77 ^ 
Dr. Br OWN E’i' ’D’r cruel s. 
Book II. 
ral Quedions'I aik’d him about the- natural Vitriol, 
which he told me was to be found in feveral Mines 
hereabouts, cryftaIJized in Lumps, and fit for Ufe j but 
efpeciaJly in a certain Mine near Schemnitz, now gwen 
over by Reafon of the Earth’s falling in, in feveral Pla- 
ces. About two or three Days after he came to me at 
Schemnitz, and having brought along with him, Lamps, 
and Minemens Habits for me and two more, we went 
together into the Mine, where he fhew’d me the Vitriol 
fhooting upon the Stones and Earth, nay, upon the 
Floor and Sides of the Pafiages, in the fame Manner 
as it does in the Pans, and about the Sticks, not hang- 
ing from the Top like to Icicles, as I have feen in fe- 
veral Places before. Glafs-HHten belongs to the Earl of 
hippey^ of whofe Family was the famous Polycarpiis 
Procopius Bocanus^ who being fent by the Archbi- 
fhop of Presburgh, to invefligate the Curiofities of 
thefe Countries, died before his Obfervations came 
to Light. 
32. Eifenbach^ not above four Englijh Miles from hence, 
and about fix from Schemnitz, has alfo hot Baths, with a 
red Sediment, and containing a confiderable C^antity 
of petrifying Juice, as may be feen by the Timber on 
the Sides of the Bath, fome of the lowermoft of which, 
near the Water, were quite turn’d into Stone ; it bears 
the Spout through which the Spring was convey’d into 
the Bath, being under Water, though of. Wood, yet 
not in the lead; changed, the Reafon of which muft be 
afcrib’d to the volatile Particles of thefe Waters, which 
are carried immediately upwards with their Exhalations. 
I remember, that in the Bath of the Green Pillars at 
Buda^ thefe Vapours condenfed by the high Cupola built 
over it, and on the Irons extended from one Column to 
another, and on the Capitals of the Pillars were form- 
ed into long Stones like Icicles, hanging to all thofe 
Places, fuch as I have obferved in many fubterraneous 
Grotto’s,' and efpecially in England., in Okey-bok in So- 
merfetjhtre., and Pooles-hole in Derhyflme. 
This is evident from the fulphureous Parts contained 
in thefe Waters, which howev^er are not difcoverable, 
if you either boil or evaporate the Bath-water, as being 
carried away with the Steam *, and nothing is more com- 
paon than to fee the Sulphur of the hot Water flick on 
many Places over the Ba/h. I perfeiflly remember, that 
leaning one Day over the Balifters of the Lower Bath 
at Baden., I found my Buttons, which were of Plate, 
tinged by the fulphureous Particles, of a fair Gold-co- 
lour, though at a good Diflance from the Water. 
This Accident tempted me to the Trial of another Ex- 
periment, n)iz. I took Care to hang fome Money at one 
or two Foot Diflance, which was colour’d likewife in 
lefs than a Minute *, which made me conclude, that its 
petrifying Quality confided chiefly in its volatile Parti- 
cles. I brought away with me feveral Pieces of this 
petrified Water, of five or fix Inches Diameter. But 
to return to Eifenbach. It has in all three Baths ; two 
of which are conveniently built ; the third made by the 
Water let out of the former, is called the Snake-bath, 
from the Number of Snakes coming into it immediate- 
ly after it is fill’d with thefe Waters. 
33. March 30. I fet out from Schemnitz, and taking 
my Way from Glafs- Bitten and Apfelsdorff (where the 
Archbifliop of Presburgh has a PalaceJ I afterwards paf- 
fed the River Gran, and travelling among the Moun- 
tains, I faw certain Entrenchments cafl up from one 
Ridge of the Mountains to the other, to defend chem- 
felves againfl any fudden Jncurfions •, then following the 
Traces of the fame yellow Silver, which owes its Colour 
to the Ore which it waflies above, we came to Chremnitz, 
Handing very high, efpecially the Church of St.John, 
at fome Diflance from it, which is fuppofed to Hand 
upon the higheft Ground in Hungary. The Town is 
but fmall, but the Suburbs are of a pretty large Com- 
•pafs. As the Mine here is the oJdefl, fo it,is t^e riched 
in Gold of all the feven in thefe Parts, which are, 
Schemniiz, Chremnitz, Bewfol, Komngsber^h, Bochantz. 
Jdbeten and PHh. 
