GIFT OF 
 
 IV- 
 
PETER PARLEY'S LITTLE LIBRARY. 
 
 This series of entertaining and useful Books is designed for Children. 
 They will be elegantly printed, and handsomely illustrated by Engra- 
 vings. They will consist either of Biographical Tales and Adventures, 
 of an authentic character, or lively and amusing descriptions and illus- 
 trations of the Arts of Life. They will be by different writers, but the 
 selection of the works, and the general superintendence of their publica- 
 tion, will be committed to the Author of Peter Parley's Tales. The 
 following are among the works which will belong to the series. 
 
 1. THE ADVENTURES OF CAPT. JAMES RILEY, IN 
 AFRICA. 
 
 2. THE STORY OF JOHN R. JEWETT, the Captive of Nootka 
 Sound. 
 
 3. THE SHIP, or entertaining descriptions of the Structure and Use 
 of a Ship, with Stories of Sea Adventures, and a History of the art of 
 Navigation. 
 
 4. THE STORY OF LA PEROUSE, and an account of the voy- 
 ages made to discover his fate. 
 
 5. THE FARM, or a new account of rural scenes, with the toils, 
 pleasures, and pursuits of Farming. By J. Taylor. 
 
 6. STORY OF ALEXANDER SELKIRK, who inhabited a soli, 
 tary island, alone, for several years. 
 
 7. THE MINE, an entertaining account of Mines and Minerals. 
 
 8. THE GARDEN, or the art of laying out and cultivating it. 
 
 i^=- These works are prepareji with the view of rendering them at- 
 tractive to children, and amusing to all classes of youthful readers ; at 
 the same time they are calculated to impart knowledge of a useful kind. 
 
 THE PARENT'S PRESENT, edited by the author of Peter Par- 
 ley's Tales. 
 
 f^* This work is very neatly printed, and is designed as a Christmas 
 or New Year's present, for parents to their children. 
 
 PETER PARLEY'S PICTURE BOOK, with 38 beautiful Engra- 
 vings. 
 
 PETER PARLEY'S SPELLING BOOK, with 175 Engravings. 
 PETER PARLEY'S BOOK OF FABLES, with fine Cuts. 
 PETER PARLEY'S EVERY DAY BOOK, 50 Engravings. 
 
THE MINE; 
 
 OR 
 
 SKETCHES OF THE MINES OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. 
 THE MODES OF WORKING THEM, 
 
 AND 
 
 THEIR VARIOUS PRODUCTIONS 
 
 BY THE REV. ISAAC TAYLOR, 
 
 AUTHOR OF SCENES IN EUROPE. ASU, AFRICA. AND AMERICA," 
 "THE SHIP," & c . 
 
 WITH SIXTEEN ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 ADAPTED TO THE READING OF AMERICAN YOUTH, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 J. B. L I P P 1 1ST T T & C O. 
 1861. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 18S4, 
 BY S. G. GOODRICH, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE following work, it seems fair to apprise 
 our readers, was originally prepared in England, 
 and was designed for the children of that coun- 
 try. But, with some alterations, which I shall 
 make, it will be found equally adapted to chil- 
 dren, in the United States, and to them, in this 
 new dress, it is dedicated. 
 
 They will find it an interesting and instruc- 
 tive little volume. To heighten the interest of 
 the work, I shall add a chapter about the mines 
 which are found in various parts of the United 
 States. 
 
 From a perusal of the volume, they will be 
 led to regard the globe upon which we dwell, 
 with a deeper interest than perhaps they now 
 
 438849 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 do. They look, no doubt, with pleasuie upon 
 the fair and beautiful portions of the earth : 
 they are delighted with the thousand beauties, 
 which often cluster in a single landscape: its 
 herbs its plants its flowers and trees its 
 winding streams its bleating flocks its tidy 
 cottages scattered here and there all conspire 
 to fill the mind with pleasure, and to excite our 
 admiration of the goodness and wisdom of the 
 Author of our being. 
 
 But this little volume will convey another 
 lesson. It will carry its readers among the 
 more unsightly portions of the earth lofty 
 mountains deep precipices caverns and ex- 
 cavations grotesque and shapeless works just 
 the portions of the globe, which, at first view, 
 would seem to be without interest or value. 
 
 Yet even these will be found to be full of the 
 riches and goodness of the Great Author of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 nature. They are unsightly, but not " neglect- 
 ed spots." They contain articles important to 
 our comfort and happiness. We shall find salt, 
 and iron, and coal, with other minerals, without 
 which, the common business of civilized life 
 could not be conducted to say nothing of vari- 
 ous medicines which administer to bur health, 
 dug from the bowels of the earth nor of gold 
 and silver important to commercial intercourse 
 nor of the diamond and other gems, which serve 
 to adorn and beautify our persons. 
 
 They will learn, moreover, something of the 
 process, by which the metals are separated 
 from their ore, and of the toil and labor of thou- 
 sands of our fellow-beings, doomed for life to 
 delve in mines hundreds of feet below the sur- 
 face of the earth shut out from most of the 
 joys of society; forever excluded from the 
 light of day. 
 
THE MINE 
 
 SALT. 
 
 CHESHIRE.* 
 
 " THIS is something like !" exclaimed James, 
 " Oh ! this is quite a fairy palace ! We 
 seemed as if we were going out of the land of 
 the living all the while we were coming hither : 
 and now, surely, all I see is magic." 
 
 Mr. Thompson was well pleased to find his 
 
 * Cheshire is a county in the north-western part of England, 
 lying in part on the Irish sea. It is about fifty miles long and 
 twenty-five broad. Its capital is Chester, which lies on the river 
 Dee, seventeen miles south from Liverpool, and one hundred and 
 eighty-one north-west from London. Among other things, it 
 abounds in excellent salt. Cheshire is also celebrated for the 
 excellent quality of its cheese. 
 
10 SALT MINES IN CHESHIRE. 
 
 son thus interested and delighted. He had been 
 at some trouble, and incurred some expense, to 
 gain this sight foi him. They were now in the 
 subterraneous regions of the salt mine, at North- 
 wich;* and he had taken care to have the 
 whole illuminated, according to a custom with 
 the miners, when company visit the mines, who 
 are willing to pay for this splendid exhibition. 
 Numbers of the workmen, with each a light in 
 his hand, had placed themselves in the various 
 niches and corners of the mine. As the mine 
 itself is a very large excavation, great pillars of 
 the salt rock are left at various intervals, fif- 
 teen, or even twenty -four feet in diameter, and 
 as many in height ; by which means, besides a 
 huge vaulted dome, a continuation of chambers, 
 halls, and passages, appeared in view. As the 
 
 * Northwich is situated at the union of the rivers Weaver and 
 Dan ; eighteen miles east of Chester. 
 
THE DESCENT. 11 
 
 salt is like a white semi-transparent rock, every 
 light glittered in a thousand places, exhibiting 
 a great variety and intermixture of splendid 
 colors: such as one might suppose a vast 
 building would display, were the walls and 
 arches encrusted with diamonds. 
 
 As these excavations reach far under ground, 
 some of the candles were evidently at a great 
 distance, and gave the idea of an interminable 
 labyrinth of brilliant apartments; although 
 one vast amphitheatre, as the principal part, 
 chiefly caught their attention. Here the floor 
 was as level as any mason could have laid it ; 
 the sides rose to a cupola in the centre, sup- 
 ported by pillars, nearly pellucid, almost fifty 
 feet high. 
 
 This appeared the more astonishing to them, 
 because their descent had been rather gloomy ; 
 for they had been let down in a large tub, 
 
12 ADMIRATION AND FEAR 
 
 through a sort of deep well, about a hundred 
 and fifty feet, and in rather an anxious mood. 
 For the tub was only a rough one, the same 
 that is used by the miners for raising the lumps 
 of salt to the surface of the earth. 
 
 It was some time before the fascination of 
 the scene would allow the young philosopher 
 to ask a single question, or notice any of the 
 operations going on. 
 
 He began at last to inquire, with a whole 
 string of questions : " How deep are we in the 
 earth? How far do these caverns reach? 
 How much salt is obtained from hence every 
 year ?" &,c. " It will take some time to answer 
 all those questions," said his father ; " which 
 can be done, too, more at our leisure, when we 
 get above ground again. Meanwhile, let us 
 observe some of their operations." 
 
 When the extra lights were extinguished, 
 
OPERATIONS OF THE MINERS. 13 
 
 and only those remained which the workmen 
 needed for their convenience, the place looked 
 gloomy enough, especially after its recent bril- 
 liant appearance. 
 
 It was curious to w r atch the miners in their 
 work, separating huge masses of the salt rock, 
 with pickaxes ; and then, with heavy hammers, 
 splitting them into smaller and more convenient 
 portions. In some places, they bored the rock, 
 and put into the deep hole, thus made, a quan- 
 tity of gunpowder : this being fired, an explo- 
 sion followed, w r hich usually separated several 
 great blocks of the salt : these, as before, were 
 broken, that they might be removed the more 
 easily. These lumps, being carried to the spot 
 under the mouth of the pit, were then drawn 
 up to the surface of the earth, in the very tub 
 in which James and his father had descended, 
 and by which they also returned. 
 
14 DEPTH OF MINES. 
 
 " So, James, we are now above ground again. 
 If the landscape below is the most curious, yet, 
 upon the whole, the landscape above is the 
 most pleasant ; is it not 1" 
 
 " Yes, father ! I am glad I have seen th< 
 mine ; but I am very glad now of the fresh air , 
 and the bright sun, and the smiling landscape, 
 with its variegated greens." 
 
 " And now, some of your questions may be 
 considered at leisure. You asked how deep 
 we were below the surface of the earth 1 The 
 roof of that grand cathedral, in which you were 
 so much delighted just now, is about a hundred 
 feet beneath us. But the depth of the several 
 mines varies much. The salt rock seems to lie 
 in vast beds, or strata. One of these had been 
 worked for more than a hundred years, when 
 another was discovered below it, but separated 
 by a bed of hardened clay, or soft stone, be- 
 
NECESSITY OF PERSEVERANCE. 15 
 
 tween thirty and forty feet thick. This lower 
 stratum is said to be very pure." 
 
 "And how came they to find this, so deep 
 in the earth, father? Who told them it was 
 there V 9 
 
 "It was found, as we say, by accident. 
 Persons were searching for coal, when they 
 came to a solid mass of salt ; which has been 
 to the proprietors an inexhaustible fund of 
 wealth. It is well those w r ho were digging did 
 not say, * This is not coal, let us give over, and 
 try somewhere else.' It is well that, when 
 they had digged for some time, they did not 
 leave off in despair, and miss of this treasure. 
 How much may be missed sometimes for want 
 of perseverance ! And how much has been lost, 
 through ignorance of the value of what has 
 been actually found! It is said, that the bed 
 of salt continues for a mile and a half, as mea- 
 
16 SALT-WORKS IN CHESHIRE. 
 
 sured one way, almost east and west, and about 
 three quarters of a mile across it. The thick-, 
 ness of the stratum of salt is from sixty to 
 almost a hundred feet. Its upper parts are 
 about forty feet below the level of the sea, and 
 ninety feet below the surface on Which we 
 stand. The thickness of the lower bed of salt 
 has not been ascertained; but they have sunk 
 above forty feet into it, without finding its 
 bottom. In another place, three distinct beds 
 have been discovered : one of them, four feet 
 thick ; a second, twelve feet ; and the third has 
 been penetrated above seventy feet ; but as no 
 bottom has yet been found, we do not know 
 how much deeper it is. 
 
 "Salt is procured at several places here- 
 abouts. They are mostly adjacent to the river 
 Weever, which runs across Cheshire. The 
 principal works are at Namptwich, Middle- 
 
SALT MINE AT NORTHWICH. 
 
 B 
 
18 ROCK-SALT. 
 
 wich,* and Northwich : there are also some at 
 Winsford, and other places; making nearly a 
 dozen mines, now in full working. 
 
 "Although the mine, into which we descend- 
 ed, is one solid rock of salt, which may be dug 
 into, and brougat up in lumps; yet, in many 
 cases, the salt is found dissolved in springs of 
 water. This is called brine, and must be ren- 
 dered fit for use, by evaporating the water by 
 boiling. As the water vanishes in steam, the 
 salt crystallizes. Pumps of great power are in 
 use at these brine springs, for bringing up 
 the water from its deep caverns into large 
 reservoirs ; though some of these springs are 
 at no great depth. 
 
 "Indeed, the rock-salt itself is not fit for 
 the table, till it has been purified. This effect 
 
 * Namptwich lies on the Weever twenty miles south-east from 
 Chester. Middlewich is east of the latter place twenty-two miles. 
 
PURIFICATION OP THE BRINE. 19 
 
 is produced by dissolving it in water, and then, 
 by heat, evaporating that water again, during 
 which operation the impurities rise as a scum 
 to the top, and are skimmed off. In order to 
 facilitate this process, coagulable matter, such 
 as eggs, &c. are mingled with the brine ; these 
 quickly rise to the top, in the form of a crust, 
 carrying every foulness up with them. Much 
 of this purification is done on the spot ; but 
 vast quantities of the pit salt are sent to Liver- 
 pool and Bristol, to be there refined. Much 
 is also sent, in its crude state, to the eastern 
 side of the kingdom, where are long establish- 
 ed salt-works, for supplying the adjacent coun- 
 try. It has been calculated that above fifty 
 thousand tons of salt are .extracted from the 
 mines hereabouts, every year, supplying not 
 only England, but also Ireland, the Baltic, 
 and so the north of Europe, with this necessary 
 
20 SALT MONEY. 
 
 arthle. Large quantities also are annually sent 
 to the United States. 
 
 " Thus the proprietors gain money by it ; 
 but in some countries money is made of it. 
 It is thus precious in the central parts of 
 Africa. The salt is formed into round flat 
 cakes, which are stamped ; and these are taken 
 as'ready money, in all the adjacent districts." 
 
 " One would wonder how all the salt came 
 here," said James. 
 
 " True," replied the father : " men, who love 
 to account for every thing, have guessed about 
 it. Many have supposed that it has been 
 formed by gradual deposits from the sea. 
 Yet, if that were the case, how are we to ac- 
 count for it, when found, as it is in some places, 
 at considerable heights up mountains? In- 
 deed, I do not know that sea water, if left to 
 settle, will ever deposit its salt. Unless it 
 
ORIGIN OP SALT. 21 
 
 were over-saturated with it, how could it let 
 it go, if heat were not applied to evaporate the 
 water? If this salt had ever floated in the 
 sea, it must, in its crystalization, have inclosed 
 in it fish, or shells, or marine plants, of some 
 sort; but we have no account of any such 
 matters being found among it ; yet its power 
 to preserve them, if once inclosed, cannot be 
 doubted. 
 
 " I am more inclined to suppose that masses 
 of salt, like the rocks which we see around our 
 coast, are part of the original creation, and 
 were intended for great usefulness in the eco- 
 nomy of our earthly habitation. Salt is ac- 
 ceptable to man in every climate, and to many 
 animals: sheep and horses are fond of it: 
 pigeons are kept to their dove-cotes, by a 
 lump of rock-salt being placed within their 
 reach. In all nations, man is fond of it, and 
 
22 SALT HELD SACRED. 
 
 gives much to obtain it as a relish for his food. 
 In ancient times, it was the symbol of friend- 
 ship, and the test or bond of it. To have 
 eaten a man's salt, was sufficient to bind the 
 most furious passions. Thieves, who have 
 broken into a house, with a design to rob and 
 murder, on happening, accidentally, to taste 
 the owner's salt, as they were exploring his 
 premises, have been known immediately to 
 withdraw ; not daring to violate what they 
 were accustomed to consider as a binding 
 engagement to do him no injury. 
 
 "The manner in which salt is spread into 
 countries far from the sea, shews a kind provi- 
 sion for our wants ; and also militates against 
 the notion of such masses having been produced 
 from the saltness of the ocean. That it is found 
 in high situations, has been hinted already. In 
 Spain, near Cordova, is a hill, much higher than 
 
SALT EXTENSIVELY DISSEMINATED. 23 
 
 St. Paul's cathedral, composed of salt through 
 its whole substance. Another, of equal size, 
 is found in India. The mines of Saltsburgh, in 
 Austria, are far above the level of the sea ; and 
 the short duration of the Deluge cannot ac- 
 count for such vast accumulations. Poland 
 has immense mines of it, as we shall presently 
 see. In the mountains of the Tyrol, it is found; 
 also in Russia, at the Betski mines, great 
 quantities are procured. In the southern parts 
 of Asia Minor, it is in such plenty, and so hard, 
 and the atmosphere is so dry, that it is used for 
 building. It abounds in the northern parts of 
 Libya; and is plentifully stored in the moun- 
 tains of Peru. So widely spread as it is, so 
 plenteously provided, it may fairly be supposed 
 to be intended for important purposes, by Him 
 w r ho knew what the wants of man would be ; 
 and, indeed, what would be the occasions for 
 it, in the globe, as an habitation." 
 
24 SALTNESS OF THE OCEAN. 
 
 " What, are these stores of salt of any use 
 to the globe itself?" 
 
 " Yes ; He who planned to give it so much 
 sea, knew, that by saltness only, could the 
 ocean be kept sweet. So far from supposing 
 that these masses of salt were abstracted from 
 the ocean, I think it" much more likely, that 
 the saltness of the ocean is occasioned by stores 
 of rock-salt at its bottom. We can trace these 
 beds of saline substance upon the land, but the 
 depths of the sea are hidden from us. There 
 is nothing irrational in the supposition, that 
 there may be also mountains and layers of salt 
 intermingled with the mountains of rock, which 
 form the bed of the sea. The continual agita- 
 tion of the waters by the tides, will occasion 
 a continual supply of the saline principle, if 
 that be needful. The saltness of the sea is 
 absolutely necessary, to preserve it from putre- 
 
SALTNESS OF THE OCEAN 2& 
 
 faction. Accordingly, we find this saltness to be 
 greater under the equator, than near the poles. 
 At the equator, the great heat would tend more 
 powerfully to engender putrescency, and there 
 this grand preservative is most plenteously 
 provided." 
 
SALT WORKS IN FRANCE. 
 
SEA SALT. 
 
 "Axe is all the salt used by the nations of 
 the earth, obtained from a few salt mines 1" 
 
 "No. This is called rock-salt, or native 
 salt; but much is obtained from the sea, by 
 evaporation, which is termed bay-salt. In 
 maritime countries, where the sun is powerful, 
 this is the common mode by which salt is pro- 
 cured. In France, especially, there are several 
 salt-works of this kind, on the western coast, 
 or Bay of Biscay. On some flat part of the 
 coast, large but shallow pits are dug, gene- 
 rally of three depths, and communicating with 
 each other. Into the first, called the reservoir, 
 the sea water is admitted at high tide, and 
 penned in by means of floodgates. Being 
 
28 METHOD OF OBTAINING SEA SALT. 
 
 thus confined in a very shallow pit, the heat 
 of the sun evaporates the watery parts rapidly. 
 The residuum is then let into the second, or 
 brine pond, which is shallower than the former, 
 and on which the sun has therefore more 
 power. The brine is afterwards let into the 
 third pit, called the salt pan, where the water 
 is not two inches deep. As the liquid evapo- 
 rates, the salt, which cannot fly off, is left as a 
 crust upon the sides of the pan ; this is gather- 
 ed up every day, and placed in heaps, which 
 are thatched over, to preserve them from the 
 weather. This work occupies from May to 
 August. If the season be favorable, the manu- 
 facturers can thus obtain from the sea, in two 
 or three weeks, salt enough for the whole 
 kingdom ; but they also make much more, and 
 export it to other nations. 
 
 " The heat of the sun under the torrid zone is 
 
METHOD OF OBTAINING SEA SALT. 29 
 
 sufficient to evaporate pools of salt water; a 
 large quantity of salt is thus produced, and may 
 be easily collected. But the sun has scarcely 
 power enougMn England for this process : yet, 
 in Kent and Hampshire, thjre are pits of this 
 kind, in which the water is so far evaporated 
 by the sun, that a small degree of boiling finishes 
 the process, and produces the salt. The brine 
 is made during the hot months, and kept in 
 large cisterns, to be boiled at leisure. The 
 boiling is sometimes continued till the end of 
 the year." 
 
SALT LAKES. 
 
 SOME inland lakes and morasses are impreg 
 nated with salt. A lake of this kind is found in 
 Southern Africa, at a distance from the sea, 
 and upon a height. The water which it re- 
 ceives during the rainy season, becomes strong- 
 ly impregnated with salt; in the succeeding 
 hot weather, this water is evaporated ; and the 
 salt is left at the bottom of the lake, two or 
 three feet in depth. In the island of Ison- 
 ming, near the coast of China, the earth is in 
 some places so full of salt, that the natives dig 
 it out, to the depth of a foot. This earth they 
 carry to their salt-works, where they soak it in 
 water in large shallow wooden vessels; and, 
 by afterwards boiling the water, they obtain 
 
SAL1NA SALT-WORKS. 31 
 
 pure salt. In the western part of the State 
 of New York, at a great distance from the sea, 
 are numerous salt springs, some of them natural, 
 and others made by boring deep through earth 
 and rocks. The water thus obtained, is not so 
 salt as that of the ocean, yet it is sufficiently 
 strong to produce great quantities of salt, by 
 boiling and by evaporation in the sun. 
 
 The largest of these salt-works are at Salina, 
 near Onondaga lake. They consist of several 
 buildings, each containing eighteen or twenty 
 iron boilers, of one hundred and twenty gallons 
 capacity. These boilers are placed in two rows, 
 and form what is called a " block." They are 
 placed about three feet above the floor of the 
 building, and under them is a large furnace, 
 which is always heated to such a degree as to 
 keep the water boiling. Pine wood is used for 
 
32 SALINA SALT-WORKS. 
 
 fuel, which creates a lively blaze, and is obtained 
 plentifully and cheap, in the neighborhood. 
 
 A large cistern, filled with water, is kept at 
 Dne end of the building, and the water is con- 
 veyed from this, through a hollow log, to the 
 boilers, as fast as it boils away. After boiling 
 for some time, there settles to the bottom a 
 substance consisting of several earthy com- 
 pounds. This is called " bittern," and is thrown 
 away as useless. The boiling being continued, 
 pure white salt forms in the boilers, which is 
 taken out and placed in a store room, ready for 
 barreling. 
 
 Near the Erie canal, are a great number of 
 vats, for evaporation of the water by heat of the 
 sun. These vats rest upon small posts, driven 
 into the ground. Some of these are six or seven 
 hundred feet in length. They are about eigh- 
 teen feet wide: They have coverings or roofs, 
 
SAL1NA SALT-WORKS. 33 
 
 in case of rain, which pass on and off by rol- 
 lers. 
 
 Some of the vats are deeper than others, and 
 the deepest are first filled with water, from 
 reservoirs, at hand. Here the water stands for 
 some time, till it throws off a quantity of iron, 
 or coloring matter, which appears on the surface 
 in the shape of a pellicle, or thin skin. 
 
 After this, the water is passed through hollow 
 logs into the shallower vats, where it remains 
 exposed to the sun ; and, after a while, deposits 
 a quantity of sulphate and carbonate of lime. 
 
 The salt now begins to appear, and crystalize 
 on the surface. The water is drawn off again, 
 into the vats, in which the salt is deposited as 
 fast as the sun dries up the water. This is 
 done in a longer or shorter time, according to 
 the season, the dryness of the air, and the 
 strength of the wind. After all the salt has 
 3 
 
34 SALINA SALT-WORKS 
 
 crystalized, it is shoveled into tubs, and drained 
 of what water remains in it. It is then convey- 
 ed in carts to the store-houses. 
 
 Here are also works for making salt by steam. 
 All the salt made by these methods, is very 
 pure and white. It is commonly packed in 
 barrels, containing five bushels, and is inspected 
 and branded by an officer of the government. 
 The quantity made here, is between one and 
 two million bushels annually. 
 
SALT. 
 
 POLAND. 
 
 "BuT," said James, " what are the Polish salt 
 mines, of which I have heard such wonders 1" 
 
 " Several travellers have visited those mines, 
 and have given us accounts of them ; perhaps 
 the substance of their descriptions may afford 
 us instruction and amusement. 
 
 "The mines of Cracow, as they are fre- 
 quently called, though they are indeed between 
 six and eight miles from thence, are at a village 
 named Wielitska, situated on a ridge of hills, 
 adjoining the Carpathian mountains. The 
 mode of descent into the mine, at the principal 
 opening, is by means of hammocks, fastened 
 to a great rope, by which the loads of salt are 
 
36 PERILOUS DESCENT INTO THE MINE. 
 
 drawn up. c We were let down gently/ says 
 Mr. Coxe, * without any apprehension of dan- 
 ger, although the depth was almost five hun- 
 dred feet ;' (one quarter as high again as St. 
 Paul's.) When they stepped out of their ham- 
 mocks, they were not at their journey's end ; 
 for they had yet to descend a slope, which in 
 some places was very broad ; in others, the 
 pathway was cut in the rock, into stairs, which 
 were rather slippery, but, being wide, and glit- 
 tering with the lights, which the visitors car- 
 ried, had the appearance of a grand staircase 
 in a palace. To some lower places, the de- 
 scent was by ladders. Every visitor carried a 
 light, as did each of the guides. The bril- 
 liance occasioned hereby was considerable and 
 peculiar. Mr. Wraxall describes one vast 
 chamber, in which, he says, ' a thousand peo- 
 ple might dine without inconvenience;' so 
 
SUBTERRANEOUS RESIDENCES. 37 
 
 large, indeed, that the flambeaux hardly en- 
 abled him to discern the sides ; it seemed 
 without limits. 
 
