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would surely be enough to keep us from dying of
hunger for a week or fortnight and that on any supposition
whatever either the same or other men would
come to see what was become of us in that time.
We had not however had the pleasure of making our reflections
in this situation above half an hour, when a glimmering light
appeared towards the way out. In any country but this
(not excepting England) I should have been under
some anxiety at the instant of seeing the light as doubting whether it
might be friends or foes who brought it. It proved to be two
boys whose business had been to look after the horses which
were left near the mouth of the Cavern, and whom the men
had sent to us in their room stead. We could learn nothing
from these boys as to the reason why why the men had left us: all that they
could tell us was that they were lain down to sleep
on the outside of the cavern by a good fire. Although I was determined
not to quit this place till I had explored
all the turnings & windings in it, yet I thought the
most certain way of getting the men back again was
to go & fetch them: therefore loading ourselves with some
of the choicest stones we had collected we made our way
out to the open air; there true enough we found the men all
asleep before a large fire. the reasons they gave were
for leaving us were simple enough. They were too tired
to another days fatigue without sleeping
and not sleep in so cold a place. You must
understand the Russian peasants are used to sleep in
a degree of heat which would be very disagreeable to
those not accustomed to it. They said they had left 6
candles burning and had sent the 2 boys as soon as
they could. I staid half an hour by their fire
and in the mean time divided my company into
3 fo detatchments for the purpose of taking different
courses for the better exploring all the parts of the
cave. I cut a great number of pieces of paper of 3 different figures
of which each took detatchment took a separate
figure so as that by scattering these pieces of paper
in the way one party might know where the other
had been. Thus prepared we returned to our subterraneous
employment. We were now so well exercised in
the scrambling up & down the steep places that in about
7 or 8 hours there was not a hole but what some part
of the company had been in: after which collecting together
the stones which we had chosen selected from different
parts we with no small pains made our way out with
them, and set off on our return. The colour of our
cloaths skins and everything we had about us, however
different they might before have been were now all alike.
After all then in this said Cave I could find no ap
indications of its ever having served for habitation for men
or beasts. Nothing alive was to be found but Batts or
winged mice and gnats. The former were in great plenty
the latter who most likely had taken shelter there on
the approach of the winter, were but in small quantity
and those though they settled on ones hands & face had
not seemingly strength enough to bite.
All I got then from for this my pains were (besides
a good collection of the calcaneous chrystalizations
& stalactites before such as had already been procured from this cave)
were some specimens of one or two sorts of the same genus of which
such as I had not seen in the possession of anybody else.
It was an affair of 5 days.
At my return I happened to come to
on the day when the new code of laws was promulgated mode of Jurisprudence took
place in consequence of the opening of the new Government
of Perme, of which this is one of the dependent towns.
There was no passing without spending that day
and greatest part of the next there. At this place there is at present
the name, buildings, and th rich pontifical habits
only remaining of a very rich Monastery founded
and kept up at an enormous Expence by the gift of
Strogonof's Grandfather. The present Empress
has put all the monasteries into much
hands, and left the poor Archimandite to say
his prayers on 300 roubles a year. He pressed
me to come to his house which is nearly enough
furnished, and he gave us several sorts of wines:
when he spoke of former times, he could not help
fetching a sigh.
Leaving Solikamskaja in
about 3 hours we came to the Saltworks belonging
to the Crown. there I spent one whole
day in informing myself of ad the whole of the
process and discovering some writings about it.
Next day I crossed the water to Baron Strogonof's
and spent 3 days there watching every part of
the process and taking notes of it. The mechanism
as well as Chemical operations are so unsatisfactorily
executed, that the details are not worth telling
you.
Holes are bored in the earth about 40
fathoms deep, the lower parts of which are large enough
to admit the insertion of a wooden pipe about 4 inches diameter
inside. These pipes grow larger as they are higher
up, and above the middle moves a piston. A very strong
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Identifier: | JB/539/269/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 539.
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1782-01-02 |
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539 |
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269 |
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001 |
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Correspondence |
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Samuel Bentham |
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