The sub-province of Benguet is at present the most important gold-mining district in the Mountain Province. The Igorots had exploited the mines long before the coming of the Spaniards and it is said that because of the experience already acquired, the Igorots are today more skillful gold miners than those who use their knowledge of chemistry and mining engineering. Hot springs are found at Klondikes, Daklan, and Bungias. Coal deposits exist in Mount Kapangan.
Rice terraces at Bontoc, Mountain Province
The city of Baguio, the capital of Benguet, is situated in the southwestern part of the province. About 160 miles to the north of Manila, it is built high up among the Benguet mountains. It ranges in elevation from 4,500 to over 5,500 feet, and is surrounded practically on all sides by high mountains. The city at present is the summer capital of the Philippines. For a fuller description see page 61.
The sub-province of Bontok is exceedingly mountainous. Besides agriculture and pottery making, the principal industries consist of basket making, lumbering, weaving, and metal working. The women by means of their hand-looms weave a great deal of high colored cloth out of yarn which they get by barter from the people of Isabela and Abra. The men manufacture head-axes and knives.
Ifugao Rice Terraces The sub-province of Ifugao is famous for the remarkable rice terraces along its mountain sides. Nowhere in the Philippines is irrigation developed to the point reached in this sub-province. There are approximately 100 square miles of irrigated rice terraces that are watered by great ditches several miles long. The terraces are all buttressed with stone walls which measure a total length of about 12,000 miles. These terraces have been built without any knowledge of engineering. It is believed that the construction of the present terraces and irrigation systems has taken from 1,200 to 1,500 years of time. Generation after generation had toiled on them patiently. The Ifugaos have so utilized every drop of available water supply that in most places no more ditches can be constructed for lack of water.
The terraces are built of stones mined near by, of which there are extensive areas. No animals are used for field work everything being done by hand. Salt springs and deposits of rock salts are also found in several places.
The sub-province of Lepanto is next to Ifugao in the number of rice terraces. Camotes, pineapples, sugar cane, and cotton are also raised. Lepanto and Benguet are the regions having the most minerals in Luzon. All the mountain ranges have millions of pesos worth of copper ore deposits. Mankayan is the center of the copper mining industry. Here the Spaniards found the natives using the Chinese method of mine smelting.
Gold Mining and Industries Suyok is the gold mining center. Here is found one of the most striking features of the world. The whole side of a range of mountains, about 15 kilometers across, slides down to the valley, and on this slide, named the Palidan Slide, are found parts of gold veins which must have their connection somewhere else.
The household industries are well developed. Clay products, such as pots, jars, and pipes are made for export. The men are experts in metal-working. They make weapons, pots, and spoons out of copper which they mine and smelt by native process. They also manufacture iron or steel spears, bolos, knives, and tools of all sorts, which they sell to or barter with the natives of the lowlands. They also carve wood into images, bowls, ornaments, and other utensils.