 "When fairly descended into the mine, the 
 traveller finds an underground country. There 
 is no sun, nor sky ; but there are roads, with 
 horses and carriages travelling in them; with 
 multitudes of people, men, women, and chil- 
 dren ; many are oorn tnere, and pass in those 
 caverns great part of their lives. This is, 
 however, voluntary on their parts; for those 
 who choose to ascend in the intervals of labor, 
 are not denied the opportunity of breathing 
 the fresh air in the fields, and enjoying the 
 ] ight of day. The horses, however, once taken 
 down, continue there, and never return to day- 
 light ; but are foddered and sleep in sheds cut 
 in the salt rock. 
 
 " Many of the chambers are very large, and 
 
38 INTERIOR OF THE POLISH MINES. 
 
 supported by pillars cf salt, left for the purpose ; 
 some of them are thirty or forty, and some se- 
 venty or eighty feet in height, without any sup- 
 port except from the sides. The roads and gal- 
 leries branch out in many directions. In some 
 parts, they are very intricate ; so that persons, 
 whose light has been accidentally extinguished, 
 have perished, not being able to find their way 
 back again. The length already excavated 
 exceeds a mile, and the breadth is nearly half 
 as much. How much larger the stratum of 
 salt is, cannot be known: the depth already 
 dug is above seven hundred feet. 
 
 "Those who shew the mine, are careful to 
 point out to strangers thfe various elegant cha- 
 pels hewn in the solid salt rock. The altar- 
 piece, the ornaments, a large crucifix, and sta- 
 tues of the saints, are all cut out of the same 
 glittering material ; and, when illuminated for 
 
LOT'S WIFE. 39 
 
 worship, have a splendid appearance. Mass 
 is said in them (for they are Roman Catholics) 
 on certain days in the year. 
 
 "One statue is appropriate at least: it is 
 a representation of Lot's wife, who was, you 
 know, turned into a pillar of salt ; and it has 
 been there so long, that most of the inhabit- 
 ants believe it to be the very mass of salt 
 formed on that occasion, w r ith herself in the 
 midst of it ! 
 
 "It seems remarkable, that all these places, 
 though formed of salt, are very dry. There is 
 one rivulet of water running through the mine, 
 which is originally fresh, but becomes saltish, 
 by running in the channel which it has worn in 
 the salt rock. The rock is hewn with pick- 
 axes; much after the same manner as in the 
 English mines, in Cheshire. 
 
 "There are other mines also in the neigh 
 
40 PRODUCT OP THE POLISH SALT MINES. 
 
 borhood, which have been wrought above six 
 hundred years ; yet the laborers have not 
 come to the extremity of the stratum of salt, in 
 any direction. Between four and five hundred 
 miners are employed in these w r orks ; and the 
 whole number of men engaged in them is about 
 seven hundred. Each continues at his work 
 for eight hours ; and then, if he chooses, rises 
 again to the surface. About six hundred thou- 
 sand quintals, or sixty million pounds of salt 
 have been annually raised from these mines. 
 
 "While Poland had a king, he derived a 
 considerable revenue from these mines ; it is 
 said nearly 100,000 sterling,* every year. 
 Since the partition of Poland by the neigh- 
 boring potentates, they belong to the Emperor 
 of Austria. His officers, however, have in their 
 avarice outwitted themselves ; for, supposing 
 
 * Nearly 450,000 dollars. 
 
AVARICE DEFEATED. 41 
 
 Poland must have this salt at any rate, they 
 have raised the price of it exorbitantly. The 
 King of Prussia, seizing this opportunity to en- 
 rich his own subjects, imports great quantities 
 of salt from other countries, and sends it into 
 Poland, where it is sold at a cheaper rate than 
 that which is dug up in the immediate vicinity 
 of the consumers. The mines of Wielitska, 
 therefore, now only supply a small space of 
 country; and their productiveness in revenue 
 is much diminished." 
 
 " That serves the Emperor right, for his 
 covetousness," said James. " Rather, perhaps," 
 replied Mr. Thompson, " the Emperor himself 
 knows nothing about it. His ministers, or 
 commissioners, have thus cheated themselves : 
 it is a very common mistake." 
 D 
 
ENGLISH MINES. 
 
 " How I should like to go abroad," said 
 James, " and see all the mines in foreign coun- 
 tries I" 
 
 " That would be rather a long business," 
 said Mr. Thompson ; " it would exceed your 
 present holidays." 
 
 " Oh yes, father ! But I should like it, I am 
 sure. It would be so amusing, and so instruc- 
 tive !" 
 
 " Amusing came first, James, I believe, be- 
 cause it lies uppermost in your mind. If that 
 be your object, I should think enough might 
 be found in England to fill up your time, and 
 empty my pockets. Those are two bounda- 
 ries to our pursuits, which have a very power- 
 
CURIOSITY ENHANCED BY DISTANCE. 43 
 
 ful influence in circumscribing our actual con- 
 duct ; and they should have their influence in 
 checking the wildness of our otherwise illimi- 
 table desires." 
 
 " Yes, father, I am sure I am very much 
 obliged to you for bringing me such a journey 
 as this ; and procuring me the sight of such 
 wonderful places. Only, I suppose, there are 
 more wonderful places still abroad ?" 
 
 " There are very wonderful places abroad, 
 no doubt ; but, why you should think they are 
 more wonderful than those in England, I do not 
 perceive. Though a mine be a little larger, or 
 a little deeper in one country than in another ; 
 yet the sight of one conveys as true an idea to 
 the mind, as to the real nature of that sort of 
 excavation, or that sort of mineral, as if you 
 had seen twenty. You have been actually 
 down into the salt mines at Northwich. The 
 
44 ENGLISH MINES. 
 
 color, the brilliancy of the salt, the mode of 
 propping up the mine, the grandeur of the vast 
 cavern, and the hazards of descending into such 
 a place, and coming up again ; these and many 
 other particulars you know, and will probably 
 never forget." 
 
 " That I shall not, I am sure, father. How 
 I was astonished and surprised ! I never could 
 have fancied what such a place was, in a thou- 
 sand particulars, if I had not seen it myself." 
 
 " And did not that actual inspection enable 
 you to understand the accounts, which I com- 
 piled for you, of the Polish salt mines at Wie- 
 litska?" 
 
 " Oh yes, father, I was quite interested in 
 that account ; it was so curious ! And, as you 
 say, I understood it clearly, because I remem- 
 bered what I had seen." 
 
 " Now England can furnish us with speci- 
 
EXCELLENCE OF ENGLISH MACHINERY. 45 
 
 mens of almost every sort of mine : and it has 
 some peculiar to itself. A person, whose pro- 
 fession was mineralogy, might find it worth 
 while to visit even the mines of Potosi and of 
 Kolyvan, though situated in different quarters 
 of the world : but our object is only to obtain 
 general knowledge, and, especially, to inform 
 your mind on a point of so much importance. 
 I am content to travel over England, therefore ; 
 it holds all we want." 
 
 " Yes, father : I do not wish, I am sure, to 
 drag you either to Potosi or to (what do you 
 call it ?) Kolyvan. I am very thankful for what 
 you are doing ; and very much interested in 
 what I am gaining." 
 
 " There is one particular, in which England 
 excels most countries ; that is, the machinery 
 by which these grand works are conducted. 
 The princely establishments of the various ma- 
 
46 STEAM-ENGINES. 
 
 nufactures, or mine proprietors, would not be 
 found abroad. The scientific modes of opera- 
 tion, too, are much better understood and 
 practised with us. Not above two thirds of 
 the silver is obtained from the ore at Potosi, 
 because the work is performed in an ignorant 
 and slovenly manner. Then, the power of 
 machinery can nowhere be seen to so much 
 advantage as here. In Cornwall, there are 
 steam-engines in full work, each of a thousand 
 horse power, capable of raising fifty million 
 pounds of water through the space of a foot, 
 with only the expense in fuel of one bushel of 
 coals. Such is the mode by which the power 
 of these gigantic machines are estimated. 
 
 " We ought never to think of the vast trea- 
 sures which Divine Providence has concealed in 
 the bowels of the earth, without being reminded 
 of the wisdom of the adorable Creator. If mines 
 
REMARKS. 47 
 
 of coal, salt, iron, and of minerals in general, 
 had been near the surface of the globe, what 
 an immense portion of it would have been ren- 
 dered unfit to produce either grass for cattle, 
 or grain for the nourishment of man." 
 
DIAMONDS. 
 
 EAST INDIES. 
 
 "You know the fable of the cock, who 
 found a diamond necklace on a dunghill?" 
 
 " Yes, father ; and he wished it had been a 
 grain or tw r o of barley." 
 
 " Was he wise in that, James ; or ignorant 
 and silly?" 
 
 " I should have liked the diamond best. 
 How it would have sparkled on mother's bo- 
 som!" 
 
 " Why, yes, James, the grain or two of 
 barley would have been of no use to you. But 
 remember, I was not asking for your judgment, 
 or your wishes, in such a case ; but* rather 
 your opinion of chanticleer." 
 
DIAMONDS. 49 
 
 "Then, I think," said James, "he was quite 
 In the right, to prefer somewhat which was 
 useful, to that which was merely ornamental, 
 however splendid." 
 
 " Keep that opinion in mind, James ; in 
 the course of your life, it may save you many 
 pounds. Yet, if nobody bought any thing but 
 what is absolutely useful, many of the finer arts 
 of life would be uncultivated, and the artists, 
 who excel in them, must starve. So, let the 
 dunghill cock look after barley ; neither he nor 
 his pullets would be happier, nor indeed finer, 
 for a diamond necklace. While, however, 
 these bright gems are prized for ornament, (as 
 that is the only use which can be made of them,) 
 we may as well go on with our mining, and 
 travel, by the help of books, into the countries 
 where diamonds are found." 
 4 E 
 
50 DIAMONDS. 
 
 "Have we no diamond mines in England, 
 papa?" 
 
 " We have some very brilliant stones, in 
 several places ; but no true diamonds. The 
 Bristol stones, found about St. Vincent's rocks,* 
 are in high repute, and deservedly, for their 
 brilliancy. Cornish diamonds are also in 
 esteem." 
 
 "What! are real diamonds only found in 
 the East Indies?" 
 
 " For many ages, all our diamonds came 
 from the East ; and, of course, they were very 
 scarce. It was not till long after the dis- 
 covery of America, that diamonds were found 
 in Brazil. It has been remarked, that diamonds 
 are found only in the torrid zone ; and also 
 that the Brazil mines are at the same distance 
 
 * Rocks on each side of the river Avon, about three miles below 
 Bristol. 
 
BEAUTY OF THE DIAMOND. 51 
 
 from the equator on its southern side, as those 
 of the East Indies are on its northern side. 
 
 "The beauty of the diamond is greatest 
 when you are unable to see it : that is, when 
 it is so perfectly pellucid and clear, that the 
 stone itself is not discerned, but only the bril- 
 liant ray of light, which its polished surface 
 reflects. 
 
 " It is compared to a drop of perfectly clear 
 spring water; and its denomination, when 
 brightest, is a diamond of the first water. 
 When compared to water by weight, the dia- 
 mond is found to be three and a half times 
 more heavy than the purest water. 
 
 " The diamond mines in the kingdom of 
 Golconda* have been long in the highest esteem. 
 
 * Golconda is a province of Hindoostan. It is now known by 
 the name of Hyderabad. Formerly the mines of Raolconda and 
 Coulour employed many thousand men, but now they have ceased 
 to be important, and hardly pay the expense of working them 
 
52 RAOLCONDA MINE. 
 
 A principal mine is at Raolconda, five days' 
 journey from the city of Golconda : it was dis- 
 covered in the beginning of the seventeenth 
 century. The country is woody and rocky, 
 approaching the ranges of hills which run across 
 the province. In the crevices of the rocks, 
 is sometimes found a sort of vein of sand, not 
 more than an inch wide, and frequently not 
 above half that size ; so that the miners are 
 obliged to employ hooked irons, with which 
 they rake out the earth and sand ; and among 
 this loose stuff, the diamonds are found. They 
 wash it, therefore, with great care, securing 
 all the stones it contains. When the vein 
 ceases, they split the rock still farther, by fire, 
 and thus recover the vein, or find another ; for 
 the vein will run, sometimes, nearly a quarter 
 of a mile. 
 "The value of these gems being very great, 
 
THE GREAT MOGUL'S DIAMOND. 53 
 
 and the secreting of them easy, the miners are 
 made to work quite naked. There are also 
 persons incessantly on the watch, to prevent 
 their concealing them. With all this vigilance, 
 however, they are sometimes deceived ; as the 
 miners frequently swallow them, and thus get 
 off with them without detection. 
 
 " The famous diamond, belonging to the 
 Great Mogul, was found in the neighborhood 
 of Gani, or Coulour, which is seven days' jour- 
 ney from Golconda. This mine was discovered, 
 about a hundred and fifty years ago, by a pea- 
 sant, who. was digging, and met with one dia- 
 mond of twenty-five carats weight.* That of the 
 
 * The value of diamonds is ascertained by their weight in carats, 
 and this value increases in a very high ratio, according to their 
 magnitude. For instance, a diamond weighing one carat might be 
 worth about 8 ; while another of five carats would be worth 200 ; 
 often carats, 800; and of twenty carats, 3,200. 
 
 A carat is equal to four jeweller's grains, seven grains of which 
 
54 THE GREAT MOGUL'S DIAMOND. 
 
 Great Mogul weighed, before it was cut, almost 
 eight hundred carats. It is not common to find 
 
 are equal to six grains troy. To ascertain the value of wrought 
 diamonds, the weight must be doubled, about half being supposed 
 to be lost in the working. This sum must be multiplied into itself, 
 and the product by two. Thus, to find the value of a diamond of 
 20 carats, multiply 20 by two the product is 40 this multiplied by 
 itself, becomes 1600 and this multiplied by two, gives 3,200. 
 
 In the possession of the Rajah of Mattan, in the island of Borneo, 
 is a large diamond, shaped like an egg, with an indented hollow 
 near the smaller end. It was found in that island about 80 years 
 ago. It is said to be of the finest water, and weighs 367 carats, or 
 more than two ounces and a quarter. Several years ago, the gover- 
 nor of Batavia, desirous of purchasing this gem, sent a Mr. Stewart 
 to the Rajah, authorizing him to offer for it 150,000 dollars, two 
 large brigs of war, with their guns and ammunition, together with 
 a certain number of great guns, and a quantity of powder and shot. 
 The Rajah, however, refused to deprive his family of so valuable 
 an hereditary possession 5 the Malays not only attaching to it the mi- 
 raculous power of curing all diseases, but also believing that the for- 
 tune of the family is sustained by its continuing in their possession. 
 
 The sceptre of the Emperor of Russia is adorned with an oriental 
 diamond about the size of a pigeon's egg, which weighs 195 carats. 
 This is said to have once been placed as the eye of an idol in Ser- 
 ingham, in the Carnatic. A grenadier, who had deserted from the 
 
MINE AT GANI. 55 
 
 them above the weight of from ten to forty. The 
 earth hereabouts is of different colors, red, 
 
 French service in India, contrived to become one of the priests of 
 the idol, in the hope of being able to steal this eye, which at length 
 he effected, and escaped with it to Madras, where he sold it to the 
 captain of a ship, for a sum equal to 2,500 of British money. It was 
 afterwards transferred to a Jew for 1^000. Coming into the hands 
 of a Greek merchant, he offered it for sale at Amsterdam, in 1766 ; 
 and the Russian prince Orloff, bought it for the Empress Catharine 
 for about 90,000 sterling, and an annuity of 4,000 during the 
 life of the person who sold it. 
 
 The Pitt or regent diamond, which was set in the handle of the 
 sword of state of Buonaparte, is a brilliant of the most beautiful 
 kind, and weighs 136 3-4 carats. It was brought from India by 
 George Pitt, Esq. Governor of Bencoolen, in Sumatra, and was 
 sold by him for 130,000 to the Regent Duke of Orleans, who 
 placed it among the crown jewels of France. 
 
 The Pigot diamond, of 47 1-2 carats. This, which is an extremely 
 fine stone, was disposed of by lottery in 1800, for 22,000. 
 
 A large star and cross, worn on grand gala days by the Prince of 
 Brazil, as sovereign of the different orders of Portuguese orders of 
 knighthood, are each composed of a great number of magnificent 
 diamonds, set in gold. The centre diamond of the star is alone 
 valued at 80,000, and the whole of the star and cross are said to 
 be worth nearly four millions sterling. 
 
56 MINE AT GANI. 
 
 green, and yellow ; and the diamonds are fre- 
 quently tinged with the s a rne, which reduces 
 their splendor, and, of course, their estimation. 
 
 "The importance of this mine appears in 
 the number of persons employed in it, being 
 frequently as many as sixty thousand. Their 
 manner of operating is as follows : When, on 
 examining the ground, they find a spot, which, to 
 those accustomed to the search, appears likely 
 to afford diamonds, they begin, in some place 
 near at hand, to form a cistern or pool, with 
 clay ; into this the women and children bring 
 the earth, which the men have dug out of the 
 appointed spot. Here, with water, they loosen 
 the earth, breaking the clods, and permitting 
 
 When the diamond is rubbed, it will attract bits of straw, hairs, 
 feathers, and other small objects ; and if exposed to the rays of the 
 sun, and immediately taken into a dark place, will appear lumim us. 
 
 WillicVs Enc. 
 
DIAMOND WASHING AT QOLCONDA. 
 
58 MiNE AT GANT. 
 
 the ligter mud to run off. The plain, on which 
 they operate, is about five miles wide, with a 
 river on one side and mountains on the other. 
 When the miners come to water, they do not 
 dig any deeper. The stony substances, which 
 remain after the earthy particles are washed 
 away, are carefully sifted, and then examined 
 in a bright noonday light, which is reflected 
 by the diamonds, and aids the research. Those 
 who are accustomed to the business, are so ex- 
 pert that they can discover the diamonds by 
 the nice feeling of their fingers." 
 
 " Then diamonds are always found by dig- 
 ging 1" said James. 
 
 "Not so fast, James; the term Mine, in 
 most cases, seems to intimate a place under 
 ground ; but this is not the case at Gani, for 
 there, what is called a Mine, is of a quite dif- 
 ferent nature. Indeed, it is, of all diamond 
 
PERSONS EMPLOYED. 59 
 
 mines, the mcst ancient. It is situate in the 
 province of Bengal, amongst the sands of the 
 river Goual, which runs into the Ganges. 
 Being near the city of Soumelpour, it is often 
 called by that name. From this spot, those 
 small but splendid brilliants, called sparks, are 
 procured. The violent rains, which increase 
 the torrents from the mountains, bring down 
 these precious gems. When these rains are pret- 
 ty well over, that is, about the month of Decem- 
 ber, or, possibly, not till January, if the waters 
 do not get clear, the operation of searching for 
 diamonds commences. Frequently, ten thou- 
 sands persons from the city and its neighbor- 
 hood assemble. To all ages and sexes, it is a 
 sort of harvest; for the children can help. 
 Those more accustomed to the search, examine 
 the sands of the river, tracing them up to the 
 mountains ; as it is near them that the larger 
 
60 MODE OF SEARCH. 
 
 diamonds are usually found. When they come 
 to a place which they expect may be produc- 
 tive, they separate a portion of the sands, by 
 making a dam in the river, all around the 
 spot, with faggots, stones, and clay. After 
 emptying the water out of this inclosed por- 
 tion, so as to leave the sands dry, they dig to 
 the depth of half a yard, or more ; and carry 
 what is dug up to a sort of cistern, walled in 
 near at hand, as before. There they wash, and 
 examine it carefully; trusting chiefly to the 
 accuracy of their fingers, for discovering the 
 precious pebbles. 
 
 " The river Succudan, in the island of Borneo, 
 is said to abound in diamonds; but strangers 
 are not permitted to go thither. Now and then, 
 however, by great cunning and caution, some 
 very excellent stones have been obtained by 
 the Dutch, and sold at Batavia." 
 
DIAMONDS. 
 
 BRAZIL. 
 
 " It wab not till 1 728, that the diamond was 
 discovered in the Brazils, in South America. 
 The manner of the discovery was thus : The 
 negroes, who were condemned to search for 
 gold, often found, among the sand and gravel, 
 little bright stones, which, not being gold, they 
 threw away. Some of the miners preserved a 
 few of these stones, and shewed them to the 
 governor. As he had been in the East Indies, 
 he immediately suspected them to be diamonds, 
 and sent them to Europe, where, after being 
 cut and set, they proved to be diamonds of 
 very fine water, though not equal to those oi 
 Golconda. 
 
62 BRAZIL DIAMONDS. 
 
 "The place is called Cerro-do-Frio, and is 
 situated to the north of Villa Rica.* The coun- 
 try round about seems to be impregnated with 
 iron ores; and the earth, among which dia- 
 monds are found, is ferruginous to a conside- 
 rable degree. The miners come to this bed of 
 diamonds, as soon as they have removed the 
 common vegetable soil Connection with iron 
 ores seems to be general in all places where 
 diamonds are found. 
 
 " At the river Jigitonhonhaf is the most im- 
 portant of the Brazilian mines. The course of 
 
 * Villa Rica, to the north of which lies Cerro-do-Frio, is a con- 
 siderable city of Brazil, situated one hundred and fifty miles north 
 of Rio Janerio. It owes its origin to the rage for discovering 
 gold mines. It was begun in 1711. It now retains but little of its 
 former splendor, the mines in its neighborhood being much less 
 productive than formerly. 
 
 f This river runs north-east and flows into the Rio Grande, in 
 lat. 16, 49'. 
 
MODE OF SEARCH. 63 
 
 the river is impeded by the miners, by a bank, 
 raised by several thousand bags of sand. The 
 pools thus formed are then pumped dry ; the 
 mud of the river is washed away, and the earth, 
 in which they expect to find diamonds, is dug 
 out, and carried for washing and searching. 
 This is done with considerable care and regu- 
 larity. They erect a kind of shed, consisting 
 of upright posts, supporting a thatched roof, 
 to shelter the negroes while at work. This is 
 about a hundred feet long, and almost half as 
 wide. Through the middle of this shed, a cur- 
 rent of water is made to flow, for washing the 
 earth which they are about to search. On the 
 sides of the stream are several wooden troughs, 
 each about a yard wide ; and in every trough 
 is a negro slave, with a rake contrived for the 
 purpose. The earth to be examined is raked 
 into the trough, in the quantity of about half 
 
64 FINDING A DIAMOND. 
 
 a bushel at a time ; and the water is suffered 
 to run into each trough in a gentle current. 
 Meanwhile, each negro, with his rake, spreads 
 the earth about under this stream of water. It 
 is raked again and again to the upper part of 
 the trough, that it may be thoroughly washed ; 
 which is known by the water running free from 
 earthy particles. This effect is produced in 
 about a quarter of an hour, if the whole be 
 kept in constant motion. What now remains 
 is a sort of gravel. The largest stones being 
 of no value, are thrown away ; it is only among 
 the smaller pebbles, that they are likely to find 
 diamonds. Three overseers, seated in chairs, 
 are appointed to watch the process, that the 
 negroes may not secrete any for their own 
 emolument. 
 
 "When a negro discovers a diamond, he 
 immediately stands upright and claps his 
 
REWARDS TO THE SLAVES. 65 
 
 hands, to give notice to the overseers : he then, 
 holding it between his fore finger and thumb, 
 presents it to them, and they immediately put 
 it into a bowl of water, which is suspended from 
 the roof. At the close of each day's labor, the 
 bowl of diamonds is carried to the principal 
 agent, who weighs and counts them, and enters 
 in a book the weight and number of the day's 
 research." 
 
 "Poor negroes!" said James: "that is 
 slaving for others without hope for them- 
 selves!" 
 
 "Not quite so," said his father. "It some- 
 times happens that a negro finds a diamond of 
 larger size than usual ; one that weighs seven- 
 teen and a half carats ; and this is a happy day 
 for him. He is directly crowned with a wreath 
 of flowers, and led in gay procession to the 
 proper magistrate, who immediately pays his 
 5 F 
 
66 SUBSTANCE OF THE DIAMOND. 
 
 owner the price of his liberty, and sets him 
 free. He also receives a present of new 
 clothes ; and may work on his own account, if 
 he pleases. Smaller diamonds may gain re- 
 wards, if they exceed certain fixed sizes. If a 
 negro is suspected to have swallowed one, he 
 is kept in close confinement till the fact can be 
 ascertained. 
 
 " When these treasures were first discover- 
 ed in Brazil, diamonds were obtained in great 
 plenty. The first fleet from thence brought so 
 large a number, that orders were sent over 
 from the Portuguese government, to decrease 
 the number of hands employed in searching for 
 them ; lest their abundance should make them 
 quite common things, and, by lowering the 
 price of those already brought over, spoil the 
 trade. 
 
 " It is very remarkable, that diamonds are of 
 
SUBSTANCE OF THE DIAMOND. 67 
 
 the same substance as charcoal ; a fact which, 
 in the progress of your studies, you will be 
 made acquainted with. To many persons, it 
 must appear incredible, that the darkest and 
 the brightest substances in nature should be 
 so nearly allied." 
 
TIN. 
 CORNWALL. 
 
 " WE have come over a rather dreary coun- 
 try," said James. "I do not much like those 
 barren moors of Cornwall* What a continual 
 up and down it was ! There seemed to be no 
 end to the hills ; and they were all so wild, 
 rugged, and bleak I" 
 
 "Every county in England has its specific 
 character. Many smiling vales there are, rich 
 in pasture and in grain ; and many woody hills, 
 
 * Cornwall, the most westerly county of England, and almost 
 an island, being surrounded on all sides by the sea, except towards 
 the east, where it is bounded by Devonshire, for the length of 
 forty-eight miles, from north to south. The general aspect of the 
 country is dreary and sterile, with occasional fertile valleys. 
 
