CHAPTER SEVEN.

STALACTITE AND ICE-CAVERNS.

Numberless and varied are the cavernous regions below the earth, presenting the strangest and often awe-inspiring sights to the spectator. In some rivers flow hundreds of feet beneath the green fields and widespreading trees.

Through the caverns of Adolsberg, Planina, and Upper Laibach flows a river known as the Poik, which then assumes other denominations, according to its locality. In some places it forms cataracts, leaping over the most picturesquely grouped rocks. In others it has forced a passage amid them, and then flows gently on.

Our travellers resolved to undertake a voyage on the Poik, and embarked in a boat, their progress being stream upwards through the celebrated cave of Planina. They had to be cautious, for often the current ran with great rapidity, and to keep a watchful eye for rocks which lay hidden beneath the water.

Rowing on for about 600 feet from the entrance of the cavern, at the end of a magnificent dome, they found that the river occupied the whole space. To this part persons on foot could proceed, as the ground on either side of the river was level. Now passing through a portal 48 feet high and about 24 broad, and as well proportioned as if cut out by the hand of man, their ears were saluted by the thundering roar of a distant cataract. As the archway widened, they suddenly emerged on a lake 250 feet in length and 150 broad, beyond which the cave divided into two arms, forming the channels of two streams, whose confluent waters formed the lake.

The walls of the cavern on either side rose abruptly out of the water, with the exception of one small landing-place at the foot of a projecting ridge. Here and there hung masses of stalactite, resembling a petrified cascade, the rest of the rock being black and naked. So high was the vault that their torches could not pierce the gloom, the impressiveness of which was increased by the roar of a waterfall heard through the channel to the left.

Hitherto their progress had been easy, but they now resolved to proceed up the left branch. They had frequently to get out of their boat, and wading, drag her over the shallows. The voyage terminated at the end of a small hall with a circular dome, the floor being a lake 180 feet in length, and from 40 to 45 feet in depth. In the roof appeared a chasm, sloping upwards through a small aperture, in which a violent current of air set in, almost extinguishing their torches.

Beyond the mouth of the chasm another gallery opened out, into which the persevering travellers penetrated. Nothing could surpass the beauty of the spar crystals with which its walls were encrusted. At the entrance stood a white figure, which might easily be supposed to be an angel, guarding the entrance with a glittering sword, threatening all who should venture with profane hands into his sanctuary.

Further on, projected in bold relief, was a colossal statue of a monarch, sceptre in hand. As they proceeded they passed groups of stalagmitic cones of all shapes and sizes. Some like the smallest icicles, others rising six feet in height from the ground, as thick as a human figure, the whole shining and glittering as the light of the torches fell upon them, and standing out in bold relief against the dark background formed by the brown wall of the cavern.

Returning to the central hall, they made their way up the eastern branch, which is much larger than the one they had just visited, the main stream flowing through it. As they pulled up, the increasing roar of waters announced a large waterfall. They found that enormous masses of stone, falling from the roof, had narrowed the bed of the river to about fifteen feet, over which the water shot in a broad sheet, fully ten feet in height. The effect as it rushed over the jet-black rocks, casting up flakes of milky white foam, when illuminated by the torches, was very beautiful.

Having hauled up the boat over the rugged mound, they again embarked, encountering a couple of reefs. They then proceeded on between steep walls with a free navigation, for upwards of four miles. In many places the roof was adorned with draperies formed of snow-white stalactites, but generally the black walls alone appeared. In some parts the roof descended so low that they were compelled to lie down, and shove the boat along by holding to the roof above their heads, until at length they found that they could proceed no further.

Of the world beneath the surface some of the most beautiful scenes are presented by the ice-caves of France and Switzerland. One of the most curious is the glaciere "Grace Dieu," near Besancon. In the centre of the cave rose three stalagmites of ice. The central mass was 66.5 feet in circumference. Some distance above the ice-floor on the right was a small fir-tree, which had been fixed in the ground, and had become completely covered so that the tree itself had disappeared, its crystal incrustation showing every elegance of variety in form. From each twig of the different boughs, complicated groups of icicles streamed down. The mass to the left, however, was the grandest and most beautiful. It consisted of two vast heads, with several others of less height resembling a group of lions' heads bending down, richly decked with icy manes, huge masses measuring 76.5 feet in circumference. On looking at this column from the side opposite the entrance to the cave, so that it stood in the centre of the light pouring down in a long slope from the outer world, the transparency of the ice made the whole appear as if it were set in a frame of impalpable liquid blue, the effect of the light penetrating through the mass at its extreme edges.