The Gold Mine of Chremnitz has been work’d, for 
very near a thoufand Years, being nine or ten EngliJIo 
Mines in Length, ,Ic has one Cuuiculus or Hotizontnl 
Paflage, call’d the ErbUall of 800 Fathoms in Length, 
its Depth being at leafl; 170 Fathoms; into which they 
do not defcend by Ladders, but are let down in certain 
Seats of Leather, broad and conveniently contriv’d, 
faflned to the End of a Cable, by the gentle Turning of 
a Wheel, to which the other End of the Gable is fall- 
ned. _ This Mine has fix perpendicular Schachts, Shafts 
Pits, i ) That of Rud.olpbus, (2J of Queen Anne, 
(3) B^'edinand, (4J Matthias, (5) the Windfoacht, and 
( 6 ) Leopold. I went into the Mine by the firft, 108 
Fathom deep, and after many Hours Stay there, was 
drawn out again by Leopold'^ Schacht or Pit, in a ftrait' 
Line above 150 Fathoms, a Height furpaffing that of 
the Pyramids by a third Part. It was kept up on all 
Sides with fair Trees, laid upon one another from the 
Bottom to the Top, in the lame Manner as all the other 
Mines are here, that have not Rock on all Sides. Mod 
of the Veins run to the North and Eaft, and they work 
towards one, two or three, as they call it in the Miners 
Language, who direft themfelves Under-ground by a 
kind of Compafs, not of thirty two Points (as is ufe^ 
at Sea) but by one diflinguilh’d into twenty four, which 
they divide into twice twelve, as we do our Days, and 
fo compute by Hours. 
The Gold Ore is fome white, fome black, fome red 
and fome yellow ; but the white with black Spots is ac- 
counted the bed, as alfo the Ore next to the black 
Veins. As this Ore is not rich enough to be made 
Trial of in fmall Parcels, to invefligate the Proportion 
of the Gold it contains, fo they take another Way for 
the Proof thereof; by pounding a confiderable Quan- 
tity, and walhing it in a fmall River running by the 
Town ; which being branch’d out into feveral artificial 
Channels, runs over the Ore continually, and thus walk- 
ing away the earthy Part from the Metalline, becomes 
thereby tinged below the Town f after its PalTage over 
fo much Ore) with a dark yellow Colour, the fame 
with the Earth over which it runs. This is manifell at 
Chrijlmas, Easier and Whitjuntide, on each of which 
Feafts, the Miners ceafing from their ordinary Works 
in the Mines for two Days together, the River flows as 
clear below as it does above the Town. 
There have been Pieces of pure Gold found in this 
Mine, of which I have feen fome in the Emperor’s 
and Eleflor of Saxony*% Repofitories, one of the Breadth 
of the Palm of my Hand, others fomewhat lefs ; but 
thefe are elleemed great Rarities. The yellow Earth of 
the Grounds about Chremnitz, but efpecially of the Hills 
to the Town are not without Gold, \vhich is the Reafon 
that a great Part of one of thofe Hills is quite dig’d 
away, the Earth having been walk’d and managed in 
the fame Manner as the pounded Ore, not without good 
Profit. Matthias Bollinger, the Surveyor of the Mine 
at Chremnitz (who entertain’d me very obligingly) has 
of late found out a certain Engine to pound the Ore 
much finer than it was before ; by which Means they 
now obtain a confiderable Quantity of Gold out of that 
Ore, which otherwife would have yielded none. 
There are certain PalTages in this Mine, cut through 
the Rock, which being long difufed, the Sides which 
were formerly l^cious enough to carry the Ore through, 
were grown now fo near one another, that we were 
fcarce able to pafs. Their Way of conveying the Ore 
from Place to Place, or to the Bottom of the Pit(from^ 
whence it is drawn up) is performed by a certain Chelt. 
they call the Dog : It is higher behind than before, 
and runs upon four Wheels, having a Tongue of Iron 
at the Bottom, which being fitted into a Channel of 
Wood, cut in the Middle of the Bottom of each PaL 
fage, cannot deviate thence, fo that a little Boy runs 
with 300 or 400 Pounds Weight of Ore in the Chariot 
before him, without any Light, through thofe dark 
Pafiages with great Swiftnefs, and coming out, turns 
out the Ore upon the Ground, and fo back again, thro* 
the fame Way he came. They make Ufe of another 
Engine or Chefl, altogether like this, except that in- 
ftead of an Iron Tongue, it has four Rowicrs, befides 
the four Wheels ; v/ith this they carry the Ore from the 
Mouth of :he Mine, or down the Hills to the Bucbworke, 
(as they call it) where i| is pounded and walked, the 
^ ^ ' Wav 
