but below this point they were hid in darkness. The clank ing of the chains, the groaning of the pumps, the hallooing of the miners, the cracking of the blocks and wheels, the trampling of the horses, and the beating of the hammers, and the loud and frequent subterraneous thunder, from the blasting of rocks by gunpowder, in the midst of all this scene of excavation and uproar, produced an effect which no stranger can behold unmoved.

5. We descended with two of the miners, and our interpreter, into this abyss. The ladders, instead of being placed like those in our Cornish mines, upon a series of platforms, as so many landing places, are lashed together in one unbroken line, extending many fathoms; and, being warped to suit the inclination or curvature of the sides of the precipices, they are not always perpendicular, but hang over in such a manner, that, even if a person held fast by his hands, and his feet should slip, they would fly off from the rock, and leave him suspended over the gulf.

6. Yet such ladders are the only means of access to the works below; and, as the labourers are not accustomed to receive strangers, they neither use the precautions nor offer the assistance usually afforded in more frequented mines.

7. In the principal tin mines of Cornwall, the staves of the ladders are alternate bars of wood and iron-here they are of wood only, and in some parts rotten and broken, making us often wish, during our descent, that we had never undertaken an exploit so hazardous. In addition to the danger to be apprehended from the damaged state of the ladders, the staves were covered with ice and mud, and thus rendered so cold and slippery, that we could have no dependence upon our benumbed fingers if our feet failed us.

8. Then, to complete our apprehensions, as we mentioned this to the miners, they said, "Have a care! It was just so, talking about the staves, that one of our women fell, about four years ago, as she was descending to her work." "Fell," exclaimed our Swedish interpreter, rather simply; " and pray what became of her ?" "Became of her!" exclaimed the foremost of our guides, disengaging one of his hands from the ladder and slapping it forcibly against his thigh, as if to illustrate the manner of the catastrophe, "she became a pancake!”

9. As we descended farther from the surface, large

masses of ice appeared, covering the sides of the precipices. Ice is raised in the buckets with the ore and rubble of the mine; it has also accumulated in such quantities in some of the lower chambers, that there are places where it is fifteen fathoms thick, and no change of temperature above prevents its increase.

10. This seems to militate against a notion now becoming prevalent, that the temperature of the air in mines increases directly as the depth from the surface, owing to the increased temperature of the earth under the same circumstances, and in the same ratio; but it is explained by the width of this aperture at the mouth of the mine, which admits of a free passage of atmospheric air. In our Cornish mines, ice would not be preserved in a solid state at any considerable depth from the surface.

11. After much fatigue, and no small share of apprehension, we at length reached the bottom. of the mine. Here we had no sooner arrived, than our conductors, taking each of us by the arm, hurried us along through regions of thick ribbed ice and darkness, into a vaulted level, through which we were to pass into the principal chamber of the mine.

12. The noise of countless hammers, all in vehement action, increased as we crept along this level; until at length, subduing every other sound, we could no longer hear each other speak, notwithstanding our utmost efforts. At this moment we were ushered into a prodigious cavern, whence the sound proceeded-and here, amidst falling waters, tumbling rocks, steam, ice and gunpowder, about fifty miners were at work. The magnitude of the cavern, over all parts of which their labour was going on, was alone sufficient to prove that the iron ore is not deposited in veins, but in beds.

13. Above, below, on every side, and in every nook of this fearful dungeon, glimmering tapers disclosed the grim and anxious countenances of the miners. They were now driving bolts of iron into the rocks, to bore cavities for the gunpowder for blasting. Scarcely had we recovered from this stupefaction, when we beheld, close to us, hags more horrible than perhaps it is possible for any other female figures to appear, holding their dim, quivering tapers to our faces, and bellowing in our ears.

14. One of the same sisterhood, snatching a lighted splinter of deal, darted to the spot where we stood, with

eyes inflamed and distilling rheum, her hair clotted with mud, and with such a face, and such hideous yells as it is impossible to describe.

15. If we could have heard what she said, we should not have comprehended a syllable; but as several others passed swiftly by us, hastening tumultuously towards the entrance, we began to perceive, that if we remained longer in our present situation, imminent danger awaited us: for the noise of the hammer had now ceased, and a tremendous blast was on the point of explosion.

16. We had scarcely retraced our steps along the level, and beginning to ascend the ladders, when the full volume of the thunder reached us, as if roaring with greater vehemence because pent up among the crashing rocks, whence being reverberated over all the mine, it seemed to shake the earth itself with its terrible vibrations.