The Schafloch or Trou-aux-Moutons, a vast ice-cave on the Rothhorn, in the canton of Berne, is equally beautiful and curious. It takes its name from the fact that on the approach of a storm, the sheep and goats fly to it for shelter, although never going as far in as the place where the ice commences. The travellers entered the cave amid masses of loose stone, with which in a short time the ice was found to intermingle until it entirely hid the naked rock. They passed between two magnificent columns of ice which formed the portal to the fairy cavern. The floor, composed of ice, rose on either side to meet these columns in a graceful swelling curve, so that it appeared as if their bases expanded and met in the middle of the cave.

They had now to make their way amidst stalagmites rising from the floor, met by stalactites descending from the roof. All the time as they twisted in and out among the glittering pillars of ice, endeavouring to do as little harm as possible, they were accompanied by an incessant fall of small portions, shivering and glittering on reaching the ground.

Passing beyond the two columns, they saw before them a perfect sea of ice, which became broader and broader until they reached the edge of a magnificent ice-fall, smooth and unbroken, beyond which they were unable to penetrate.

They afterwards visited another beautiful ice-cavern known as the glacier of Saint Sivres, into which a stream flows, becoming completely congealed.

There are many other ice-caverns in Bohemia, Hungary, the Hartz Mountains, and in various parts of North America. One of them, however, surpassing in size the others, is the cave of Yermalik, in the province of Kondooz, in the centre of Asia. When Kondooz was invaded by the savage warrior Genghis Khan, 700 men with their wives and children took refuge in this cavern, and offered so brave a defence, that after attempting in vain to destroy them by fire, the barbarous invader built up the entrance with large blocks of stone, and left them to perish of hunger.

Nearly forty years ago the cave was visited by two British officers, who had great difficulty in obtaining guides, as the natives believed the cave to be the abode of Satan. The entrance is about half-way up a hill, and about fifty feet in height, and about the same in breadth. Squeezing their way through a narrow passage between two rocks, probably the remains of Genghis Khan's fatal wall, they came to a drop of about sixteen feet. Down this, by means of ropes, they were lowered by two men, who remained to haul them up again. Passing through a narrow tunnel, over a floor of smooth ice, they reached a vast hall, damp and dripping, the light of their torches not enabling them to form any idea of its size. Here they discovered hundreds of skeletons, the victims of Genghis Khan's cruelty. Among them was one, evidently the skeleton of a mother, holding in its long arms the skeletons of two infants. The bodies of others had been preserved, and lay as they had fallen, shrivelled into mummies. After leaving this vast sepulchre, they proceeded through several low arches with smaller caverns, until they reached an enormous hall, in the centre of which was a prodigious mass of clear ice, in the form of a bee-hive, its dome-shaped top just touching the long icicles which depended from the jagged roof.

A small opening led into the centre of this wonderful ice-heap, which was divided into several compartments, presenting numerous fantastic forms. In some the glittering icicles hung like curtains from the roof, in others the whole compartment was as smooth as glass. The prismatic colours which presented themselves as the torches flashed on the surface of the ice were beautifully brilliant.

On every side they were surrounded by solid ice, and, scarcely able to keep their feet, they slid noiselessly over the glittering surface of the mysterious hall.

The icicles having reached the floor of one of the largest of the compartments, had the appearance of pillars supporting the roof.

In Italy and the South of France there are caverns with some distant aperture through which the wind enters, and being cooled in its subterraneous passage, sends forth a cold blast at the other end, such as the Aeolian Cavern, near Terni. It has been utilised by the proprietors of some of the neighbouring villages, who have conducted the cold air to their houses by means of leaden pipes, which on sultry summer days convey a pleasant coolness through plaster-of-paris masks, with wide distended mouths, fixed in the walls of the rooms.



CHAPTER EIGHT.

COPPER MINES.

Next to England, Sweden is one of the chief copper-producing countries of Europe.

