392 
Prof. Mil ne — Across Europe and Asia. 
are about twelve miles distant. The mineral here sought is gold. 
Hitherto in Siberia all workings for gold kave been by washing the 
alluvium, but here operations for the purpose of quartz mining are 
being carried on in an energetic manner, and at apparently con- 
siderable expense. From this fact, from the unusual mode in which 
the deposits occur, and I may add also from the historical associa- 
tions connected with the Beresovsk mines, it being to these mines 
that many of the early Siberian exiles were condemned, it will not 
be out of place for me to relate the little I saw and gleaned during 
several visits that I paid to them. 
For the privilege of making these visits, and for the kind kospi- 
tality I received whilst staying there, I kave to thank General 
Astershof, tkeir chief promoter, the resident director and engineer. 
My first journey to Beresovsk was on September llth. Owing 
to the breaking of the axle-tree of our carriage and a fall of 
snow, we were detained a considerable time upon the road. The 
greater part of the way is along a wide open Clearing tlirougk fir 
woods. Here and there I o'btained a view over a wide flattisli 
country, which appeared as if its surface had been overturned and 
washed at many points. As we neared the village of Beresovsk, 
which gives its name to the mines, I saw several freskly-opened 
pits and trenches, all indicative of gold-searching operations. The 
first discovery of this metal was made in the year 1745, when it 
was found at the same time by two men at places about 80 versts 
apart. At the outset all the workings were upon quartz reefs ; but 
in 1823, gold-bearing sand having been discovered, the quartz 
mining ceased, and the works assumed a new aspect. These 
alluvial washings no longer yiekling a profitable return, the work- 
ings are now reverting to tkeir old form. On the first day of my 
visit I was driven over the greater portion of the property, which 
covers about 56 square versts. This gave me a general topo- 
graphical idea of the country, which for the most part is a large 
plain, here and there sweeping upwards to form low mound-like 
liills. The whole of this is cut into deep trenches for costeaning 
purposes, which reach tkrough the alluvium down to the subjacent 
rock. From these trenches, and from various shafts which have 
been sunk, I think nearly fifty in all, I was very well able to see 
for myself, and realize the description which had been given to me 
by the mining engineer in Charge, of the circumstances under 
which the mineral bands occur. The surface soil, which appeared 
almost everywkere, was of varying thickness. In many plaöes it 
was very ferruginous, and looked as if it had been formed by the 
decomposition of the rocks beneath. There were other places 
wkere this superficial deposit had a character not unlike that formed 
in the bed of a river. In this latter, which was the aliuvium from 
which gold was originally washed, and which only occurs in isolated 
patches, I picked up specimens of white and pink quartz, chalce- 
dony, hornstone, greenstone, epidosite, green mica, beresite 
(which I shall again refer to), and also other stones. Beneath these 
superficial deposits there is a rock not unlike a talcose schist 
