Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-08-22
an Account of Tour Through Them-A
Weird EXP 4rience.

From the New York Commercial Advertiser
A theatrical tour into the bowels of
the land awaits the visitor to the great
show mines of the Salzgammereut( re-
gion. In order to make this excursion
he is obliged to don the trappings of this
underground stage-gay, clean and
jauntv miners dress-a dress that re-
mains as brilliant and unspotted when
the journey is finished as when it is be-
gun. Why the artistic old King Ludwig
should have insisted upon all this habil-
iment before permitting strangers to en-
ter his clean salt mines is only account
ed for by the vein of dramatic mystery
that seems to run through the
royal family of Bavaria. It is
quite possible to preserve an or
dinaIy travelling dress unspotted
and uniform in making the tour of the
mines; yet all men and women alike
must enter the dressing rooms at the
entrance of the mountain, and there be
Invested of their everyday raiment and
made to don the picturesque garments
thought to be appropriate to these
underground regions. The woman's
dress is composed of long loose trous-
ers of white ducking, over which is
worn a short, ballet like skirt of black
stuff, a blouse of the same stuff over
this, and for the head a coquettish little
skull cap, trimmed with blue braid; and
the final decoration is leather seat
strapped around the waist. No woman,
tall, short, thick or thin is allowed to
escape this absurd attire, and strange
and wonderful are the figures that some
times emerge from these dressing rooms
TO be mercifully hidden in the darkness
of the mines. Men are permitted to
enter with the addition of overaIls and
the leather seat, worn over their ordi-
nary dress.
The great mountain looms up round,
green and beautiful from the lovely Val
. ley of Berchtesgaden. A dark tunnel
close by the carriage road leads directly
into the dark city OF salt under this
green mountain. As we entered this
tunnel the guide whose duty it is to con-
duct us thrust into the hands of each a
tiny miners lantern, and, shivering a
little in the vault-like air, we followed
closely after him through the long and
narrow gallery, which was evenly
scooped out of the solid, salty rock.
Through the bottom of the gallery,
which, with the exception of slight
dampness on the ground, was quite dry
and clean, was laid car track by which
tie Workmen pass IN and out. Along
the narrow passage We walked single
file. the lights from our lanterns pene-
trating the gloom before us, until we
came to flight of 126 steps leading into
a sort of hollowed-out chamber. From
here the dug-out gangWays, WITH car
tracks in each, led off in every direction
to different parts of the mountain. Into
one of these we plunged, the dark salt
crystal glistening as we passed. In
comparing the muddy-looking salt
in its crude state with the pure
white salt of our tables, we can
realize what purifying process it must
undergo before it is fit for use. AS we
penetrated further into the heart of the
mountain. however, the percentage of
salt became SO great that only the traces
OF powder used in blasting prevented
the crystal walls from appearing quite
white. Through tunnels that grew
saltier and more salty, we assembled an
other flight of steps and were then IN
the gallery above the one we had en-
tered. To give an idea of the extent of
these great show mines of the world,
the guide told us that there were five
stories of worked-out galleries above
us. extending Tor miles in the mountain
in all directions, and still the inexhausta-
bic store exists to unknown heights and
depths As from % 900 to 30 900 tons of
salt per annum is supplied from here,
as well as QUO tons Of rock salt for cat
tie, one can well believe that this one
mountain could supply the whole world
with that useful commodity.
Upon descending another of the in
terminable stairWays cut in the rock, a
weird and beautiful sight burst upon us.
A deep and briny lake lay here in the
bowels of the earth, its borders defined
by the hundreds of twinkling lights that
the miners had placed there, and which,
reflected in the black pool, double d and
redoubled and lighted mysteriously the
lofty chamber out of which the lake was
followed. The scene was SO weird and
fantastic that we might we'll have fancied
ourselves IN another and not better
world. The lanterns threw ftful CLEANS
over our strange attire and lighted
astonished faces. Was this the River
Styx, and was that .Charon waiting to
row us over? For there was boat and
we were to continue this fancIful pro-
gramme by entering it and being pad
died across the iDky lake. Surprises
were in store for us on every side, and,
as we landed on the other side, tiny
fountain shot out of the water shower
of glittering spray that cleaned and
spanked in the many lights, complet-
ing a scene very like some spectacular
drama. There are many OF these great
pools in the mountain, but only this
one is exhibited to visitors. The water
is letsin fresh from the mountain above,
and is allowed to lie until thoroughly
impregnated with salt, when it is car
RED off in pipes to the village of llso-
gang, about four miles distant. There
It is raised to the top of mountain, to
flow down twenty long miles to Reich
entail. where it is evaporated and the
crystallized salt ground for table use.
From the lake we still wandered like
a procession of lost souls cropping our
way through purgatory. A deep pit
soon 90" barred the way. and here the use
s 81 the ea stout leather seats became seen.
We were to be shot down slippery
board into the dark regions below, very
much as If we had been Wneel5aTrow 0