The mine of Fahlun, in Dalecarlia, has been worked from times immemorial. In consequence of the careless way in which the excavations were propped up, in the year 1678 the surface of the ground fell in, forming a vast pit of above 180 feet in depth, 1200 feet long, and 600 feet broad, with precipitous and sometimes overhanging walls, so that the spectator appears to be standing on the brink of an enormous crater. The bottom is filled with masses of rubbish and the remnants of ancient shafts, and thick beams of wood are seen protruding in all directions. A broad and convenient wooden staircase has, however, been formed on the northern side of the pit, by which not only the miners, but even horses can descend to their work. Passing through the entrance, the mine gradually widens underground to a depth of 1062 feet. The chief mass of ore is 600 feet broad on its upper surface, greatly narrowing as it descends to a depth of 1200 feet. Round it are other similar deposits. As the copper pyrites are deposited generally on the circumference of the outer shell of these masses, which are of a very irregular outline, the mining operations are carried on in a perfect labyrinth of winding passages and galleries, situated at various depths, and supported either by pillars or walls. It at one time yielded 5000 tons of copper annually, but has of late years furnished no more than 600 tons.

A romantic incident is connected with this mine. In the year 1719, while some miners were exploring an abandoned passage, they discovered a human body, preserved from corruption by the blue vitriol or sulphate of copper produced in the mine under the influence of the atmosphere and water. It was that of a handsome young man. On being brought to the surface, people from all directions flocked to see it, but nobody could recognise in its features a lost kinsman or friend. At length a woman, with tottering steps, upwards of eighty years of age, approached the corpse, when scarcely had she cast a glance at it than she uttered a piercing shriek, and exclaimed,—"It is he! It is Gustavus, for whom I have mourned so long, whom I accused of fickleness in deserting me."

She had in truth recognised her affianced lover, who had mysteriously disappeared more than sixty years previously, but whose image she still bore in her memory. As he was not employed in the mines, no one thought of searching for him underground. The surface is traversed by various crevices, some leading to the workings underground; and probably Gustavus, prompted by curiosity, had looked down one of them, and had either, losing his balance, fallen in, or been precipitated by some jealous rival in the good graces of the once blooming girl, now a tottering old woman, weighed down with a double burden of infirmity and age. She probably forgot how years had passed away, as she gazed once more on the face of her youthful and handsome lover.

Besides copper, Sweden produces iron of great excellence, won from its celebrated mines of Dannemora, and largely imported into England for the manufacture of steel.

Leaving the university town of Upsala, and passing through a natural barrier of forests and lakes, in which lie the iron-works of Oesterby, the travellers reached the place in which the pit of Dannemora is situated; not a sign announced the vicinity of the mine, until they saw the machines for lifting the ore, and a few huts scattered about, when they found themselves standing on the brink of a vast pit or crater, whose black and precipitous walls fence an abyss of a mile in circumference, and a depth of 450 feet. Here and there in that cold region they perceived patches of perennial snow and along the black walls, the dark entrance to labyrinthine caves fringed with long stalactites of ice. In some of these hollows flames were seen creeping along the cliff as they issued from piles of fir wood to soften the hard rock, while on every part of the deep gulf human beings were at work, the clang of their hammers sounding like the clicking of numberless clocks, mingled with the creaking of machinery, which brings to the surface the casks of ore. At length a bell tolled, and men, women, and children were seen ascending in the tubs, some standing on the edges, holding on with perfect confidence to the rope by which they were hoisted up.

Silence now reigned below, except when the voices of overseers were heard summoning those who had lagged behind, to ascend in haste. Scarcely had they reached the upper surface when a loud thundering roar was heard, which echoed through the cavern. The ground trembled as if convulsed by an earthquake, while black masses of smoke with pieces of stone or ore ascended from the gulf, and the crashing sound of falling masses rent from the mother earth was heard. When all the charges had exploded, the miners again descended to their work.

Although it cannot be classed among the wonders of the subterranean world, the famous Erzgebirge or iron mountain in the Styrian Alps deserves mention. It rises to the height of 3000 feet, the whole being coated with a thin mantle of the richest ore. In all directions it is covered with machines of various forms, horizontal and vertical galleries, tunnels and roads, and represents, as it were, a mine turned inside out. The whole of the operations are exposed to view, like those in the Carclaze tin mine in Cornwall, only in the former the ore is conveyed by tram-roads, galleries, and shafts to the bottom of the mountain, where they all unite in one main shaft, from which a tramway runs to the smelting-ovens of Eisenerz and Vordernberg.

Among the beautiful productions of nature, rock-crystal may be classed, known as the false topaz when yellow, the morion when black, and the smoky quartz when brown. The colourless kinds are often called Bristol or Irish diamonds, and the violet the amethyst. Some few years ago, a party of tourists, led by a guide, Peter Sulzer, set out from Guttannew, in Switzerland. When descending the mountain they reached a dark cavity, out of which they extracted some pieces of black rock-crystal with the handles of their Alpine stocks. The following year, Sulzer and his son, with a few companions, made an attempt to force their way into the cave, by widening the entrance with gunpowder. In spite of hail, rain, and bitter cold, they persevered, remaining during the night close to the cavern, in order to renew their labours the next morning.

