GOLD IN THE PHILIFPINES 469 



with pyrites of iron and copper, galena, and blende. I have seen a 

 report in which it was stated that in a ledge near Caniraon there had 

 • been found ore so rich that as high as 100 ounces of gold had been 

 obtained from 75 feet of the vein. 



The productiveness of this Surigao district has been known for 

 centuries, but for many reasons tlie extraction of gold has remained 

 in the hands of the natives. Foreman says : * 



"A friend of mine, a French mercliant in Manila, tolil me, in 1886, tliat for 

 a long time he received monthly remittances of 42 to b\ pounds of alluvial gold 

 from the Surigao coast extracted by the natives on their own account. In the 

 same district a Spaniard attempted to organize labor for gold, washing on sys- 

 tematic principles, but he met with such opposition from the friars, who in- 

 fluenced the natives, that he could onlj^ have continued his project at the risk 

 of his life, so he gave it up " 



Sir John Bowring also mentions the Mindanao gold i)roduction : f 



" Gold dust is the instrument of exchange in the interior of Mindanao, and 

 is cairied about in bags for the ordinary purposes of life." 



While I was in Manila in April last (1900) Mr G. E. St. Clair, a 

 mining engineer and expert of considerable experience, returned 

 from a trip to the southern islands. He said that from the result of 

 his investigation he regarded the island of Mindanao as one of the 

 richest countries he has ever visited, considered from a mineral stand- 

 point. 



Gold has also been found in the island of Pana}'. The most nota- 

 ble locations are those in the vicinity of Astorga, in the townsliip of 

 Dumarao, in the beds of the creeks known as Calaomin and Dinogo, 

 In this neighborliood are found dioritic rock containing numerous 

 small veins of gold-l>earing iron pyrites, ricli enougli to pay for work- 

 ing. Deposits of gold exist in liinatusan and Lausam ])elow Ahmtu- 

 bang ; also in the country l)et\veen the junction of the rivers Manyon 

 and Badbaran with the river Panay. In the province of Iloilo the 

 most noticealjle gold deposits are those in the Al)aca section of the 

 township of San Curicpie and those in the townsliij) of Baratoc Viejo, 

 in the northeast of the island, which are reported to be very rich. 



This description includes the best known gold-l)earing localities; 

 but indications in several other islands, such as Cebu, Mindoro, Mas- 

 bate, Negros, Palawan, and other smaller islands, are such as to lead 

 to the belief that the metal will be found in them whenever they may 



* Op. oit., !>. ;iH2. 



+ 'rii<- I'hilii-i.iiif IsliUids, liy Sir .Icitin l'...uriiin, I,..ii,l«ri, l.s,V,», p. 27!l. 



