Beautiful Philippines: A Handbook of General InformationPhilippine Islands. Commission of Independence
History
Beautiful Philippines: A Handbook of General Information
Philippine Islands. Commission of Independence
Philippines -- Description and travel; Philippines -- Economic conditions
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.
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]
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