Having widened the entrance, they penetrated to a considerable depth into the mountain, through a large cave piled up with debris, in which were embedded large planes of jet-black morions. These beautiful crystals had grown originally from the sides or roof, and had either fallen from their own weight, or been shaken out by some convulsion of nature. Their toil was rewarded by upwards of a thousand large crystals, varying from fifty pounds to more than three hundredweight.

Their expedition and its result becoming known, the whole population of Guttannew turned out with hammers, spades, and baskets, to carry off what they had left. As it was reported that the Government intended to interfere, they laboured night and day for a week, until, by the time the authorities arrived from Ijri, the whole had been removed. Some of the finest specimens are still to be seen in the museum at Berne.

Amber, about which all sorts of fabulous stories have passed current, is found more frequently in the depths of the sea than in those of the earth. There can be no doubt that it is the product of several conifers, or cone-bearing trees, overwhelmed by the waves. Although the gum which exuded from them has remained concealed for ages, until washed up from the bottom of the ocean, flies and spiders, which must have been caught when it was in a semi-fluid state, have been found embedded in it. The insects now appear as perfect as they were thousands of years ago.

The naturalist, Dr Berndt, has discovered 800 different species of insects in amber.

The famed cavern in Kentucky is as well worthy of a visit as any subterranean region. Of late years an hotel has been built near the entrance, detracting from its once romantic appearance. Visitors first descend a well-like pit, into which a stream falls, by a flight of steps, and then passing under a high archway, proceed along a level road, to what are called the vats, where saltpetre was once manufactured. Their blazing torches, numerous as they may be, hardly light up the vast subterranean region. From the large hall they make their way through a low narrow passage, known as the "Vale of Humility," into another hall of enormous extent, the roof so lofty that the torches scarcely illuminate either the walls or roof. At their feet can be seen the glitter of water, extending far away into the interior, a bright stream flowing over a rocky bed into it. Moving on, they in a short time reach Echo River, on the shore of which a boat is found. When looking upwards, it appears as if a canopy of black clouds hung over their heads. On either side can be seen precipitous cliffs, rising apparently into the sky. Silence and darkness reign around, the smooth sluggish water alone reflecting the glare of the torches. The visitors are not disposed to utter a word, until the voice of one of the native guides suddenly bursts forth into a melancholy chant, which seems as if echoed by the spirit of his departed brethren. Now the notes rise, now they fall, as he gives them forth with the full force of his lungs, or warbles softly, finishing with a melancholy wail, which produces a most mournful effect. When a pistol is fired off, there comes a succession of crashing thundering sounds, echoed from every angle of this enormous vault; backwards and forwards they rush, roaring and reverberating from wall to wall with terrific crashes. The guides say it is perfectly safe at all times of the year to traverse the cavern, but there have been occasions when the waters, rising suddenly, have prevented the return of explorers. A way, however, was at length discovered through a narrow passage, the course evidently, at one time, of a stream, up which they can climb over the mud, and save themselves from being drowned or starved. This passage has appropriately been called "Purgatory." In one part the river expands into a lake, the gloomy effect of whose dark waters, lost in the darkness, is indescribable. Leaving Echo River, they enter another cavern, known as Cleveland Cabin—a fairy region. Above their heads, and on either side, the roof and walls are adorned with delicate flowers, of snowy whiteness, and domes, turrets, spires, shrubs, and trees, as well as with the forms of birds and beasts of all descriptions; indeed, figures of every shape which imagination, without any great exertion, can picture, appear around. The representations of some are so perfect, that it is difficult to believe that they have not been carved by the hand of man, and yet all of them have been produced by the dripping of water from the gypsum rock. The cavern is not destitute of inhabitants. Huge crickets and spiders of an almost white colour crawl along over the ground, and rats as big as leverets run by, exhibiting sharp teeth and long tails. Another cavern is called "Martha's Vineyard." It appears as if a vine had climbed up the sides and spread its branches over the roof, from which hang suspended what look like clusters of grapes, but all of the same stony nature. In another cave it seems to the visitor that he is standing in a wintry scene, ice above and ice on the ground, with here and there patches of snow, the appearance being caused by the excessive whiteness of the gypsum. Farther on, there is a beautiful grotto, called "Serena's Arbour," the walls of which are covered with a drapery resembling yellow satin, falling in graceful folds, while through it murmurs a rivulet, which makes its way to one of the many rivers running through the cavern. In another, on the torches being extinguished it appears as if stars innumerable were glittering in the sky. On a stone being thrown upwards, it quickly strikes the roof, and it is soon seen that these seeming stars are produced by pieces of mica embedded in the roof, on which the light of a lantern being thrown in a peculiar way is brightly reflected. Although the caverns seem to be of immense height, the ceiling in most parts is not more than thirty feet from the ground. In the centre of one cavern, a regular hill rises from the ground, with a stream running at its base. Several rivers are crossed in this vast cavern, one is called the Echo River, another the Styx, and a third the Lethe. They are inhabited by fish and crawfish, sightless and perfectly white.

