A loud rumbling, which resembled the noise made by the great cataract of Niagara, soon fell on their ears, and this increased in volume as they penetrated farther into the mountain. The passage for some distance after entering, was about ten feet wide and that many high and large cakes of ice were piled up on each side as if waiting transportation. The passage soon widened until they found themselves in a large cave, the sides of which could not be seen in the darkness.
The air was growing colder each moment and the awful rumbling had become almost deafening. Far on ahead could be seen numerous lights flickering in the darkness, and upon our friends asking the King what this meant, he told them they were used to light the lake on which men were cutting ice. Here the torches were exchanged for a kind of lantern with a globe of mica, and before our friends had proceeded much further they realized why this was done, for a howling wind struck them broadside nearly knocking them from off their feet. The wind and the deafening noise it made in its wild rush through this subterranean passage was terrible. It was fearfully cold, too, and the attendants went among the party and adjusted the warm fur hoods over the heads and faces, leaving space only for the eyes and nose. Even these precautions did not save our friends from the piercing cold, for the blood had been accustomed to the equatorial heat on the outside and this quick change could not but make them shiver. Mr. Bruce calculated that the extreme cold would lower the mercury to 40 degrees, Fah., below zero, but he might have been mistaken, so long had it been since he experienced such freezing atmosphere.
On they went, fighting against the wind and cold until they reached the shore of the lake. Here about one hundred men were at work cutting ice, using a sort of long saw and an axe with a very large but narrow blade. The men were bundled up very carefully and worked very fast. The lake extended as far as could be seen in the darkness and was one solid sheet of ice with the exception of the place cut by the men, and even a film was already beginning to form over this. Near where our friends were standing was a flume or chute declining towards the entrance of the cave. The blocks of ice were brought to a point directly under this and being caught in a fork were raised by means of a windlass to the flume, where they were sent sliding to the entrance. An acre of ice was cut one day, and the following day another acre was cut, and by the next day, or at the end of forty-eight hours the ice had gained a thickness of ten inches over the acre that was cut on the first day. Thus had it gone on for centuries, each day an acre of ice being cut and supplied to the inhabitants. Each palace was furnished a quantity of ice sufficient for its needs. It was used for cooling the atmosphere as well as for drinks and preserving provisions.
Our friends now being thoroughly chilled, and having seen all they wished to, they left the cavern and as soon as the villa was entered, attendants took charge of them, and disrobing them, plunged them into a hot bath, after which they were given a good rubbing and dressed in the clothes which they had worn upon arriving. After this a meal was served them.
At three o’clock a start was made for the gold mine, and upon reaching this they were put into large cages and lowered down, down, down, until the very bowels of the earth must have been reached. They could see by the light of the torches, as they were lowered, the abandoned shafts which centuries before had probably been mined.
Down they went until the bottom was at last reached and they left the cage to explore the mines. The air was fearfully hot and would have been unbearable but for the cool air forced into the mines from above. Miners were at work, wearing nothing but a breechcloth. The quartz found at this depth was the richest our friends had ever seen or heard of. Mr. Graham calculated that it would assay about eighty per cent. pure gold, and the quartz was easily mined. Not many men were working in this mine, as the quartz was so heavy with gold, that but very little was needed to satisfy the demand.
Our friends wondered no longer at the profusion of gold ornaments and implements. Here was enough gold apparently to furnish the world for hundreds of years. The shaft which they were now working was easily one hundred feet wide and ten feet high. Just think of quartz assaying sixteen hundred pounds to the ton and thousands of tons in sight! Still these people did not consider it as valuable as iron, of which latter they had plenty, but which they found so hard to work. Onrai explained to our friends that the miners only worked one hour at a time and there were months at times when the mines were not worked at all, owing to an over-supply of gold. Truly these people were rich if they only knew it, but wealth was an unknown word to them.
The party, after being shown through some of the unused shafts, where there was also plenty of quartz, but of an inferior quality, was hoisted to the surface. The mill for crushing the quartz was shown them and the process proved very interesting.
They returned to the city in the cool of the evening, well satisfied with their day’s excursion. The longer our friends remained in this strange country, and the more they saw of its beauties and wealth, the more they were astonished at its vast resources. But they had seen only a small part of its wonders.