But hardly anything was known of the other mineral riches of the mountain range. It did not take a long time for sharp-eyed engineers to discover the existence of iron and copper, and further research showed that they were to be found in large quantities. As soon as the facts were known, the government determined to work the mines on its own responsibility, until their riches could be demonstrated, and private parties induced to operate on their own account and risk. [Sidenote: THE FIRST MINERAL EXPLORATION.] The first mineral exploration of this region was made by Nikite Demidoff, in 1701 or 1702. Peter the Great sent him there from Tula, a place which has since become of considerable importance as a manufacturing center. He had a very clear head for his business, and went at it in earnest, and the result is seen to-day in the immense prosperity of the mines. As a reward for his industry, the emperor gave him a grant of territory amounting to nearly five thousand square miles, with whatever mineral or other wealth might be found there. This princely estate has remained ever since in the possession of the Demidoff family, and has made it the richest family of all Russia, with the exception of the Romanoffs (the Imperial House). It has been admirably controlled, and the owners have spared no pains or expense to secure the most intelligent direction and management. They have conducted everything on a liberal scale; the towns and villages which they have built up are among the prettiest, neatest, and most comfortable in all Russia. In this last particular they are worthy of imitation everywhere, and many great establishments in Europe and America would be, to-day, more prosperous if they followed the example of the Demidoffs. There are some prominent instances of manufacturing or mining prosperity growing in part from an attention to the wants of the workman, the education of his children, and a general regard for his welfare. The most notable one now occurring to me is that of the Fairbanks Scale Works in Vermont, whose products have obtained a world-wide fame. They have built up upon what was the wilderness, a prosperous town, with schools, libraries, lecture and reading rooms, and they have given inducements for their workmen to be industrious and economical, and become house-owners in their own right. The Fairbanks Brothers never heard, perhaps, of the Demidoffs, but they have followed almost the same course, and with the same result. Every year the Demidoffs select several of the brightest youths in each village, and send them to the mining schools of St. Petersburg, and also to France, England, and other countries. These spend several years away from the Ourals, and when they return they bring a stock of very valuable knowledge which is of great practical use. In my journey through Russia, I visited the mining regions of the Oural, and also of the Altai Mountains, and was greatly interested in what I saw.