TIN MINES. 69 
 
 with their dense darkness or thin light foliage 
 waving beneath the blue sky, in the most pic- 
 turesque manner ; but in general, we must not 
 among such scenery expect to find mines 
 under ground. We are come in quest of sub-* 
 terraneous treasures ; and these bleak unsightly 
 moors promise well for our gratification." 
 
 JAMES. "And how strong the wind was, 
 father! Yet I saw in some of the valleys 
 beautiful myrtles in full blossom; such as we 
 can hardly rear in our greenhouses." 
 
 "We are now near St. Austle: our imme- 
 diate object are the Tin Mines at Polgooth, 
 about two miles distant." 
 
 "What a number of mines is here!" said 
 James ; " if one may judge from the steam- 
 engines." 
 
 "Yes. There are between twenty and thirty 
 now in use. The descent into them is called 
 
70 A SHAFT. AN ADIT. 
 
 n shaft; and above fifty shafts may be counted ; 
 though they are not all worked at the present 
 day." 
 
 " What are those tall buildings for ? " 
 
 " Those are the engine houses. Water 
 is always very troublesome in these mines. 
 Sometimes, the workmen pierce a passage 
 from the bottom of the mine, sloping down- 
 wards, if in a mountain, to the level country, 
 to let the water off; this is called an adit, and 
 is the occasional work of many years. But, 
 frequently, the water is pumped out with 
 steam-engines, at great labor and expense." 
 
 The young traveller was surprised at seeing 
 so many heaps around every mining house ; 
 consisting of the ore as extracted, and thrown 
 together. 
 
 "Persons enter these mines, and come out 
 again, as in most other mines, by the same 
 
A KIBBUT. A LODE. 71 
 
 conveyance that is used to bring up the ore ; 
 here it is called a kibbut." 
 
 The passing down in one of these was 
 attended with a little anxiety. James almost 
 fainted away with apprehension; but soon 
 recovered himself, when, once at the bottom, 
 he felt his feet. 
 
 These kibbuts are raised and lowered by an 
 apparatus at the top ; consisting of either a 
 large winch, or a wheel and axle. In some 
 places there are ladders, with landing-places 
 at convenient distances. 
 
 They had come upon the principal vein, or 
 lode, as the miners call it ; and found it to be 
 two yards thick. " In many places, the vein is, 
 when first perceived, not above an inch thick, 
 sometimes not above half an inch ; but as the 
 miners follow it, it increases, and becomes 
 more valuable. Towards the east, it has two 
 
72 BLASTING THE ROCK. 
 
 branches ; but it runs westward, seemingly, till 
 it comes to the sea, at last. The miners have 
 made their excavations to a full mile in length, 
 but have not yet come to the end of it. They 
 sometimes find pure lumps of metal, of twenty 
 pounds weight. 
 
 " They have to blast the solid rock with gun- 
 powder, in order to get at the ore conveniently. 
 Frequently, the vein ceases abruptly, as if it 
 had been suddenly snapped off; when this is 
 the case, experienced miners will soon discover 
 the disconnected part, and proceed again in 
 their lucrative excavations. The continuation 
 is usually found on one side, and at no great 
 distance from the fracture." 
 
 "And how deep in the earth are we now?" 
 said James to one of the miners. 
 
 "Oh, Meastur, summer about five score 
 fathom, or more, just here." 
 
STEAM-ENGINE. 73 
 
 " Why, that is between six and seven hun- 
 dred feet 1 Eh ! it's almost like being buried 
 alive 1 And do you work here day and night 1 
 You can't tell which it is here ? " 
 
 "No, Meastur, w r e doesn't only work four 
 hours at once; and then belike another set 
 comes down." 
 
 On examining the steam-engine, they found 
 that every stroke drew up water thirty feet 
 deep in the piston, which was fifteen inches in 
 diameter ; so that the discharge was wonderful. 
 The expense of such establishments must be 
 very great ; but so are the profits. This mine 
 has, in some years, cleared twenty thousand 
 pounds. 
 
 EXPLANATION OP THE STEAM-ENGINE. 
 
 A. The furnace. 
 
 B. The water, which is kept boiling, to afford the 
 steam. 
 
STEAM-ENGINE 
 
ORE AT DOLGOOTH. 75 
 
 C. The pipe conveying the steam. 
 
 D. The cylinder, in which the piston works. 
 
 E. The piston, moving up and down in the cylinder. 
 
 F. That part of the pipe which lets the steam into 
 the cylinder, above the piston, when it is to be depressed. 
 
 G. That part of the pipe which lets the steam into the 
 cylinder, beneath the piston, when it is to be raised. 
 
 ^ H. The huge beam, or lever, to which the piston com- 
 municates its motion. 
 
 I. The fly and wheels, by which the up and down 
 motion of the lever is made to become rotary. 
 
 Only such parts of the steam-engine are here repre- 
 sented, as may serve to shew the principle. The expan- 
 sion of the steam forces the piston up or down, as it 
 enters at the bottom or the top. 
 
 " At Dolgooth, the ore is found in a rich vein ; 
 but it is not always so. There are some, called 
 stream works, especially on St. Austle's Moor. 
 It should seem that all the streams, which run 
 from the adjacent hills and settle in this valley, 
 bring with them lumps of tin ore, larger or 
 
76 STREAM WORKS AT PAR. 
 
 smaller, and have done so for ages. The soil, 
 also, brought down by the waters, has settled 
 in the valley, till it has accumulated to the 
 depth of from twelve to twenty feet. On dig- 
 ging into this artificial soil, several layers of 
 earth, clay, and gravel, are found ; then a stra- 
 tum of stones, which, being heaviest, have sunk 
 lowest, while the whole was moist and soft. 
 Beneath these successive layers are other 
 stones, which are the ores of tin; these are 
 easily known by their being very heavy ; some 
 are lumps, as big as one's fist ; some are almost 
 as small as fine sand. Below these, are solid 
 rocks ; in which is no tin. The tin obtained 
 from these stones is reckoned very pure, and 
 is in considerable plenty, having but a small 
 proDortion of refuse. 
 
 " These stream works extend to Par. There 
 the incumbent earth and sand form a stratum 
 
STREAM-WORKS NEAR TRURO. 77 
 
 seventy feet deep. The miners bring streams 
 of water to act upon it, with considerable vio- 
 lence, in order to wash the sand away ; yet the 
 pebbles are left at the bottom of the several 
 channels. 
 
 "There are several mines of less conse- 
 quence, though well worth the working, as at 
 Gwennap, Illogan, Trevennen, &c. ; but seeing 
 one is essentially seeing all. These smaller 
 works employ from a hundred to a hundred 
 and fifty miners at each of them. One might 
 reckon up nearly two hundred of those smaller 
 concerns. 
 
 "The stream-works near Truro are said to 
 yield eight thousand pounds a year profit. 
 
 "These tin works are of different sorts, 
 according as the tin is found ; sometimes it is 
 obtained in the form of stones, very heavy, and 
 full of metal ; but more often the tin is mingled 
 
78 MARKING AND ASSAYING. 
 
 with earthy matter, almost as hard as stone, 
 and of a bluish or grayish appearance. 
 
 " When the ore is brought up to the surface 
 of the earth, it is thrown into heaps Here 
 multitudes of the poor find employment in 
 breaking it \vith hammers. In this broken 
 state it is carried to the stamping-mill, where 
 it is pounded. In order to this, it is turned 
 into a sloping trough, and a small stream of 
 water assists it in sliding down into the case 
 wherein the lifters work. These are pieces 
 of timber, shod with large masses of iron: 
 they are raised and let fall again, by a water- 
 wheel. The ore is repeatedly washed before 
 it is brought for melting. When melted, it 
 runs into large oblong moulds, each of which 
 contains about three hundred weight of pure 
 tin. It must now be conveyed to some one 
 of the Stannary towns, to be marked and 
 
BREAKING TIN ORE. 
 
80 STANNARY LAWS. 
 
 assayed, or, as they call it there, coined. This 
 is done by officers appointed by the Duke of 
 Cornwall. They cut off a corner, and then 
 stamp it with the proper seal, and the name 
 of the melter. This gives assurance to the 
 purchaser that it is pure tin, and tells all whom 
 it may concern, that the duty has been paid. 
 The duty paid to the Duke is four shillings for 
 every hundred weight. The Prince of Wales 
 is Duke of Cornwall ; and his revenue, from 
 this source, has been calculated at thirty thou- 
 sand pounds a year. 
 
 " There are laws, called Stannary laws, by 
 which all these mines are regulated. Every 
 case relating to them must be tried before 
 their own courts, and cannot ie removed 
 elsewhere. 
 
 "If a person suspects tin may be found in 
 any certain spot of his own estate, he must 
 
CAPTAIN OF THE MINE. 81 
 
 obtain leave of the lord, before he can work it. 
 If the spot be on some unoccupied moor, he 
 may bound it ; that is, make a pit at each of 
 the four corners of the plot. No one can then 
 operate on that piece of ground without leave 
 from him, as well as from the lord of the soil. 
 
 "The share which the lord of the soil 
 claims, called technically his dish, is about 
 one sixth or one eighth part, free of all 
 charges. 
 
 " The miners are not paid by the day, but 
 by a share of the produce. This makes them 
 careful to obtain all they can from the lode, 
 and in as little time as possible. 
 
 " The whole conduct of the mine, and of the 
 miner, is under one person called the Captain 
 of the Mine. Besides knowing the proper 
 methods of getting the ore out of the rock, 
 he must have some knowledge of Mechanics, 
 6 
 
82 ANTIQUITY OP THE 
 
 Algebra, and Geometry. He would be es- 
 teemed unfit for his office, if he could not, at 
 any time, point out, upon the surface of the 
 earth, the spot exactly over where the miners 
 are operating ; so that if it should be necessary 
 to sink another shaft, he may conduct it per- 
 pendicularly down to the very spot where it 
 is wished for; though at a great depth in the 
 earth, and notwithstanding all the windings 
 of the mine below." 
 
 James was much surprised to find so much 
 knowledge, as, on several occasions, he met 
 with in persons whom, from their dress and 
 laborious occupation, he had supposed to be 
 very ignorant. He several times wished he 
 had his own geometrical problems more ready 
 for use. 
 
 " Now, father, when we have seen any En- 
 glish mine, you tell me about similar mines in 
 
BRITISH TIN MINES. 83 
 
 other countries. Where are the other tin 
 mines 1" 
 
 " We shall not have much to say about tin 
 mines in other countries, James ; for there are 
 only three places in Europe, where tin has 
 been found : in Germany, in the mountains of 
 Saxony ; in Spain, near Portugal ; and, the 
 best of them all, those which we have now 
 seen in Cornwall. In some parts of Asia, and 
 in South America, it has been discovered ; but 
 not much of it has become an object of com- 
 merce, like ours." 
 
 "Some of the men said these mines had 
 been worked above two thousand years; is 
 that true, father?" 
 
 " It is very likely to be true, James : for the 
 Phoenicians are said to have traded hither for 
 tin, more than five hundred years before the 
 Christian aera. That is, in the reign of Zede- 
 
34 BRITISH TIN MINES. 
 
 kiah, before the Jews were taken captive to 
 Babylon. If so, that is more than two thou- 
 sand three hundred years ago; and the man 
 may be right. 
 
 " Some tin has been found in the island of 
 JBanca, near Sumatra, of which the Dutch have 
 made their advantage. Some is found in the 
 province of Nanking, in China; but it cannot 
 be in any great quantity, because, every year, 
 the English export tin to China, to a con- 
 siderable amount, from these mines in Corn- 
 wall." 
 
COPPER. 
 
 CORNWALL. 
 
 "What are those odd looking horses, father: 
 What are they loaded with ? And whither are 
 they going?" 
 
 " They are mules," said Mr. Thompson. "A 
 mule is an animal between a horse and an ass. 
 They are preferred, as being extremely sure- 
 footed. Each of them has, you see, a sort of 
 wooden saddle, on which is laid a couple of 
 dirty, dark looking sacks. These are filled 
 with copper ore, which is to be conveyed to 
 the sea- side, in order to be sent to Swansea, 
 in Wales, where it will be smelted, and cast 
 into moulds, ready for market. 
 
TRAIN OP MULE6 
 
 OEK 
 
DOLGOOTH COPPER MINE. 87 
 
 "Having seen the tin mines of Cornwall," 
 continued the father, " we may as well look at 
 the copper mines, now ; for Cornwall is famous 
 for that valuable product, as well as for tin. 
 
 " Possibly the most important of these sub- 
 terraneous treasures is at Dolgooth. Here 
 again we meet with excavations a mile in 
 length. 
 
 "Beneath, the earth is scooped and hol- 
 lowed in every direction, almost like a honey- 
 comb, only with less regularity." 
 
 They had to descend above twelve hundred 
 feet to the bottom: and then might choose 
 almost any direction, which way soever they 
 might prefer to go. 
 
 "Many steam-engines are employed here: 
 some in bringing up the ore and the rub- 
 bish; and several in pumping out the water, 
 to drain the mines. Some of these are so 
 
88 IMPORTANCE OF 
 
 large, as to be denominated of a thousand 
 horse power. 
 
 " Such expenses as are incurred by candles, 
 tools, and gunpowder, belong to the miners, 
 who provide for themselves. They are repaid 
 by a certain proportion of the copper raised 
 from the mine, when it is actually sold; so 
 that they are personally benefited by working 
 the mine well. 
 
 " We may judge of the importance of these 
 mines of copper, when we understand that the 
 persons in actual employ about them, of all 
 descriptions, aged and children, women and 
 men, are above sixteen hundred. The expens- 
 es are not less than fifteen or twenty thousand 
 pounds a year. But then the produce is pro- 
 portionably large, amounting, frequently, to be- 
 tween seventy and eighty thousand a year, 
 in money. 
 
THE COPPER MINES. b9 
 
 " Perhaps we should not reckon much amiss, 
 were we to suppose one hundred thousand 
 persons employed in this one country, in 
 bringing these treasures from the bowels of the 
 earth." 
 
 "Do they ever find silver or gold in these 
 mines 1" inquired James. 
 
 " Yes, sometimes ; but not in any great 
 quantities. Grains of gold have been found, 
 like fine sand ; and small quantities of silver. 
 Although as much as was worth two thousand 
 pounds has been obtained near Gwinear, yet 
 the expenses of procuring it were so great, 
 that there was not profit to the proprie- 
 tors, sufficient to make it worth while to 
 work them. They have therefore been dis- 
 continued. 
 
 " Much lapis calaminaris is found, too, inter- 
 mingled ; this yields zinc. A mixture of copper 
 
 H 
 
90 COMPOSITION OP BRASS. 
 
 and zinc makes brass ; as a mixture of copper 
 and tin forms bell-metal. 
 
 " We must not forget an ore called Mundic, 
 or, sometimes, Marcasite. This was long neg- 
 lected, as useless. Early in the last century, 
 Sir Gilbert Clark found out a method of pro- 
 ducing from it very fine copper, to the value 
 of nearly two hundred thousand pounds per 
 annum ; so well employed is scientific know- 
 ledge, and so prodigal are the ignorant! If 
 education cost much, yet it is a means to save 
 a great deal, by teaching us the value of many 
 things, which, through ignorance of their worth, 
 we might pass by, or throw away ; and giving 
 such general knowledge as enables a man to 
 take advantage of all that Providence brings 
 under his notice. 
 
 "Most of the Cornish mines are called 
 Wheels ; this, however, is riot the true spelling, 
 
ADVANTAGES OF EDUCATION. 91 
 
 but Huel, an old Cornish word, signifying hole. 
 Their names are often whimsical; as that called 
 Dolgooth, was so named because the hole was 
 opened near the dwelling of an old woman 
 named Dorothy Koath, or Dol Koath; Huel 
 Providence, so named, perhaps piously, be- 
 cause it was accidentally discovered ; and Huel 
 Boys, because the lode was first noticed by 
 children. 
 
 "It was long supposed that tin was not 
 worth working, when more than three hundred 
 feet below the surface of the earth: but the 
 best mines now worked go much deeper ; 
 some even to nine hundred feet. 
 
 "The tin mines were wrought long before 
 those of copper were discovered. There was, 
 indeed, a stony substance, which the miner 
 found troublesome, and, thinking it useless, he 
 threw it away ; this was called poder ; and he 
 
92 VALUE OF PODER. 
 
 even abandoned the mine, when this was too 
 plentiful. This arose from ignorance. About 
 the year 1735, a Mr. Coster, of Bristol, who 
 had better skill in mineralogy, observing the 
 heaps of this substance, which were thrown 
 away, engaged to take it out of their way, and 
 contracted for it at a low price. He soon 
 found how to extract copper from it ; and 
 made so much use of his better knowledge, as 
 to gain a fortune from what may be called the 
 refuse of their ignorance. Be careful how you 
 throw any thing away ; or, rather, endeavor to 
 gain knowledge, in every varied shape, that 
 you may not be liable to throw away any thing 
 which may be really valuable." 
 
COPPER. 
 
 ANGLESEA.* 
 
 ALTHOUGH it was some time after their 
 leaving Cornwall, that they visited the famous 
 copper mines in the Parys Mountain, in Angle- 
 sea; yet it may be convenient to our readers, if 
 we put all of a sort together. We shall, there- 
 fore, proceed to relate what was found there 
 worthy of notice, and exhibit the nature and 
 importance of the mine. 
 
 * Anglesea is an island twenty-four miles long by seventeen 
 broad, situated in the Irish Sea, on the north-western coast of 
 "Wales. The Parys Mountain is nine miles in length, and half 
 as much in breadth, apparently wild, waste, and barren in the 
 extreme, but containing a bed of copper ore which is supposed 
 to be the largest in the world. 
 
94 PARYS COPPER MINE. 
 
 In most mines, we have to descend deep 
 into the bowels of the earth, and traverse its 
 gloomy caverns by the flickering light of a 
 candle, or a link, which threatens every mo- 
 ment to leave us in darkness. The miners 
 work by a mere glimmer, and pass to and fro 
 almost in the dark. But the Parys Mountain 
 mine is quife different; it is open to daylight, 
 and permits the sun and the fresh breezes to 
 purify the atmosphere, and carry off the noxious 
 vapors. Not but the air is still very offensive, 
 in the direction of the wind especially, from 
 the suffocating fumes of copper, which arise on 
 all sides. The whole country around, for 
 miles, is desolate from the effects of these 
 exhalations. 
 
 The first sight of the hill is dreary enough ; 
 being an assemblage of enormous rocks, hide- 
 
DISCOVERY OP THE MINE. 95 
 
 ously piled on each other, of the species called 
 quartz. On ascending towards the top, the 
 prospect opens of a huge bason, nearly half a 
 mile across, or a good mile in circumference. 
 
 Persons had been searching here for mineral 
 treasures for a long while, and at considerable 
 expense : they were on the point of giving up 
 the search as fruitless; when, unexpectedly, 
 in the year 1768, they met with a large mass 
 of copper ore. This gave them new spirit 
 for fresh exertions. The mines have been 
 wrought ever since, to great profit ; sometimes 
 fifteen hundred men have been employed in 
 them, who, with their families, may be reck- 
 oned as seven or eight thousand souls, whose 
 living entirely depends on this produce. 
 
 This hollow is, on one side, filled with 
 water ; over which, it is said, a bird is never 
 
96 DRAWING UP THE ORE. 
 
 seen to fly. It is likely, that the fumes are so 
 offensive, that they are disgusted, and so kept 
 from danger. 
 
 "What a prospect!" said James; "what a 
 dreary prospect ! And see, father, what those 
 men are standing on! It is enough to make 
 one giddy to look at them." 
 
 " O ! I see ; they are standing on scaffold- 
 ings, projecting a great way from the tops of 
 the rock ; and there is a windlass at the end 
 of each, by which I suppose they draw up 
 yes, there is one going they draw up their 
 baskets, full of ore, from the bottom of the 
 pits. 
 
 "The rock is, first of all, split, by being 
 blasted with gunpowder, as in most mines. It 
 is said, that eight tons of gunpowder are thus 
 used in these mines, every year. The ore, so 
 obtained in large masses from the rock, is 
 
PARYS MINES. ANGLESEA COPPER. 
 
98 OPERATIONS ON THE ORE. 
 
 broken with great hammers into smaller pieces, 
 before it is drawn up to the surface of the 
 earth." 
 
 The fumes most discernible were the sul- 
 phureous; for the ore is much loaded with 
 sulphur, and it is driven out by fire. Heaps 
 of copper ore were seen around, smoking and 
 fuming to the great annoyance of all who 
 travel that way. 
 
 The ore, when thus far purified, is sent to 
 places where coals are plentiful, in order to be 
 smelted, and run into moulds, fit for commerce. 
 In this state they are called cakes, and in some 
 places salmon. 
 
 " This is an amazing mass of metallic ore ; 
 perhaps there is not such another in the world. 
 It has been now worked upwards of sixty 
 years ; and seems likely to last a long time, 
 with an equally plentiful supply. 
 
AN APPARENT TRANSMUTATION. 99 
 
 " In many places there are waters, in smaller 
 or larger pools, fully impregnated with particles 
 of pure copper ; indeed, the purest copper is 
 obtained from these waters." 
 
 James was eager to know how this was 
 done ; and was told that the water contained 
 a considerable portion of sulphuric acid, or 
 what he would call oil of vitriol, united with 
 copper; in other words, the water contained 
 a quantity of blue copperas, called by chemists 
 sulphate of copper. And farther, that a laborer, 
 once leaving his iron spade, accidentally, in 
 some water of this kind, found it, after a few 
 weeks, so covered with a coat of copper, that 
 he firmly believed the iron had been trans- 
 muted into copper. 
 
 "Now the process of obtaining the copper 
 from such water, is simply thus : the water is 
 pumped up into pits, made on purpose for 
 
100 VIRGIN COPPER. 
 
 the operation. Then plates or pieces of iron 
 are thrown into them, and left for a time. The 
 acid, before alluded to, which had dissolved 
 the copper, and held it in solution, having a 
 stronger desire for iron, (a stronger affinity, 
 chemists call it,) seizes on that metal, and 
 lets go the infinitely small particles of copper, 
 which it contained, and they fasten themselves 
 on the iron ; so that the common people say, 
 and believe, the iron has been changed into 
 copper. By those who know better, these 
 pieces of iron are occasionally taken out of the 
 water, and carefully scraped, to get the copper 
 off them ; after which, they are again thrown 
 into the pits, till at length they dissolve, and 
 are held suspended in the water, while the 
 copper is precipitated or thrown to the bottom. 
 The mud is then raked out and put into a 
 furnace, to melt the copper and free it from the 
 
ANNIVERSARY aEEB3?A.TIQBT.- . , 101 
 
 sediment. Copper so procured is very fine, 
 and much purer than that which is obtained by 
 smelting. It is equal to what is called virgin 
 copper; a name given to lumps, or branches, 
 of pure, solid metal, which are now and then 
 found. Both sell at a higher price than 
 smelted copper. 
 
 " Although it is only about sixty years ago, 
 that we say this mass of copper ore was disco- 
 vered, we ought rather to call it a re-discovery, 
 as evident traces are met with continually, of 
 this mine having been worked many ages 
 before ; when all the knowledge in these mat- 
 ters amounted to heating the rocks violently 
 by fire, and then suddenly deluging them with 
 water; which occasioned them to crack, and 
 scale off, so as to enable the workmen to break 
 them in pieces, fit for smelting." 
 
 Had our travellers happened to come hither 
 
102 M7i\E AT ECTON HILL. 
 
 in March, they would have found all parties in 
 high holy day mood ; for in that month the mine 
 was discovered; and the anniversary is kept 
 with great glee and joviality, down to the 
 present time. 
 
 Their attention was excited by noticing a 
 stratum of yellowish clay, which felt considera- 
 bly greasy to the touch. This appeared to be 
 very near the top, not a yard below the sur- 
 face. The stratum itself was indeed, in some 
 places, ten or twelve feet thick ; in others not 
 more than three feet. This, it seems, is well 
 stored with the ore of lead ; and this lead 
 has in.it a tolerable proportion of silver; as 
 much as four pounds of silver in a ton of 
 lead. 
 
 When they were at Ecton Hill, or Acton 
 Hill, in Derbyshire, they found another copper 
 mine, but of a peculiar kind, nothing like 
 
WICKLOW AND NORWAY MINES. 103 
 
 it having been yet discovered in the whole 
 world. Other mines run to a great length, 
 or branch out in various directions ; but this 
 sinks down perpendicularly, widening as it 
 descends, continually, in the form of a cone. 
 It is situated near the river Dove, and was 
 discovered about the year 1740. Those who 
 first sought here for ore, spent thirteen thou- 
 sand pounds, without gaining any benefit. 
 They dug six hundred feet in depth, before 
 they came to the ore. Then they found a 
 rich supply ; and a supply which increases 
 as they descend. The works are four hun- 
 dred and fifty feet below the bed of the river. 
 It is the deepest mine in the British islands. 
 On the opposite side of the hill is an excellent 
 lead mine. 
 
 "Before we go absolutely abroad, we will 
 just step over to our sister isle. At Wicklow, 
 
104 RORAAS COPPER MINE. 
 
 in Ireland, are copper mines ; those especially 
 at Cronebane, are considerable in their pro- 
 duce. 
 
 " Copper is obtained in this kingdom too, 
 by immersing iron in the water of the mines, 
 by which process the finest sort is procured. 
 
 "In the Wicklow lead mines, much silver 
 is found, to the amount of one part in thirty. 
 Lead ore is very frequently connected with 
 silver. 
 
