danger, about one hundred and fixty yards below the first layer of falt.

3. Quitting our hammocs, we paffed along a gradual defcent, in fome parts of which were broad paffages or galleries capable of admitting feveral carriages abreaft; in other parts we defcended by steps cut in the folid falt, which had the grandeur and commodioufnefs of the ftair-cafe of a palace.

4. Each of us carried a light, and feveral guides preceded us with lamps, whofe light, fhining upon the glitteringffides of the mine, was extremely beautiful, but did not caft that luminous fplendor, which fome writers have compared to the lufter of precious stones.

5. The falt dug from this mine is of an iron gray color; when pounded, it is of a dirty ah color, like what we call brown falt. Its quality improves in proportion to the depth. of the mine. Towards the fides and furface, it is mixed with earthy or fton y particles; lower down it is faid to be perfectly pure; but probably is not fo, for it has lefs ftrength than common fea-falt.

6. Being almost as hard as stone, this falt is hewed with pick-axes and hatchets into large blocks, many of which weigh fix or feven hundred pounds. These are raised by `a windlas; but fmaller pieces are carried up by horfes along a winding gallery, which reaches to the furface of the earth..

7. Befides gray falt, the miners fometimes find small cubes of white falt as tranfparent as cryftal, but not in any confiderable quantity. They fometimes alfo dig up pieces of coal and petrified wood inclofed in this mass of falt.

8. The mine already extends to the depth of feven hundred and fifty feet. It is more than eleven hundred feet in bredth, and nearly a mile in length. This body of foffil falt is fuppofed to branch out in various directions, but its extent is not afcertainable.

9. The greateft curiofity in this mine is, feveral chapels formed in the bofom of this immenfe body of falt. One of thefe is thirty feet long and twenty-five broad; the altar, the crucifix, the ornaments of the church, and the Atatues of feyeral faints, are carved out of folid falt, and here mafs is faid on certain days in the year.

10. Many of the excavations or chambers are of an immenfe fize; fome are fupported by timber; others by valk

pillars of falt left ftanding for this purpofe; and fome are left unfupported. One of these I judged to be eighty feet high, and it was fo long as to appear, in the fubterraneous gloom, without limits.

11. The vaft fize of thefe chambers, with the fpacious paffages or galleries, together with the chapels, and a few fheds for horfes, which are foddered below, probably gave rife to the accounts of fome travellers, that this mine contains villages inhabited by colonies of miners who never fee the light. But there is no truth in these accounts. The miners remain below not more than eight hours, and are then relieved by others. 12. This mine is as dry as an apartment above the earth. We obferved only one fmall fpring of water running through the falt. There is certain evidence that this mine has been worked more than fix hundred years, and how much longer is not known.

13. Formerly the kings of Poland derived from it an annu al revenue of more than three millions of florins. But when Poland was difmembered, this mine fell to the Emperor, whofe commiffioners, by raifing the price, loft a great part of the market for falt, which could be imported by the Vistula and fold at a lower price.

14. Such a mafs of rock falt is a stupendous phenomenon in the ftructure of this globe. But fimilar maffes of folid falt are found in every quarter of the earth, either in beds beneath the surface, or in mountains. A mountain of this kind in Spain is five hundred feet high, and feveral leagues in circuit. 'The like are found in Afia and Africa.

15. Similar maffes of falt are found in America, impregnating numerous fprings of water, as at Onandago, in Kentucky and Louifiana. And as thefe beds of falt are usually at a great distance from the fea, they evince the wifdom of the Creator, who feems to have intended these inexhaustible magazines of a neceffary article, to accommodate thofe inhabitants of the globe, who cannot be fupplied with it by means of navigation.

J.

MARKET FOR MOVEABLE HOUSES IN RUSSIA.

AMONG the curiofities of Mofcow, is the market for the fale of houses. This is held in a large open space, in one of the fuburbs, and exhibits a great variety of ready made houfes, thickly ftrewed upon the ground.

2. The purchafer who wants a dwelling, repairs to this fpot, mentions the number of rooms which he requires, examines the different timbers, which are numbered, and bargains for the frame which fuits him. The houfe is fometimes paid for on the fpot, and taken away by the purchafer; and fometimes the vender contracts to transport and erect the frame on the fpot where it is defigned to ftand.

3. It may appear incredible, that a dwelling houfe may be thus bought, removed, raifed and inhabited, within the fpace of a week; but we fhall conceive it practicable, by confidering that these ready made houfes are, in general, merely trunks of trees mortifed and tenoned together at the extremities, fo that they are easily taken apart and tranfported from place to place. 4. This fummary mode of building is not peculiar to the meaner hovels, but wooden edifices of large dimenfions and handsome appearance are occafionally formed in Ruffia, with incredible expedition. An addition to a palace for the Emprefs, containing a magnificent fuit of apartments, was begun and finished in fix weeks. At her majesty's departure, the materials were taken apart, and re-conftructed into a fort of imperial villa, near Mofcow.