This vast cavern, the ramifications of which are said to measure nine miles, was not known to white men until 1802. For many years no one advanced beyond three miles from the entrance, further progress being stopped by a deep cavern called the "Bottomless Pit," 1000 feet deep. At length, however, a daring guide threw a ladder over it, and crossing by this means, he was able to explore six more miles of this subterranean region.

A bridge has now been constructed by which people can pass over in perfect safety. It is said that no dog will willingly enter the cavern; indeed, few persons can pass along its passages without a sensation of awe, although with a guide it may be traversed without danger.



CHAPTER NINE.

SILVER MINES, ETCETERA.

If a true history of the silver mines of South America were to be written it would reveal the cruel death of thousands and thousands of human beings, sacrificed to the lust of gain. High up among the Andes, surrounded by a succession of steep and naked rocks, is the town of Pasco, built above the mines, from which the inhabitants obtain their subsistence. The entrances to most of the mines are situated in the midst of the town. The irregular shafts descend directly down into the interior of the mountain, access being by a series of ladders often ill-constructed and rough, ropes and chains being employed to hoist up the ore. Frequently, the overseers having neglected to put up the necessary props, portions of the mines have broken in and destroyed many of the hapless workers. In one instance 300 perished at once by this means. In most of the mines the labourers, after getting out the ore, have to bring it to the surface in baskets on their backs, often from immense depths, and were it not for the sustaining coca leaf they would be unable to undergo such excessive toil. When rich veins are struck, the wages of the miners increase, but in most instances they spend them in drinking and debauchery, while the proprietors of the mines are almost equally uncivilised.

Fourteen miles from the town of Caxamarca is an isolated mountain called the Cerro de San Fernando de Gualgayoc, traversed by numberless veins of silver. At its summit rise a number of pyramidal pinnacles. Its steep sides are pierced by several hundred galleries formed for the extraction of the ore, as well as by numerous natural openings, while in all directions are seen the huts of the labourers, sticking like the nests of birds, wherever a ledge has enabled them to be constructed. One of the richest silver mines of Peru is that of Salcedo, but nothing is now known of it except its tragical history. A Don Jose Salcedo, a Spaniard, without a maravedi in his pocket, made love to an Indian girl, whose mother promised to reveal to him a rich silver lode on condition that he married her daughter.

Aided by his Indian relatives, with whom he lived on the most friendly terms, he obtained vast quantities of silver from the mine, the entrance to which was kept carefully concealed.

His wealth excited the rapacity of the viceroy Count Lemos, who, to obtain possession of it, accused him of exciting the natives to rebellion, and cast him into prison. In vain Salcedo entreated that he might appeal to the mercy of the king, and promised to give the viceroy a bar of silver daily, from the time the ship left the port of Callao to her return from Europe, which would probably be upwards of a year; but the viceroy, instead of listening to the proposal of Salcedo, ordered him to be hung. No sooner was this known to the natives than they destroyed the works, and so carefully concealed the entrance, that even to the present day it is unknown. The tribes afterwards dispersed, and even cruel tortures could not induce them to reveal the secret.

