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Catherineberg June 1781.
At last I have found time to leave my works going on at Nigno Taghil and to
come to see what remains to be seen at this place and to visit some mines and
fabricks in the neighbourhood. In coming I made a round of 40 or 50 versts to
see the quarry from which the fabricks in this part of the country are supplied
with a particular sort of stone preferred for the building of the furnaces made
use of in the smelting the ore. During my absence from this place General
Chicherin late Governor of Siberia stopt a week here in his return to Petersburgh
and as the house I had & now have possession of is the best and belongs to a friend of his he
took up his quarters in it! I found my things all put out of the order in which I
had left them. I had left one of the Soldiers which I have with me to take care
of my things but in my absence he has turned drunken, and I shall think myself
lucky if nothing is lost. Almost every thing stealable was locked up. It is only
such things as specimens of mines &c which I collect in my way that through carelessness
may be lost. A portable Barometer made on a plan of my own is broken.
The only accident I have had of any consequence is a very extraordinary one. I had
ten pieces of the gold coin of this country called imperials each worth 10 roubles which
I thought when I took them might possible be a resource in case of the destruction which might happen from fire &c
of the rest of my money, which according to the custom of the country I took in paper.
In the same box, though in another part of it, was a phial of some very pure mercury
which I had procured before I set out for the purpose of making some experiments on
the cold in winter. I had occasion to have this box brought me whi to Nigo Taghil.
The carriage in which it was brought was overturned the phial of mercury broke
the mercury found its way to the a good deal of it up and run away
with it and broke the greatest part into small pieces. It damaged also a silver
and gilt snuff box and some other things. Three of the imperials may pass the rest
are in morcels and as the gold Coin falls short of its relative as well as intrinsic
value near half the value will be lost. I have thus learnt that in practice
Gold is destructible as well as paper. The latter would have kept company with
the mercury very peaceably.
The Land about here is by no means
unfertile whatever the Abbe Chappe may say to the contrary. I saw yesterday
one very promising crop of corn and all the ground which I saw cleared of
wood produces something: where nothing is sown there comes a fine thick high grass.
The rivers abound with fish but in the woods particularly are swarming
with muskitoes when it is rainy or there is much wind one suffers no
inconveniency from them I cant conceive what becomes of them then: but when
it is clear and calm It is impossible to sit or stand still for them. In a
carriage or on horseback you go too swift form them to settle on you at their
ease but the instant you stop they being their attack: They are then not to be
frightened off not will they quit their prey till you kill them or strike them off.
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Identifier: | JB/539/196/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 539.
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1781-07-10 |
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539 |
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196 |
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001 |
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Correspondence |
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Samuel Bentham |
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