GOLD MINES IN CELEBES. 379 



territory, by the mining engineers employed by the 

 government, and the extent and richness of these 

 mines are therefore wholly matters of the most 

 uncertain speculation. The fact, however, that gold 

 was carried from this region before the arrival 

 of Europeans, more than three hundred and forty 

 years ago, and that the amount now exj^orted ap- 

 pears to be larger than it was then, indicates that 

 the supply must be very great. The government 

 has not yet granted to private individuals the 

 privilege of importing machinery and laborers, and 

 proving whether or not mining can be canned on 

 profitably on a large scale. A fragment of rock 

 from this region was shown me at Kema by a 

 gentleman, who said he knew where there were 

 large quantities of it ; and that specimen certainly 

 was very rich in the precious metal. Gold is also 

 found in the southwestern peninsula of Celebes, 

 south of Macassar. The geological age of these 

 auriferous rocks is not known, but I was assured 

 that, back of Gorontalo, an outcropping of granite 

 had been seen. Buffaloes and horses are plenty and 

 cheap at Gorontalo, and many are sent by sea to 

 the Minahassa. The horses are very fine, and from 

 the earliest times the Bugis have ])een accustomed 

 to buy and kill them to eat, having learned that such 

 flesh is a most delectable food, centuries before this 

 was ascertained by the enlightened Parisians. 



Jmiuary 11th. — Last night and to-day the sea 

 has been smooth, almost as smooth as glass, while 

 we know that on the opposite or western side of 

 Celebes there has been one continuous storm. This 