Note. Presburg, the capital of Lower Hungary, is situ ated on the river Danube, 32 miles south east of Vienna, in 480 north latitude.

SKETCH OF JOHN TANNER.

1. JOHN TANNER was the son of a clergyman, who removed with his family to the banks of the Ohio, near the mouth of the Miami river, some time previous to the year 1790. He had been settled there about ten days, when apprehensions were entertained of an attack from a party of Indians. The unsettled state of that part of the country at the time, exposed its scattered inhabitants to frequent incursions from their savage neighbours.

2. Tanner was then about nine years of age. Notwithstanding the prohibition of his father, he had wandered to. a short distance from the house, and had just filled his hat with walnuts, picked from a neighbouring tree, when he was seized upon by a party of Indians, who by their threats forced him to silence. They carried him off.

3. This party was commanded, it is said, by an Indian who resided near Saganaw, and whose wife had lately lost her son. Bereft of her only child, the mother appeared inconsolable, and finally begged that her husband would make

a prisoner of one, about the same age, to whom she might transfer all the affection which she had borne to her own offspring. With this view the Indian had armed a party of his friends, proceeded down towards the settlements, found this child, carried him off, and returned with him to his wife, who was delighted on beholding a boy so near the age of that which she had lost.

4. By these Indians, young Tanner was treated with kindness; he rose to manhood, became distinguished as a brave man and a hunter. From circumstances which we have not ascertained, his adopted parents, who belonged to the Saganaw tribe of the Ottawa nation, removed to a more western country. The man died: his wife became the Jeader of a small party that resided occasionally on the Lake of the Woods, or on Red River.

5. Tanner was offered the situation of chief, which he wisely declined, judging that his white origin would make him an object of suspicion. He appeared satisfied with his success as a hunter, and had no further ambition. We were told by those who had long known him, that although he had acquired many characteristics of the Indians, still he had some peculiarities which marked him as one of a different origin. He had never been seen to taste of ardent spirits, or to smoke a pipe.

6. Instead of purchasing trifles and gewgaws, as is customary with Indians, he devoted the products of his hunts, which were always successful, to the acquisition of articles of clothing useful to himself, to his adopted mother, or to her relations. In this state he appeared to have lived perfectly happy, respected and esteemed by all his fellow hunters.

7. In the year 1816, he rendered an important service to Lord Selkirk's settlement, by guiding a party of new settlers, who were under the protection of Governor M'Donnel and Capt. D'Orsonnen from Rainy Lake to Fort Douglass; this reinforcement arrived at so timely a moment as to make Tanner a great favourite at the settlement. was pointed out to Lord Selkirk during that nobleman's visit to his colony.

He

8. His Lordship took great interest in his situation ; and by his exertions, Tanner's family was discovered. His recollections of the scenes of his early youth, though faint at first, gradually brightened. He had forgotten his father's name, or rather it had become confused in his recollection,

with that of a friend of his family called Taylor, so that this was at first thought to be his name.

9. Tanner placed in our hands a letter which was written by Lord Selkirk, and which is dated Lexington, November 25, 1817. It was written after a personal interview with Mrs. Taylor, whose account of the family corroborated Tanner's statement in the most important particulars. There was some slight difference; but this was no more than might have been expected from the imperfect recollections of a child of nine years of age, after twentysix years of estrangement from his country and friends.

10. It is perhaps somewhat singular that he should have forgotten a language which he must have undoubtedly spoken himself with considerable fluency at the time he was taken prisoner. The following extract from Lord Selkirk's letter, at present in our possession, shows how far his recollection extended.

11. "The circumstances that Mrs. Taylor mentioned of his family coincide with those which he told me in the north, particularly that he had a brother called Ned, and two sisters married previous to his being carried off. Also that his father was a big lusty man, as the young man described him.

.

Mrs.

12. "The only point of difference is, that Mrs. Taylor said that Ned Tanner was older than the boy John, who was carried away, whereas I had understood him to be younger; but as I could converse with John only through an interpreter such a mistake might easily arise. Taylor also said that old John Tanner had been settled in Kentucky several years before 1790, but that possibly he might have removed at that date, by the river, from some other part of the state.

13. "The young man told me that his father had changed his residence a very short time before he was carried off, and had been settled on the banks of the Ohio, only about ten days, when the attack of the Indians took place. He mentioned particularly his having come down the river in a large boat or flat, with horses and cattle. He also men tioned, that, at the place where his father lived previous to his removal, there was a brook running in a cavern under ground, where they used to go with a candle to take water."

14. Through the benevolent and active interference of Lord Selkirk, Tanner was restored to his family, who re