Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-11-06
THE SALT MINES OF CRACOW.
BY BAYARD TAYLOR

After descending 2l0 feet we saw the first
veins of rock salt, in a bed of clay and crumbled
sandstone. Thirty feet more and we were in a.
world Of salt. Level galleries branehed off from
the foot to the staircase overhead a ceiling of
solid salt, under foot a floor of salt, and on either
side dark gray walls of salt, sparkling here and
there with minute crystals. Lights glimmered
ahead, and on turning the corner we came upon
a gang of workmen, some hacking away at the
solidlhoor, others trundling wheelbarrows full of
the precious cubes. Here was the chapel of St.
Anthony, the oldest in the mines-a Byzantine
excavation, supported by columns, with altar,
%cruci6x, and life size statues Of saints, apparently
in black marble, but all as salt as Lots wife, rs |
discovered b, putting my tongue to the nose of
John the Baptist. The humid air of this upper
story of the mines, has damaged some of the
saints. Francis, especially, is running away like
q dip candle, and all of his head is gone except
his chin.
The limbs of Joseph are dropping off as if he
had the Norwegian leprosy, and Lawrence has
deeper scars than his gridiron could have made,
running " and down his back. A Bengal light
burned at the altar, brought into sudden life this
strange temple, which presently vanished into
darkness as if it had never been seen.
/ cannot follow step by step, our journey OF
two hours through the labyrinths Of this wonder
full mine. 1t is a bewildering maze Of galleries,
grand halls, stair cases and vaulted chambers,
where one soon loses all sense Of distance or
direction, and drifts along blindly in the wake OF
his conductor. Every thing was solid salt, except
where great piers of hewn logs had been built up
to support some threatening roof, or vast chasms,
left in quarrying had been bridged across. As
we descended TO lower regions, the air became
more dry and brilliant. One hall, l0S feet in
depth, ~resembled a Grecian theater, the traces OF
blocks taken out in regular layers representing
the seats for the spectators. Out of this single
hall ,000, 900 cwt. Of salt had been taken, OF
D enough to supply the 40,000,000 Inhabitants in
Austria one year.
Two oSelisks of salt commemorated the visit Of
e Francis l. and his empress in another spacious
i irregular vault, through which we passed by
4 means of a wooden bridge resting on piers of thu
crystalline rock. After We had descended to tn,
t bottom of this chamber, a boy ran along tn,
e bride above which a burningB engalllight, throwing
Q the flashes Of blue Iustre on the o5elisks, on tn,
d SCARED walls, vast arches, the entrance TO deep
err halls, and the far roof, fretted with the pick
o of the worknen.
The effect was magical wonderful. Even til,
old Prussian, who had the face of an exchang,
Q broker, exclaimed as he pointed upwards: at i
8 like a sky full of cloud lambkins." Presently W,
/, entered another and loftier chamber, yawniny
9 downward like the mouth Of hell, with cavernou
s tunnels opening out of the further end. In thes,
:. tunnels the workmen, half naked, with torches il
n their hands, wild cries, fireworks and the tirin,
Of guns (which here so reverberate in the i'm
prisoned air that one can feel every wave of sound,
gave a rough representation of the internal re
gions. for the benefit of the crowned heads VIII
d visit the mines. The effect must be indeed dia
Dolical. Even we, unexceptionable characters a
we were, looked truly unearthly in our ghost
ly garments, amid the liVid glare of the fire
> works.
A little further, We struck upon a lake fou
fathoms deep, upon which we embarked in
heavy square boat and entered a gloomy tunnel
overthe entrance Of which was inscribed lin sal
letter)''good luck to you In such a place tn
motto seemed ironisal. Abandon hope, all y
who enter here" would have been more apprc
pirate. Midw way in the tunnel, the halls at eithe
end were suddenly illuminated, and a crash, as O
a hundred cannon believing through the hollo,
vaults, shook the air and water in such wise tina
our beat had not ceased trembling when we land
a ed in the further hall. Read Tasso
/. fireman lie spaziose atre caverne,
Ell der eieco in que! rumor ,tmJomba."
il you want to hear the sound of it. A table in