Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tracks, and sell very cheaply at the seaside, sufficiently indicates what might be done, if
good roads were made, and if the people were taught, encouraged, and protected. Sheep also
do well on the mountains; and a breed of hardy ponies in much repute all over the Ar-
chipelago, runs half wild; so that it appears as if this island, so barren-looking and devoid of
the usual features of tropical vegetation, were yet especially adapted to supply a variety of
products essential to Europeans, which the other islands will not produce, and which they
accordingly import from the other side of the globe.
On the 24th of February my friend Mr. Geach left Timor, having finally reported that no
minerals worth working were to be found. The Portuguese were very much annoyed, having
made up their minds that copper is abundant, and still believing it to be so. It appears that
from time immemorial pure native copper has been found at a place on the coast about thirty
miles east of Delli. The natives say they find it in the bed of a ravine, and many years ago a
captain of a vessel is said to have got some hundreds-weight of it. Now, however, it is evid-
ently very scarce, as during the two years Mr. Geach resided in the country, none was found.
I was shown one piece several pounds' weight, having much the appearance of one of the
larger Australian nuggets, but of pure copper instead of gold. The natives and the Por-
tuguese have very naturally imagined, that where these fragments come from there must be
more; and they have a report or tradition, that a mountain at the head of the ravine is almost
pure copper, and of course of immense value.
After much difficulty a company was at length formed to work the copper mountain, a
Portuguese merchant of Singapore supplying most of the capital. So confident were they of
the existence of the copper, that they thought it would be waste of time and money to have
any exploration made first; and accordingly sent to England for a mining-engineer, who was
to bring out all necessary tools, machinery, laboratory, utensils, a number of mechanics, and
stores of all kinds for two years, in order to commence work on a copper-mine which he was
told was already discovered. On reaching Singapore a ship was freighted to take the men
and stores to Timor, where they at length arrived after much delay, a long voyage, and very
great expense.
A day was then fixed to 'open the mines.' Captain Hart accompanied Mr. Geach as inter-
preter. The Governor, the Commandante, the Judge, and all the chief people of the place,
went in state to the mountain, with Mr. Geach's assistant and some of the workmen. As they
went up the valley Mr. Geach examined the rocks, but saw no signs of copper. They went on
and on, but still nothing except a few mere traces of very poor ore. At length they stood on
the copper mountain itself. The Governor stopped, the officials formed a circle, and he then
addressed them, saying,—that at length the day had arrived they had all been so long ex-
