The Mines and its WondersKingston, William Henry Giles
History
The Mines and its Wonders
Kingston, William Henry Giles
Miners -- Juvenile fiction; Mines and mineral resources -- Juvenile fiction; Mothers and sons -- Juvenile fiction
A frame of boards, raised to a sufficient height above the spring-tides,
and rendered water-tight by pitch and oakum, was placed above the mouth
of the shaft. Its sides were supported by stout props in an inclined
direction. At the top of this wooden construction, which was twenty
feet in height, a platform of boards was secured, on which a windlass
was placed. The water was now pumped out of the mine and the machinery
set to work; but the sea penetrated through the fissures of the rock,
and greatly added to the labour of the workmen, while during the winter
months, on account of the swell, it was impossible to convey the tin ore
to the beach. Notwithstanding all these difficulties, the persevering
projector was rewarded by obtaining many thousand pounds worth of tin.
At length, during a gale, an American vessel broke from her moorings,
and demolished the machinery by striking against the stage, when the
water rushing in filled the mine. An attempt has been made of late
years to again work the mine with improved machinery, but the venture
not proving profitable it has been abandoned.
The travellers also visited the curious Carclaze tin mine near the town
of Saint Austell. It is a prodigious hollow or basin, nearly thirty
fathoms in depth and a mile in circumference, and has the appearance of
a natural crater rather than a hollow made by human hands.
The sides are almost perpendicular, and a few footpaths alone lead down
amid the rocks to the bottom. In every direction are seen the hollows
made by the miners of ancient days, the white colour of the granite
veined with the darker metalliferous streaks, and the curious shape of
the rocks formed by the streams flowing down its sides, give it a
remarkably picturesque appearance.
The machinery used for crushing the rock is set in motion by these
streams. On every side the men, women, and children employed on the
works are seen moving about in all directions, like a busy colony of
ants. The ore is obtained without much difficulty.
A tunnel has been formed at the bottom of the mine through which the
waters flow after they have performed their task, which also carries
away the crushed granite, while the heavier metalliferous substances are
precipitated into the troughs. Neither engine-house nor chimneys such
as are seen in other mines are visible, while every detail of the work
is exposed to view--indeed, the huge basin has the appearance of a mine
completely turned inside out.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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