18 
THE BED MOUNTAIN OF ALASKA, 
" Now, shall we have supper ? The griddle-cakes are 
hot/' said Mrs. Button, plaintively, taking advantage of 
the silence, and playing her highest card. In vain ! Even 
Teddy testified with open mouth and round, light blue 
eyes to his interest in the subject. 
The vote was none the less emphatic because unex- 
pressed in words. The reading continued. 
" Cinnabar is worked to a considerable extent in only 
half a dozen spots on the globe — Spain (which supplies 
England), Idria, Peru, Japan, and one or two other places. 
It has been discovered in California. All the mines in 
the world, taken together, yield only a trifle over three 
thousand tons a year, including the new American 
mines. 
" No ore is so easily decomposed as cinnabar ; it is 
effected by direct exposure to the oxidizing flame of a 
furnace, the mercury vapor being collected in condensers. 
I believe the metal can be even more economically sepa- 
rated by the use of an iron retort in which it can be 
readily volatilized, without the escape of vapors. By the 
old way, nearly half is wasted in the process. 
" Now as to its value. This varies largely from year to 
year. It runs from fifty cents to two dollars a pound, 
avoirdupois. One dollar a pound, or two thousand 
dollars a ton, would be a low average. 
" But a ton, you say, is an enormous amount. Thirty 
tons is a hundreth part of the world's annual product. 
