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FOREST SCENE.-MORASS.

with a thick mossy turf beneath, in many places covered with flowers; among them were large beds of geranium, and fine clumps of peony in full bloom.

Having crossed this lovely little spot, quite park-like in its appearance, we began to ascend a steep and rugged hill, and in about half an hour were at the foot of the granite crags, to the summits of which I soon climbed. They were cut or split into several pinnacles; some had been struck with lightning, and their fragments scattered around; and others appeared ready to topple over and bound into the valley below. Dwarf cedars and young pines were growing out of the clefts. There were also large patches of dark green and yellow moss, with tufts of white and purple flowers, contrasting beautifully with the dark red of the granite.

To the north the jagged top of the Katchkanar was seen; also Pavdinska Kamen. Still farther away, and almost lost in the distance, were three other peaks, covered with snow; below these desolate, rocky summits was a dark, solitary, and apparently trackless forest, undisturbed by any sound except the shrill voice of the large, red-crested woodpecker. Having sat on these rocks about half an hour, contemplating this grand and gloomy scene, we returned to our horses, and rode down the west side of the mountain into a deep and thickly-wooded valley. At the bottom we found a small stream, and, following its course downward, at length came upon a fine open space, with plenty of grass for our horses. Here we dismounted, and turned them loose to feed, while we sat down on the bank under some large trees and partook of the good things provided for us. Any lover of the gentle craft would have found excellent sport on this little stream. The grayling were very numerous, and constantly springing at the flies playing over the pool at our feet. One of my men caught three with a loop of horse-hair. Our horses had a rest of two hours, and then we started again, still following the stream, until we entered a dark and gloomy valley. Our ride was now over bog and fen, in which our horses floundered amid fallen trees in all stages of decay, often sinking to the saddle-flaps in mire. In about two hours we got through this terrible morass, with our steeds completely jaded. At length we were once more on hard ground near a rapid stream, which ran tumbling and roaring over large stones.

MUSQUITOES.-NEW ROAD.—PLATINUM MINES.

77

One of my men now discovered where we were, and said we could not ride to the Zavod, even with fresh horses, before sunset. A short rest was absolutely necessary for our tired animals before pushing on farther.

The musquitoes were here in millions: this compelled us to make a fire and a great smoke to keep them at a distance. The poor horses stood with their heads in the smoke also, as a protection against these pests. To remain long on this spot would have subjected us to a degree of torment neither man nor beast could endure, so we were soon obliged to retreat. I wish I could say that we left the enemy in possession of the field. Not so; they pursued us with bloodthirsty pertinacity until we reached some open meadows, when they were driven back into their fenny region by a breeze-I hope to prey on each other. Our tired horses pricked up their ears, we saw the smoke at no great distance, and a little after nine o'clock rode into the Zavod, to the great joy of the entire cavalcade, after seventeen hours in the for

ests.

The director of these works received me most kindly, freely giving me, as usual, every possible accommodation, and treating me with the greatest liberality.

The next morning I took leave of my hospitable host, and commenced my journey toward the upper ridge of the Oural. From this Zavod to Nijne Tagilsk a new road is being formed, almost in a straight line across the mountains, and must now be completed. It is a great work, and will make a splendid road from Nijne Tagilsk quite across the Oural Mountains to OutkinskaDemidoff Pristan, on the Tchoussowaia. The whole produce of the mines at Tagilsk, and of the other zavods belonging to Demidoff, are conveyed to the pristan along this road, but the greater part is taken during winter on sledges.

After riding a few versts in this direction, we turned off to visit the platinum mines near the crest of the Oural. The alluvium is found in small ravines or depressions running up toward the summit of the mountain in masses of detritus, composed principally of fragments of serpentine, and small portions of greenstone, drifted down from the higher peaks. The platinum has of late years been found in small grains; formerly it was obtained in fragments of different sizes, weighing from one to twelve ounces, and even more. There is one rare example, a piece weighing near ten

78

EXTENSIVE MORASS.-NIJNE TAGILSK.

pounds. I was exceedingly fortunate in procuring a curiously formed specimen weighing more than a quarter of a pound.

