GOLD REGIONS OF STRAIT OF MAGELLAN 689 



1907 some twelve or thirteen dredges in operation or being con- 

 structed, and the gold industry of the region promises soon to become 

 a far more important business than in the days of handwork. The 

 most active man in introducing the dredges has been an American, 

 Mr. John D. Roberts, who for some years has been engaged in devel- 

 oping the gold industry of this region. The dredges are not used in 

 handling the beach deposits, as the fury of the storms would soon 

 batter them to pieces, and their use has so far been confined to the 

 inland deposits. 





Fig. 4. — The town of Punta Arenas, Strait of Magellan. 



Until recently the largest gold-mining operations were at Paramo 

 and Lennox Island, but since the introduction of the dredges, the 

 most active operations are on the northwestern part of the main 

 island of Tierra del Fuego, just across the strait from Punta Arenas. 

 Here the town of Porvenir is the headquarters of the industry. This 

 town has been a small settlement for some years, but it jumped into 

 prominence in the gold boom of 1904, and is now a prosperous mining 

 center of about 800 people. (See Fig. 3.) The mines are mostly 

 some miles, and often many miles, from Porvenir, but the town is 

 the supply point and the port at which the boats of the miners land. 