 "Norway has mines of copper. That at 
 Roraas, in the province of Drontheim, was 
 discovered by a Laplander, travelling with 
 his reindeer, in 1644. In some years above 
 six hundred tons of copper have been drawn 
 from it; but some of the veins have, of 
 late years, become deteriorated in quality, 
 and diminished in quantity. Three hundred 
 thousand tons of charcoal are consumed an- 
 
RORAAS COPPER MINE. 105 
 
 nually, in smelting the ore. The gang, or 
 workable part of the mountain, is four or 
 five feet thick; consisting of a gravelly soil, 
 loaded with the copper ore/ 5 
 
COPPER. 
 
 SWEDEN. 
 
 " WE may take Mr. Coxe as our guide, in 
 exploring the copper mines of Fahlun,* in 
 Sweden. He traversed those northern regions 
 in the years 1784 and 1785. We find, by 
 his account, that the general appearance of 
 the country is desolate. We cannot have a 
 fine vegetable crop above, and a rich treasure 
 of minerals below, at the same place. Indeed, 
 the number of smoking furnaces, which poison 
 the atmosphere, are enough to impede vegeta- 
 
 * Fahlun is the capital of the province of Dalecarlia, and lies 
 one hundred miles N. N. W. from Stockholm. 
 
FAHLUN COPPER MINES. 107 
 
 tion, and destroy the least appearance of even 
 a kindly soil. 
 
 " The copper mines at Fahlun are not only 
 the best in Sweden, but they are among the 
 best in the world. Swedish copper ranks high 
 in the market : all our manufacturers are aware 
 of its excellence. 
 
 "Fahlun is situated in a hilly country, 
 among dreary rocks, and also between two 
 lakes of considerable size. 
 
 "Very ancient records speak of this mine 
 as having been famous in remote ages ; so that 
 it is impossible now to relate the story of its 
 discovery. 
 
 "The mouth, or entrance, of the mine is 
 very large, perhaps a thousand or tw r elve 
 hundred feet in width : it is a vast chasm 
 among the rocks, which is continually enlarging 
 as the parts around keep falling. The descent 
 
108 APPEARANCE OF THE MINERS. 
 
 is rather hazardous, down several flights of 
 wooden stairs to the first gallery ; then it 
 becomes so easy, that, though it consists of 
 steps cut in the rock, the horses, who are used 
 to it, can pass up and down them, as they go 
 and come in bringing up the ore. 
 
 " The miners have no clothing on their 
 bodies, or arms; their naked appearance gives 
 a sort of awfulness to the scene, which is 
 heightened by the lights, which every one 
 carries about in his hand, consisting of small 
 slips of wood, made into a bundle, and lighted. 
 
 "The subterraneous galleries penetrate far 
 into the bowels of the earth; they are from 
 six to ten feet high, and of varying widths. 
 Measuring the chasm from top to bottom, we 
 find it above a thousand feet; and from the 
 entrance of the gallery to its lowest part, 
 it is seven hundred feet more. It is true. 
 
PERILOUS DESCENT TO THE MINES. 109 
 
 there is a tolerably commodious staircase for 
 a long way; then we come to a deep pit, 
 into which the descent is by a wooden lad- 
 der ; after this there is an iron ladder, hanging 
 loose against the sides of the pit ; then a 
 wooden ladder again, reaching as far as one 
 can go ; as the bottom of the pit is full of 
 water. It takes up four hours to pay this 
 visit to the bottom of the mine : and the 
 coming up again, such a length of way, and 
 by such means, is peculiarly dangerous and 
 fatiguing. 
 
 " The modes of operating in this mine are 
 very similar to those in other mines. The 
 rock is blasted with gunpowder ; and the 
 dissevered masses are broken smaller with 
 hammers. The ore is roasted, in order to 
 'drive off the sulphur, and the rest is smelted 
 for sale. But this roasting and smelting are 
 
110 SUPERIORITY OF SWEDISH COPPER. 
 
 repeated several times, in order to bring the 
 copper to that high state of purity for which 
 Swedish copper is in such great repute. 
 
 "Much copper is also obtained here, by 
 the now common process of steeping iron 
 in the waters of the mine. 
 
 "Twelve hundred workmen are usually 
 employed here ; one half of them as miners 
 in the bowels of the earth; the other half 
 in roasting, smelting, and other necessary 
 operations belonging to the concern. 
 
 "Copper melts very readily. It is drawn 
 out into fine wire. Screws, and nails, and 
 utensils for domestic purposes, are made of 
 it. The bottoms and sides of ships are co- 
 vered with it, to prevent their decaying, or 
 being injured by insects. Mixed in proper 
 quantities with zinc, it produces brass of a 
 beautiful color." 
 
IRON 
 
 FOREST OF DEAN.* 
 
 have come some way through this 
 Forest of Dean," said James; "I think the 
 man was right, who said it was twenty miles 
 long; though the ostler said that was its 
 length formerly; and there is not so much 
 forest now as there used to be." 
 
 " In Queen Elizabeth's time, when the 
 Spanish Armada was sent over, the invaders 
 
 * This forest lies in the county of Gloucester, between the river 
 Severn and the county of Monmouth. It once contained thirty 
 thousand acres of land, with an abundance of fine timber. The 
 wood has been much diminished by the forges, which are em- 
 ployed in smelting the iron. 
 
112 IMPORTANCE OF IRON. 
 
 were expressly commanded to destroy the 
 Forest of Dean, because the best oak for 
 our shipping grew there. However, Sir Fran- 
 cis Drake, and our brave admirals and sailors, 
 would not let them execute their orders; for 
 they defeated and dispersed their boasted 
 invincible fleet." 
 
 As it grew dusk, their attention was at- 
 tracted by symptoms of their approach to the 
 mining district ; the forges were blazing and 
 smoking on every side. 
 
 " Mines of iron are here, providentially, 
 accompanied by mines of coal ; these make 
 the former of double value, because the iron 
 ore can be smelted on the spot: indeed, 
 they are generally placed in the same neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 " Iron is never found pure, as are sometimes 
 copper, silver, and even gold. It is, however, 
 
SMELTING THE ORE. 113 
 
 plentifully dispersed about our globe, and is 
 one of its greatest natural gifts. Where there 
 is no iron, there cannot be efficient tools ; no 
 arts can be carried on to any great extent, 
 neither can the sciences exist, nor the cultiva- 
 tion of the mind take place. The use of iron 
 is the first step towards civilization, in all 
 countries. Where this is unknown, the peo- 
 ple are savages, and so they must remain. 
 
 " The rusty brown stones, which constitute 
 the ore of iron, do not seem to promise much 
 of value, either as to beauty or usefulness. 
 But man has found out the means of making 
 them of great importance, by drawing from 
 them that most useful substance, iron; and 
 again refining that into the most elegant 
 articles of steel. 
 
 "The brown stones must first be roasted; 
 this calcination brings them into a state which 
 8 K 
 
114 THE SMELTING FURNACE. 
 
 renders their fusion a much easier and more 
 certain operation, by expelling the sulphur or 
 arsenic which abounds in the mineral state. 
 
 " It requires some instruction in the nature 
 of the smelting furnace, to understand the 
 process. The building, externally, represents 
 a huge cone of masonry ; for the weight to be 
 sustained, and the force of the fire to be 
 resisted, are both very great. Interiorly, this 
 cone forms a round cavity, narrowest at top; 
 the bottom of which holds the ore to be 
 smelted. Some notion may be formed of the 
 greatness of the operation, when we find this 
 hollow to be thirty feet in height, and twelve in 
 diameter at the widest part, or towards the 
 bottom ; the inside being somewhat of the 
 shape of an egg, with the largest end down- 
 wards. The very top, or mouth, is shaped 
 like a funnel, so that whatever is thrown in 
 
THE BLAST FURNACE. 115 
 
 readily descends into the body of the furnace. 
 It is at this mouth that the laborers feed the 
 furnace ; by throwing in, alternately, baskets 
 of fuel, and baskets of ore. The whole height 
 of the furnace, with its fireplace, is above fifty 
 feet. 
 
 "In former times, the only fuel used was 
 charcoal; of which the consumption was so 
 great, that our forests, which were decreasing 
 very fast, could not supply the demand: in- 
 deed, the scarcity, and the increased price, 
 threatened to destroy the whole iron trade. 
 After many unsuccessful attempts, the ma- 
 nagers contrived to conduct the operation with 
 pitcoal. The difficulty was, to obtain a heat 
 sufficient for fusing the metal. Iron may be 
 easily made red-hot, but the heat must be 
 raised far beyond that, to melt it, so that it 
 may run into a mould. This effect is now 
 
116 THE BLAST FURNACE. 
 
 produced by what is called a blast furnace, 
 a wonderful contrivance, which has given a 
 power of operation, and, of course, a value, 
 to our mines, of incalculable extent. 
 
 " We all know that the operation of a pair 
 of bellows will greatly increase the intensity 
 of a fire ; but what man, or set of men, could 
 blow such bellows as should be applied to so 
 great a mass of this ? For some time, huge 
 bellows were employed, of the usual shape, 
 and worked by a water wheel; but a much 
 more powerful blast is now obtained, by a 
 piston working in a cylinder, upon the prin- 
 ciple of a common pump, in which the rod, 
 with its bulby head, commonly called the 
 sucker, because it seems to suck up the water 
 from the well, is the piston ; and the tube in 
 which it works is the cylinder. The only 
 difference in effect, is, that the machine I am 
 
THE BLAST FURNACE. 117 
 
 now speaking of, throws out air instead of 
 water. As the piston rises, a valve is opened, 
 through which the air rushes into the cylinder ; 
 and this air, by the descent of the piston, 
 which closes the valve, is forced into the 
 pipes, which convey it to the furnace. By 
 this means, when the piston is set in motion 
 by a steam-engine, the blast is almost incon- 
 ceivably increased in power, and the air is 
 driven into the furnace in a very condensed 
 state, which is a great advantage. The cylin- 
 der is eight feet in diameter, and eight feet 
 high; the stroke of the piston is seven feet. 
 But, as the orifices, or nose pipes, through 
 which all this mass of air is at every stroke 
 forced into the furnace, are only two or three 
 inches in diameter, the violence of the blast 
 may be supposed, though it can hardly be 
 described. Its effect, when driven into the 
 
118 PIG IRON. 
 
 furnace, is wonderful; but it is not let in till 
 the matters in the furnace are as hot as 
 common fire can make them ; for till then it 
 would do more harm than good, by retarding 
 the operation. When this powerful blasting 
 begins, the roaring of the furnace becomes 
 tremendous ; the effect upon the metal is 
 irresistible; and it is continued for about two 
 hours. 
 
 EXPLANATION OF THE BLAST FURNACE. 
 
 A. The pumping cylinder, with its piston. 
 
 B. The regulating cylinder. 
 
 C. The pipe, for conveying'air to the furnace, 
 
 D. The furnace. 
 
 E. A man feeding the furnace. 
 
 " After the lava, or melted metal, has begun 
 to run for some little time, it is let out into 
 channels formed in sand, which lead it into 
 
THE BLAST FURNACE. 
 
120 WHITRIGS IRON MINES. 
 
 hollows, formed also in sand, in which it settles 
 and cools. It is then called pig iron. 
 
 " Iron ore is found in many parts of Britain ; 
 and as the nature of the mines, and other 
 operations by which the iron stone is reduced 
 to pure iron, are very similar, thay need not 
 be repeated at every mine. 
 
 "At Whitrigs, near Ulverstone, in Lanca- 
 shire, are iron mines, which have been wrought 
 four hundred years, and yet seem to be inex- 
 haustible. There are immense beds of ore, 
 from thirty to fifty feet thick, and from a hun- 
 dred to a hundred and twenty wide. The ore 
 is red and greasy ; those who are engaged 
 in the works shew the color on themselves 
 very powerfully. Sometimes, two , hundred 
 tons are raised in a week ; the metal produced 
 from it is more than half the weight. Here 
 the smelting is effected with charcoal; of 
 
IRON MINES IN SCOTLAND. 121 
 
 which vast quantities are burned in the vici- 
 nity. 
 
 " There are mines of iron in Scotland ; and 
 much of the ore is smelted at the Carron* 
 founderies, where are twenty furnaces, which 
 consume two hundred tons of coal every 
 week. The place which, a few years ago, 
 was a wild heath, is now a considerable town ; 
 as two thousand workmen are employed at 
 the works. The machinery is of the most 
 excellent kind, and wonderful in its opera- 
 tions." 
 
 * Carron is situated twenty-six miles north-west of Edinburgh. 
 The carronade, a kind of short ship-gun, derives its name from 
 having been first made here 
 
 L 
 
IRON. 
 
 RUSSIA. 
 
 "WE have great quantities of iron from 
 Russia. The principal mines are situated in 
 the Uralian mountains, which, towards the 
 northern part of the eastern border, separate 
 Russia from her Asiatic dominions. 
 
 " Here are above a hundred founderies ; 
 more than half of these are for iron, and the 
 remainder for copper. The peasants, as is 
 common in Russia, belong to the estate, 
 whether private persons own the land, or 
 the sovereign. Almost a hundred thousand 
 of them work in these mines, at the will 
 of their several lords. 
 
RUSSIAN MINES. 123 
 
 "They raise, upon an average, nearly one 
 hundred thousand tons weight of iron annu- 
 ally; part of this descends, by the Wolga, 
 to the eastern provinces ; and the greater 
 part of it is towed, through rivers and canals, 
 to Petersburgh." 
 
TRON. 
 
 SWEDEN. 
 
 " BY all the feelings which belong to liberty, 
 and associate with the name of Gustavus Vasa, 
 the deliverer of Sweden, we must pay a visit 
 to the mountains of Dalecarlia, where he was 
 hid so long, and whose hardy sons enabled 
 him to resist the tyrannical Danish King, 
 Christian II. Among those mountains, and 
 in those mines, he wrought as a common 
 laborer, till an opportunity occurred for his 
 declaring himself, and engaging the miners 
 on his side. The inhabitants of those dis- 
 tricts have a great veneration for his memory, 
 to this day/ 5 
 
SWEDISH MINERS. 125 
 
 " I suppose," said James, " our visit, as 
 usual, is to be paid by means of your library, 
 while we sit by the fireside." 
 
 "It will be most convenient. We shall 
 employ several travellers ; we have only to 
 fancy, or, as children say, make believe, that 
 we have sent Messieurs So-and-so to gain 
 information, and to report to us. 
 
 " One of them says, the miners and black- 
 smiths of Sweden are well fed, and lodged 
 comfortably ; and he gives us such a picture, 
 uniting vigor, activity, and contentment, as 
 makes it pleasant to travel among their vil- 
 lages. When night comes on, the sensations 
 are different, and almost terrific. The din 
 of so many hammers at work all around, 
 and the streams of light, and flame, and 
 black smoke, issuing from so many forges, 
 powerfully impress the mind ; even the 
 
126 MINE AT DANNEMORA. 
 
 clouds seem to be on fire, from the red ra- 
 diance. 
 
 "The most important of the iron mines is 
 at Darmemora,* which was discovered in 
 1488. The opening of the mine is of great 
 extent, in which, here and there, are twelve 
 pits; and down these the mining operations 
 are carried on. These pits are deep excava- 
 tions, like gravel pits, forming so many gulfs. 
 The descent into them is by means of baskets, 
 or buckets, each attached to a rope, which 
 passes over a pulley; much as if there were 
 a projection from the top of Salisbury steeple, 
 from which, in a basket, one could be let 
 down to the ground. 
 
 "One traveller, speaking of this descent, 
 says v 'The inspector of the mines accompa- 
 nied me: I was accommodated with a chair; 
 
 * Dannemora is distant from Stockholm sixty miles, N. N. W. 
 
DESCENT INTO THE IRON MINES OF DANNEMORA. 
 
128 MODE OF DESCENT. 
 
 but he seated himself on the edge of the 
 bucket, extending his legs, in order to maintain 
 our equilibrium. He had a stick in his hand, 
 with which he occasionally pushed off from 
 the edges of the rock, when we were in 
 danger of striking against them. We were 
 above five minutes making this perilous jour- 
 ney. The depth thus descended was five 
 hundred, feet. While I was thus descending, 
 and hung in mid air, another bucket was 
 ascending. I was so giddy, that I did not 
 dare to look down; but as it passed us, I 
 observed three girls in it, or rather on it, as 
 they were each standing on the edge of the 
 bucket, with great unconcern, and knitting all 
 the while, quite at their ease. So much does 
 custom take away the sense of danger. When 
 I rose again, I closed my eyes, till I arrived 
 safe at the surface. 5 
 
DIMENSIONS OF THE PITS. 129 
 
 "The motion of these buckets, up and down, 
 is regulated by wheel-work, moved by horses. 
 
 "The water is drawn out of the mine by 
 pumps, kept in motion by a wheel of great 
 size, said to be above sixty feet in diameter. 
 It is then conveyed away by an aqueduct, a 
 mile and a half long. 
 
 "The length of these pits, adding them 
 together, is about eight hundred feet ; the 
 breadth varies from three to twelve ; the 
 depth has been ascertained in several parts 
 to be five hundred feet ; but that does not 
 reach the bottom in some places. 
 
 "This mine furnishes iron in high repute, 
 as being the finest in the world. It is chiefly 
 brought over to England, to supply the man- 
 ufactories of steel and fine goods. 
 
 "The ore is dug in summer, and laid in 
 heaps ; in winter, it is removed on sledges 
 9 
 
130 SMELTING AND FORGING. 
 
 to the several forges. The richest ore yields 
 seventy per cent, of iron ; the poorer sort not 
 half so much. 
 
 "One of the principal forges is at Loefsta. 
 Here the numerous buildings, and the neat 
 brick cottages for the workmen, make a pleas- 
 ing appearance. 
 
 "Much as in other places, is the operation 
 of smelting performed. The ore is roasted, 
 then reduced to powder by the mills; it is 
 then melted, and, running into sand moulds, is 
 cast into huge lumps, each weighing above a 
 hundred weight. It is then heated and ham- 
 mered repeatedly, till it is shaped into bars, 
 from twelve to eighteen feet long, and from 
 one to eight inches broad. In this state it 
 comes to us. 
 
 "One remarkable particular, recorded by 
 another observer, is the manner of obtaining 
 
MODE OF GETTING THE ORE. 131 
 
 the ore out of the rock ; it is not dug out, as 
 is commonly the case, but torn out by gun- 
 powder. This operation takes place every 
 day, at twelve o'clock, and is a most tremen- 
 dous business. The explosion reverberates 
 among the hollow windings of the mine, 
 like subterraneous thunders. The stones are 
 thrown up, as by a volcano, to a great height 
 in the air; and the concussion shakes the 
 earth all around. 
 
 " This traveller descended also into the 
 mine, by the same sort of dangerous convey- 
 ance, as the one to whom I have just alluded ; 
 and owns, that he shuddered, and half re- 
 pented his curiosity ; for, in him, it was nothing 
 better. He was nine minutes in a state of 
 suspension, before he reached the bottom. 
 The view of the mine, he describes as awfully 
 grand. Daylight was very faint at these 
 
132 DANGEROUS EMPLOYMENT. 
 
 depths ; into many parts it could not pene- 
 trate, and they were obliged to use flambeaux. 
 Frames of wood were stretched from side 
 to side of the rock, in some places ; on 
 these, men were sitting astride, at great 
 heights, boring holes for the next blasting. 
 Should they lose their balance, they must 
 fall and be dashed to pieces. 
 
 " Though the weather was warm at the 
 surface of the earth, yet amid these dark 
 brown caves it was cold. In one of these 
 caverns considerably under the rock, was a 
 charcoal fire, around which were eight mise- 
 rable creatures, eating their meal and warm- 
 ing themselves. The warmth was a great 
 refreshment, for the way was strewed with 
 ice, almost every where in the mines. 
 
 " Some, who have been disinclined to the 
 airy voyage in the bucket, have descended, 
 
BORING THE ROCK FOR BLASTING. 
 
134 USES OF IRON. 
 
 in another part by ladders. These are crazy 
 things, and would be esteemed very dan- 
 gerous, except as compared with the rope. 
 They are also placed almost perpendicularly, 
 from one projection of the rock to another. 
 There is no small peril in this mode, as might 
 be supposed, if the descent were from the top 
 of St. Paul's ; which is about three-fourths of 
 the same depth. 
 
 "How necessary is iron to all our manu- 
 factures, and to the cultivation of our fields 
 and gardens ! It is drawn out into vecy fine 
 wire, and moulded into a variety of vessels 
 for domestic use. To convert it into steel, of 
 which our best cutlery is made, nothing more 
 is necessary than to heat good pure iron in 
 a proper furnace, with charcoal, or with any 
 substance capable of furnishing a sufficient 
 quantity of carbon, which is absorbed by the 
 
FORMATION OF STEEL. 135 
 
 iron in the process. Of this steel are made 
 articles which admit of the most beautiful 
 polish. Iron is more affected by the magnet 
 than any other mineral; and thus it becomes 
 a sure guide to tbe mariner over the trackless 
 waters." 
 
COAL. 
 
 NEWCASTLE.* 
 
 "CERTAINLY, now we are at Newcastle/' 
 said the father, " we must see how they make 
 coals." 
 
 " Make coals!" said James. "Nay, father, 
 they do not make coals, they dig them out of 
 the earth, out of deep pits." 
 
 " I suppose we shall see," was the answer. 
 
 Accordingly they made the intended visit. 
 
 * Newcastle, which is situated in the greatest coal district in the 
 world, is a seaport of England, capital of Northumberland, on the 
 north branch of the Tyne, ten miles from its mouth ; one hundred 
 miles south of Edinburgh, and two hundred and seventy north of 
 London. 
 
BORING FOR COAL. 137 
 
 It happened, luckily, that a friend conducted 
 them to a spot, where they were that morning 
 going to bore for coal, in order to discover if a 
 new mine might be formed. The boring rods 
 are iron bars, each about an inch and a half 
 square, and from three to four feet long; the 
 end is formed into a screw, so that the bars 
 can be joined together, to any length that 
 may be needed. At the end of the first, 
 or lower bar, is a chisel, half a yard long, and 
 about two and a half inches wide ; and at the 
 end of the upper bar is an eye, or loop, of 
 iron, very strong, through which a long piece 
 of timber is put, by which to turn the borer 
 round. 
 
 James watched the operation, and saw that 
 
 the men lifted up the borer a little way in the 
 
 hole it had made, and then let it fall again, 
 
 taking care to turn it a little round as it fell. 
 
 M 
 
138 BORING FOR COAL. 
 
 It is a tedious business, especially when the 
 stratum through which they are boring is very 
 hard, as a rock, for instance. The chisel soon 
 becomes blunted, and must be drawn out, to 
 be replaced by another. Indeed, they fre- 
 quently draw up the borer, and put down a 
 wimble, or sort of scoop, with which they bring 
 up the dust which the chisel has made; and 
 from this dust they can tell what sort of sub- 
 stances they are boring through. 
 
 When they find coal, their first concern is 
 to clear the water off; for all the joints and 
 separations of the stratum of coal, in general, 
 flow with water copiously. If the coal be so 
 situated, as to height in the hill, that a drain, or 
 level, can be led to it, this is the best way ; 
 unless the distance, or the hardness of the soil, 
 should make it too expensive. In that case, a 
 steam-engine is built, to pump the water out. 
 
DRAINING A COAL MINE. 139 
 
 When this is resolved on, a pit, or well, 
 about six or eight feet in diameter, is sunk, 
 below the deepest part of the stratum of coal : 
 the water will naturally flow into this, i and 
 clear the mine, if pumped out as fast as it 
 flows in. 
 
 When the engine pit is prepared, so that 
 the water can be drawn off, they drive the 
 mine, as it is called, so as to come at the 
 coal. 
 
 We may here give the substance of James's 
 letter to his mother, sent off by post the 
 next day. 
 
 "DEAR MOTHER, 
 
 "Our journey into the pit, (we being re- 
 solved to see it,) was, at least to us, rather 
 adventurous. It will do better to read, than 
 to repeat ; as, by the fireside, you will not 
 be in danger, as we were. 
 
140 A PERILOUS JOURNEY. 
 
 " When we came to the opening of the pit, 
 the first object which caught our attention was 
 the thump, thump, of an enormous steam- 
 engine, which was employed to pump up the 
 water out of the mine. 
 
 " Near this was a circular hole, down which 
 we were to go ; so filled with smoke, that we 
 could discern nothing else; it seemed like a 
 descent into a vast chimney ; and that, too, 
 while they were busy cooking below. 
 
 " We were first desired to dress ourselves : 
 indeed, this seemed needful, unless we would 
 utterly spoil our clothes ; as to our faces, we 
 knew, by experience, they could be washed. 
 We put on, therefore, miners' jackets and trow- 
 sers, with caps over our heads ; and, thus ac- 
 coutred, we prepared for our suffocating jour- 
 ney. But how were we to descend? There 
 were no stairs ; but we found prepared, a log 
 
DESCENT INTO A COAL MINE. 141 
 
 of wood, about three inches thick, and half a 
 yard long ; fastened by a rope at each end, so 
 as to swing horizontally. This sling, or horse, 
 as it is called, was slung by a hook to an iron 
 chain. Each of us, therefore, had to put one 
 leg through this loop, across the wooden bar, 
 and lay hold tight of the chain, by which all 
 was suspended; both of us went together. 
 We were then pushed from the firm ground, 
 and began swinging; and found ourselves 
 gently sinking, by the turning of the ma- 
 chinery, which went by horses. In about five 
 long minutes, for so they seemed to us, we 
 felt the ground again ; and got out, or off of 
 our what shall we call it a carriage? 
 
 "Feeling our feet again, we began to pe- 
 rambulate ; which we could do as easily as if 
 in our drawing-room. Not that our dresses, 
 
142 INTERIOR OF A COAL MINE. 
 
 or our black faces, would have been at all 
 suitable for that. We seemed to be entering 
 a vast suite of black chambers, supported and 
 divided by regular pillars of immense size. 
 The roof seemed only about seven feet high, 
 and the chambers about twelve feet wide ; 
 but how far the stratum of coal reaches, they 
 cannot tell, perhaps half under the county; 
 at least, so they hope, and so do we hope 
 too ; for I don't know what London would 
 do for firing, if these coal-pits were to fail. 
 
