VIII.

mass of native silver nearly six feet in length,
and in one part above eighteen inches in diame-
ter. Similar masses were discovered in the
year 1630, and in 1719, and in 1727, which
severally weighed from two hundred and fifty,
to two hundred and eighty, and three hundred
pounds, each. In the shaft called St. Andrew, a
piece of pure silver was found, in 1727, weigh-
ing two hundred and seventy-nine pounds; and,
in the same year, another, weighing three hun-
dred and four pounds, was found in God's-Bless-
ing shaft. These occasional masses, occurring
casually in the rock, and being soon interrupted
in their passage through it, or dwindling gradu-
ally to nothing, the miner must continue to dig
through the barren stone until he has the good
fortune to meet with more of the same nature,
which in one day may reward the fruitless
labour of months, and perhaps of
years. Pont-
oppidan says, that after the discouragements of
a long and fruitless toil through the barren inter-
stices of the mine, "it suddenly exhibits several
thousand pounds weight of silver, and thus dis-
charges all arrears and embarrassments, and
animates to further prosecution." Such was
the statement made by a writer in the middle
of the eighteenth century. According to the
account given to us by the present Governor,

130,000 dollars are coined annually from the produce of three mines. In general, 2300 men are employed, who earn each about a shilling a day of our money. This seems very little; but, in addition, the King always supplies the miners with corn at a fixed price, much below the average value. At this time, the price of rye, per ton, was six dollars and a half, and the miners were allowed rye at two dollars. The miners work from five to one o'clock, summer and winter. When they work in the afternoon, they are paid an extra allowance. There is generally employment for the children of the miners at twelve years of age. The principal bed of this mineral treasure is a mountain between two small rivers, the Kongsberg and the Jordal, which fall from the westward Blee-Field Alps into the Louven'. But the silver is not limited to this mountain; it extends its deposits for some miles throughout all the adjacent districts: this is proved by the new mines which from time to time have been undertaken in several places. The mine, or shaft, called Old God's Blessing, one of the most antient and most rich, has sometimes within a week yielded some hundreds of pounds of pure native metal. It is

(1) See the Map.

CHAP.

VIII.

Wages of

the Mines.

VIII.

Present Establish. ment.

CHAP. nearly two hundred fathoms in depth, and the circumference at the bottom forms a clear space of several hundred fathoms'. When Pontoppidan drew up his account of the Kongsberg mines, the annual produce amounted in value to a tun of gold and a half, and sometimes three quarters. The number of the officers of all ranks, the daily miners, labourers, and pensioners, exclusive of their children and families, who had their daily support here, according to the establishment, amounted to near five thousand persons'; and the number of all the inhabitants of Kongsberg, to between ten and eleven thousand souls. To the great number of officers, under the names of Intendants and Assessors, possessing salaries from Government, is owing the vast expense of these works to the nation. These officers, in fact, engross a considerable part of the profits; and if, as it is very possible, their number were to be reduced, the profits from the mines would be more sensibly felt. By dismissing a number of such persons, half of whom can only be considered as drones, and augmenting the number of miners, the working-bees-that is to say, of those actually

Cause of

the loss sustained by Govern

ment.

(1) Pontoppidan's Nat. Hist. of Norway, vol. I. chap. 8. sect. iv.
(2) Ibid.

employed in useful labour-the finances of the Kongsberg establishment would soon begin to wear a more promising appearance. From the lavish expenditure of the public money, the want of economy visible in every part of the establishment, and the want also of that vigilance which is necessary to prevent embezzlement where precious metal is brought to light in a state actually ready for the mint, it was easy to perceive, during our own examination of what was going on here, that the works were not the property of individuals; but that, as they belonged to the crown, so they were open to all manner of peculation, no one feeling a sufficient degree of interest in their prosperity to prevent waste, or even robbery.

CHAP.

VIII.

The mountain on which the mines nearest to the town are situate is about 1295 French feet (1498 Danish feet) above Kongsberg, which itself lies 926 feet above the level of the sea. Many of the neighbouring mountains are much higher. The base of those, in general, in which the silver is found, is chiefly hornblende and mica, but the veins of ore are contained in red transition granite. The deepest of the Kongsberg mines The differmeasures 375 fathoms perpendicular from the surface. The richest of them all now affords very little ore its appellation is nevertheless

ent excava

tions.

VIII.

CHAP. curious" God's help, in time of need:" and it will become "a time of need" in reality to these poor people, if the mines should altogether fail. No less than 14,000 families are either immediately dependent upon them for their support, or collaterally derive from the mines their means of subsistence. Of this number, 2300 are miners: but there are 7000 families in Kongsberg maintained entirely by the works; and also an equal or greater number in the country, who, either by procuring fuel for the smelting-houses, or in some other way contributing by their industry to the maintenance of the mining establishment, are entirely indebted to it for a livelihood.

Approach to the Works.

We visited one of the mines which they were now working. Like the others, its situation is between the rivers we have mentioned in that alpine barrier of mountains which separate the provinces of Christiansand and Aggerhuus. The approach to the works is by a continued ascent the whole way: and were it only for the striking view afforded, in this ascent, of the town of Kongsberg, the mountains, and the beautiful

valley of the Louven, it would be worth the Geological journey required. All the mountains, among the Moun- which the Kongsberg mines are situate, are stratains. tified: the strata occur in regular beds extend

nature of