The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-06-15
From the Baltimore Sun.

Lhougn Forto -Rlco mas long been cele-
brated for her salubrious climate. her re-
markably rich soil and her beautiful
mountain scenery, still none Of the mod
ern world has ever dreamed that Dame
Nature had added to her other gifts won
derfully rich deposits of gold. For the
first thirty years after the settlement of
Porto Rico the Spanish official figures
show that 1850 pounds of gold was ship
ped to Spain. But this by no means repre-
sents the whole amount obtained from
the island, since gold is so portable that
the Kings officers were not always, we
may be sure, able to obtain. the correct
figures, as the King claimed one-fiifth
From the middle of the sixteenth century
the gold deposits are supposed to have
been exhausted, except in the beds of
some rivers where placer mining has been
carried on, on a small scale UP to the
present time. Only recently, however
there has been staked claim TO a vein
of gold-bearing quartz, situated on the
summit of the mist-covered hills of the
Hottest range in Porto Rico, the Sierra
de Luquillo. which promises to revive all
the old Spanish tales of the marvellous
wealth in the precious metal of this ISL
and. This lode has been known for a
number of centuries for it was worked
by the Indians long before the coming
of the despoiling Spaniard. Why no work
has been done on it since then must re-
main somewhat of a mystery, since the
district of Corozal has been -lonk known
as a place where the precious metal
could be found, the government reports
estimating that about 400 families obtain
their livelihood from the auriferous sands
of the River Corozal.
The Native Miners.
What makes this all the more remark
able is that the decomposed quartz lode
from which, by the action of the heavy
rains, the River Corozal obtains its gold
pans OUT decidedly better than the river
sands. The natives in the neighborhood
tell most gruesome history of the mine.
end for want of better explanation we
must accept their version, and indeed
there is corroborative evidence of It's
truth of no mean value. The affirm that
the mine was worked many hundreds of
years before the dramatic event occurred
that stopped all further work and that
it was the chief source of their golden
ornaments, which, exciting the eupiditv
of the Spaniards, resulted in their being
enslaved or bounded to death. We may
he sure, when we consider the size of the
dump and their rude mining tools that
munerative, for they threw away as use
less hundreds of thousands of tons of ore
which, If the samples that have been sent
TO Rickett d Banks, and other promi-
nent asssyers, are thorough tests, is not
only workable, but fairly good paying
Indian Remains.
The method of mining was very simple.
az it must of necessity have been on ac-
count of their crude implements Into
he hill which contains the lode one can
see several deep cuts where the Indians
dug either with crude copper pickaxes
Cone of the points of one has been found
in the mine) or with sharpened sticks, as
the vein, being very much decomposel.
would allow this. The pieces of ore that
contained the nuggets were then carried
in baskets across the River Corozal
which flows at it's base, to a. stone caster
where the precious metal was extracted
from the ore under the supervision of the
chiefs of the tribe The remains of this
caster are still plainly to be seen, being
made of large flags of a hard stone fitted
TO nicely, in extent about 50 by 100 feet
with two stone seats at the ends for the
cnlefs. The laborers-if the natives. the
descendants of the Indians. are to be be-
HeVeG-cOnSisted of prisoners and slaves
as well as the freemen of the tribe and
were well organized. They showed one
of the features of modern industrial life
the check. For they say that IT shaped
metal piece was check which must be
Kept by every workman in the mine or
woe to him, for the penalty was not as
light as in modern times, but the ex-
IRENE one of death on the spot Thus did
the oacques prevent irresponsible work
men from carrying away any of the
nuggets of virgin gold, sometimes of con-
SIDERABLE size, with which the rock
abounds
The tradition that keeps the suoersti-
Nous natives from the nine after four
centuries have passed, dates back to the
settlement and subjugation of the island
ny Ponce de Leon.
A Battle With Spaniards.
According to this tale. the Spaniards.
having heard of the enormous wealth. Of
mis- mine determined to seize It, In or
der to do this the doughty leader himself
organized an expedition A runor of this
reached the ears of the owners of the
mine and great CONSERVATION il must have
created But their cacique, warned by
the experience of his brothers in other
parts OF the island, at a great mass
meeting announced his intention to fight
rather than submit to slavery and the loss
Oh ms property. This speech of their
distinguished chief aroused great enthus-
ism in the hearts of his followers and
When the Spaniards drew near they sal
Hed out to meet them. Long and furious
was the battle. Though the Indians
I"ught with the fury of despair, the is
sue was never doubtful, for of what use
We're their primitive weapons against their
HlaH-coated adversaries or what protec-
uoh could their wicker shields afford
lhem against the cannon balls and steel
swords of the Spaniardsi Great numbers
on the Indians were slain, including their
cIlef' and but few escaped from the mas
Eacre to find shelter in the woods. Steal
ing from their hiding places during the
mght, survivors carried their dead COM
RACES to the mine and placed them in the
tunnel where, for safe keeping, a con-
SIDERABLE amount of gold had also been
S'ored After the rites of sculpture had
ueen completed they commenced to d.
Nae up the gold. but, quarreling over its
sIotment, they fell finally to fighting
desperately among themselves, the out
come OK which was that all but two or
Wree were killed. These latter, after
carefully concealing the mouth OF the tun-
H'i' He'd from the bloody spot, and after
Vl1t Lne inhabitants have accounted II an
a.lufsed spot. Thus the story was;
whether credence is to be put in it or not
]" question. Since that date up to the
present time the mountaineers say that
TO one has ever worked the mine Wheth-
'' The Spaniards worked II or not is open
10 conjecture. but certain II Is that IN
m"uern times, as the report Of the Com