 "Now for our ascent: it was by the same 
 means as our descending. We were, how- 
 ever, surprised, when about half way up, to 
 hear a voice say, 'How do you do, gentlemen?' 
 We were so smothered in the smoke, that we 
 could see nobody; but we found it was a 
 common joke, for some of the men to begin 
 
PROCESS OF WORKING. 143 
 
 descending, and thus meet and surprise the 
 half stupified travellers, in midway of their 
 swinging." 
 
 In working the mine, a common practice is, 
 to take away the stratum of coal only partially, 
 leaving huge pillars of it to support the roof. 
 When they have thus proceeded some way, 
 the miners come back and work out those 
 pillars ; which occasions the earth above to fall 
 in, and fill up the cavity. These pillars are 
 not left at random, but at regular intervals, 
 and are of regular shapes; from twelve to 
 eighteen feet thick. When they have wrought 
 out all the pillars that can be safely removed, 
 there will be left an eighth or more, of the 
 whole substance of the coal, which they dare 
 not touch. 
 
 In one place, they saw horses employed in 
 
144 FEMALE COAL BEARERS. 
 
 drawing sledges, loaded with great baskets 
 filled with coal; five or six, and sometimes 
 eight hundred weight, are drawn out at a 
 time, by one horse, if the slope be not too 
 steep. A mine is formed on purpose, with 
 a gentle slope for them, where it can con- 
 veniently be done. But the surprise of the 
 party was not small, when, coming to a place 
 where no such slope could be made, they 
 found the poor horses let down to their work, 
 tied up in a net. Where the mine is not large 
 enough for horses to work, the coal is removed 
 by men, who drag about half the load of a 
 horse, on a low carriage of four wheels. In 
 some places, neither of these modes is pos- 
 sible ; so the coals are brought out by women, 
 called bearers, who carry them in baskets, on 
 their, heads ; the load is a hundred weight, and 
 often more. And this is done in places where 
 
WOMEN BEARING COAL. 
 
 10 
 
 N 
 
146 NEWCASTLE COAL MINES. 
 
 the ascent is so steep, that the carriage drawn 
 either by horses or men, could not be used 
 The coal is thus brought from the place where 
 it is dug out, to the bottom of the shaft, which 
 opens to the surface of the earth ; this is some- 
 times a very considerable distance. At the 
 shaft, the coals are put into baskets, fastened to 
 a rope, and drawn up by a sort of windlass, 
 called a gin, set in motion by horses, or by a 
 water-wheel, or by a steam-engine ; as may be 
 most convenient at each place. The depth of 
 some of the mines, below the surface, is often 
 seven or eight hundred feet. 
 
 When the coals have fairly arrived on the 
 surface of the earth, they are carried a small 
 distance from the mouth of the pit ; and sorted 
 into three heaps, according to their sizes. 
 
 There are between twenty and thirty coal 
 mines, in the neighborhood of Newcastle. 
 
WAGON-WAYS AND RAIL-ROADS. 147 
 
 Some are within five miles of the river/and 
 some almost twenty miles distant. To cart 
 so heavy a substance all this distance, would 
 cost so much, that coals in London would 
 amount to double their present price. But 
 knowledge is fruitful in expedients. Wagon- 
 ways, or rail-roads, of iron, are constructed, 
 down w r hich the wagons roll with great ease ; 
 so that one horse will draw as much as ten on 
 a common road. A rail-road consists of two 
 shallow grooves of iron, well fastened on stone 
 work in the ground, upon which the wheels 
 of the carriage run ; or, sometimes, the rail- 
 way consists of an iron ridge, fastened as 
 before; and then the iron wheels of the car- 
 riage have each a shallow groove to work 
 upon it. The wagons are of a funnel shape; 
 and when one arrives at the wharf, a door 
 in the bottom is opened, which lets the coals 
 
148 KEELS AND KEELMEN. 
 
 through, into the keel, or barge, which is 
 placed properly underneath. 
 
 The keel is a clumsy oval-shaped barge, 
 in which the coals are rowed down the river, 
 to the ships, which wait to receive them. 
 The keelmen are a numerous body, rough 
 and hardy ; not fewer than six thousand in 
 number. But it is calculated that almost 
 seventy thousand persons are employed by 
 these mines, in various ways ; and the ca- 
 pital by which the works are carried on, 
 amounts to more than three millions ster- 
 ling. 
 
 In one part of the mine, an accident had 
 recently happened, called a crash. The pil- 
 lars left to support the roof, being too slender, 
 had failed ; or else the floor of the mine was 
 too soft, and had suffered the pillars to sink 
 in; so that the roof fell in, with the whole 
 
FOUL AIR IN MINES. 149 
 
 mass of earth above it. This sort of accident 
 seldom happens without giving notice, by pre- 
 vious cracks, and the falling of detached pieces 
 from the roof. In this case, the miners some- 
 times build up stone piers, to support the 
 roof, if a fall in that spot would greatly hin- 
 der the work ; otherwise they clear away 
 more of the coal pillars, and let it sink in 
 gently. 
 
 Many dreadful accidents arise from foul air, 
 of which there are two sorts : one, the black 
 damp, is of a suffocating nature ; the other 
 is inflammable, and, taking fire, explodes with 
 great violence, or, perhaps, sets on fire the 
 w r hole body of coal, so as to destroy the 
 mine. The workpeople take great care, 
 therefore, to bring a current of fresh air into 
 the mine, which carries off the foul gas, and 
 
150 THE SAFETY LAMP. 
 
 prevents its accumulating to any dangerous 
 quantity. 
 
 A few years ago, a dreadful explosion oc- 
 curred at the Felling colliery, near Newcastle ; 
 and as these accidents are too sudden to allow 
 of escape, more than one hundred persons, 
 who were at work in the mine, perished in 
 an instant; and nearly five hundred widows 
 and children were plunged into distress and 
 destitution. 
 
 Philosophy has, in modern times, endea- 
 vored, with some success, to guard against 
 this calamity, so terrible and so irresistible. 
 Sir H. Davy has invented what is called a 
 safety lamp, for the use of men working in 
 the mines. It consists of a common lamp, 
 covered with a skreen of very fine wires, 
 woven very closely together. The light 
 
THE SAFETY LAMP. 151 
 
 passes between the bars, in a sufficient degree 
 to assist the workmen ; but the foul air is so 
 dense, and, one might almost say, so ropy, that 
 it cannot pass between the wires to get at the 
 flame; and nothing short of actual contact 
 with the blaze will set it on fire. 
 
COAL. 
 
 SUNDRIES. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Newcastle has long been the 
 grand source of supply of coals for London, 
 as well as for the eastern and a considerable 
 portion of the south coasts of the kingdom, yet 
 there are many other mines of this precious 
 substance. 
 
 It has been calculated, that as a mere com- 
 modity for sale, more value has been raised 
 from the coal mines, than from the silver mines 
 of Potosi, or the gold mines of Mexico. This 
 value becomes enhanced to the nation, in an 
 almost incalculable degree, by the use to which 
 
ANNUAL SUPPLY OF COAL. 153 
 
 coal is put in manufactories. A hundred 
 pounds worth of coal employed in steam- 
 engines and iron forges, soon produces its 
 thousands in some useful or ornamental article. 
 The various fabrics thus brought to perfection, 
 from the huge anchor of a man of war, to the 
 delicate bobbinet-lace of a lady's fashionab 1 - 
 dress, with numerous et ceteras, are beyond 
 calculation. Were the coal mines to cease, 
 nine-tenths of the activities of the British 
 empire must cease also. 
 
 " One would think," said James, " that, so 
 much as they dig out every year, they must 
 soon come to the end of the mine ; and then, 
 what should we do for coal?" 
 
 " That may become a serious question, some 
 day," said Mr. Thompson. "Especially con- 
 sidering that they have been digging here four 
 hundred years ; and that they now excavate 
 
154 BORROWSTOWNESS COAL MINE. 
 
 to the amount of one million eight hundred 
 thousand chaldrons every year, to supply 
 London only ; add to this what the eastern 
 and southern coasts of the kingdom consume, 
 and what is exported to foreign nations ; and 
 we shall make a total amount of two and a 
 half millions of chaldrons, dug out every year." 
 
 " I hope it will last my time !" said James. 
 
 " Posterity may thank you for such a selfish 
 wish ; but such privation need not be feared 
 yet. Newcastle and its neighborhood can 
 supply us for four hundred years more; and 
 there are many mines in other parts of the 
 kingdom, some of which have never been 
 worked, but which would become of value, if 
 our present means of supply should fail. 
 
 " One of the most remarkable mines of coal 
 was found in the parish of Borrowstowness, in 
 Scotland. This mine penetrated to a great 
 
MINES FROM UNDER THE SEA. 155 
 
 extent under the sea. About the entrance, 
 which was situated half a mile from the beach, 
 an embankment was made, to keep off the 
 waters; and ships could lie close up to take 
 in the coal. Several springs of fresh water 
 oozed into the works ; but the water was 
 drawn off by an engine, moved by the tide. 
 For many years this was a profitable concern, 
 and brought great wealth to the Earl of Kin- 
 cardine, to whom it belonged. The end of it 
 was, however, very calamitous. An unusually 
 high tide overtopped the mounds around the 
 entrance ; the sea rushed in, filled the mine, 
 and drowned all who happened to be at work 
 in it at that moment. It has not been wrought 
 since. 
 
 " At Whitehaven, in Cumberland, is a mine 
 very similar ; as it runs under the sea to a 
 great distance. The works are sunk almost 
 
156 CANNEL COAL. 
 
 eight hundred feet deep; and vessels ride at 
 anchor, over the heads of the miners. 
 
 " A peculiar sort of coal, called Cannel Coal 
 is found in Staffordshire, Cumberland, and 
 Lancashire. It is so hard that it will not only 
 admit of being turned in a lathe, to form boxes, 
 and ornamental articles, as inkstands, salt- 
 cellars, candlesticks, &c., but it will bear a 
 polish, and will not soil the most delicate 
 linen. It is, however, chiefly used for fuel ; 
 and it gives a remarkably clear flame, like a 
 candle ; whence its name, possibly : but it 
 must be sprinkled with water before it is 
 laid on the fire, otherwise, as soon as it gets 
 warm, it will crack and fly into the room, in 
 a multitude of small pieces. It is said, that 
 the chequered pavement of Litchfield cathedral 
 is laid with cannel coal for the black squares, 
 and alabaster for the white. 
 
A CURIOUS DISCOVERY. 157 
 
 "Bovey Heath, in Devonshire, has a remark- 
 able species, which bears its name, Bovey Coal: 
 it has the appearance of having been originally 
 wood. A similar kind is also found in Scotland 
 and in Iceland. 
 
 " A curious discovery was made, some years 
 since, at Bally castle, in Ireland, of an ancient 
 coal mine. The colliers were carrying a new 
 adit, or roadway ; and meeting with a stratum 
 of rock, they bored through it. They then 
 perceived they were entering into a vast 
 cavern. As the opening made was as yet but 
 small, they caused a couple of boys to creep 
 through, with lights, to discover to what and 
 where they were come. These soon lost 
 themselves in the windings of the cavern. 
 The workmen then enlarged the hole, and, 
 going after them, perceived they had entered 
 a mine, which led them a long way, and 
 
158 COLLIERIES AT DYSART. 
 
 i 
 
 branched off into many chambers, which had 
 been worked ages before, as no traditional 
 remembrance or history of any coal mine 
 there, was in existence. Pillars were left to 
 support the roof, much after the modern 
 custom. Some remains of tools and baskets 
 were found; but so decayed, that they crumb- 
 led to dust on being touched. That it was 
 long, long ago, since these chambers had been 
 worked, was evident, as stalactite pillars were 
 formed by the dripping of water through the 
 rock above ; some of them reaching to the 
 floor. Such pillars of such a size, could only 
 be formed during the lapse of many ages. 
 
 " In Scotland, there are many coal works. 
 
 " Near Dysart,* is a collection of collieries, 
 remarkable for having many of the beds of 
 
 * A seaport on the Frith of Forth, twelve miles north of 
 Edinburgh. 
 
COLLIERIES AT DYSART. 159 
 
 coal on fire, which have been burning for two 
 centuries. At present the heat only warms 
 the earth, so as to prevent snow from lying 
 long on the surface ; but, in times past, there 
 was smoke by day, and flame by night, to a 
 very awful degree. 
 
 " A traveller who visited the Dysart mine, 
 writes thus: 'I have made a journey lately, 
 where there were no trees, no fields: there was 
 a river, indeed, beside us, but no fish ever 
 swam in it ; and in the air far around no bird 
 has ever been known to fly ! I have been in 
 the coal mines at Dysart. I repaired to the 
 inspector's house, and was dressed. Conceive 
 my slender body wrapped in a sailor's jacket 
 and trowsers, which had been made for a stout 
 man. I was crowned with an immense old 
 hat, which had an irresistible tendency to rest 
 upon my shoulders. After half an hour's 
 
160 COLLIERIES AT DYSART. 
 
 walk in this fantastic attire, during which time 
 I afforded some merriment to the natives, we 
 reached the place of descent. It is a perpen- 
 dicular shaft, with a wooden partition in the 
 middle, reaching to the bottom. On one side 
 of this partition are placed short w r ooden 
 ladders, in a zigzag direction, from top to 
 bottom of the pit. 
 
 "'Having each lighted his candle, we began 
 to descend, and were right glad, after some 
 fatigue, to find we had reached the bottom; 
 though we were still half a mile from the shaft 
 where the coals are taken up. My friend led 
 the way with a lantern ; and we soon began to 
 perceive that we had entered a spacious 
 gallery, the roof of which was about twelve 
 feet high. By the glimmer of our candles on 
 the right hand, the wall seemed to be solid; 
 but on the left now and then appeared a 
 
MINES AT DYSART. 161 
 
 spacious gloomy cavern, which seemed to turn 
 at right angles to the route we were pursuing ; 
 but how far we could not tell, it was all 
 impenetrable darkness. We were then walk- 
 ing in what the miners call the level. On our 
 side, a river flowed, fed by streams from 
 various caverns, or sometimes by a waterfall, 
 where the roof had given way. Hitherto the 
 murmur of the stream had alone broken the 
 dreary stillness of these caverns, and the feeble 
 rays of our candles only made visible the dark- 
 ness which they could not dissipate. But now 
 other sounds and lights began to burst upon 
 us : a fire was seen blazing at a distance, and 
 a number of motley faces danced and gleamed 
 before us, like the figures of a magic lantern. 
 The clanking of chains and the trampling 
 of horses, were now distinctly heard; and a 
 hollow sound as of distant thunder grumbled 
 11 O 
 
162 INTERIOR OF THE 
 
 through the subterranean vaults, as the loaded 
 baskets were dragged along. 
 
 "'We had now, in fact, arrived at the pit, 
 where the coals are raised by a steam- 
 engine. We had not yet travelled over half 
 our ground, but the remainder of the journey 
 was more expeditious. A train of empty 
 baskets was ready to move, in which we 
 made ourselves comfortable seats with straw. 
 Our horse was harnessed, our light adjusted, 
 and in a few minutes we started at the full 
 trot, to explore the yet unseen recesses of 
 this seemingly endless labyrinth. After tra- 
 velling another mile, we arrived at the place 
 where the men were at work. Here the air 
 was very close, from the smoke of their lamps ; 
 and we were glad to make our way back on 
 loaded baskets, though contrary to the laws 
 of these realms. We took no candles in 
 
TREASURES OF THE EARTH. 163 
 
 returning, as a lamp is attached to each train 
 of baskets. By accident this only remaining 
 light went out about the middle of our journey, 
 and we were left in darkness, of which those 
 above ground can form no conception. Our 
 horse continued to canter along, as if nothing 
 had happened, at a rate which made it a little 
 difficult for me to keep my seat. In some 
 time, a twinkling lamp appeared at a distance, 
 on passing which, things went on as before. 
 The baskets we travelled in are set on wheels, 
 which move in a railway. The horses are in 
 excellent condition, and have good stables in 
 the mine. They never see the light of day 
 from the time they are first lowered down. 
 Our return need not be described any far- 
 ther/" 
 
GOLD. 
 
 GOLD is one of the purest metals; and, 
 on that account, not liable to perish by rust, 
 or by fire. It is malleable, ductile, resplen- 
 dent, and the most weighty of them all: half 
 as heavy again as lead, and more than nine- 
 teen times the weight of water, bulk for 
 bulk. 
 
 Gold is found in primitive mountains, usu- 
 ally in slender veins, often penetrating the 
 hard rock itself. But it is more commonly ob- 
 tained in small grains, from alluvial soil, that 
 is, such as forms the beds of rivers, or the 
 sides of channels which have been created 
 by floods, and are frequently covered with 
 water. Many have supposed that these frag- 
 
GOLD IN SANDS OP RIVERS. 165 
 
 ments are washed down from the adjoining 
 mountains ; and persons have frequently en- 
 deavored to trace them up to their supposed 
 original beds in the mountains, where they 
 hoped to find the parent vein, and become 
 rich at once : they have, however, been dis- 
 appointed. Nay, where the sands of the 
 rivers afford golden grains, these particles 
 have become more scarce as the searchers 
 approached nearer to the rocks from which 
 the streams have issued. The gold, indeed, 
 appears only here and there : it is not the 
 whole channel that affords the particles of 
 metal, but only some particular districts, 
 through which the stream passes. 
 
 The term "Mine," which seems to imply 
 some hollow, artificially excavated beneath the 
 mountain, must, in this instance, be transfer- 
 red to places where the miners merely dig 
 
166 GOLD IN SANDS OF RIVERS. 
 
 up the surface of -the soil, and wash it, in 
 order to separate the precious grains from 
 the earth. 
 
GOLD. 
 
 SUNDRIES. 
 
 THE most ancient gold mines, of which 
 we have any account, were in Spain, in the 
 northern provinces. Thither the Phoenicians 
 used to repair for the precious metal. The 
 Romans also, when they conquered Spain, 
 employed the native Spaniards to dig their 
 own mines for them; much as, in later times, 
 the Spaniards have forced the Indians of South 
 America to dig for their profit. The mines in 
 Spain consisted of veins of gold, running in 
 the rocks ; but they have been long neglected ; 
 indeed, ever since the discovery of America 
 has enabled the Spaniards to obtain gold in a 
 
168 GOLD MINES IN HUNGARY. 
 
 more easy and plentiful manner. In the time 
 of Nero, fifty pounds of gold were obtained 
 daily from the mines of Dalmatia. It was 
 found on the surface of the ground. The 
 island of Thasos, in the JEgean Sea, also 
 yielded a considerable quantity. France has 
 never been famous for gold; yet some has 
 been found in a few of her rivers. At Gar- 
 dette, in the hard rock, were some veins of 
 native gold ; but not in sufficient quantity to 
 be worth the working. 
 
 A little is found in Mount Rosa, in Piedmont, 
 just enough to pay for obtaining it. We find 
 yet more among the craggy mountains in the 
 Tyrol. 
 
 Hungary has been much celebrated for its 
 mines, and not without reason. The modes 
 of operating, and the machinery, are not equal 
 to those in use in England ; but they are very 
 
SCOTTISH GOLD MINES. 169 
 
 carefully wrought. It is supposed that nearly 
 six hundred thousand pounds, in gold, are 
 raised every year at Schemnitz and Cremnitz. 
 One third as much of silver, besides lead, is 
 drawn from thence. These are the only gold 
 mines in Europe, of any importance. 
 
 Sweden has some gold mines at Edelfors; 
 where native gold, in veins, traverses a rocky 
 mountain. 
 
 Russia has a mine at Voetsk, north of the 
 lake Onega ; but not in sufficient quantities to 
 be worth the working. 
 
 In Scotland, gold was found, ages ago 
 And in the reign of Elizabeth, considerable 
 quantities were collected between Leadhills 
 and Elvanfoot. The traces of the works then 
 carried on yet remain. The gold was found 
 immediately under the vegetable soil. Hither 
 a small stream of water was conducted, in 
 P 
 
170 WICKLOW GOLD MINES. 
 
 order to wash away the light earth into pools, 
 or basins, dug on purpose; in this state of 
 loose mud, the heavier particles sank in the 
 pit, while the mere earth was carried off. All 
 those heavier matters which sank, were after- 
 wards well washed, and examined for the 
 grains of gold. Gold is still found in Scot- 
 land; but the increased expense of seeking 
 it, renders the search unprofitable. Some of 
 those who work in the adjacent lead mines, 
 amuse themselves in their spare time, and 
 now and then pick up a little. 
 
 Much was said, a few years ago, concerning 
 the mountains of Wicldow, in Ireland. There 
 some large lumps of gold were found, in a 
 sandy soil. Several were of an ounce weight 
 each, and one lump weighed twenty-two 
 ounces. This is said to be the largest mass 
 of native gold ever found, any where. 
 
ASIATIC GOLD MINES. 171 
 
 We expect to find gold in Asia; especially 
 as all our histories of the earliest ages, even 
 long before Nebuchadnezzar's golden image, 
 ninety cubits in height, was erected, speak 
 of gold being in great plenty. Solomon made 
 it to abound so, that silver was little thought 
 of. Nay, as far back as the time of Moses, 
 and the erection of the tabernacle in the wil- 
 derness, we find it in plenty. The whole 
 continent of Asia seems to furnish it; from 
 Siberia to India, and from the western pro- 
 vinces to Japan. The mines of Beresof, in 
 Siberia, are still wrought; those of Tcherepa 
 Nafskoy are very rich in gold. In the south- 
 ern parts, as in India, many rivers furnish the 
 precious grains. A river in Lydia, called 
 Pactolus, which empties itself into the Archi- 
 pelago, was famous in ancient story for its 
 golden sands. The river runs by Sardis, and 
 
172 AFRICAN GOLD MINES. 
 
 is said to have been the chief source of the 
 long famous riches of Croesus. In the east, 
 the islands of Japan, Vonnosa, Ceylon, and 
 most of the islands in the Eastern Sea, much 
 gold is found at the present day. 
 
 Africa has always been rich in gold. The 
 ancients had much from it. That Ophir, from 
 which Solomon received his supplies, is thought, 
 with great probability, to have been on the 
 eastern coast, somewhere about where Sofala 
 now stands. Gold is still an article of com- 
 merce with all the Cafilas which traverse its 
 dreary deserts. This is evidently the produce 
 of the rivers ; as it comes only in the shape of 
 dust, or very small grains. It is brought for 
 sale in quills of the ostrich and the vulture. 
 The centre of Africa has always been esteemed 
 rich in gold. Herodotus tells us, that the King 
 of Ethiopia brought to Cambyses all his pri- 
 
AFRICAN GOLD MINES. 173 
 
 soners bound with chains of gold. That part 
 of Africa which lies more to the southward, 
 which we trade with on the western side, by 
 the ports of Guinea, Upper and Lower, pro- 
 duces much gold from its rivers, such as the 
 Senegal, the Gambia, and the Niger. 
 
GOLD. 
 
 MEXICO. 
 
 AT the present day we turn our eyes to 
 the New World, in search of golden treasures. 
 Ever since the discovery of America, gold has 
 been the grand object of research with the 
 European settlers, and their descendants, in 
 the middle districts. That those regions 
 abounded in this splendid metal, we have 
 undeniable testimony to prove ; the quantity 
 discovered in use there, and the quantities 
 gained from thence every year, establish this 
 point beyond contradiction. It is said, that, in 
 gold and silver, America sends annually to 
 
RICHES OF ANCIENT MEXICO. 175 
 
 Europe, twenty -four millions pounds sterling in 
 value. 
 
 When Cortez landed in Mexico, the most 
 costly presents were made him by the natives, 
 in the hope of civilly prevailing with him to 
 depart ; but the value of these presents deter- 
 mined him to stay in a country where such 
 magnificent commodities could be procured. 
 Among them, were two large plates ; one of 
 massive gold, representing the sun, and one 
 of solid silver, for the moon ; besides boxes 
 filled with grains of virgin gold, just as they 
 were obtained from the rivers. Even the 
 governors of the provinces made him presents 
 of immense value, in gold; which, though 
 known to be in high esteem, was in that 
 country plentiful. 
 
 The description of Mexico itself, its palaces, 
 and its temples, evinces the great abundance 
 
176 UNCERTAINTY OF GOLD MINES. 
 
 of gold, in the massy ornaments of that metal, 
 which glittered on every side. 
 
 When Cortez retreated from Mexico, he left 
 behind him, above what the soldiers could 
 carry away, gold, &c. to the value of two 
 hundred thousand pounds ; and in stripping the 
 slain after the battle of Otumba, his soldiers 
 gained an almost equal value. 
 
 As gold was their principal object, they, 
 soon after gaining the country, searched for 
 the mines themselves, and forcibly obliged 
 the natives to dig in them. It is calculated 
 that forty thousand of them are still kept to 
 this labor, in New Spain only. 
 
 The principal mines are situated inland, far 
 from the sea ; in the provinces of Zacatecas, 
 New Biscay, and Mexico Proper. But the 
 veins of gold are small, and the produce 
 uncertain. It has been observed, that gold 
 
VARIOUS STATES OF GOLD ORE. 177 
 
 mines have generally ruined those who en- 
 gaged with them ; although the purifying of 
 the ore is not so expensive as that of other 
 metals. This happens, because the veins are 
 very apt to fail. For a while, the vein will be 
 full and rich, and then it is lost on a sudden : 
 when, indeed, a vein can be traced to its end, 
 the miners frequently find what is called the 
 purse of the mine, or such a considerable 
 quantity as at once makes the fortune of the 
 adventurer. 
 
