on of the principal silver mine--somewhat on the plan of
Barnum's "Niagara with Real Water"--was shown me in the museum. In
general features the mines are not materially unlike silver mines
elsewhere. There are shafts, adits, and levels just as in the mines of
Colorado and California. The Russians give the name of _priesk_ to a
mine where gold is washed from the earth. The silver mine with its
shafts in the solid rock is called a _roodnik._ As before stated, the
word _zavod_ is applied to foundries, smelting works, and
manufactories in general.

Colonel Filoff invited the doctor and myself to visit the zavod at
Barnaool on the second day after our arrival. As he spoke no language
with which I was familiar, the colonel placed me in charge of a young
officer fluent in French, who took great pains to explain the _modus
operandi_. The zavod is on a grand scale, and employs about six
hundred laborers. It is enclosed in a large yard with high walls, and
reminded me of a Pennsylvania iron foundry or the establishment just
below Detroit. A sentry at the gate presented arms as we passed, and I
observed that the rule of no admittance except on business was rigidly
enforced.

[Illustration: IN THE MINE.]

In the yard we were first taken to piles of ore which appeared to an
unpracticed eye like heaps of old mortar and broken granite. These
piles were near a stream which furnishes power for moving the
machinery of the establishment. The ore was exposed to the air and
snow, but the coal for smelting was carefully housed. There were many
sheds for storage within easy distance of the furnaces. The latter
were of brick with tall and substantial chimneys, and the outer walls
that surrounded the whole were heavily and strongly built. Charcoal
is burned in consequence of the cheapness and abundance of wood. I was
told that an excellent quality of stove coal existed in the vicinity,
and would be used whenever it proved most economical. Nearly all the
ore contains copper, silver, and lead, while the rest is deficient in
the last named article. The first kind is smelted without the addition
of lead, and sometimes passes through six or seven reductions. For the
ore containing only copper and silver the process by evaporation of
lead is employed. Formerly the lead was brought from Nerchinsk or
purchased in England, the land transport in either case being very
expensive. Several years ago lead was found in the Altai mountains,
and the supply