Holes are dug at regular intervals, on the system I have already described in the mines of the Yenesei.  The rocks in and around the valley are carefully examined for traces of silver, and many specimens have been collected for the geological cabinet at Barnaool.  Maps are made showing the locality of each test hole in the valley, and the spot whence every specimen of rock is obtained.  On the return of the party its reports and specimens are delivered to the mining bureau.  The ores go to the laboratory to be assayed, and the specimens of rock are carefully sorted and examined.

Gold washings are conducted on the general plan of those in the Yeneseisk government, the details varying according to circumstances.  A representation 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 is now sufficient for all purposes.