 These mines are not wrought at the public 
 expense; but any man, who suspects gold in 
 any place, may obtain a grant of the land ; 
 only stipulating to begin working within a 
 certain time. 
 
 The gold here, as in other parts of the world, 
 is found in two different states ; either within 
 the rock in veins ; or scattered in morsels, in 
 12 
 
178 OPERATIONS TO OBTAIN GOLD. 
 
 the sands of rivers. When obtained from the 
 rocks, which must be burst asunder to get at 
 it, it is sometimes found in lumps, or masses, 
 of pure metal, called native gold; but, more 
 frequently, it exists in a mineralized state, 
 mingled with other substances, as earth, stone, 
 sulphur, &LC. In this state it would not be 
 recognised by an ignorant person ; for it 
 is red, white, black, as may happen, and 
 shews none of its brilliancy or metallic cha- 
 racter. 
 
 When gold is found in this state of mixture, 
 the ore is broken in pieces, in a mill, consisting 
 of an upright, circular stone, which turns on its 
 axis, while it traverses a circular trough ; such 
 as is employed in grinding bark, in England. 
 When thus broken, some of the refuse is easily' 
 separated from it. To the remaining mass, a 
 considerable quantity of quicksilver is added; 
 
BREAKING GOLD ORE IN MEXICO. 
 
180 OPERATIONS TO OBTAIN GOLD. 
 
 which, having a strong attraction for gold, 
 fastens upon every particle of it, and draws 
 it away from whatever it had been attached to. 
 
 When the gold is thus amalgamated with 
 the quicksilver, a full stream of water is let 
 into the vessel, which carries with it the lighter 
 matters, earth, &,c., and leaves at the bottom 
 the heavy metal : the amalgam, thus cleansed, 
 is squeezed in a cloth ; much of the quicksilver 
 is thus forced out, and the remainder is driven 
 off by fire, which leaves the gold pure. 
 
 When the miners suspect gold to be in the 
 bed of a river, they turn the stream away from 
 those spots in which they conceive it may lie. 
 Then they loosen the bottom of the river, by 
 digging ; and in this loosened state the soil is 
 easily washed off by the current, which is let 
 in suddenly for the purpose ; and a stiff earth 
 remains in which the gold is concealed. The 
 
GOLD WASHING IN MEXICO. 
 
182 OPERATIONS TO OBTAIN GOLD. 
 
 waters are again turned off, and the workmen 
 dig up this earth, which they carry away to the 
 lavaderos, or washing places. Here it is kept 
 continually stirred with iron hooks and rakes, 
 while water, rushing in, carries away the earthy 
 matter ; and the gold, from its weight, falls to 
 the bottom. Still it is mingled with a black 
 heavy sand, which hides the gold, unless there 
 be a few lumps larger than the general size ; 
 and to get rid of this sand, it is put in succes- 
 sive portions into a shallow dish, deepest in 
 the middle, and filled up with water. With 
 their spread fingers, they whirl the whole 
 round and round ; so that the water and sand 
 pass over the edges of the dish, and the pure 
 grains of gold remain in the central hollow. 
 This gold is obtained without the aid of quick- 
 silver or fire. 
 
GOLD. 
 
 PERU. 
 
 IF we pass to South America, we may con- 
 template the conquests of Pizarro; and we 
 shall find a great display of its golden trea- 
 sures. When he first seized the too credulous 
 Atahualpa, after murdering thousands of the 
 unresisting Peruvians, the spoil taken from the 
 slain amounted to such a mass of wealth, as 
 made the Spaniards almost frantic with joy. 
 The captive monarch, finding that gold was 
 their grand object, hoped to gain his liberty 
 by offering an immense ransom. The room 
 in which he was confined measured twenty- 
 
184 RICHES OP ANCIENT PERU. 
 
 two feet in length, and sixteen in breadth; 
 and Atahualpa offered to fill it with golden 
 vessels as high as a man could reach. His 
 offer being accepted, he sent messages through 
 all his dominions ; and from the palaces of his 
 nobles, and the temples of their gods, came 
 the golden vessels, in obedience to his orders. 
 After one fifth had been deducted for the use 
 of the King of Spain, the value which Pizarro 
 immediately shared among his partj^ amounted 
 in value to three hundred and twenty-six thou- 
 sand six hundred pounds sterling. But though 
 this perfidious Spaniard had obtained the sti- 
 pulated ransom, he refused to liberate the cap- 
 tive monarch. * 
 
 When he took possession of Cuzco, the 
 booty he found there greatly exceeded in 
 value what be had forced from Atahualpa. 
 
MINES NEAR LIMA. 185 
 
 Plates of gold and silver covered the walls 
 of the temples, and the shrines of the ido- 
 latrous worship. 
 
 The gold mines of Peru are situated chiefly 
 in the northern provinces, almost in the neigh- 
 borhood of Lima. These mines tempted many 
 to devote their whole strength to them. But 
 this mode of advancing their wealth came into 
 disrepute, from the circumstance, that although 
 a few large fortunes had been realized, yet the 
 great proportion of persons engaging in them 
 had spent their property, and were reduced to 
 great indigence. Indeed, to prevent their be- 
 ing abandoned, the government was obliged to 
 remit the fifth which had been previously 
 claimed; and be content with a twentieth 
 of the metal extracted. 
 
 In the more northern provinces of South 
 America, much gold is found. In the province 
 Q 
 
186 GOLD FROM ALLUVIAL SOILS. 
 
 of New Granada, near Santa-Fe-de-Bogota, it 
 is obtained from alluvial soils, and cleansed by 
 simple washing. It is found in considerable 
 plenty near Pampeluna, where a single laborer 
 has sometimes found as much as was worth 
 two hundred pounds, in a day. One lump of 
 virgin gold was brought from Santa Fe, worth 
 almost right hundred pounds sterling. 
 
GOLD. 
 
 BRAZIL. 
 
 BUT the greatest quantity of gold brought 
 into the market, in the present day, comes 
 from Brazil. The discovery was made by a 
 party of soldiers, who were sent into the 
 inland provinces to quell an insurrection, and 
 found among the natives some fish-hooks made 
 of gold; on inquiry, they were informed that 
 the gold was brought down from the mountains 
 by the floods, when the torrents came rushing 
 into the valleys. This was enough to instigate 
 a diligent search. It is true, only a few veins 
 of gold were discovered ; but the quantities of 
 grains found after the floods, exceeded belief. 
 
188 GOLD BROUGHT PROM BRAZIL. 
 
 This searching for gold is now the employment 
 of negroes, who have this privilege, that if any 
 one brings the quantity required of him, his 
 master cannot demand of him any more. 
 Should he find more, therefore, it becomes 
 his own property ; and, if he can save enough 
 of it, he may purchase his freedom. 
 
 The registers of the fleets shew, that in 
 about sixty years after the discovery of the 
 gold mines of Brazil, the value of bullion 
 brought to Europe, amounted to upwards of 
 one hundred millions sterling. It is seventy 
 years since that calculation was made; how 
 much more must have been brought in that 
 time ! * 
 
 It is affirmed, that a single grain of gold can 
 be beaten out, or spread into a leaf of fifty 
 square inches ; and that this leaf may be rea- 
 dily divided into five hundred thousand parts, 
 
DUCTILITY OP GOLD. 189 
 
 visible to the naked eye. It is asserted, also, 
 that one grain of this metal, as thin as that 
 with which artists gild what is called gold lace, 
 would cover a surface of nearly sixty square 
 inches. And again, that a grain of gold may 
 be stretched in such a manner as to cover 
 more than sixty-three yards of silver wire. 
 Indeed, the ductility of this metal is almost 
 incvedible. 
 
HUALPA DISCOVERING THE SILVER MINE OF POTOSI. 
 
SILVER. 
 
 POTOSI. 
 
 "Now we are in South America, we may 
 as well notice the silver mines of that country. 
 We can leap over the Andes easily, as we sit 
 here, and come at once to Potosi." 
 
 JAMES. "I think, I remember something 
 about Potosi." 
 
 " Well, let us hear all you can recollect." 
 
 "Why, I think, an Indian, what was his 
 name? O Hualpa, was scampering up the 
 side of a mountain, after some wild animal or 
 other : finding it had jumped up a steep place 
 quicker than he could, and determining to 
 follow it, he laid hold of a branch oi a .shrub, 
 
192 HUALPA THE INDIAN. 
 
 to assist him in climbing. But instead of 
 assisting him, it broke off in his hand, or rather 
 it was torn up, root and all, out of the earth. 
 He was, however, repaid for his disappoint- 
 ment, by the sight of something bright in the 
 hole which the plant had come from. He soon 
 discovered this to be a lump of silver; and 
 he found several small bits sticking about the 
 roots. These he picked off carefully, that 
 he took up lovingly, and home he went 
 joyfully ! Right glad was he to have found 
 such a treasure." 
 
 "What, then, did he keep it all to him- 
 self?" 
 
 "No, father. It would have been better 
 for him, if he had. He returned to his mine, 
 whenever he wanted cash ; and by that means 
 grew so much better in his circumstances, 
 that his neighbors wondered at it. One of 
 
POTOSI SILVER MINE. 193 
 
 these was his particular friend : so, whether 
 to stop his inquiries, or to give him a share, 
 I do not know ; but he told him of his dis- 
 covery, and shewed him the place ; and they 
 both helped themselves as they happened to 
 want." 
 
 " Well ; but as there was enough for both, 
 was it not better to let his friend have a 
 share?" 
 
 "Yes, I suppose so, if he could have been 
 sure of his friend. But some disagreement 
 between, them arose, because Hualpa would 
 not tell how he purified it ; then this un- 
 worthy friend went and told the whole to a 
 Spaniard. The mine was soon taken posses- 
 sion of, and the poor Indians got no more. 
 The mine, indeed, yielded a great deal; but 
 the Spaniards took it all. This was in 1545." 
 13 K 
 
194 POPULATION OF POTOSI. 
 
 "And does that same mine continue to 
 yield silver still?" said James. 
 
 " Its productiveness was soon put to the 
 trial ; for a town was built at the foot of the 
 mountain ; ten thousand Spaniards settled 
 there, to gain the silver; and sixty thousand 
 poor Indians were forced to go thither, to 
 dig out the ore for them. This mine is still 
 worked, as are several others, in the adjacent 
 mountains. The country around is barren, 
 as is usually the case where there are metallic 
 treasures underneath. The inhabitants of Po- 
 tosi are obliged to procure nearly the whole 
 of their provisions from the neighboring pro- 
 vinces. 
 
 "This mine is in a mountain by itself, like 
 a sugar-loaf in shape. The city of Potosi, 
 although at the foot of the mountain, is not 
 
IGNORANCE OF THE MINERS. 195 
 
 in a valley, but high up in the Andes, whose 
 white tops, covered with snow, glitter at a 
 few miles' distance. It is now a large city, 
 containing a hundred thousand inhabitants, 
 including slaves. It does not belong to the 
 western or Peruvian coast, but to the eastern 
 side of South America, being in the govern- 
 ment of La Plata. 
 
 "The mountain itself is about eighteen 
 miles in circumference, at bottom. The 
 miners do not proceed in any regular or 
 scientific manner, but they get as much sil- 
 ver as they can obtain easily; none of them 
 have penetrated above seventy yards into it, 
 though there are more than three hundred 
 pits ; but they content themselves with scoop- 
 ing out the mere surface of the hill. An old 
 conduit, which, a hundred years ago, led into 
 
196 IGNORANCE OF THE MINERS. 
 
 several mines, is now filled with water, there 
 not being any sufficient machinery to clear it 
 off. The mountain itself seems to be a mass 
 of clayey slate, yellowish and hard. Although 
 it has produced so much since it was opened, 
 yet it yields only about six or eight ounces of 
 silver in five thousand pounds weight of the 
 ore. All the processes for roasting, amalga- 
 mating, or refining the ore, are conducted in a 
 slovenly manner, by persons ignorant of all 
 scientific modes of operation. They mingle 
 quicksilver, to extract the metal, as is done 
 with gold ; but they do not get half the silver 
 out again ; and the waste of quicksilver is 
 enormous. All the tools, too, with which the 
 poor Indians work, are heavy and unsuitable. 
 
 " Some German miners have been over 
 there lately, who are shewing them how to 
 
MINE OF LAYCACOTA. 197 
 
 conduct the works in a better manner. If 
 proper improvements be made, the produce 
 may become at least double in its value. 
 
 " We may mention too the mine of Lay- 
 cacota, which was discovered in 1660, near 
 the town of Puna. Here the virgin silver was 
 in such abundance, that it was cut out with a 
 chisel. The proprietor of the mine, with 
 a liberality rather uncommon, permitted his 
 countrymen, who came from Europe to seek 
 their fortunes, to work in it a certain number 
 of days, and take all away they could thus 
 dig out, without weighing or examination. 
 This generosity brought plenty of visitors, 
 who soon began quarrelling with each other 
 about their shares. Disagreements about such 
 valuable spoils brought on blows ; they armed 
 themselves, in order to repress their neighbors 
 avarice; and, in the end, the good-natured 
 
198 MINES IN PERU. 
 
 Salcedo, the original proprietor, was himself 
 hanged as the author of those tumults; al- 
 though he had endeavored all he could to 
 prevent them. 
 
 "Peru is said Jo contain sixty-nine mines 
 of gold, and seven hundred and eighty-four 
 mines of silver ; all of which are wrought 
 more or less." 
 
SILVER. 
 
 MEXICO. 
 
 THERE are silver mines in Mexico, as 
 well as mines of gold. Indeed, silver, al- 
 though the second in rank, is first in im- 
 portance in a commercial point of view, on 
 account of the much greater quantity obtained 
 from the mines. 
 
 Silver, as is the case indeed with most other 
 metals, is found in a variety of different ores. 
 It is sometimes pure, or in veins which pene- 
 trate every crevice of the stony rock to which 
 it adheres; but, more frequently, it is mixed 
 with other matters, which must be separated 
 from it ; so that its first appearance varies 
 
200 MINES IN MEXICO. 
 
 much, as it is ash-colored, reddish, bluish, 
 often black, and sometimes in pointed forms, 
 like crystals. 
 
 The manner of refining it differs but little 
 from the processes used with gold; except 
 that none is obtained by mere washing, though 
 it is cleared from earthy particles with water. 
 The workmen depend chiefly upon amalgamat- 
 ing it with quicksilver : but in this case there 
 is more difficulty than with the gold; as the 
 silver clings more powerfully to the mineral 
 substances with which it is united, and the 
 process requires more labor and care. 
 
 The mines of Spanish America are wrought 
 by private adventurers, who are. encouraged 
 to the work by grants of the land to those 
 who suppose they have made a discovery, and 
 are willing to seek wealth in this mode ; the 
 governor of the province only binding them 
 
MINES IN MEXICO. 201 
 
 to begin in a stipulated time, and insuring one 
 fifth of the produce to the King. There are 
 always persons bold enough for such an under- 
 taking, as it is easy to make the experiment; 
 and, now and then, vast fortunes are realized 
 by such speculations. Indeed, so fascinated 
 are the Spaniards, who go over from Europe, 
 by this silver dream, that they neglect that 
 more certain produce, which the surface of the 
 earth yields to the labors of the agriculturist. 
 
SILVER. 
 
 NORWAY. 
 
 A SILVER mine of much celebrity is found 
 in Norway, at Kongsberg, in the province of 
 Aggerhuys, not a great way from Christiana, 
 the principal seaport of that country. Kongs- 
 berg, which has the river Lowe running 
 through it, may contain about six thousand 
 inhabitants, of which number the miners 
 make nearly half : the mines are about two 
 miles from the town. There are almost forty 
 mines in work ; and the principal one is called 
 Segen-Gottes. This is nearly seven hundred 
 feet in perpendicular depth below the surface 
 
MINES OP KONGSBERG. 203 
 
 of the earth. In many parts of the descent, a 
 staircase is cut in the solid rock. The mouths 
 of the mines are made very wide. Working 
 the mine is very laborious, on account of the 
 hardness of the rock ; but the miners are not 
 much troubled with water to flood the works, 
 which is a great advantage. 
 
 Pounding the ore is one sort of process 
 in use here, as in most places. It is also 
 smelted with lead, to separate it from extra- 
 neous matters. 
 
 Pure silver is sometimes found in feathery 
 clusters, or foliage ; but chiefly in small grains. 
 Once, indeed, a large mass was found, valued 
 at six hundred pounds, as pure silver. This, 
 as a great curiosity, is preserved in the King 
 of Denmark's cabinet, at Copenhagen. 
 
 The expenses of working this mine amount 
 to as much as the silver is worth, when 
 
204 "OLD G-OD'S BLESSING." 
 
 brought to market; so that the government, 
 at whose expense it is conducted, gains little 
 by it. The chief use of it is, to find employ- 
 ment for some thousands of poor people, who 
 otherwise could have no means of mainte- 
 nance; and to bring a quantity of specie into 
 circulation, as that, though very necessary, is 
 a very scarce commodity; commerce being 
 carried on chiefly by paper notes. 
 
 The mine was discovered in 1623; a town 
 was immediately built, and a colony of German 
 miners was sent thither. There are twelve 
 veins and forty shafts. Some gold has been 
 found here among the silver. 
 
 One of these mines is called " Old God's 
 Blessing ;" this is still very rich. With some 
 anxiety, the traveller descends above a thou- 
 sand feet deep into the earth. When he 
 arrives there, he finds a space cleared out, 
 
"OLD GOD'S BLESSING." 205 
 
 of several hundred fathoms in extent. In 
 this gloomy cavern, he sees fires blazing all 
 around him, in thirty or forty different places ; 
 these fires are kept up, in order to soften the 
 rock, and make the work easier to the miners. 
 The swarming of hundreds of miners, black- 
 ened with the smoke, passing about on every 
 side, adds to the awfulness of the scene, and 
 helps to give it so much the more resemblance 
 to what imagination had formed of the infernal 
 regions. This becomes heightened, when a 
 mine is sprung, to blast the rock with gunpow- 
 der; as then several hoarse voices cry out, 
 " Take care of your lives !" 
 
SILVER. 
 
 SWEDEN. 
 
 IF we pass into Sweden, in search of silver, 
 we must stop at Saalberg, near the town of 
 Sala, in Westermannia. This is the only one 
 rich enough to be worthy of our notice ; and 
 this is so ancient, that no records tell us of its 
 discovery. The depth of the mine is almost 
 a thousand feet ; there are some landing places, 
 so that the miners do not descend the whole 
 depth at once ; which is, to our apprehension, 
 so much the better, because they are let 
 up and down in baskets in two considerable 
 lengths of the descent, though they have 
 ladders in a few places. 
 
THE SCORIA REFINED. 207 
 
 The inside of this mine is very grand; the 
 roof looks like that of some old Gothic cathe- 
 dral, supported by slender pillars of ore, left in 
 regular order. The brilliant masses, glittering 
 all around, arouse our admiration. The ore 
 seldom yields above four pounds of silver 
 in the hundred weight, and requires much 
 trouble to obtain it. 
 
 In times past, the scoria was thrown away ; 
 but a German has discovered a method of 
 extracting silver from that which was once 
 thought to be rubbish. How frequently do 
 we see the improvidence of the ignorant, 
 while the man of knowledge is ready to 
 turn almost every thing to account. 
 
SILVER. 
 
 RUSSIA. 
 
 RUSSIA has some silver mines ; those at 
 Kolyvan are the most important. These are 
 far off, in Siberia, in mountains adjacent to 
 Chinese Tartary. They were discovered by 
 Akinsi Nikitich Demidoff, For some years, he 
 gave out that they were copper mines, and 
 worked them on his own account. Being 
 afraid, however, of being discovered and pu- 
 nished, (because all gold and silver mines 
 belong to the crown,) he himself gave in an 
 account of them to the Empress Elizabeth, 
 who of course seized upon them, as her own 
 property. There is but little wood near 
 
PRODUCE OF THE KOLYVAN MINES. 209 
 
 the spot ; therefore, smelting works have 
 been erected at Novopaulofsk and Susunsk, 
 in the neighborhood of forests, whither the 
 ore is transmitted, to be smelted and pu- 
 rified. 
 
 These mines may be called the Potosi of 
 Russia. They produce nearly ten thousand 
 pounds of silver annually. When this silver 
 comes to Petersburgh, it is smelted again, 
 in the imperial laboratory ; and it yields three 
 per cent, of gold. So that in the annual pro- 
 duce of silver, there are twelve or fourteen 
 hundred pounds of pure gold. 
 
 The mines of Kolyvan employ nearly forty 
 thousand persons, (without reckoning the pea- 
 sants of the adjoining districts, who pay their 
 poll-tax in wood and charcoal,) in bringing 
 these materials to the place, and in trans- 
 
 14 s 
 
210 MINES OF NERTCHINSK. 
 
 porting the ore to the smelting towns. A 
 mint is established at Susunsk, where the 
 coinage of the copper obtained from the 
 same mine is performed. The silver pro- 
 duced here is conveyed to Petersburgh on 
 large sledges, a number of which, under con- 
 voy, reach that capital twice in the year. 
 
 Still more to the eastward, in the province 
 of Dauria, the south-easternmost part of Sibe- 
 ria, between the rivers Shilka and Argoon, are 
 the mines of Nertchinsk : these were opened 
 in 1704. The annual quantity of silver pro- 
 duced on an average, is about sixteen thousand 
 pounds ; besides gold amounting to five hun- 
 dred pounds, which is obtained from it when 
 refined a second time at Petersburgh. 
 
 Silver constitutes a large portion of the 
 money of all civilized nations. But, when 
 
MINES OF NERTCHINSK. 211 
 
 used in coin or plate, it is usually mingled 
 or alloyed with a small quantity of copper. 
 If kept in proper condition, it has a lustre 
 of great beauty. 
 
LEAD. 
 
 DERBYSHIKu;. 
 
 THE county of Derby abounds in wonders, 
 especially about the Peak. Curiosity, rational 
 curiosity, may have a feast, whatever be the 
 peculiar taste of the party. Pleasure and 
 amusement are all that some pursue ; and 
 if these can be made subservient to the 
 attainment of rational knowledge, it is well. 
 Some of the curiosities are in situations cal- 
 culated to alarm the visitor; we can hardly 
 recommend the young and the feeble to en- 
 counter the hardships and danger necessary 
 to the sight of them. It is well for such, that 
 travellers of more strength of constitution, and 
 
MAM TOR. 213 
 
 firmness of nerve, have been there before 
 them. 
 
 Mam Tor, or the Shivering Mountain, af- 
 forded our inquirers much amusement ; as 
 did several others of these wonders of nature. 
 But the present object of our inquiry is, the 
 nature and appearance of mines. 
 
 Mam Tor is seen at a distance, towering 
 above its neighboring mountains, and rising 
 to the height of thirteen hundred feet above 
 the valley. 
 
 Now near the bottom of Mam Tor, is a very 
 ancient and a very curious lead mine. It 
 seems to have been wrought at least as far 
 back as the time of the Saxons, for it bears the 
 name of Odin: yet it affords to the present 
 day employment to a tolerable number of 
 people. 
 
 There are two levels, as they are called: 
 
214 SINGULAR PROPERTY OP THE ORE. 
 
 the upper one is a passage for carts, by which 
 the ore is brought out of the mine ; the lower 
 level is a water drain, to keep the mine in a 
 proper state for working. These levels pene- 
 trate above a mile into the interior of the 
 mountain, running horizontally. 
 
 The ore is of the sort called galena, having 
 a fine polish, almost equal to a mirror; it is 
 here known by the name of slickenside. One 
 of its great peculiarities is its aptitude to ex- 
 plode : when a sharp iron wedge is driven into 
 it, it begins to crackle ; and in a few minutes 
 it will burst and fly to pieces, as if it had been 
 blasted with gunpowder. The miners must 
 hastily get out of its reach, or they may suffer 
 for their temerity. 
 
 In the mines at Eyam, in this neighborhood, 
 a violent explosion of this nature took place in 
 the year 1738. Then the surprising quantity 
 
SINGULAR PROPERTY OF THE ORE. 215 
 
 of seven or eight hundred weight of mineral 
 matter was thrown out at one explosion. The 
 concussion was so great, that the upper surface 
 of the ground was seen to shake, as if an 
 earthquake had happened. 
 
LEAD. 
 
 STAFFORDSHIRE. 
 
 ONE lead mine is called the Staffordshire 
 Speedwell, the entering into which is amusing. 
 " We put ourselves under the guidance of 
 the manager, who conducted us, through an 
 opening, down above one hundred steps, 
 formed almost perpendicularly. At the bot- 
 tom of this descent was a river, and a boat 
 ready for us, with a boatman in it. Several 
 lighted candles were prepared, and each of us 
 <ook one. The river, and the boat, and the 
 rough boatman, thus in the lower regions, put 
 us in mind of the ancient heathen fable of the 
 river Styx, and Charon, the ferryman. The 
 
"SPEEDWELL" LEAD MINE. 217 
 
 boat was presently pushed off; the man giving 
 it an impetus by the help of sticks stuck in the 
 rock, five or six feet asunder. We were thus 
 shoved along for some considerable distance. 
 Strange were the sensations occasioned by 
 our thus swimming along in the bowels of 
 the mountain. The scene was certainly sub- 
 lime and awful. 
 
 "While on our subterraneous voyage, we 
 were surprised by the sound of a sweet voice, 
 which had almost a magical effect, as it lost 
 itself among the arches of the cavern's roof. 
 We approached nearer to it as we went on, 
 and found a fine little fellow, of about twelve 
 years old, placed in a small niche of the rock, 
 soothing himself in his monotonous labor, by 
 singing. His business was to work a pair of 
 bellows, which, by a long pipe, conveyed fre?h 
 air to the deepest recesses of the mine. He 
 T 
 
218 CONVEYANCE OF FRESH AIR. 
 
 had to keep at his station for eight hours, 
 working and singing. We passed in this 
 manner almost half a mile; and at the end 
 of our voyage, found the miners at their work. 
 
