THE CHARTERED COMPANY’S GOLDFIELDS 91
Mine Hill, between Gwailo and Fort Charter, I saw the trenches of the extensive workings from which the natives for generations have extracted the iron of which they make their assegais. Large deposits of salt are also found in the pans to the westward of Buluwayo.
( b ) In Mashonaland.
When we turn to Mashonaland it is possible to speak somewhat more definitely of its prospects as a gold-producing country. The surface indications are much the same in both territories ; but in Mashonaland two years’ exploration and more has been done, many mines have been developed, and the auriferous reefs have been proved to run deep and broad. And yet, because so far there has been but a limited output, many people at home are of opinion that the Mashonaland goldfields have failed; and in some newspapers I still find it boldly asserted that there is no gold at all in the country. Many do not seem to realise that a goldfield in so remote a region cannot be developed in a