468 GOLD IN THE PHILIPPINES 



discharges near the town of Vigan, on the coast of Ilocos Sur. It 

 has also been found in many places in the country inhal)ited by the 

 Igorrotes and Igorrote-Chinese, in tlie district of Benguet, particularly 

 near the villages of Gatapa, Bagnio, Ca{)unga, Lutal, Automac, and 

 Pangotcotan, near the latter of which some mines were worked by 

 Mexicans during the last century; in the township of Batincoquin, 

 in the north of Zambales province ; in the rivers near the towns of 

 Santa Maria and San Jose of Bulacan ; in the Tierras de Caramoan, in 

 the province of Camarines Sur ; in the township of Ligao, in Albay ; 

 in the rivers of Lanating and Cayguran, in the province of Morong, 

 and in the ravines and creeks of Macaburaboc and Camandag, near 

 the town of Montalban, in the province of Manila. It will thus be 

 seen that gold is widely distributed throughout the island of Luzon j 

 how many of these deposits will prove to be rich enough to pay for 

 systematic work and the introduction of machinery remains a problem 

 which the future must solve, but I know that the owners of some of 

 them are sanguine of securing good results whenever the country 

 may be pacified and capital and labor shall be protected under Amer- 

 ican control. 



In the great southern island of Mindanao gold has been found in 

 many places, principally on the northern and eastern coasts, where 

 its production has been entirel.y in the hands of the natives. What 

 may exist in the interior is problematic, as the greater part of the 

 island is unexplored. In the district of Misamis, in the northwest,, 

 there exist many alluvial diggings in the country between the Cagayan 

 and Iligan Rivers. The principal placers are near the towns of Initao- 

 and Iponan, where nuggets have been found weighing as much as 

 1 to 2 ounces. In the neighborhood of Pigholugan, near Cagayan, 

 small veins of auriferous quartz exist, from which, even by the crude 

 native methods, considerable quantities of gold have been taken. 



The gold-bearing district of Surigao may be considered as an eastern 

 continuation of that of Cagayan de Misamis, and is of more impor- 

 tance, including the greater part of the district of the Canimon, Binu- 

 tong, and the Canmarhat Mountain and the plains of Caningay. 

 There are also deposits in Magong-Duanganand Danas, in the town- 

 ship of Caganan ; placers in the township of Tibabangan, near Maquit, 

 on the edge of Lake Sai)ongan ; in the Tul)ay River, which discharges 

 into the Bay of Butuan ; also about four days' journey from the mouth 

 of the Butuan River, near the villages of I^ines, Finon, and Sulibas. 

 In the veins and outcroppings in this district the gold is found mingled 