DESCRIPTION OF THE GLACIERS, IN SWITZERLAND.

THE Alps, which are the highest mountains in Europe,

ocean.

rife to twelve and fifteen thoufand feet above the level of the The higheft peaks are therefore in the region of perpetual froft, where the rays of the fun never difolve the ice and fnow, even in the midft of fummer. The most elevated fummits are forever clothed with a body of fnow, or a mixture of fnow, hail and ice.

2. On the vast tops of lefs elevated mountains, are extenfive valleys or hollows, which are filled with compact fnow' and ice, which are called glaciers or fields of ice. Some of these rest on the declivities, being formed by maffes of snow precipitated from the fteeper cliffs above, and fliding down, till their progrefs is interrupted by rocks. In fome inftances thefe fnow-flips are precipitated fo fuddenly, as to overwhelm the cottages below, and bury men and cattle in promifcuous ruin.

3. In other cafes, thefe fields of ice reft on valleys or on level earth, forming vaft plains of folid ice, from one hundred

3

to five hundred feet in depth, and many miles in length and bredth. Over thefe the traveller may pafs in fafety. But on the declivities, the ice is thrown into steep precipices, or parted by fiffures which form chafms of a hideous depth, which render a paffage difficult and extremely dangerous. The unwary traveller, who flides into one of thefe, is loft beyond recovery.

4. The borders of the glacier of Montanvert are mostly fkirted with trees, toward its base, a vaft arch of ice rifes to near a hundred feet; under which rushes the river Arveron with confiderable force. From the appearance of the firs mear this glacier, it is evident that this body of ice fometimes increafes, pufhing forward and proftrating the trees; then is diminished in a courfe of time, and young trees fpring up on the ground from which it has retired.

5. The ice and fnow, which are in the lower regions of the mountains, are fubject to be diffolved by the heat of fummer, and in fome cafes, are feen fields of corn growing within a few yard: of a glacier. Thefe maffes of ice, all resting on earth which is of its natural temperature, and warmer than froft, are perpetually, tho flowly diffolving, and thus furnishperennial fprings and streams. On the Alps fpring four of the largest rivers in Europe, the Rhine, the Rhone, the Danube and the Po, which roll their waters to the Atlantic, the Med iterranean and the Euxine.

STUPENDOUS BRIDGE OF OSIERS IN PERU, FROM GAR

CILLASSO.

1. WHEN the Spaniards firft landed in Peru, they found the people confiderably advanced in the arts of civilized life. Yet the ufe of iron was not known, but instead of it, the natives ufed tools made of copper; and instead of nails, cords were used to bind timbers together. In this ftate of their knowledge, the celebrated Inca or prince who introduced many improvements and much order among the Peruvians, invented and executed a bridge of Ofiers over the river Apurimac, which is two hundred paces, or abour fix hundred feet wide.

2. In conftructing this bridge, a twift of three pliant twigs of Ofier was first formed, to which was added a twift of nine twigs, and three of these were twisted into one rope of a

Jength fufficient to ftretch across the river. By means of a float or by fwimming, fome perfons croffed the river, carrying a line to which was fastened the great rope, and by which they hauled the end of it to the other fide of the river, where it was made faft to a rock.

3. To fecure the ends of this immenfe band, it was faftened at one end to a huge rock in its natural state. At the other end, the Peruvians were under the neceffity of hewing a column out of a folid rock. These rocks were perforated, and the rope let into the holes, and made fast to beams on the other fide. The better to fecure thefe abutments, a thick wall of ftone was raised against them.

4 Three of these Ofier ropes formed the foundation of the bridge, and two others were used, one on each side, as a railing or wall. The floor of this bridge, which was fix feet wide, was formed of boards laid acrofs the principal ropes, with battens or cleats to prevent horfes from flipping. This bridge of aftonishing art and workmanship, was fo ufeful, as to be kept in repair by a tax on the neighboring provinces, and continued for a long period of time, until after the conqueft of Peru by the Spaniards.

STORY OF SERRANO, WHO WAS CAST ON A DESERT ISLAND, FROM GARCILLASSO.

I.

IN the voyage of a Spanish fleet to America, a fhip founder

ed in the gulf of Mexico, and one of the men named Serrano faved his life by fmimming to an ifland, which still bears his name. This ifland is a barren fand, without water, wood, plants or ftones. On this difmal fpot he was compelled to fnd fubfiftence, or submit to perish by hunger.

2. Serrano's ingenuity foon found the means of fuftaining life. On the fhore he found cockles, fhrimps, and other fea animals, which he at firft eat raw, for he had no fire. He then caught turtles by turning them on their backs; and cutting their flesh into flices, he dried it in the heat of the fun; ufing the blood for drink, until he could procure fresh water, which he did by faving the falling rain in the fhells of fea animals.

3. His next object was to obtain fire, and was a bufinefs of immenfe difficulty, for want of iron or flint. There was not a ftone on the ifland, but by diving in various places, he at length found two large pebbles, which be brought to an edge