RED ON DA AND ITS PHOSPHATES. 81 



each, man passed, took his name and checked it in a time book. If 

 a workman failed to have his name checked in this manner he for- 

 feited his day's wages. 



The early hours of the morning were devoted to an examina- 

 tion of the phosphate mine, under the guidance of Captain H . 



The path to the mine led us along the eastern slope of the island 

 to the northern face of the main peak, where a wide and deep 

 ravine separated us from the smaller peak. The distance from the 

 house to the mine was about three fourths of a mile. The path 

 was very steep in places as it ascended toward the summit in order 

 to avoid a deep gorge, and sometimes so narrow that a misstep 

 would give one a bad fall down the slope. 



The phosphate occurred in the form of a cement filling the 

 crevices among the masses of volcanic rock of which the island 

 consists. In places it would be in sheets of the thickness of one's 

 finger between the bowlders, and in others pockets would be filled 

 with several tons. It could be seen cropping out all along the 

 path, but the mining was at that time carried on at the north end 

 for convenience in shipping. 



The mining was done by negroes, and both men and boys were 

 employed in the work. The men were engaged in blasting the 

 overlying rock and breaking up the mass of phosphate under- 

 neath, while the boys cleaned the phosphate from the gangue and 

 carried it in baskets upon their heads to a wire tramway, by which 

 it was taken to the pile of dressed mineral awaiting shipment. 

 Boys were also engaged in picking out the mineral from small 

 surface pockets wherever a few pounds might be obtained. 



The gangue was thrown down the gorge between the two peaks 

 into the sea. While we were there a large bowlder was rolled 

 over for our benefit. It went bounding from ledge to ledge, leap- 

 ing a hundred feet at a bound, shot over a precipice and struck 

 upon a rock with a loud report, finally splashing into the water. 

 Great quantities of dust were formed by the blasting and digging, 

 and caused much discomfort to the workmen by particles of it 

 getting into their eyes. 



The cleaned rock was piled at the head of a gorge which had 

 been broken through the cliffs on the northwestern side of the 

 island. Down this gorge and extending out about fifty yards into 

 the sea was stretched another wire tramway, twelve hundred feet 

 in length, by which the phosphate was loaded into lighters to be 

 transferred from the shore to the ship. The usual anchorage was 

 on the leeward or western side of the island, about four hundred 

 yards from the shore, though deep water extended to within fifty 

 yards of the cliffs. 



The phosphate differed in its appearance from any other rock 

 phosphate which I have ever seen. The prevailing color of a pile 



VOL. XLVI. V 