From these mines I determined to cross the high ridge, ride through the forest, and strike the road on the eastern side of the chain. My men thought we should encounter many difficulties: still, they did not hesitate to comply with my wish; so we turned our horses' heads up the ravine. A ride of one hour and a half brought us to the summit, which was covered with thick forest; but there were no rocks or crags from which we could obtain even a peep into Asia. The descent was much more precipitous than on the western side; in some places it was very abrupt; indeed, it gave us so much trouble that we were compelled to turn to the south and ride toward the new road. In rather more than an hour we emerged from the forest, and were glad to turn our horses toward Tagilsk. We had not gone more than a verst when we found the road extended over a wooden bridge for sevcral versts across a deep morass. Had we continued our course in the forest, this would have given us much trouble, and stopped us most probably at a time when our horses would have been tired out, and then we should have had to remain in this morass exposed to the attacks of our late tormentors. After crossing the bridge and riding a short distance, we descended into a beautiful little valley, down which the Tchernoy winds its course. From this point our road was still through woods, and most uninteresting. At seven o'clock we arrived at Tagilsk, and I was delighted to enter the hospitable house appointed for strangers, where I received from the director the greatest kindness and attention, with every facility to enable me to sketch the scenery in and around the Zavod. Horses and men were placed at my service, and a gentleman who had spent several years in England was appointed to accompany me wherever I wished to go.

Nijne Tagilsk, the principal Zavod of the Demidoff family, is a large town, with a population of about 25,000 souls, and stands in a picturesque situation in the valley of the River Tagil, comprising many elegant buildings of brick and stone; among them is a fine church, containing some beautiful paintings; also a splendid edifice of large dimensions, in which the administration of the mines is carried on; capacious and well-conducted hospitals for the workmen; large and excellent schools for the educa

tion of youths and younger children; vast warehouses for copper, iron, and other materials, with corn, flour, groceries, clothing, and every thing required for the population; good and spacious houses for the directors and chief managers, and very comfortable dwellings for the workmen and their families.

The smelting furnaces, forges, rolling mills, machine shops, and other works, with their machinery, are on a magnificent scale. The various machines and tools are of the best description, some being from the first manufactories in England. Others are made in the works, under the superintendence of a very talented young engineer, a native of Tagilsk, who had spent several years in one of the best establishments in Lancashire. The manner in which these works are conducted reflects the highest credit on the director and his assistants in every department.

Anatole Demidoff spares no expense in educating those young men of Tagilsk, or of any other of his Zavods, who show any talent for geology, mineralogy, or mechanics. He has sent several to England and France, allowing them ample means, and affording them every opportunity of pursuing their studies; to some he

80

MAGNETIC IRON ORE.-COPPER.

has already given their freedom, and many of his people in Tagilsk have become wealthy. He has also employed some of the most eminent scientific men of Europe to survey and examine the mines and minerals in these regions.*

Both iron and copper are worked in this Zavod on an extensive scale. About two versts from the works, Vessokgora, or high hill, rises up from three to four hundred feet above the valley; near the top, and on the sides of this hill, magnetic iron ore has been extracted from a very remote period, most probably ages before the first Demidoff planted his foot on the Oural. The greater quantity is met with in a small valley on the western side of the hill, where it is being worked in an open quarry. Here lies an inexhaustible supply of this valuable mineral. The enormous mass of iron ore found on this spot is about eighty feet thick, and extends about four hundred feet in length. There is material for these iron-works for ages yet to come. Formerly a great difference of opinion was entertained among scientific men about the origin of this mound of mineral. My attendant from the works, a good practical geologist, informed me that there was no doubt these masses of ore have flowed into the valley from fissures in the adjacent hill.

About one and a half verst distance from the iron quarry the copper mines exist; the latter ore is obtained by sinking shafts to near three hundred feet deep. It was in the year 1812 that the copper was first discovered at Tagilsk; since that period the mines have been found very productive, and worked to great advantage. The most singular and beautiful product of these mines is the malachite. The doors, vases, and other works displayed in the Great Exhibition of 1851, made of this mineral, sufficiently attest its varied color and beauty as a material for works of ornament. On visiting this region I expressed a wish to see this mineral in its natural state, and the director immediately gave orders that I should descend and see the men at work in the mines.

A few years before my arrival in the Oural Mountain an enormous mass of malachite had been discovered at Tagilsk, and men

* Sir R. I. Murchison says, in his "Geology of the Oural," "At Nijne Tagilsk. and the country around, to which Anatole Demidoff is now applying so much scientific research, we doubt not he will render it a school where some of the most curious metallurgical processes of nature can be best studied."