 "There are several veins of lead among 
 these rocks. The rocks are first split by 
 gunpowder; and the broken masses are then 
 cleared away. 
 
 "When we came to the extremity of the 
 mine, where the men were at work, we found 
 the benefit of the little songster's labors, in 
 sending a supply of fresh air. The air in such 
 a long cavern becomes thick, and damp, and 
 would be very dangerous to the miners; but 
 this constant renewal of it by a pure stream 
 from the open atmosphere, keeps it whole- 
 
 some." 
 
 Mines of lead exist in many other parts 
 of England, as Cornwall, Staffordshire, &c. 
 
LEAD MINES IN SCOTLAND. 219 
 
 There are also lead mines in Scotland, 
 which are productive and lucrative. 
 
 There is, however, so much similarity in 
 them, that the description already given may 
 well suffice for all. . 
 
LEAD. 
 
 SIBERIA. 
 
 AT Nertchinsk, in the south-eastern part 
 of Siberia, are mines belonging to Russia. 
 They have been spoken of as producing 
 silver; but have much better right to be 
 noticed for their greater productiveness in 
 lead. Silver and lead are often found min- 
 gled together; but the ores are very poor in 
 silver, and rich in lead. The silver is taken 
 to Petersburgh, to be refined; but many 
 million hundred weight of lead are left on the 
 spot, after the silver has been extracted. 
 About five or six thousand hundred weight 
 of this is taken to Kolyvan, to have the 
 
MINES AT NERTCHINSK. 221 
 
 remaining silver separated, at the founderies: 
 but the expense of carriage prevents the bulk 
 of this lead being transported into the heart 
 of the empire, and there is an absolute pro- 
 hibition against its being sent to China; so 
 it remains useless. 
 
 The persons employed in these mines, 
 amount in number to almost fifteen thousand. 
 Nearly two thousand are free colonists ; more 
 than one thousand are convicts, condemned 
 to this work ; nearly twelve thousand are 
 peasants of the country round about; em- 
 ployed especially in cutting wood, and in 
 making and carrying charcoal. These last 
 also cultivate more or less ground, and - find 
 a ready sale for the produce at the foun- 
 deries. 
 
 Lead is exceedingly useful for pipes, and 
 for a variety of purposes, as it is easily 
 
222 UTILITY OF LEAD. 
 
 melted. It is used also as a covering for pub- 
 lic buildings ; and sometimes, though rarely, 
 as ballast for ships, on account of its weight 
 It is eleven times heavier than water. 
 
QUICKSILVER. 
 
 PERU. 
 
 QUICKSILVER, or, as in mineralogy it is 
 called, Mercury, is of great use in extracting 
 other metals from their ores, as well as very 
 serviceable in itself. It has a great affinity to 
 gold, and a still greater to silver : without the 
 aid of this mineral, it would not be easy to 
 obtain those more precious commodities. The 
 silver mines of Potosi would have been almost 
 useless, had not a mine of quicksilver been 
 discovered in the same country. 
 
 This mine is situated at Guanza Velica ; it 
 has been worked almost three hundred years, 
 
224 MODE OF OBTAINING QUICKSILVER. 
 
 and does not seem to diminish in its produc- 
 tiveness. 
 
 When a visitor gets fairly into the mine, 
 he finds a subterraneous city, with broad 
 streets, open squares, and a chapel, in which 
 the mysteries of the Romish religion are per- 
 formed, especially upon high days. Thou- 
 sands of flambeaux are kept continually 
 burning, to give light to these otherwise 
 gloomy regions, into which the sun has never 
 darted a ray. 
 
 The ore in which the quicksilver is con- 
 tained is earthy, of a whitish red color, looking 
 like burned brick. This is pounded small. It 
 is then put into a kiln, somewhat in shape like 
 an oven ; the bottom consists of an iron grat- 
 ing, covered with earth. Under this a gentle 
 heat is kept up, with an herb which grows in 
 
SUBLIMING THE MERCURY. 225 
 
 that part of the country ; and, from its being 
 deemed the most suitable fuel for this busi- 
 ness, the cutting of it for other purposes is 
 prohibited, for sixty miles around. The heat 
 thus communicated to the pounded ore, sub- 
 limes the mercury ; that is, makes it rise with 
 the smoke, which can only pass off through a 
 very small hole, connected with a number of 
 retorts, or earthern vessels with long necks, 
 each having a little water in its lower part. 
 The water condenses the smoke, and the 
 small globules of quicksilver which had come 
 with it, fall to the bottoms of the retorts, 
 where it is easily gathered together, into one 
 mass. 
 
 This mine is not wrought by the govern- 
 ment, but by private persons ; who are, how- 
 ever, hindered from gaining such profits as 
 might be expected, because they are obliged 
 15 
 
226 MISERY OF THE MINERS. 
 
 to sell the whole produce to the King, at a 
 stated price. Besides which, when the go- 
 vernment has obtained all that is wanted for 
 the mines, the work is suspended. 
 
 There is no mineral product so noxious to 
 those who procure it, as quicksilver. The 
 miners suffer dreadfully from tremors, lan- 
 guors, and convulsions. The native Indians 
 are obliged to labor in this dangerous occu- 
 pation ; and these poor victims of avarice and 
 oppression work naked, in the bowels of the 
 earth, where it is exceedingly cold. It is 
 true, their services are, nominally, for only 
 six months ; though they are often kept lon- 
 ger. But many do not live to, see the end 
 of this period, short as it may appear; and 
 such as survive it, are reduced to so lan- 
 guid a state, that they seldom return to 
 their homes and connections, but settle in 
 
MISERY OF THE MINERS. 227 
 
 the neighborhood of the mine, and become 
 slaves for the remainder of their miserable 
 lives. 
 
QUICKSILVER. 
 
 IDRIA. 
 
 THERE is also in Europe a mine of quick- 
 silver, of considerable importance ; it is situated 
 at Idria, in Carniola, and belongs to the Empe- 
 ror of Austria. We may take our account 
 of it from a traveller, who visited the place. 
 "Persons condemned for certain crimes are 
 sent to labor in these mines ; which is a state 
 of prolonged sufferings, containing many daily 
 deaths in one. They labor in darkness, or, 
 at least, far from the light of the sun, toiling 
 out a miserable life, under the whips of hard- 
 hearted taskmasters. The entrance is in the 
 
DESCRIPTION OP THE MINE. 229 
 
 side of the mountain, at a hole about fifteen 
 feet wide. 
 
 " The conveyance to the mine below is in a 
 bucket, to a depth of more than six hundred 
 feet. The opening widens as you descend ; 
 but becomes more and more gloomy as you 
 leave the light. After a pretty long swing in 
 this manner, you touch the bottom ; but the 
 ground on which you tread sounds hollow. 
 The sounds of your own feet echo among the 
 gloomy caverns, like thunder. Feeble lamps 
 are placed here and there, just sufficient to 
 guide the workmen. But a person just de- 
 scended from the surface, is not able to see 
 any thing, not even the persons who come 
 to conduct him about the place. 
 
 "The inhabitants of these gloomy regions 
 are more gloomy still, not only from the squalid 
 
230 CONVICT MINERS. 
 
 wretchedness of their appearance, but from 
 the misery which their whole countenance 
 exhibits. They would look pale as spectres, 
 but for the blackness which they contract in 
 the operations of the mine. Those who are 
 condemned hither, are malefactors ; their phy- 
 siognomies may therefore be expected to be 
 unpleasing, as exhibiting their vices strongly 
 depicted. Added to this, dejection and ex- 
 haustion mark them. They soon lose their 
 appetite; and the most robust constitutions sel- 
 dom last above a couple of years ; then death 
 closes their melancholy sufferings, as to this 
 world. 
 
 " These mines are among the greatest curio- 
 sities in the country; they w r ere first disco- 
 vered in 1497. It would take several hours to 
 go through all the passages, which have been 
 scooped out in the interior of the mountain. 
 
VIRGIN MERCURY. 231 
 
 Two of the shafts, named from saints, are the 
 principal openings. 
 
 "The quantity of mercury cleansed from 
 the ore may amount annually to about two 
 thousand six hundred quintals. But much is 
 caught as it oozes out of the crevices of the 
 mine ; this is called virgin mercury, and may 
 amount to a hundred quintals, each quintal 
 being about a hundred weight." 
 
QUICKSILVER. 
 
 SPAIN. 
 
 IN the province of La Mancha, in Spain, 
 famous for the exploits of Don Quixote, and 
 near the town of Almaden, are some mines 
 of quicksilver, of considerable importance, 
 especially to the Spaniards. 
 
 From them they obtain mercury in great 
 quantities, by which they work their American 
 mines of gold and silver : it is found in a hill 
 of sandstone. The two principal veins are 
 situated near together; and there is a third 
 about five miles distant. They are worked 
 on behalf of the King. An accident hap- 
 pened, in 1784, which let the water into 
 
CINNABAR. 233 
 
 the mines, and flooded them, so as to put 
 a total stop to the works ; and Spain was 
 obliged to obtain quicksilver from the Austrian 
 mines, for six years, at the rate of three 
 hundred tons weight annually. 
 
 The mercury is here found, partly in a 
 native state; they have only to catch it, and 
 carefully gather the drops. 
 
 But it is chiefly obtained in the form of 
 cinnabar, which is a common ore of mercury; 
 it seems to be mercury petrified and fixed 
 with sulphur, from which it is freed by heat. 
 One pound of cinnabar will frequently yield 
 fourteen ounces of mercury, though sometimes 
 not above ten. These mines of Almaden pro- 
 duce cinnabar of the richest quality. 
 
 Mines of cinnabar exist in other parts of 
 Spain ; one near Alicant, and another near 
 Valencia; but they are not wrought. Near 
 U 
 
234 FROZEN QUICKSILVER. 
 
 the latter place, too, virgin mercury is found, 
 in a bed of ash colored clay. 
 
 Though quicksilver is always in a fluid state 
 in our country, it is not unfreqently frozen in 
 Russia, and in other cold climates. It is the 
 principal metal used in manufacturing a very 
 common, but very useful article the looking- 
 glass. 
 
SUNDRIES. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the principal mines and mineral 
 substances have been thus fully noticed, yet it 
 may be proper to say, there are many other 
 mines, whence these commodities are ob- 
 tained; but the description of them would 
 be so similar to those already given, that 
 it would be impossible to avoid tedious repeti- 
 tions. All that is needful for the amusement 
 and instruction of the young, has been here 
 selected. 
 
 It may, however, be proper to name a few 
 other substances, such as are of frequent 
 occurrence, in order to render this volume 
 worthy of its pretensions. 
 
236 SULPHUR. BLACKLE AD. 
 
 SULPHUR is a substance of extreme utility, 
 in arts, manufactures, and medicine. It is 
 found native, in nodules, in layers, or in crys- 
 tals. Considerable mines of it are met with 
 in Hungary, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and 
 Sicily. 
 
 It is also sublimed by volcanoes, and is 
 collected from among the lava; in Italy, near 
 Vesuvius ; also near JEtna, in Sicily ; near 
 Mount Hecla, in Iceland; and in several of 
 the West-India islands. It is most commonly 
 sold in the form of a yellow powder ; but often 
 in solid pieces, when it is called brimstone; 
 and is an important branch of commerce, 
 wherever it is found in any quantity. It is 
 used in bleaching and dyeing, in the manu- 
 facture of gunpowder, and in medicine. 
 
 PLUMBAGO, commonly called blacklead, of 
 which pencils are made, so excellent for draw- 
 
FULLERS' EARTH. 237 
 
 ing, is a very peculiar mineral. It is found 
 in several countries, but best of all in Eng- 
 land. A considerable mine of it is in Cum- 
 berland, at Borrowdale, where it is found in 
 detached masses. This mine is opened but 
 once in seven years ; and after a certain quan- 
 tity has been taken out, it is carefully shut up 
 
 again. 
 
 For usefulness we may mention FULLERS' 
 EARTH. It is to this substance that England 
 owes much of the superiority of her woollen 
 fabrics. Nothing else so well absorbs all the 
 greasiness which attaches to wool, either in its 
 natural state, or in the manufactimng of it. A 
 soft smooth pliancy is hereby given to our 
 woollen draperies. A similar earth is found in 
 Sweden, Saxony, and France; but the best, 
 beyond compare, is in England, especially in 
 
238 FULLERS' EARTH. 
 
 Hampshire, where there is a large and valua- 
 ble bed. 
 
 Many ores of other metallic substances are 
 found along with the principal ores, of which 
 we have already treated : but, whatever might 
 be their importance in a system of mineralogy, 
 there is not sufficient difference in their situa- 
 tions in the interior of the earth, to warrant a 
 specific description here. 
 
MINES IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 IN our introduction to this little volume, 
 we proposed to insert, in the course of the 
 work, a chapter on the most important mine- 
 rals found in the United States. This we 
 shall do in this place. 
 
 Although the United States cannot boast 
 of her diamonds, nor her mines of silver, cop- 
 per, quicksilver, or tin, yet she abounds in 
 those articles most necessary to the comfort 
 of man, salt, coal, and iron. Gold, also, is 
 found in some parts of the country. Besides 
 which, we have lead in great abundance, 
 and localities of zinc, manganese, and other 
 minerals. As yet, the country has been but 
 
240 SALT. 
 
 partially explored. The future will probably 
 disclose inexhaustible mineral treasures. 
 
 Of mineral salt, we have no mines com- 
 parable to those of Cheshire, in England, or 
 Wielitska, in Poland. Yet it can scarcely be 
 doubted that salt will ultimately be found in 
 abundance in our western country, in many 
 places of which specimens of crystalized salt 
 have been discovered. In the territory of 
 Arkansaw is a prairie, which is covered for 
 many miles with pure white crystalized salt, 
 from four to six inches deep. At present, 
 the states on the seaboard are chiefly sup- 
 plied with salt from foreign countries. The 
 western, and a part of the middle .states, obtain 
 much of their salt from salt springs, which 
 abound in various parts. The most noted of 
 these springs are those of Onondaga, near 
 the lake of that name, in New-York. Salt 
 
SALT WORKS OF SALINA. 241 
 
 works are established in several places in the 
 ticinity. The most noted are those of Salina. 
 The works principally used in the manufacture 
 of salt are denominated blocks, solar works, 
 and steam works. The blocks are constructed 
 with boilers, containing from eighty to a hun- 
 dred gallons each. In these boilers the brine 
 is boiled away. The solar works consist of 
 wooden vats, resting upon small posts driven 
 into the ground. The width of the vats is 
 eighteen inches depth from six to fifteen 
 inches, and length from eighty to six hundred 
 and forty feet. In these the brine is eva- 
 porated by means of the sun. The solar 
 establishments at Syracuse occupy one hun- 
 dred and ten acres. The aggregate length 
 of the vats is thirteen miles, and their surface 
 one million two hundred and fifty thousand 
 square feet. The steam w r orks are similar in 
 16 v 
 
242 SALT SPRINGS. 
 
 their construction to the blocks. The quantity 
 of salt made in 1832, was one million six hun- 
 dred and fifty two thousand nine hundred and 
 eighty-five bushels. This is packed in barrels 
 of five bushels each. 
 
 In the western part of Pennsylvania, also, 
 are large manufactures of salt from springs. 
 The principal salt works are on the Cone- 
 maugh, a stream running into the Alleghany. 
 The water is obtained by boring. The 
 strongest water is found four hundred or five 
 hundred feet below the surface. The salt 
 manufactured in this vicinity has, in some 
 years, amounted to three hundred thousand 
 bushels. 
 
 Considerable salt is made near Pittsburg, 
 from a fountain obtained by boring two hun- 
 dred and seventy feet. About twenty-five 
 thousand bushels are here manufactured. 
 
COAL. 243 
 
 I shall next speak of coal Beds of fine 
 coal have been already found in various parts 
 of the United States. There exist, doubtless, 
 inexhaustible quantities of it, which future in- 
 vestigations will disclose. Extensive beds 
 have been opened in Rhode Island, but since 
 the more valuable mines of Pennsylvania have 
 been discovered, those of the former state 
 have been in less estimation. 
 
 In no part of the world is anthracite, or 
 stone coal, more abundant than in Pennsylva- 
 nia. Ages probably cannot exhaust it, as it 
 seems to spread over very extensive tracts 
 of country. It abounds in the Wyoming and 
 Lackawanna valley, between the Blue Ridge 
 and the Susquehanna. Extensive veins range 
 from the Lehigh to the Susquehanna, cross- 
 ing the headwaters of the Schuylkill and 
 Swatara about ten miles north-west of the 
 
244 COAL. 
 
 Blue Ridge. It is abundant near the Susque- 
 hanna and Lackawanna, but in no part is it 
 so plentiful as at Maunch Chunk, (or Bear 
 mountain,) a village on the Lehigh, which is 
 itself a branch of the Susquehanna. Our little 
 readers must take a map of the United States, 
 and look out these places upon it. This will 
 serve to fasten the subject in their memories. 
 
 The coal lies in beds, and not, as commonly, 
 in veins. These beds are of various thick- 
 nesses, from a foot to twenty-seven feet. Few 
 are wrought unless they are six feet thick. 
 
 In the western parts of Pennsylvania, ano- 
 ther kind of coal called bitumen, or pitchy coal, 
 abounds. It is found near the rivers Cone- 
 maugh, Alleghany, Monongahela, and Ohio. 
 The veins are generally narrow, rarely above 
 six feet in width. The coal is abundant, and 
 of excellent quality, near Pittsburg. 
 
LEAD. IRON. COPPER. 245 
 
 The United States are rich in ores of lead. 
 But I shall not detain my readers longer than 
 to tell them of the mines of Missouri, which 
 are some of the most extensive and richest in 
 the world. The district in which these mines 
 exist, and over which they spread, is one hun- 
 dred miles in length, and forty in width. It 
 lies north of Missouri river, in the county of 
 Washington, and the neighborhood. In 1828 
 there were about fifty mines, or diggings, in 
 operation, which produce annually three mil- 
 lion pounds of lead. 
 
 IRON. It would be quite a task to enume- 
 rate the various ores of iron which are found, 
 or where they are worked, in the United 
 States. Every state has an abundance, and 
 the quantity annually extracted might be in- 
 creased many fold. 
 
 COPPER, likewise, no doubt exists in abun- 
 
246 COPPER. --GOLD. 
 
 dance among us, although, as yet, we have not 
 been very successful in finding it in any exten- 
 sive beds. During the revolutionary war, the 
 Lodi copper mine, as it is called, on the Pas- 
 saic river, in New -Jersey, was worked by the 
 British. Since that, a new vein of ore has 
 been discovered, producing masses which have 
 yielded seventy-eight per cent, of the metal. 
 Small quantities of silver are contained among 
 the copper. 
 
 Copper is thought to exist abundantly in 
 some of the north-western states. On the 
 banks of the Onontagon, a stream falling into 
 lake Superior, large masses of native copper 
 have been discovered, one of which weighed 
 two thousand two hundred pounds. 
 
 GOLD. The first notice of gold of the 
 United States, on the records of the mint, 
 was in 1814. From that year to 1823, the 
 
GOLD. 247 
 
 amount annually coined did not exceed two 
 thousand five hundred dollars. In later years, 
 gold mines have been discovered in Virginia, 
 North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 
 Those of North Carolina are the most impor- 
 tant. The region containing the gold em- 
 braces, in this latter state, an extent of one 
 thousand square miles, and reaches from Vir- 
 ginia, across the centre of the state, to South 
 Carolina; continuing through the latter state, 
 and Georgia, into Alabama. In some parts, 
 the gold is obtained by mining, and in others 
 by washing the sand and gravel. The veins 
 of ore are sometimes several feet in width, and 
 sometimes only a few inches. The mines are 
 not sunk very deep, but the horizontal galle- 
 ries are extensive. There are a great number 
 of mills for grinding the ore, driven by steam 
 and water. The mines in this state occupy 
 
248 PURE GOLD. 
 
 above twenty thousand men. Those em- 
 ployed in washing collect the soil in deep gul- 
 lies and beds of what appear to have been 
 rivers and creeks. Here the gold occurs pure, 
 and in small particles, seldom exceeding in 
 size the head of a pin. Sometimes much 
 larger pieces are found, and in a single instance 
 a lump was obtained, weighing in its crude 
 state, twenty-eight pounds avoirdupois. The 
 amount annually furnished by the mines, is 
 estimated at two million five hundred thou- 
 sand dollars. Most of this is sent to Europe. 
 The greater part of the laborers are foreigners, 
 who come from almost every quarter of the 
 world; there are thirteen different languages 
 spoken at the mines. 
 
THE MINE. 
 
 BEAUTEOUS is the landscape, as, from any 
 gentle eminence, we cast our eyes over hill 
 and dale, dark woods, and golden harvest 
 fields ; the meandering river or the close glen. 
 Nay, the wide sea, monotonous as it is, fills 
 the mind with sublime delight ; we linger at 
 the prospect, and are almost unwilling to 
 return to the gay meadow, the close hop- 
 ground, or the harvest home. 
 
 It was not long, we may suppose, before 
 man perceived, that, besides the immense and 
 richly valuable products of the surface, there 
 were treasures also in the bowels of the earth : 
 for, so early as long before the general deluge, 
 
250 ANTIQUITY OP MINING. 
 
 we find metallurgy was, to some efficient de- 
 gree, understood. Tubalcain, the son of La- 
 mech, was an instructer of every artificer in 
 brass and iron, Gen. iv. 22. 
 
 That the ancients understood, in some tole- 
 rable degree, the art of mining, is evident 
 from the metals with which they were fami- 
 liar. And, though gold might be obtained, 
 as it is most frequently now, from the sands 
 of rivers, yet copper for brass, (if their brass 
 were not really copper itself,) must have been 
 dug from the interior of the earth. 
 
 The Phoenicians, we know, traded for tin, 
 even as far as Cornwall; where they either 
 found or established regular mines. 
 
 The Romans found gold mines in Spain, and 
 obliged the natives to dig out the precious 
 metal for their tyrannical masters. 
 
 In modern times, mining is not only a con- 
 
STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH. 251 
 
 stant operation, but, by the joint assistance of 
 geometry, mechanics, and chemistry, it is car- 
 ried on in a higher degree as to science, and 
 upon a wider scale as to commerce, than ever 
 was possible to the ancients. 
 
 In order to conceive accurately of a mine, 
 one should be aware of the general structure 
 of the shell of our terraqueous globe ; for it is 
 only a little way into the shell, that man has 
 ever been able to penetrate. The deepest 
 mines are not so deep in proportion, as if 
 the paper of a twelve inch globe were to 
 be excavated and undermined by some mi- 
 nute insect. 
 
 Since philosophic men have given due con- 
 sideration to the structure of the earth, so as 
 to form geology into a science, it is perceived 
 that the surface, if it may be so called, to as 
 great a depth as man* has been able to pene- 
 
252 MINERALOGICAL STRATA. 
 
 trate, is composed of layers, or strata, of dif- 
 ferent substances, placed one over another. 
 Each stratum is distinct, as well from those 
 above, as from those below it. These different 
 strata consist of mould, sand, clay, marl, chalk, 
 stones, rocks, &c. In general, the heaviest 
 lie lowest, as if the whole had been once 
 mixed together with some liquid, and the 
 ingredients had settled by their specific gra- 
 vities ; yet sometimes; lighter strata are found 
 far beneath the heaviest. 
 
 They do not appear in any settled order, 
 as in the list of terms just given; but are 
 found, some in one country, and others, of 
 quite different characters, in other parts ; 
 evidently proving that the structure of our 
 earth has suffered by some overpowering 
 force, which has disjoined and dislocated the 
 various strata; turning them from their hori- 
 
STRATA OF THE SHELL OF THE EARTH. 
 
254 FISSURES IN THE EARTH. 
 
 zontal position, throwing some into a slanting 
 direction, or making them J/>, as geologists 
 call it, and casting up others out of their 
 primitive place. To the universal deluge, 
 when "the fountains of the great deep were 
 broken up," is this disjunction of the sup- 
 posed original uniformity of the terrene sur- 
 face generally attributed. 
 
 These convulsions and dislocations have 
 occasioned many cracks and fissures in a 
 vertical direction, more or less wide, and 
 more or less deep. It is usually in such 
 fissures, among the rocky strata, by miners 
 called lodes, that metallic mines are found. 
 It is also most common that these mines are 
 situated in mountains ; at least, when so situ- 
 ated, they are most easily come at by man's 
 feeble powers. 
 
 The inside of these fissures is commonly 
 
METALLIC VEINS. 255 
 
 coated with a sort of rind, crystalline and 
 earthy, which is called the capel, or wall. 
 This seems to originate from the moisture 
 oozing through the stratum, and coagulating 
 on the mineral substances. Yet these regu- 
 lar walls are seldom found but at some 
 fathoms' depth. 
 
 Veins of metallic ore are often found in 
 lodes, not an inch wide. Yet these, if fol- 
 lowed, frequently become very rich, and re- 
 ward the miner's fatigue and expense, in 
 clearing his way ; although, at first, it migjit 
 be very unprofitable. 
 
 That there must be considerable danger in 
 digging thus deep into the recesses of the 
 earth, may easily be supposed. One would 
 think man was never intended to run long 
 passages into the ground, like a mole. Yet 
 the substances found there are not useful to 
 
256 FOUL AIR OF MI.NES 
 
 any but to him ; and some of them, as coal 
 and salt, not to mention iron, are of prime 
 necessity; he would be uncomfortable without 
 them, especially in climates far removed from 
 the equator. 
 
