Show ON primitive tools used by cuban Mine owners I 1 advanced methods employed ia in but few places writer tells of wealth that may be gathered from the earths with skill and enterprise T IS generally known among the mining and commercial men ot of J cuba that the greater wealth of the country I 1 es upon the surface and Is procured from N the soil at the same VT time those who are in r position to know the facts will inform you of centers in the islands in which the mining interests orm one of the important elements 4 I 1 L K 1 TAJ in santiago province for example there has already been a yield of iron ore of good grade equal to about 3 tons this ore Is chiefly hem agite and exists principally as a float it has about sixty per cent of iron and Is generally free from sul chur then there are the copper and manganese mining interests which have been and are now attracting the notice of mining capitalists the chances are that within a few years these mines will be opened and busl busi commenced I 1 found that in excavating tor for min ing the native miners employed the surface well to some extent one ot of these wells Is shown in illustration fig 1 petroleum oil has been discovered in cuba as Is known and these oil wells are sunk in very crude fashion especially when the work Is by na tives there are a few american and english wells in service in which the boring machinery Is of late pattern but the old fashioned types of well sinking prevail as shown in the cut E 7 2 in which a surface well Is first sunk by excavating with ordinary working tools the sides are lined up and masonry pias onry put in with brick or stone HS ps at c e then the processes of sinking the shaft begin and often the boring Is with crude revolving de vices attached to the end of ropes or to long spliced portions of bamboo when the tool at the lower end frees a quantity of the earthly substances the process involves the lowering of EL cylinder of wood with a valve in the lower end by working this tube up and down on the loose matter in the bottom of the boring the debris Is sucked into 7 the tube and can be brought to the surface this second ary boring Is marked d and it la Is often sunk many feet to reach the strata A windlass is made with a weight beam a which Is set into side planks and is operated with a crank b the shock system of boring is shown in fig 2 according to the plan the writer noticed in service at one of the oil wells there was a der rick set up with bamboo poles on the tripod plan and the feet of the poles arranged to touch at either edge of the well as shown to the middle L cross pieces of the tripod a pulley and rope is fixed and the required system of sl ock for the boring tool ie Is obtained by passing the boring tool rope over the wheel in this block as at e the boring tool Is at g the shock device denice is merely a lever like that at f secured to the earth with a stand and connected to the rope pressure on the lever brings down and releases the rope alternate ly so that the necessary cesary ne shocking motion Is imparted to the pointed bor ing tool and the earth is loosened in the hole reference will mill be next made to some of the crude mm min ng tools noticed by the writer in use in the mines of cuba 7 1 VI V 1 S ie 0 there are not many tools of modern pattern to be seen anywhere in the mines in fig 3 2 we show slow a sketching of 0 one of the types of excavating tools in service it Is pointed at one end and blunt at the other and can there fore be used both as a pick and a sledge A very strong handle Is put into the tool and the native miner uses the tool to advantage it may interest readers to notice to what service the natives of the islands often put the rich metals which they mine I 1 saw some snuff boxes for example made of a brass like metal and polished to the extent that one would suppose the boxes to be of great value the carvings on some 1 iii w of these boxes Is very grand evi dently a great amount of labor Is ex in making and finishing these boxes the box in fig 4 will give an idea of the construction A lid is fur dished which fits into the top and being flanged remains firm these types of metal boxes can be seen in use by the cubans for matches for sugar on the table for cigarettes cl ci gars cigar ashes toothpicks etc visits to the native jewelry stores of the islands convince one that the natives must now and then roam the hills and discover little deposits of rare metals there were numerous instances of small nuggets shown in the stores and seen in use by natives similar to those presented in the next cut in fig 5 a little nugget ot of gold is rg L K fixed to a pin and in the nugget Is set a pearl which glistens the nugget la is put on in the rough and a very novel effect results I 1 also saw rings mounted in the manner shown in fig 6 the ring itself Is made from horn and the nugget Is strap strapped pea to the ring very securely cane heads of artistic and grotesque design may be observed in use in cuba sometimes these heads are fixed with plain silver dollars set on flat or again you can see them ar ranged with five and ten dollar pieces in this figure 7 is a carved head fitted with teeth of ivory and a crown ot of gold canes of this kind are con wa 9 rare and PS representing the higher classes of society pipes decorated with the output of the minea of cuba are not rare one will see pipe bowls of 0 the description shown in fig 8 produced from shell or other substance decorated with a jew el these pipes are costly and of course carried only by the richer people of the country in fig 9 is shown one ope of the rotary to fo ms of plows used by the miners in the interior of cuba it I 1 is all wood and of native make and design I 1 think there is a good open ing in cuba for the sale of mining ma chinery and tools and this may be worth looking into by makers of these goods ex soldier in ores and met als |