Il Is said, out
of the beds of0creeks and trade the dust
and little nuggets to the Chinese. who
give them about s35 Mexican an ounce.
Il have heard II said that the Chinese
are able In places 10 exchange silver for
gold at the same weight, but thl ike
many Of the stories told here, Is OBJ
ably without foundation.
HOW THE sAvAGEs SELL GOLD.
1t is impossible for one to understand
how gold could exist here for hundreds
Of years with the country In the hands
of the Spanards without It's being dis
covered and mined unless he knows the
conditions which prevail In most parts
Of the mountains. They are wild and
without roads Of any kind. Their only
inhabitants are the Negritos, Igorrotes,
Gaddenes and other savages. The more
peaceful parts OF the Islands have al
ways had their thieves and brigands, so
that mining has been, to say the least,
extremely dangerous. Such gold as has
been discovered has also been kept Sc
cre for fear OF robbery.
From the American" one OF the
daily papers Of Manila. | give an ex-
tract from q report Of correspondent
who has just returned from the Zim-
bales region. Said he: Il saw a long
rosary Of gold in the hands Of one OF
the natives II was made up OF mug
gets Of virgin gold. the smallest OF
which was as big as a pea. Holes had
been pierced through the nuggets and
they were strung on a silk cord. The
gold was OF light yellow color and
had evidently come from the surface
OF the ground Its owner had purchased
the nuggets Of a Negrlto, but he could
not learn where they had come from"
At this same time a rich Filipino Of
one Of the towns near the foot Of the
mountains, finding that the soldiers did
not intend to steal from him, pulled out
a small buckskin sack and showed
about three ounces Of gold. which he
had recently bought from the Negritos.
This was coarse gold, most Of the grains
being about the size Of a kernel OF
rice. The man said he understood that
the Negrltos picked the grains out Of
the clear mountain streams, and that
they had no other methods OF mining,
nor did they seem to wish TO engage In
mining
GOLD IN MINDANAO.
Gen. Bates tells me he has heard
reports of gold being found in the ISL
and Of Mlndanao. This Is the second
largest Of the Philippines group, being
almost as large as Kentucky. II Is
practically unexplored, and is inhabited
chiefly by sayages. The chief washings
are now on the northern part Of the
island. far away from the part occu-
pied by our troops The gold finds its
way into the hands OF the petty sultans
and datos, who sell 1t to the foreigners.
II Is said that the amount OF alluyial
gold which has been thus sold leads to
the belief that there must be quartz
veins in Mindanao.
/ have not visited the Island OF Min
doro. This lies only few miles east Of
southern Luzon. and is inhabited almost
entirely by savages. Its name is a cor
ruption Of 'mlnade-oro.' or mine OF
gold II is reported that the island has