There can be no doubt that there are many rich lodes in existence worked by Indians, who, knowing that they will be compelled to labour for the benefit of their masters, carefully conceal them. In many of the mines of Peru, the natives having almost been exterminated, the proprietors endeavoured to kidnap the inhabitants of the Pacific to supply their places, but after several hundreds had been nefariously captured, the Governments of England and France interfered and put a stop to the practice. In another part of South America, near the town of Cumana, is a vast cavern in the Valley of Caripe, which was many years ago visited by Baron Humboldt, who found it inhabited by a remarkable species of nocturnal bird, called the guacharo. The mouth of the cavern is pierced in the side of the cliff looking towards the south, in the form of an arch, eighty feet wide and seventy-two in height. The summit of the cliff is covered with trees of gigantic size, and with shrubs and plants growing in all the luxuriance of a tropical vegetation, while a variety of creeping plants hang in elegant festoons before its entrance. Visitors can proceed for upwards of 430 feet without being compelled to light their torches. When the light of day begins to fail, the hoarse cries of the nocturnal birds are heard coming out of the dark recesses of the interior. The guacharo is of the size of the common fowl; its hooked bill is white, like that of the goat-sucker, and furnished at the base with stiff hairs, directed forwards. The plumage is of a sombre brownish grey, mixed with black stripes and large white spots. Their eyes are incapable of bearing the light of day, and their wings are disproportionately large, measuring no less than four and a-half feet from tip to tip. The birds quit the cavern only at nightfall, to feed on fruits. A most horrible noise is made by them in the dark recesses of the cavern, and the clamour increases as they are disturbed by the visitors advancing deeper into it with torches, and those nestling in the side avenues begin to utter their mournful cries. When the first sink into silence, it seems as if the more remote inhabitants were alternately complaining to each other of the intruders. The nests of these birds are fixed fifty or sixty feet from the ground, in funnel-shaped holes, with which the cavern roof is pierced like a sieve.

Armed with poles, the natives once a year, about mid-summer, enter the cavern and knock down the young birds, while the old ones, with lamentable cries, hover over the heads of the robbers. The young which are taken are opened on the spot, when the peritonaeum is found loaded with fat, and a layer of substance reaches from the abdomen to the vent, forming a kind of cushion between the bird's legs. At this period, called by the Indians the oil harvest, huts are erected by them, with palm leaves, near the entrance. Here the fat of the young birds is melted in clay pots, over a brushwood fire; but although thousands are killed, not more than 160 jars of clear oil are obtained. A small river flows through the cavern, and the visitor is compelled, as he proceeds, to wade through water, not, however, more than two feet deep. From the entrance as far as 1458 feet the cavern maintains the same direction, width, and height, after which it loses its regularity, and its walls are covered with stalactites. The same bird has been found in the province of Bogota, and may probably be discovered in other caverns. Animal life exists in considerable quantities in many subterranean regions, such as beetles, eyeless spiders, scorpions, millipedes, and crustaceans. The most curious is the Proteus anguinus, which breathes at the same time through lungs and gills. It has a long eel-like body, with an elongated head, and four very short and thin legs. The skin is flesh-coloured, and so translucent that the liver and heart, which beat about fifty times a minute, can be seen distinctly beneath. Two little black spots, resembling eyes, lie buried under the skin, and are only partially developed. Weak as it appears, it glides rapidly through the water, when its four little legs remain motionless; it uses them, indeed, only for creeping, and then in a very imperfect manner. Seven distinct species of proteus have been discovered, six of which were found in the cavern of Carniola, besides crickets, spiders, and a few crustaceae. A peculiar blind rat is found in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. A blind fish swims in its rivers, and Professor Agassiz is of opinion that they, like all other blind animals of the cavern world, have at no time been connected with the world of light.

Vegetable life also exists in caverns, but consists of such mushrooms or fungi which, shunning the light, love darkness and damp. For their existence, however, moisture and warmth of air is necessary, but they are invariably dependent on organic basis, and are commonly found germinating on pieces of wood, particularly in a state of decomposition. More than seventy subterranean fungi have been discovered, some remarkable for their size. A few years ago a fungus was found growing from the wood-work of a tunnel near Doncaster, which measured no less than fifteen feet in diameter.

In the neighbourhood of Paris the cultivation of edible mushrooms is extensively carried on in the catacombs or caverns, seventy or eighty feet below the surface, where the temperature is uniform all the year round. In one of the caves of Mount Rouge there are no less than six or seven miles of mushroom bedding. Among the wonders of the subterranean world must be classed the bone caves of Europe and other parts of the world. In some caves in England, the bones of a prodigious bear have been found, and many hundreds of those of a hyena, considerably larger and more formidable than those existing in Africa. Besides the bear and hyena, upwards of a hundred species of extinct animals have been found in the ossiferous caves of Great Britain, among them being those of the elephant and a rhinoceros. Though in Europe bone caves contain the remains of animals very different from those now existing in the same regions, yet in the caves of Brazil extinct species of nearly all the territorial quadrupeds now inhabiting this region occur. The Australian caverns contain fossil bones of a large extinct kangaroo. In New Zealand the wingless apteryx is still found in the wilds, and the caves of that country show us that it was preceded by other wingless birds of gigantic stature; among them the moa, which, when alive, must have stood about thirteen or fourteen feet high. A complete leg of the bird has been discovered six feet in length, and portions of the eggs show that they had been about 6 or 7 inches diameter.



CHAPTER TEN.

ARRANGEMENTS OF THE MINES.

In Germany mining operations are carried on in the most systematic manner. Miners are dressed as their ancestors were hundreds of years ago, and they cling pertinaciously to their ancient usages. In some workings prayers are offered up, led by the engineer, before the miners descend to their work, while they stand grouped round him at the opening of the mine, a custom which might well be adopted in our own country. The German miner retains also the superstitions of his forefathers, and still believes in the genii of the mines, named Nickel and Kobald, after whom he has called two metals, nickel and cobalt, originally discovered in the mines of Saxony.

The Germans have introduced into their mines a regular military system, and the engineers, who are denominated captains, wear when in full dress a uniform of a very military appearance, set off by epaulets and gold embroidery. Not inferior to them, however, are the Cornish miners, their captains being those who have risen by their industry and intelligence from the lowest to the highest grades, although men of less education than their German brethren.

The Spanish miners are a sober and frugal race, enjoying their cigarettes even while at work. On leaving the mine they put on their snuff-coloured cloaks and broad-brimmed sombreros. In the southern part of the Peninsula they wear grass sandals, cloaks of bright colours, and handkerchiefs bound round their heads. Leading lives of toil and hardship, their huts are wretched abodes built of stones and mud, their beds the ground, an iron or copper kettle hung from the roof above the fire in the centre of the cabin, a few wicker baskets, and a waterbottle of porous clay constitute their furniture. Still, the lot of the miner of the Sierra Morena is far superior to that of the miner of Almaden, who, poisoned by the noxious vapours of mercury, quickly succumbs, ere he has gained the prime of manhood.

In South America the mining operations of the inhabitants somewhat resemble those of their Spanish ancestors, their habits and customs being imitated by the Indians, who have, however, to perform the harder part of the work. While Mexico and Peru were under the mother country, the Mita or law of compulsion existed, the Indians being forced to toil against their will in the mines, but since the emancipation of the colonies and the abolition of that nefarious law, they have returned to their agricultural pursuits, and are only occasionally found of their own free will labouring in the mines.

Various modes are adopted for descending the mines. In some merely a single rope or chain with a loop at the end in which the miner places his foot is used, even when the depth is several hundred feet; in other mines baskets or tubs in which three or four men can stand are employed. While one of these is hauled up, another descends, and often fearful accidents have occurred by the tubs striking against each other, when their occupants have been thrown out. Occasionally the ropes and chains have given way, and the hapless miners have been dashed to pieces.

Some few years ago, as the engineer and several men of the mine of Meons were descending standing in a tub, each with a lamp in one hand, and holding on to the chain above him with the other, a couple of tubs loaded with coal unhooked theirs, which fell to the bottom. Providentially they had not relaxed their grasp of the chain above their heads, and at once letting go their lamps and desperately seizing it with both hands, they continued their descent, though huge lumps of coal were falling out of the tubs above them. Wonderful to relate, they reached the bottom in safety. On another occasion, while the same engineer was ascending in a tub, it was upset in consequence of the engineman raising the rope too suddenly. The engineer hanging on by one leg, with his head downwards was hoisted a height of forty yards, before the alarm was given and he was lowered to the bottom.

In the same mine, another engineer, while descending in a tub, had his clothes caught by a strut which projected from the side of the pit; he here hung suspended while his companions continued to descend, terrified for his safety and alarmed for their own, as should he fall, they expected to be crushed by his weight. In vain they shouted for assistance, the men at the top of the pit having gone out of hearing. Not until they reached the bottom could they send any aid to their companion. He in the meantime had been vainly endeavouring to find some support so as to relieve the strain on his torn garments, which threatened every instant to give way. After hanging thus for twenty minutes, he was at length set free, but no sooner was he received in the tub than he became insensible. A severe illness of long duration followed, but he ultimately recovered, though he ever afterwards preferred going down the ladders to descending in a tub. Anecdotes of the same description could be given without end. Most accidents of this character have ended fatally. To avoid them various inventions have been devised, one of which is known as the mounting machine, or man-engine. It consists of two parallel rods, furnished at equal distances with steps, while one is raised to a certain height the other is lowered to the same distance. While the movement of the crank is on its turning point, the miner passes from the step on which he is standing to the opposite step of the other. As they are constantly moving up and down, his next step is back again to the rod he had before left, which rising a few feet, he is able to step back to the other, just as it, having gone down, is once more ascending; and thus he reaches the top with little fatigue.

