chap, xiii.] SUPPOSED COPPER MINE. 301 



from time immemorial pure native copper has been found 

 at a place on the coast about thirty miles east of Delli. 

 The natives say they find it in the bed of a ravine, and 

 many years ago a captain of a vessel is said to have got 

 some hundreds-weight of it. Now, however, it is evidently 

 very scarce, as during the two years Mr. Geach resided in 

 the eountr} 7 , none was found. I was shown one piece 

 several pounds' weight, having much the appearance of 

 one of the larger Australian nuggets, but of pure copper 

 instead of cold. The natives and the Portuguese have 

 very naturally imagined, that where these fragments come 

 from there must be more ; and they have a report or 

 tradition, that a mountain at the head of the ravine is 

 almost pure copper, and of course of immense value. 



After much difficulty a company was at length formed to 

 work the copper mountain, a Portuguese merchant of Singa- 

 pore supplying most of the capital. So confident were they 

 of the existence of the copper, that they thought it would 

 be waste of time and money to have any exploration made 

 first ; and accordingly sent to England for a mining- 

 engineer, who was to bring out all necessary tools, 

 machinery, laboratory, utensils, a number . of mechanics, 

 and stores of all kinds for two years, in order to com- 

 mence work on a copper-mine which he was told was 

 already discovered. On reaching Singapore a ship was 

 freighted to take the men and stores to Timor, where they 



