Old Cornwall

Ballantyne's love of adventure brought him all over the world. By the end of his life, Ballantyne had visited at least four continents. But when studying for his book Deep Down his travels took him to the Cornish mines of Great Britain. The mine he visited ( the Botallack mine) was "245 fathoms, (1470 feet), deep . . . all the levels put together form an amount of cutting through almost solid granite equal to nearly 40 miles in extent." Speaking of some of the history of old Cornwall, Ballantyne said:

"For three months my wife and I stayed in the town of Saint Just, closeto the Land's End, during which time I visited some of the principal mines in Cornwall; associated with the managers, "captains," and miners, and tried my best to become acquainted with the circumstances of the people.

The Cornish tin trade is very old. In times so remote that historical light is dim, the Phoenicians came in their galleys to trade with the men of Cornwall for tin.

Herodotus, (writing 450 years B.C.) mentions the tin islands of Britain under the name of the Cassiterides and Diodorus Siculus, (writing about half a century B.C.), says:

"The inhabitants of that extremity of Britain which is called Bolerion, excel in hospitality, and also, by their intercourse with foreign merchants, they are civilised in their mode of life. These prepare the tin, working very skilfully the earth which produces it."

There is said to be ground for believing that Cornish tin was used in the construction of the temple of Jerusalem. At the present time the men of Cornwall are to be found toiling, as did their forefathers in the days of old, deep down in the bowels of the earth--and even out under the bed of the sea--in quest of tin."