. The boy travellers in the Russian empire: adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across ations, the firstbeing about two hundred feet belowthe surface, and the lowest nearlytwo thousand. The subterraneanpassages and halls are named aftervarious kings and emperors whohave visited them, or who were fa-mous at the time the passages wereopened, and altogether they coveran area of several square miles. Ina general way the salt - mines ofWieliczka may be said to be near-ly two miles square; but the endsof some of the passages are mo
. The boy travellers in the Russian empire: adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across ations, the firstbeing about two hundred feet belowthe surface, and the lowest nearlytwo thousand. The subterraneanpassages and halls are named aftervarious kings and emperors whohave visited them, or who were fa-mous at the time the passages wereopened, and altogether they coveran area of several square miles. Ina general way the salt - mines ofWieliczka may be said to be near-ly two miles square; but the endsof some of the passages are morethan two miles from the entranceof the nearest shaft. The entiretown of Wieliczka lies above themines which give occupation to itsinhabitants. There is probably more tim-ber beneath the surface at Wie-liczka than above it, as the roofsof the numerous passages are sup-ported by heavy beams; and the same is the case with the smaller the larger halls such support would be insufficient, and immense col-umns of salt are left in position. In several instances these pillars ofsalt have been replaced by columns of brick or stone, as they would be. A FOOT-PATH. 30 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. liable to be melted away during any accidental flooding of the mine,and allow the entire upper strata to tumble in. This has actually hap-jDened on one occasion, when a part of the mine was flooded and seriousdamage resulted. Our guide said the length of the passages, galleries, and halls w^asnearly four hundred English miles, and the greatest depth reached wastwo thousand four hundred feet. If w^e should visit all the galleries andpassages, and examine every object of interest in the mines, we should bedetained there at least three weeks. Not a single one of all the workmenhad been in every part of all the galleries of the mine, and he doubted ifthere was any oflicer attached to the concern who would not be liable tobe lost if left to himself. Kobody knows wdien these mines
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