 Descending deep into a mine, generally 
 gives the sensation of chill; sometimes there 
 is absolute ice : but on passing into still 
 greater depths, the earth seems to become 
 warmer, so that in some places the miners 
 can scarcely bear any clothing. 
 
 JTie want of pure atmospheric air, in those 
 far distant corners of the mine, is a great in- 
 convenience, and tends to destroy life. Air 
 is sometimes conveyed by a pipe, the mouth 
 of which is on the surface, and set open 
 towards the wind; or by bellows in a simi- 
 lar way. 
 
 But the impurities which load the air in 
 
METALLIC VAPORS. 257 
 
 those deep recesses are among the most dan- 
 gerous of the circumstances which the miner 
 has to guard against. 
 
 The vapors arising from many of the metals 
 are very injurious to health ; the pale and sal- 
 low complexion of most miners indicates this. 
 Coal mines are not, in general, so noxious 
 as those of tin; those of copper are still 
 worse ; but the most detrimental to health 
 are the mines of quicksilver. This injurious 
 substance insinuates itself into the very flesh 
 and bones of the miners ; carries off many 
 quickly, or fills the hospitals with cases of 
 extreme debility and suffering. As cinnabar, 
 vitriol, bitumen, and arsenic, are most com- 
 monly found mingled in these mines, it may 
 rvell be supposed that the effluvia from these 
 substances must be extremely injurious. Fre- 
 quently, these vapors are perceived by a 
 17 w 
 
"258 THE CHOKE-DAMP. 
 
 fragrant smell, resembling the scent of pea 
 blossoms; this name is, therefore, applied to 
 it, and by it the miners have warning to 
 escape for their lives. Such as are caught 
 by it swoon away; and, if removed to fresh 
 air, only revive under great agonies. 
 
 Carbonic acid gas, called by miners the 
 choke-damp, is found abundantly in most places 
 that have been long shut up ; such as cellars, 
 wells, and especially mines. This cannot be 
 breathed without instantaneous suffocation. 
 Even vats in breweries are liable to it; and 
 the loss of many lives has been the conse- 
 quence. Charcoal fires emit it ; as many 
 have found, who have slept in rooms which 
 have been aired with that material. 
 
 This damp, or fixed air, is very heavy, and 
 sinks to the bottom of every reservoir wherein 
 it exists. In a coal mine, in Scotland, some 
 
THE FIRE-DAMP. 259 
 
 * 
 
 miners accidentally broke a hole into an old 
 mine which had been long shut up ; they soon 
 perceived their danger, and escaped with the 
 utmost expedition. The next day, eight of 
 them went to continue their work, without 
 any expectation of danger. They had, how- 
 ever, scarcely got to the bottom of the 
 stairs, which led to their scene of opera- 
 tion, than they all dropped down dead, as 
 if they had been shot. The wife of one of 
 them, on being told her husband had been 
 suffocated, in her anxiety, ventured down to 
 discern where he lay. She saw he was near- 
 est to the stairs of any of them ; and, wish- 
 ing to rescue him, if possible, she stooped to 
 take hold of him ; but the damp seized her 
 instantly, and she fell dead by his side. 
 
 The fire-damp, or hydrogen gas, is lighter 
 than the atmosphere, and always rises to 
 
260 . THE FIRE-DAMP. 
 
 the roof of the mine. If it gain access to a 
 candle, it instantly ignites, with a loud and 
 very violent explosion. Persons involved in 
 it, are scorched more or Jess. The violence 
 of the explosion is such, that persons who 
 happen to be in its way in the mine, are 
 blown out of it, to some distance ; nor can 
 the strongest and heaviest machinery resist 
 its force. No smell is perceived before it 
 catches fire; but a strong scent of sulphur 
 follows. The color of the flame is bluish, or 
 greenish ; and it is very brilliant. It is suc- 
 ceeded by a dark vapor, or smoke. These 
 damps begin to arise about May, and continue 
 during the summer, at uncertain intervals. 
 
 In mines liable to the fire-damp, one mode 
 of prevention is, never to bring the flame of a 
 candle into them. In order, therefore, to ob- 
 tain light without flame, with great ingenuity, 
 
SIR H. DAVY'S LAMP. 261 
 
 a large wheel is constructed, having its edge 
 stuck full of flints ; in their way, a number 
 of steels are placed, so that, as it revolves, 
 a continued stream of sparks is produced; 
 by which glimmering light, the miners are 
 able to carry on their operations. Sparks 
 will not set this vapor on fire. Lately, in- 
 deed, Sir H. Davy has invented a lamp, 
 which promises to afford great security. It 
 has been found that the dense vapor cannot 
 penetrate between the narrow crevices of a 
 fine wire gauze : this is, therefore, formed 
 into a lantern, and gives safety. 
 
 That mode of safety which consists in hav- 
 ing a stream of sparks instead of a flame, 
 would be of no use in some cases ; where a 
 spark would set the whole on fire. The 
 workmen in such mines are so much afraid 
 of this, that they take all the nails out of 
 
262 BEGINNINGS OP MINING. 
 
 their shoes, lest some spark might be acci- 
 dentally generated. 
 
 The history of mining also affords melan- 
 choly instances of mischief done by the falling 
 in of the earth above; when it has not been 
 well supported. This may sometimes be 
 guarded against by thick planks, supported as 
 a ceiling, upon props. 
 
 Again, floods of water sometimes burst in 
 upon the men, and drown them ; perhaps, 
 also, drown the mine itself, so that it cannot 
 be used any more. 
 
 That men should think of digging into the 
 earth for such minerals,, seems somewhat sin- 
 gular: yet, possibly, accident, under the gui- 
 dance of Divine Providence, might occasion at 
 least the first endeavor of this nature. An- 
 cient stories tell us, that some Spanish shep- 
 herds having set fijre to a wood, the confla- 
 
IMPROVEMENTS IN MINING. 263 
 
 gration heated the soil so much, as to melt 
 the silver under it, and make it run into a 
 mass. Sometimes the sea has washed away 
 the earthy parts of the shore, so as to throw 
 daylight upon these treasures. 
 
 When men once became acquainted with 
 these important mineral productions, they 
 would naturally look again, and hunt in every 
 place where there could be any hope of find- 
 ing them. And, as they became better ac- 
 quainted with the principles of chemistry, they 
 became more adroit in turning to account all 
 they found, and all they suspected to be of 
 value. There is a sagacity, obtained only by 
 being long accustomed to the practice, which 
 enables some to say, with tolerable certainty, 
 where the precious productions may be sought. 
 Certain metals are usually found in such or 
 
264 IMPROVEMENTS IN MINING. 
 
 such kinds of soil, and never in others ; which 
 experience establishes as a rule. 
 
 The vicinity of copper ore is frequently as- 
 certained by the harsh taste of the waters 
 which flow near them. Or, if a piece of 
 polished iron be immersed, where the parti- 
 cles of copper are floating, they will affix 
 themselves to it decidedly. Or, a piece of 
 tallow, put in, will in a short time become 
 green. 
 
 Sometimes, in driving an adit, or road, from 
 the lower grounds, to let off water from the 
 mines, lodes are met with much more valuable 
 than the one intended to be relieved. 
 
THE MINERAL CABINET. 
 
 WHEN "Yes," and "No," and "O dear, 
 how pretty I" are all the effect produced by 
 instruction, there is reason to fear that the 
 labor and expense bestowed upon the lesson 
 is nearly lost. It may, indeed, happen, that 
 the memory may be roused, years afterwards, 
 to recollect circumstances, facts, and reason- 
 ings, which occurred in childhood; although, 
 apparently, they did not then make the deep 
 : mpression wished for by the anxious tutor. 
 
 When, however, we see the pupil's own 
 mind roused to action, and that he is diligently 
 employing himself in some project, or some 
 operation, suggested by the instruction re- 
 
 X 265 
 
266 THE MINERAL CABINET. 
 
 ceived, and of a nature to clear the subject 
 up to his own mind, or to fasten it well in 
 his memory, we are sure he has received 
 benefit. 
 
 It was, therefore, with considerable pleasure 
 that Mr. Thompson, some time after their 
 return, was introduced by James into his own 
 study, (a closet a few feet square only,) to in- 
 spect a mineralogical cabinet, which he had 
 constructed. It was about two feet high, and 
 about twelve inches wide; its depth was one 
 inch and a half. James had been accustomed 
 to operate for himself; he could handle the 
 saw and the plane adroitly, and make a joint 
 with considerable neatness. The framework 
 was mahogany. At the top was a pediment, 
 in which was written MINERALOGY; beneath, 
 were four compartments of bottles, answering 
 to the four classes into which mineral substan- 
 
THE MINERAL CABINET. 267 
 
 ces are conveniently divided ; as Earth and 
 Stones, Salts, Combustibles, and Metallic 
 Ores. Each of these formed a row, whether 
 consisting of many or fewer names ; except 
 that the last class, being more numerous, 
 filled up three rows. 
 
 He had procured a sufficient number of 
 wide-mouth square vials, all of a size, in which 
 he proposed to keep his specimens. Some 
 minerals he had procured; but to fill all the 
 bottles would be a work of time ; and some 
 he had but small hope of obtaining. 
 
 To give, however, as much completeness as 
 he could to his cabinet, he had labelled each 
 compartment, and also each vial. The advan- 
 tages of vials were many ; as each subject 
 could be distinctly seen, without danger of 
 being lost or spoiled by incautious handling. 
 
268 THE MINERAL CABINET. 
 
 Uniformity and neatness were hereby secured, 
 as well as conveniency of inspection. 
 
 He had drawn up a written list of these, lest 
 any of them should be disarranged; and, in 
 order to make himself perfect in this classi- 
 fication, he would sometimes take all the bot- 
 tles out of their places, and intermingle them 
 upon the table, enjoining himself, as a task, 
 to put each of them in its proper compart- 
 ment, and in its individual place. He had 
 attained to so much expertness, that he al- 
 ready could do this without making many 
 mistakes. 
 
 At a small price, and with little exertion, 
 any one may thus obtain a general acquaint- 
 ance with the wonderful productions found in 
 the interior of the earth ; a sort of knowledge 
 highly useful to many persons, and gratifying 
 
THE MINERAL CABINET. 269 
 
 to every intelligent mind, even If no absolute 
 necessity for it should occur. 
 
 As his father expressed himself much 
 pleased with this display of his knowledge 
 and ingenuity, James took courage to de- 
 velop a plan much more complete, which 
 he had in his intention ; it was, to have, 
 not a single bottle to each genus, but a 
 drawer, containing as many bottles as there 
 were important specimens in each genus. 
 This might be attained by only giving depth 
 to his cabinet. At present, he contented 
 himself with having a large label pasted on 
 the hinder part of each vial, on which was 
 written a list of the various specimens most 
 commonly named, belonging to that genus. 
 Thus, on the genus Silica, or Quartz, was 
 this list : Garnet, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald, 
 Rock Crystal, Flint, Pumice, Feldspar. . In 
 
270 THE MINERAL CABINET. 
 
 this first clasS, are many names; each be- 
 longs indeed to a family, and under each 
 are many specimens ; but to enlarge it thus, 
 can only belong to a scientific mineralogist. 
 For general knowledge, it is quite sufficient 
 to select the most important specimens ; or 
 such as are most likely to be mentioned in 
 conversation, or in books of travels. 
 
 He had, also, an alphabetical list of the 
 names, with a reference to the class ; and a 
 short account of the qualities, localities, and 
 uses of each. 
 
 We have given a representation of James's 
 mineralogical cabinet, thinking some of our 
 young readers might wish to make one like 
 it. And, in order that the labels may be 
 clearly understood, we give copies of them. 
 The terms which follow each, express those 
 specimens which are most commonly known, 
 
THE MINERAL CABINET. 271 
 
 or are in more general use. These names 
 were inscribed on a larger label, behind the 
 bottle to which it belonged. 
 
 Thus his mineralogical scheme was kept 
 complete by the labels, even should he nfever 
 be able to obtain half the specimens ; and 
 some of them, it was pretty certain, he would 
 never possess: diamond and zircon for in- 
 stance. 
 
272 
 
 CLASS I. EARTHS AND STONES. 
 
 1. Barytes .... Heavy Spar. 
 
 2. Strontian . . . Strontites Celestine. 
 
 3. Calcareus, or Lime. Chalk, Limestone, Marl, Fluor, Gyp- 
 
 sum. 
 
 4. Magnesia . . . Magnesia, Fullers' Earth, Serpentine, 
 
 Talc. 
 
 5. Alumina, or Argil. Clay, Tripoli, Slate, Mica, Basalt, 
 
 Umber. 
 
 6. Yttria. 
 
 7. Glucina. 
 
 8. Zirconia . . . Hyacinth. 
 
 9. Agustina. 
 
 10. Silica, or Quartz . Garnet, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald, Rock 
 Crystal, Flint, Pumice, Feldspar. 
 
 CLASS II. SALTS. 
 
 1. Carbonates . . . Native Soda, Native Magnesia. 
 
 2. Sulphates . . . Native Vitriol, Alum, Epsom Salts. 
 
 3. Phosphates . . . Animal Earth. 
 
 4. Fluates . . . Cryolite. 
 
 5. Borates . . . Borax. 
 
 G. Arseniates . Salt of Arsenic. 
 
 7. Nitrates . . Native Nitre, Saltpetre. 
 
273 
 
 8. Alumines . . . Pure Clay, Base of Alum. 
 
 9. Muriates . . . Rock Salt, Sea Salt, Sal Ammoniac 
 10. Acetites .... Verdigris, Sugar of Lead. 
 
 CLASS III. COMBUSTIBLES. 
 
 1. Sulphur Native Sulphur. 
 
 2. Carbon Diamond, Mineral Charcoal. 
 
 3. Bitumen Petroleum, Mineral Pitch. 
 
 4. Coal Jet, Cannel Coal, Common Coal 
 
 5. Amber Common Amber. 
 
 CLASS IV. METALLIC ORES. 
 
 1. Gold. 12. Bismuth. 
 
 2 Platina. 13. Tellurium. 
 
 3. Silver. 14. Arsenic. 
 
 4. Mercury. 15. Cobalt. 
 
 5. Copper. 16. Manganese. 
 
 6. Iron. 17. Tungsten. 
 
 7. Tin. 18. Molybdenum. 
 
 8. Lead. 19. Uranium. 
 
 9. Nickel. 20. Titanium. 
 
 10. Zinc. 21. Chromium. 
 
 11. Antimony. 22. ColumbiuiDu 
 
 18 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Accidents in Mining . 262 
 Air, Fresh . . 218 
 
 Foul . . 149, 256 
 
 Inflammable . 149 
 
 Amalgamation . .180 
 Ancient Coal Mine . 157 
 
 - Gold Mines . 167 
 
 Anglesea Mines . 9 
 
 Antiquity of Mining . 25 
 
 Atahualpa . . 183 
 
 B. 
 
 BeresofMine . . 171 
 
 Black Damp . . 149 
 
 Black Lead . . 236 
 
 Blast Furnace 116 
 
 Blasting Mines . 96, 131 
 
 Bogota ... 186 
 Boring for Coal . .137 
 
 Borrowstoness . 154 
 
 Bovey Coal . . 157 
 
 Brass, Composition of 90 
 
 Brazil Diamonds . 66 
 
 -Gold . . 187 
 
 Bristol Stones . . 50 
 
 C. 
 
 Cabinet of Minerals . 265 
 
 Cannel Coal * . . 156 
 
 Capel of Lodes . . 255 
 
 Captain of a Mine . 81 
 
 Carbonic Acid Gas . 258 
 
 Carron Founderies . 121 
 
 Cerro do Frio . . 62 
 
 Charon 216 
 
INDEX. 
 
 275 
 
 Choke Damp . 
 Chemistry . 
 Cheshire, Salt Mines in 
 
 Qrilf \\T/-ii*lf ta -ir\ 
 
 Page. 
 258 
 
 263 
 9 
 16 
 233 
 90 
 152 
 152 
 
 154 
 
 80 
 85 
 93 
 85 
 102 
 104 
 122 
 106 
 102 
 100 
 68 
 175 
 148 
 172 
 
 13C 
 
 Page. 
 Davy's Safety Lamp 150, 261 
 Derbyshire, Lead Mines 
 in . . . .212 
 Descending into a Mine 
 of Coal . 141 
 Copper 108 
 
 Cinnabar 
 Clark, Sir Gilbert 
 Coal . . 136, 
 
 Trnn 1 7 1 91 
 
 Rnlt 19 tfi 
 
 
 Silver 04 
 
 London annuallv 
 Coining Tin 
 Copper 
 
 Diamond Mine at Borneo 60 
 in Brazil 61 
 
 nt frim' ^^ 
 
 
 Cornwall 
 
 Diamonds ... 48 
 
 
 w^a^hins* of 60 
 
 Roraas 
 Copper in Russia 
 Sweden 
 
 Dip of the Strata . 254 
 Dolgooth Copper Mines 87 
 DolKoath . . 91 
 Draining a Mine . 139 
 Dress for a Mine . 140 
 Dysart Coal Mine . 158 
 
 E. 
 Earth, Structure ; * tj ie 251 
 Fcton-hiil Mii^c 10 
 F^e^ors Mio 16P 
 
 
 Cornwall Mines 
 Cortez 
 Crash 
 Croesus 
 
 D. 
 Dannemora Mine 
 
276 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Education, Advantages of 91 
 
 important 
 
 English Mines 
 Explosion of Coal 
 
 Galena 
 . ' Gas 
 
 F. 
 
 Fahlum Copper Mine 
 Female Coal Bearers 
 Finding Salt Mines 
 Copper 
 
 Gold . 1 
 
 Fire-damp 
 Fixed Air . 
 Forest of Dean, Iron, 
 Foul Air . . 1 
 Fullers' Earth . 
 Fumes, dangerous, 
 
 98, 1 
 
 G. 
 
 Galena 
 Gani Mine 
 Golconda 
 Gold 
 in Africa 
 
 Page. 
 
 Pa*e. 
 
 >of 91 
 
 Gold in Asia 
 
 171 
 
 . 207 
 
 Brazil 
 
 187 
 
 44 
 
 i^niTi tvi 1 1 
 
 RQ 
 
 . 149 
 
 V^UIUL WctJU 
 
 o& 
 
 168 
 
 
 P14. 
 
 T*.rtlr.^ 
 
 
 J-TC 
 
 260 
 
 xreidnci 
 
 
 
 XVLexico 
 
 Prrn 
 
 1fi*3 
 
 
 Rrntlinrl 
 
 JLOO 
 
 170 
 
 . 106 
 
 OL/UlldllU. 
 
 Spain . 
 
 j. t-\j 
 167 
 
 144 
 
 Guanza Velica Mine . 
 
 223 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 95 
 
 H. 
 
 
 64, 177 
 
 Horses let down 
 
 144 
 
 259 
 
 Hualpa 
 
 190 
 
 . 258 
 
 Huels 
 
 91 
 
 HI 
 
 Hungary Mines 
 
 168 
 
 19, 256 
 
 Hydrogen Gas 
 
 259 
 
 . 237 
 
 
 
 
 I. 
 
 
 36, 140 
 
 Idria .... 
 
 228 
 
 
 Ignorance, Loss .by, 
 
 
 
 91, 92, 
 
 207 
 
 . 214 
 
 Improvements in Mining 
 
 263 
 
 55 
 
 Inflammable Air 
 
 149 
 
 51,61 
 
 Iron .... 
 
 111 
 
 164 
 
 in Russia 
 
 122 
 
 - 172 
 
 Scotland 
 
 121 
 
277 
 
 Page, 
 
 Iron in Sweden . . 124 
 its Value to Man 113 
 
 J. 
 Jigitonhonha Mine . 62 
 
 K. 
 
 Keel .... 148 
 
 Kibbuts 71 
 
 Kolyvan Mines . . 208 
 
 Kimgsberg Mines . 202 
 
 L. 
 
 Lackawana Coal . 243 
 Lavaderos . . .182 
 Laycacota Mine . 197 
 Lead . . 104,212. 
 Lehigh Coal . . 243 
 Letter . . .139 
 
 Litchfield Cathedral 156 
 
 Lode .... 71 
 Lot's Wife . 39 
 
 M. 
 
 Metallic Vapors . 
 
 Mines, History of 
 
 -Depth of . 
 
 Description of 
 
 Dangers in . 
 
 Dolgooth . 
 
 Dysart . 
 
 Forest of Dean 
 
 Guanza Velica 
 
 Idria 
 
 Kolyvan . 
 
 Laycacota 
 
 Mam-Tor 
 
 Mexico 
 
 Nertchinsk 
 
 Northwich 
 
 Norway . 
 
 Parys Mountain 
 
 Potosi . 
 
 United States 
 
 Whitrirs 
 
 Mam-Tor 
 Mercury 
 
 213 
 223 
 
 Mines under the Sea 
 Mineral Cabinet . 
 Mineralogical Strata . 
 Minerals, Indications of 
 Miners, Operations of 
 
 Page. 
 
 . 257 
 250 
 
 . 14 
 251 
 257 
 
 75,87 
 161 
 111 
 223 
 228 
 
 . 208 
 197 
 
 . 213 
 174, 199 
 210, 220 
 10 
 202 
 93 
 190 
 239 
 120 
 155 
 265 
 252 
 264 
 
 13 
 
278 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Mules, Droves of . . 85 
 Mundic ... 90 
 
 N. 
 
 Nertchinsk . 210, 220 
 Newcastle . . . 13b 
 Northwich . . 10 
 
 Norway Mines . 104, 202 
 Noxiousness of Quicksil- 
 ver .. . . 229 
 Number of Miners in 
 Cornwall . 88 
 
 O. 
 
 Ocean, saltness of, , 24 
 
 " Old God's Blessing" 204 
 Ore, roasting of, 
 
 109, 113, 130, 225 
 
 of Copper . . 93 
 
 -Lead . . 212 
 
 - Quicksilver . 223 
 
 Tin . 68 
 
 P. 
 
 Pactolus River 
 Parys Mountain 
 Pea Blossom 
 
 171 
 
 93 
 
 257 
 
 Page. 
 
 Peru ... 223 
 Pennsylvania Coal . 243 
 Phoenicians trading for 
 
 Tin . . . .83 
 Pig Iron ... 120 
 Pittsburg . . .244 
 Plumbago . . 236 
 Poder .... 91 
 Potosi ... 190 
 Purifying . . .225 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quantities of Coals sent 
 
 to London . . 154 
 Quicksilver 223, 232 
 
 R. 
 
 Rail-roads . . .147 
 R,aolconda . 52 
 
 Retorts .* . . 225 
 Rhode-Island Coal . 243 
 Roasting Ore 
 
 109, 113, 130, 225 
 Rock Salt ... 18 
 Roraas Mine . . 104 
 Russian Mines 122, SOS, 220 
 
INDEX. 279 
 
 Page. 
 
 Pago. 
 
 S 
 
 
 Silver, Nertchinsk 210, 
 
 220 
 
 Saalberg 
 
 206 
 
 Norway 
 
 202 
 
 Safety Lamp . 150, 
 
 261 
 
 Potosi 
 
 191 
 
 St. Austle . 
 
 75 
 
 Sweden 
 
 206 
 
 Salt 
 
 9 
 
 Slave freed 
 
 65 
 
 finding of 
 
 15 
 
 Smelting Furnace 
 
 114 
 
 formed into Money 
 
 20 
 
 Spanish Mines . 
 
 232 
 
 purifying of 
 
 18 
 
 " Speedwell" Mine 
 
 216 
 
 a Bond of Amity 
 
 22 
 
 Staffordshire, Lead Mines 
 
 
 Origin of 
 
 21 
 
 in 
 
 216 
 
 Chapels of 
 
 38 
 
 Stamping Mills 
 
 78 
 
 Springs 
 
 18 
 
 Steam Engine 
 
 73 
 
 from the Sea , 
 
 26 
 
 Stream of Sparks 
 
 261 
 
 Cordova . , 
 
 22 
 
 Stream "Works 
 
 76 
 
 Northwich . 
 
 10 
 
 Structure of the Earth 
 
 251 
 
 - Roland . 
 
 35 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 236 
 
 Wielitska 
 
 35 
 
 Sundries . 
 
 235 
 
 Salt Lakes 
 
 30 
 
 Swedish Mines 106,124, 
 
 206 
 
 Springs , 
 
 240 
 
 Syracuse . 
 
 241 
 
 Salt-works of Salina . 
 
 241 
 
 
 
 Saltness of the Sea . 
 
 24 
 
 T. 
 
 
 Scottish Gold Mines . 
 
 169 
 
 Tin .... 
 
 68 
 
 Schuylkill Coal 
 
 243 
 
 Temperature of a Mine 
 
 256 
 
 Sea Salt 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 Silver, Finding of . 
 
 192 
 
 V. 
 
 
 Kolyvan 
 
 208 
 
 Virgin Copper 
 
 100 
 
 Mexico . 
 
 199 
 
 -Voetsk 
 
 169 
 
280 
 
 INDEX 
 
 U. 
 
 Uralian Mountains 
 United States, Mines in 
 
 W. 
 Washing Diamonds 
 
 Gold . 
 
 Tin Ore 
 
 Page. 
 
 
 Page. 
 
 
 Whitehaven 
 
 155 
 
 122 
 
 Wicklow Mines 
 
 . 103, 170 
 
 239 
 
 Wielitska 
 
 35 
 
 63 
 
 180 
 
 78 
 
 Women Coal Bearers . 144 
 
 Z. 
 
 Zinc 89 
 
RSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRA 
 BERKELEY 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 Books not returned on time are subject to a fine of 
 50c per volume after the third day overdue, increasing 
 to $1.00 per volume after the sixth day. Books not in 
 demand may be renewed if application is made before 
 expiration of loan period. 
 
 
 W5V 2 4 TS75 
 
 EEC.C1R.OCT Ik '78 
 
49 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY