Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-11-06

seribed heartily welcome !" saluted US on land
ing. Finally at the depth of 400 feet our journey
ceased, although we we're but half way to the bot,
tom. The remainder is q wilderness Of shafts
galleries and NAL chambers, the extent of which
we could only conjecture. We then returned
through scores of %tortuous passages of some
vaults where n lot OF gnomes, naked to the hips,
we're busy with picks, malle, and wedge, blocking
out and separating the solid pavement.
The process is quite primitive, scarcely differ
ing from that Of the ancient Egyptian in quarry
ing granite. The blocks are fret marked out on
the %serface ly a series Of grooves. One side is
then ~deepened to the required thickness, and
wedges being inserted under the block, i: is soon
split of. 1t is then split transversely into pieces
of I cwt, 10 each, in which form it is ready for
sale. Those intended for Russia are rounded on
the edge, aad corners until they acquire the
shape of large cocoons, for the convenience of
transportation into the interior of the coun-
try.
TIE number Of wofkmen employed in the mine
is 500. all Of whom belong to the upper crust"
that is, they live on the outside Of the world.
They are divided into gangs, and relieve each
other every six hours. Each gang quarries out,
on an average, a little more than 600 cwt. Of
salt in that space of time, making an annual
yield of / 900, 600 cwtl The men we saw were
fine, muscular, healthy looking fellcwr, and the
officer, in answer to my questions, stated that
their sanitary condition was quite equal to that of
the field laborers. Scurvy does not occur among
them, and the equality of the temperature of the
mines-waich stands at 45o Of Fahrenheit all the
yo,r rnunI hoe n cayorah1o pffpct upnn aucb no
are predisposed to disease Of the lungs. lie was
not aware of any peculiar form of disease induced
by the substance in which they work, notwith.
standing where the air is humids, salt. crystsls form
upon the wood work. The wood, | may here re-
mark, never rots, and where untouched, retains it's
qualities for centuries. The officer explicitly de.
MED the story of men having been born in these
mines, and having gone through life without ever
mounting to the upper world. So there goes
another interesting fiction of our youth.
1t requires a stretch Of imagination to conceive
the extent Of this salt bed. As far as explored.
its length is two aad a half English miles, it's
breadth a little over halfa mile, and it's solid
depth 600 feet 1t commences about 200 feet be,
low the surface, and is then uninterrupted to sand
stone, such as forms the peaks of the Carpatbian
oOIOW NhIo tuOlo io III piObdDllly
that it again reappears. The general direction is
east and west. dipping rapidly at its western ex.
tremity, so that it may no doubt ba pushed much
further in that direction. notwithstanding the
immense amount already quarried-and il will be
better understood when l state that the aggregate
length of the shafts and galleries amounts to four
hundred and forty miles-it is estimated that at the
present rate of exploration, the known supply
cannot be exhausted under 5000 years. The tri.
parti:e treaty, on the partition of Poland, limits
Austria to the present amount--4 500, 900 cwt.
anually-of which she is bound to furnish 10000
cwt. to Prussia, aud 800, 900 to Russia, leaving
1000. 900 cwt. to herself. This sum yields her q
net revenue from the mines, of two millions of
forms Isl, 900 ,O00> annually.
1t is not known how this wonderful deposit
more precious than gold itself--was originally
( discovered. We know that it was worked in the
18th century, and perhaps much earlier. The
popular faith has invented several miracles to &C,
count for it giving the merit to ~favorite saints
One, which is gravely published in 'The History
of Cracow, Estates that a Polish King. who wooed q
Princess Elizabeth Of Hungary, mot Tho Saint o
Wartburg) in the tenth century. asked what sht
would choose as a bridal gift from him, some
t thing that would most benefit his people. The
S ceremony was performed in 4 CHI pei in one of thu
0 salt mines of Pennsylvania. Soon after being
transferred to Cracow; Elizabeth went out t.
# Wielaska, surveyed the ground, and after choos
: ing a spot, commanded the people to dig. In thu
course of a few days they found a salt crystal
which the Queen caused to be set in her wedding
r ring, and wore until the day of her death. Sh'
f must have been a wonderful g~eologist for those
t days. The bed actually follows the Carpathians
appearing at intervals in small deposits, int
Transylvania, where there are extensive mines
S 1t is believed also that it stretches Northwart
e into Russian Poland, Some years ago, the Banl
q of Warsaw expended large sums in boring for sal
near the Austrian frontier. There was much ex
. element and speculation for a time, but although
e The mineral was found, the cost of quarrying i
r was great, and the enterprise was dropped.