THE riXE OF TDE CONTINENTS. 3 SO 



The party remained at Jekatharinenburg four weeks, 

 making excursions to the mines in its vicinity. They 

 visited the gold mines of Schabrowski and Beresowsk, 

 and the copper mines of Gumeschewskoi, and penetrated 

 as far northward as jSTischne Tagilsk. Nischne Tagilsk 

 and the whole district for some eight thousand square 

 versts belonged to the Demidoif family. Their ancestor, 

 Netika Demidoff, was a common blacksmith at Tula, poor 

 and obscure, until Peter the Great, in 1702, made him a 

 present of Magnetberg, a recently discovered magnetic 

 mountain, and the iron forges of Newjansk. This was 

 the foundation of Nischne Tagilsk, and the fortunes of 

 the family. 



Nischne Tagilsk was one of the richest mining dis- 

 tricts in the world. At two versts distance from it stood 

 the Magnetberg, which supplied all the surrounding 

 forges with ore, and in the immediate neighbourhood 

 were copper ores, and mines of gold and platina. 



Between Tscherno-Istotschinsk and Kuschwinsk, a 

 lofty plateau separated the waters of Europe and Asia. 

 On the east rose the springs of Bobrowka, a rivulet flow- 

 ing into the Tagel ; on the west those of the Wissim, 

 which flowed into the Utka and Tschussowaja. ISTear 

 the centre of this plateau stood a majestic pine, with the 

 words "Asia," and "Europe" carved on the right and 

 left sides. It was the guide post of two continents. 



Not far from Kuschwinsk, which was the seat of the 

 Imperial Iron Works, there was a second mountain of 

 magnetic iron. It was called Gora Blagodat, or the 

 Blessed Mountain. Its existence was made known to 

 the Eussians by a Wogul, named Tschumpkin, who was 

 afterwards burned alive on it by his enraged countrymen^ 



