Page:Transactions of the Geological Society, 1st series, vol. 3.djvu/416



No fibrous salt was to be observed at Cardona; nor did I discover the slightest trace of gypsum in that neighbourhood; a remark which was also made by Bowles. On the soil near the town, a small quantity of a saline efflorescence was however observed, which had the taste of sulphate of soda; but the loss of the specimen I collected, has prevented a more accurate investigation of its properties.

The salt mine of Cardona is wrought like an open quarry with pickaxes and wedges, by which the mineral is raised in considerable tabular masses. The part at present wrought presents an extensive horizontal floor of pure rock salt; the level of which is a little lower than the foot of the great salt precipice. An enormous mass of the same mineral lies between this precipice and the present mine, the removal of which will, in time, render the appearance of this interesting spot still more magnificent; for then the vast front of the rock salt bed will at once strike the eye from the lowest part of the mine.

Like every other public work in Spain, the mines of Cardona are in a languid state from the effects of the late war which has desolated the peninsula. Only two labourers are at present employed in quarrying the salt, and in wheeling it to the receiving house. Over these, eight overseers are appointed, who do duty in rotation; and ten sentinels are continually stationed around the mine to defend it from the depredations of the peasantry. Several clerks are employed in an office built at the entrance to the mine, and the whole is under the direction of an Intendente or Inspector, who wears the uniform of an officer in the Spanish army; for the mine is the property of the crown, and is most rigidly guarded. Notwithstanding the rigour with which depredators are punished, the peasantry frequently attempt to deceive the vigilance