The day of mining speculation of this sort has not passed away, but the capitalists of New York and other eastern cities have had their eyes opened, and are not so easily taken in as they were of old. Some of the enterprising speculators have transferred the scene of their operations to Europe, and are making very profitable shafts and tunnels in the money bags of the capitalists of the old world. I know some of them who have gone there with mining claims, which they have represented to be worth millions of dollars, though not really worth ten cents, and they have returned to America with a goodly amount of capital. I once heard one of these gentlemen tell his experience with a heavy capitalist in London. “The old fellow,” said he, “was very cautious. I had a talk with him two or three times, and finally brought him some magnificent specimens. He looked at them very quietly, and then asked,— “‘How much of this stuff is there?’ “‘O,’ said I, carelessly, “any quantity of it. There are five or six thousand tons of it in sight—right on the surface of the ground. The vein is ten feet wide. We have a claim five hundred yards long, and we think it is at least two thousand feet deep, and the farther down you go, the richer it gets.’ “The old fellow took the specimens once more, and I saw his eyes glisten. I knew then that I had him. The next day I sold him the mine, and got the money. Once I had got it, you bet I took a train for Paris; and I have not been in London since.” VIII. MINES AND MINING ENTERPRISES OF NORTH AFRICA. MINING AMONG THE MOORS, BERBERS, AND ARABS—THE FRENCH CONQUEST—GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS—MINERAL WEALTH OF ALGERIA—A WONDERFUL IRON MINE—_MOKTU-EL-HADID_—HOW THE MINE IS WORKED—VISIT TO A MOUNTAIN OF SALT—A REMARKABLE FORMATION—ARTESIAN WELLS IN THE DESERT—SCENE AT THE OPENING OF ONE—EFFECTS ON THE PALM TREE—A PROPOSED INLAND SEA—THE SUEZ CANAL AND ITS HISTORY—HOW IT WAS MADE—ADVANTAGES TO THE WORLD’S COMMERCE. Northern Africa is a country of great mineral wealth, but it has been only slightly developed. The Moors, Berbers, Arabs, and other inhabitants of that region have never been famous for their mining industry. They have very little knowledge of geology, and understand the working of only a few metals. Most of the gold and silver which they make into filigree and other jewelry comes from Europe; in fact, they have no mines of these metals that are worth mentioning, and when their supply from Europe has been cut off by war or for other reasons, they were obliged to bring it by a long journey from Timbuctoo and other points to the South. The Moors that occupied Spain took back with them, at the time of their expulsion, a knowledge of mining, but they seem to have lost it almost completely in the course of two or three generations.