, 1877-02-23
A Wonderful Mine.

lutunfel the famous allf f.H." ~
Miehczka. IN Galirif IHH lu.H Hf 'H.s
wonderful mineral ..fHsIf. l. l' pres. DO
defined. msasuuH. faH Iru .f. .a'I
miles IN length. rs liiiiU uHru t.ll
ope-half IN hr,alih. AMI o.. -T.ilH,'f'h
Il about An feet. u b. irter.lla "a fu
strata of the tertiary formation. ,Hu-
sistiag Of Compart iossilii'rsus ciaNs.
and rests At the ha~s on a foundation "t
sandstone. The principal minerals as-
sociaied with II are gypsum, hitumen.
anhydriic. and the sulphaies of laryta.
strontia. ami sulphur The quality u
the salt varies greatly portion oi
il. named green salt. containing from
) 10 6 per cent. Of clay; another. called
spira. being mixed with sand, and a
third, known as szylfk, and occurring
chiefly at the lower levels, being per
fectly pure, and deposited ia large crys-
talline masses.
The mines are entered by eleven sep
-arate shafts, which open at five diff
ferent levels, into galleries that branch
into q perfect labyrinth of passages
and chambers. 1t is said that the gal
leries which have already been exca-
vated have an aggregate length of con-
siderably more than 400 miles. The
salt lies about 200 feet below the sur
face and thence extends down to a
depth of about 900 feet. The direc-
ton of the bed is east and west, fol-
lowing the trend of the Carpathian
Mountains, and appearing in small de-
posts at intervals until it enters Tran
sylvania, where extensive mines exist.
The annual product of the Wialiczka
mines is 1,5O0, 900 cwt.; and at this rate
it is calculated that the yield will not
be exhausted for at least 300 years. 1t
is not known when the deposit was dis
covered, but it was being quaried by
Poland at tie beginning of the twelfth
century, and had become a source Of
great profit under Casimir the Great, in
the fourteenth century. In 1858 the
yearly net income of the mine was
81 ,000, 900. According to the treaty
executed on the partition of Poland,
Austria is compelled to furnish to Rus
sia 500, 900 cwt. of the annual product
of salt, and 800, 900 to Prussia, leaving
400 900 cwt. to herself.
Some of the old chambers in the
mine are $50 feet in height, but the
more recent ones are much smaller.
The most ancient of the halls is called
the Chapel Of st. Anthony, and is
adorned with columns, statutes of the
saints, an altar crucifx, etc., all cut
out of solid salt. This is in the upper
story. of the mine, which is penetrated
by humid air from without coming
down the shafts; and the salt figures in
the chapel are consequently undergo
ing slow process of dissolution. An
other large chamber, designated as
Francis Joseph's Hall, is fitted up as a
ballroom, with large chandeliers, and
statues Of Vulcan and Neptune, wrought
out Of the universal mineral. On the
occasion Of the visit Of any Of the
Royal family to the mines, and also at
the occurrence Of festivals, the chambers
and passages are brilliantly illumin-
ated, fireworks and guns are shot off,
and the scene is altogether like chip
ter from a fairy tale, or like passage
from the account Of the Plutonian
regions in the mythologies of the an
clients.
In one part of the mine there is a
lake go feet long and forty feet deep,
which is formed by the accumulation
Of the water trickling through the
strata. Visitors are padded across in a
boat-thereby enjoying an excursion,
It may be presumed, quite similar in
its gloomy and weird sensations to that
which travellers experience in the trip
over the rock-bound lake in Mammoth
Cave. Bayard Taylor says Of the Vie
hczha mine: st is bewildering maze
Of galleries, grand halls, staircases and
vaulted chambers, where one looses all
sense Of distance or direction, and
drifts along blindly In the wake of his
conductor. Everything was solid salt,
except where great piers Of hewn logs
had been built mp to support some
threatening roof; or vast chasms, left
in quarying, had been bridged across.
As we descended to lower regions the
air became more dry and agreeable.
and the saline walls more pure and
brilliant. One hall, 108 feet in height.
resembled q Grecian theatre-the traces
OF blocks taken out in regular layers rep
resenting the seats for the spectators.
Out Of this single hall l 900, 900 cwt., of
salt has been taken, or enough TO supply
the A, ,O00, 900 inhabitants of Austria for
one year."
OF the method Of mining the salt.
Mr.. Taylor writes: ''The process is
quite primitive - scarcely differing
from that Of the ancient Egyptians in
quarrying granite. The blocks are
first marked out on the surface by a
series Of grooves. One side is then
deepened to the required thickness,
and, wedges being inserted under the
block, It Is soon split on. II Is then
split transversely, into pieces Of one
cwt. each, in which form Il Is ready for
sale. Those intended for Russia are