108 A MINING SCENE. 
tom, what should greet my vision but a mule, 
puffing and writhing, firmly bound to a huge 
board constructed for the purpose, and looking 
about as demure upon the whole asa sheep un- 
der the shears. On being untied, the emanci- 
pated brute suddenly sprang to his feet, and 
looked around him at the bright scenes of the 
upper world with as much astonishment as Rip 
Van Winkle may be supposed to have felt 
after waking up from his twenty years’ sleep. 
The ore which is obtained from these mines, 
if sufficiently rich to justify the operation, is 
transferred to the smelting furnaces, where 
the pure metal is melted down and extracted 
from the virgin fossil. - If, on the contrary, the 
ore is deemed of inferior quality, it is then 
submitted to the process of amalgamation. 
