1850
Topography of the Province of Schuen.
327
Such a large number of pits requires also a large supply of coal, and various sorts of it exist in the country. The beds vary from one to five inches in thick- ness. The subterranean descent which conducts to the interior of the mine is sometimes so rapid that the workmen convey themselves into it by means of ladders made of bamhoo, and it occasionally happens that a workınan in order that he may commit suicide without perishing alone, lets himself fall from the top of the ladder, by which means he kills a dozen or more of the unfortunate persons who follow him. The coal is found in large pieces. These mines contain generally a large amount of the inflammable air of which I have al- ready spoken and lamps can not safely be lighted in them. The miners grope their way along in the dark, their path being imperfectly lighted with a mix- ture of punk-wood and resin which burns without flame and is not easily extinguished. In boring the small pits of salt, they find sometimes, at the depth of several hundreds of feet, beds of coal of considerable thickness. but they are afraid to open these great mines, because they are ignorant of the method of making use of powder for this purpose, and because also they fear that they shall meet with so much water, that their labor would be useless, When the salt-pits have reached the depth of a thousand feet, a bituminous oil is usually met, which burns in water. Between four or five jars of it can be collected in a day, each weighing a hundred pounds. This oil is very offensive; it is used to illuminate the place where the pits are, and heat the caldrons of salt water. The magistrates frequently purchase some thousands of jars of it for calcining rocks under water which endanger the navigation of the rivers. When a boat is shipwrecked, they dip a flint-stone in this oil, then set it on fire, and throw it into the water. Then a diver, or quite as of- ten a thief, goes down to seek for what is of most value in the boat, for this submarine lamp shines with perfect facility under water.
If I were better acquainted with natural science, I would give you an account of this inflammable and subterraneous gas; I can not think that it proceeds from a subterranean volcano, for it must be kindled itself; and when once lighted, the flame can not be put out except by means of a ball of clay laid on the mouth of the tube, or by a violent and sudden gust of wind. Mountebanks fill bladders with this gas, and carry them to other places, where they pierce a hole in one with a needle, and light them with a candle to amuse the simple people. I think that this air is a gas or bituminous ex- halation, for the flame is very offensive, and gives off a black and thick smoke. The Chinese, Christians as well as pagans, believe it to be the fire of hell, and have a great horror of it; and in fact, it is much more intense than ordinary fire. These coal mines and salt-pits furnish labor to an im- mense number of people. There are some wealthy individuals who own as many as a hundred pits; but such colossal fortunes are soon dissipated. The father accumulates an estate, and the children speedily squander it in gam- ing or debauchery. What better can we expect of heathens?
The people at Canton have learned from the English the art of employing salts in their glass-manufacture, but the glass is inferior, and delicate as a musical glass. These salts are also used for dyeing. The Chinese of Sz'chuen have only one good color, viz. blue, in which men and women all clothe them- selves; they have no colored or flowered stuffs. The indigo of the province is very good cloth is dipped only once, and then put into a solution of salts, and the tint is set so well that our garmente may be washed again and again, and the color is not washed out, or only very slightly. The salt is used also in the manufacture of porcelain, but none of this is made in this province, it being imported from Kiángsi. The salt is obtained by cutting up small trees and bushes, and burning them green as they are, for dry wood produces a much less quantity of salt. The ashes are then leached, and the water collected and evaporated.
(To be continued).