78 FORESTRY IN EASTERN RUSSIA. 



tion ; and so the iron industry has spread from these two 

 fountain heads to its present great proportions. Copper 

 mining was not undertaken in the country until a later 

 date. The now famous mine of Nijni Tagil, the first of 

 any importance of any that was opened, was not worked 

 on till 1814. It was on the site of one of Demidoff's 

 original works, and is owned by the descendants ef Demi- 

 doff's family to this day. It was soon discovered that all 

 the country on the Asiatic side of the Ural mountains, 

 from a point a long way to the north of Tagil to another 

 close upon Orenburg in the south, abounded with copper 

 ore. A number of mines were quickly opened on this 

 line of country, and many copper works erected. 



' The immediate descendants of the two great black- 

 smiths, of DemidorT and of BotachofF, found themselves 

 enormously wealthy beyond all necessity of enterprise or 

 exertion. They acquired great influence in the Empire, 

 were raised to the nobility, and appointed to high offices 

 of State by the Imperial Government. Their attention 

 was thus withdrawn from the sources of their greatness, 

 and the management of their mines, left to the hands of 

 subordinates, deteriorated. As time rolled on, other 

 people began to open copper mines and iron foundries in 

 competition with theirs ; prices and profits were reduced, 

 but the two families, accustomed to greatness, neither 

 applied themselves to maintain the efficiency of their 

 mines, nor to reduce their personal expenditure, which 

 exceeded the income they derived from them. They soon 

 began to borrow large sums on the mortgage of their 

 properties, chiefly to the Government, but in part to any- 

 body who would make them a loan, and thus many of 

 their works came into the hands of the Government. 



' The families of the Demidoffs and Botachoffs, in their 

 system of borrowing at all hands, were soon embarrassed 

 to meet the payments of interest as they fell due ; and 

 the Government readily took advantage of their default, 

 by taking the estates and works of the insolvent families 

 into its own management ; nominally still for the benefit 