Far superior to this mode of ascending or descending are the safety-cages introduced of late years, which have guides the whole length of the shaft, and bonnets or roofs to protect the heads of the men within. They are made with several stages, in which either the tubs or waggons can be placed, or where the miners can stand or sit. If a rope breaks, a spring placed above the cage and kept taut by the tension of the rope, is set free, and acts upon a double clutch made of the best tempered steel. This catch or wedge falls between the wooden guide and a part of the cage, and brings the latter immediately to a stand-still. By this means numberless accidents have been prevented. The man-engines which have been described are dangerous for novices, for should a person stop at the wrong time, he may be hurled to the bottom, or crushed at the return stroke.

One of the most frequent accidents to which miners are exposed arises from an outbreak of fire-damp. To avoid this, various safety-lamps have been invented. The most celebrated is that known as Sir Humphrey Davy's lamp. The flame is enclosed in a fine wire gauze, through which, under ordinary circumstances, the gas cannot penetrate. There are other lamps in use constructed on the same principle, but superior in some respects. Too often, however, the miners open them at some fatal moment, or enter the mine, against orders, with naked candles. Still, by means of these lamps, when properly employed, many accidents have been prevented. Another invention exists by which a person can enter in the midst of impure air. The apparatus was devised by Monsieur Kouquayrol, a French engineer. It consists of a reservoir made of sheet iron, into which the air is forced, and, by an ingeniously contrived pump, is secured like a knapsack to a man's back, and the air is conveyed by means of a tube to the mouth of a nose, and thus into the lungs at the ordinary pressure, while a small external valve allows of the escape of the air after it has been respired.

A still more simple apparatus has been invented by Monsieur Galibert. The system for condensing the pure air is more perfect, while the reservoir consists of a well-prepared goat-skin, which, when inflated, a man can with ease carry on his back. It is furnished with a similar contrivance to the former, a tube passing from the reservoir to the mouth, while the nostrils are compressed, the eyes and head are protected, so that provided with it, a person may exist for a quarter of an hour in the foulest atmosphere, or in the midst of dense smoke. Although the metal miner is subjected to fewer accidents than are his brethren working in coal mines, the atmosphere in the former is far more destructive to human life. In lead mines, the duration of life averages scarcely more than thirty-two years, and in those containing arsenical pyrites or quicksilver ores, the average is still lower. Before the use of gunpowder in underground operations, the rocks containing the ore were attacked with fire, indeed the practice is still retained in some countries. Huge wood fires are made up against the face of the rock, which becomes shattered and traversed by cracks, and when cooled, it is easily detached with a pick or fork. Of late years, however, machines have been devised for boring or breaking the rock. Some form a hole by the continuous motion of a rotating drill, others by means of intermittent blows. One of these rock-boring machines, manufactured by Messrs. Turner, of Ipswich, performs its work by a combination of both these operations. By the employment of these machines, the formation of the tunnel under Mount Cenis was greatly facilitated. An example has already been given of the way in which people have been saved from the effects of inundations in mines, others have been dug out when buried by the fall of roofs, but almost countless are the numbers who have perished from other causes, for if the first have destroyed their hundreds, the fire-damp in coal mines has proved the destruction of thousands. It was at one time considered right every night to provoke an explosion by lighting the fire-damp in order that the working stalls should be accessible next morning. The man who performed this dangerous operation wore a thick covering of wool or leather, his face was protected, and his head was covered by a hood like a monk's cowl. He crept along the ground, carrying in his hand a long pole with a light at the end of it. He was known in the English mines as the fireman, but in the French he was called either the cannonier, the monk, or the penitent, the latter name being given him from his dress resembling that of certain so-called religious orders in the Romish Church. Too frequently the hapless penitent was destroyed by the explosion he had provoked.

Our two friends, however, might have written several large volumes had they given accounts of even a portion of the interesting matters concerning mines which they gathered up during their long and varied tour.

Mark did not fail to benefit largely by the information he obtained, and he ultimately, with the numerous improvements he introduced, became the proprietor of two of the coal mines in which he had worked in his boyhood, while his young sister, on whom he had had the satisfaction of bestowing a high-class education, refined in mind and manners, became the wife of his friend and fellow-traveller.

THE END.