The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1874-10-15
DOWN TOWARDS CHINA.
Two Thousand Feet Under Ground I'm n
saxony Silver Mine--An Interesting
Description.

A correspondent writing of the silver
mines of Saxony which he visited says
Entering one of the buildings, the
guide opened trap door and immedi-
ately descended ladder, telling me to
follow. Now this ladder led into the
bowels of the earth for more than two
thousand feet-say half mile-at an
angle of forty-fve degrees, and was to
be descended backwards. At each side
of it was sometimes wire rope, some
times a wooden rail, for the hands.
Within few inches sometimes, some
times few feet off, were the walls of
solid rock and close at hand huge
beams were moving slowly back and
forth through space of about two
feet. These were the pump-rods, cease
lessly toiling to free the mines OF the
perilous waters ever gathering in the
depth below. Above our heads the
sloping rock made a ceiling that most
of the time compelled us to crouch
quite low to avoid hard knocks on the
head from which even the thick felt
caps we wore could not wholly save us.
SO L went down, and down, and down
in this darkness, which was but dimly
lighted by the tallow candle in the little
lantern hung by o cord around my
neck, that bobbed constantly against
the steps of the ladder, which are just
wide enough for one foot. was glad,
after descending two or three hundred
feet, to reach a gallery, where q rough
board seat was indeed welcome. From
this point narrow passages through the
rock led off at right angles from the
shaft-the work of earlier times, long
ago abandoned. How far they extended
I could not guess, and the candles
lighted the darkness but few feet.
Within the territory of this mine are
twenty eight miles of such passages, L
was told, and | was content to pass
them by and resume my descending
labor.
We reached, every few hundred feet,
a new level, where galleries branched
out to the right and left, and offered
pleasant opportunities for repose.
All these galleries have been worked
out long ago. At last, after know not
how long time occupied in descending,
we got as far down as was expedient-
about one thousand five hundred feet
deep-and began to walk on level
ground into narrow passages in the
rock. Now we began to see ore. A
little railroad track was laid through
these passages, on which men pushed
along small cars, laden with ore, to the
main shaft, where they ascend an in
clined plane to day." as the miners
vocabulary has it. Every measure OF
depth is SO far from " day" and singu-
larly enough going on foot is called
"riding," perhaps from the luxury OF
walking as compared with the climbing
up or down of ladders. Now my guide
picked up O glittering mass which he
handed to me, as heavy as 1 could lift
it was eighty per cent. lead and twenty
Of silver. I dropped it quickly, and
we went on descending once more tc
where the miners were at work, and
then clambering on hands and knees
lucky if it were not on face, too-nov
upward over masses of rock and masses
of silver ere that were no softer to fall
on than meaner stones.
The silver vein varies from a fingers
breadth to about foot in width. Some
of the ore is richer in silver than what
have mentioned, yielding as high as
|
rare. From this point we walked on 6
level-it seemed for miles-througl
still narrower windings, coming at las
to the point for ascending, where the
ladders, instead of going at an angle
as before, were perpendicular, but none
the easier for that. Here was plenty o.
dripping water all around, and the
steps of the ladders were muddy anC
slippery with the feet of hundreds Of
miners, who ever assembled and de
scended. No more wire ropes or rail
ings, but the muddy steps must bt
grasped firmly by the hand-with boil
hands, too-for, if the foot slipped
there was little between us and China
Yes, there we're rests as before, bat the
depths were something tremendous tt
which one would fall in case of acci
dent. Hard by the ladders was a ma
chine, worked by the pumps, by which
the miners were hoisted up by jerks
some ten feet at time, by a contri
vance which I cannot here explain
Enough for me that strangers are no
permitted to venture on it for fear o
accidents to inexperienced persons
who have to find their way back t.
"day" by pure bone and muscle work
Another alienation OF the toll of tn,
miners has been introduced by the us,
OF horses to drag the cars of orr
through the galleries to the bottom o
the inclined plane, up which they ar
drawn to the surface. These unfortu
nate quadrupeds have been buried her
two Thousand feet deep for some thre
years and, SO far, they grow fat an,
thrive in their subterranean stable.
did not see the poor beasts, as thei
working day was ended and they wer
enjoying the repose of their stalls.
The upward journey was much NOR
fatiguing than the descent, although
the rests were more frequent. Hal
way up was deafening noise of water
in the darkness, not unlike the uproa
within the paddle box of great steam
er. By the light of our dimly burnin
lanterns l looked in upon an i'm mmens
water-wheel of thirty feet in diameter
used for driving the pumps employe
in this part of the works. But this
too, we left behind and below, COL
tinuing our tedious climb up the slim
ladders until, at last, we emerged int
large place, and the guide ANNOUNCE
that we were once more at the surface
1 was glad to know it, and glad that
had not attempted to go lower, at leai
unless 1 had longer time to devote
the purpose. I had been some four {
five hours below ground, and no
emerged into the starlight perhaps ha
mile from the starting point, althoug
my travels below must have extende
over several miles. 1 was not sorr
now to perform thorough ablutions, fc
which every facility was provided, an
having changed my apparel, to sit dow