Paraffine-works in Oravicza--Gold mine--Coal mines at
Auima-Steirdorf--Geology--States Railway Company's mines--Bribery.
The old copper and silver mines of Oravicza are now abandoned, but the
industrial activity of the place is kept up by the working of coal
mines, which have their depôt here. The States Railway Company are the
great owners of mines in this district. They confine their attention to
iron and coal. There are extensive paraffine-works in Oravicza; the
crude oil is distilled from the black shale of the Steirdorf coal,
yielding five per cent of petroleum. At Moldova, where we were recently,
the same company have large sulphuric acid works, employing as material
the iron pyrites of the old mines. Moldova had formerly the reputation
of producing the best copper in Europe, but the mines fell out of work,
I believe, in 1848.
An English gentleman is working a gold mine near Oravicza with some
success. Subsequent to my visit his people came upon what I think the
miners call a "pocket" of free gold. Bismuth is also raised, though not
in large quantities.
Wishing to see the coal mines at Steirdorf, I rode over the hills in
about four hours. As I left Oravicza in the early morning the view
appeared very striking. Looking back, I could see the little town
straggling along in the shadow of the deeply-cleft valley, while beyond
stretched the sunlit plain, level as a sea, rich with fields of ripe
corn. The mists still lingered around me in the mountains, rolling about
in the form of soft white masses of vapour, with here and there a
fringed edge of iridescence. The cool freshness of the morning and the
beauty of the varied scenery made the ride most enjoyable.
Arriving at Steirdorf, I spent some hours in visiting the ironworks,
blast-furnaces, coke-ovens, &c. The coal produced here is said to be the
best in Hungary. The output, I am told, is 150,000 tons; but only
one-third of this is sold, the rest being used by the States Railway
Company for their own ironworks, and for the locomotive engines of their
line.
Professor Ansted,[9] who made a professional visit to this part of the
country in 1862, remarks that "the iron is mined by horizontal drifts or
kennels into the side of the hills. The coal is mined by vertical
shafts. The ironstone is of the kind common to some parts of Scotland,
and known as blackband. There are as many as eight principal seams."
I had sent a man in advance from Oravicza to take my horse back, as I
intended returning by rail. This mountain railway between Oravicza and
Auima-Steirdorf is a remarkable piece of engineering work. In a distance
of about twenty miles it ascends 1100 feet, in some parts as much as one
foot in five. They have very powerful engines and a cogwheel
arrangement, the line making a zigzag up the mountain-side. The effect
is very curious in descending to see another train below you creeping
uphill, now at one angle, now at another.
Considering the expensive nature of the works, and the paucity of
passengers, I almost wonder that the States Railway Company did more
than construct a narrow gauge for the mineral traffic. This company, I
believe, is of Austrian origin, assisted by French capital--in fact, its
head office is in Paris. It obtained large concessions in the Banat
during the Austrian rule in Hungary, acquiring a considerable amount of
property at very much below its real value; in consequence the company
is looked upon with some degree of jealousy by the Hungarians. Of
forest-land alone it owns about 360 square miles. It has a large staff
of officials, mostly Germans, who manage the woods and forests on a
very complicated system, which pays well, but would probably pay better
if simplified. It has also a monopoly of certain things in its own
district, such as salt, &c.
The prevalence of bribery is one of the causes seriously retarding
progress in Hungary. There is as yet no wholesome feeling against this
corruption, even amongst those who ought to show an example to the
community. They have also a droll way of cooking accounts down in these
parts, but there is a vast deal of human nature everywhere, so "let no
more be said."
[Footnote 9: A Short Trip in Hungary and Transylvania.]