Peculiar Methods of Mining Copper.
Copper is found in many parts of the Philippines, but in very small quantities. In the mountain-ranges in the centre of Luzon, however, deposits have been worked by the natives from a time long before that of the Spaniards. They soften the rocks by wood fires and then make excavations, separating the ore according to quality. Their furnaces are holes lined with clay, and they use blowers of bamboo to produce the necessary draught.
House of Native Coal Laborer of Cebú.
The Spaniards recently took hold of the mines, introducing the most expensive machinery and the latest methods; but they failed where the natives had succeeded, and their enterprise collapsed. The Indians still work them on a small scale.
The engineers of the syndicate also found a very curious deposit of copper in one of their concessions. This consists of round or pear-shaped nuggets of the metal, with traces of both gold and silver in their composition.