I walked down to the peressip, to examine once more the whole phenomenon. The sea w^as rushing in, in full force, through the Gheerl, two stone bridges lay in fragments near it, and a third was now building of wood. By the ford were assembled great numbers of men and vehicles, and herds of cattle, and many in their impatience to cross were driving through the sea across a sandbank. Among the voices I was surprised to hear some from countrymen of my own, and they on their parts looked no less startled to hear good German proceeding from the bearskins in which I was enveloped In outward appearance they, as weU as I, were completely Russian.
The mouth of this liman is close to Odessa, but the other end lies fifty versts off in the interior, and the concourse is consequently great at the peressip, to avoid so great a circuit.
In general this liman, which retires very Httle from its shores, probably on account of its great depth, produces no salt; but in the year 1824, when the summer was particularly hot and dry, and the evaporation from the water very great, the banks to the extent of several versts, were completely dried up, and the finest and richest harvest of salt was left by the retiring waters. As this had never happened before, and the liman was not considered in the light of a salt-work, no special order had ever been given concerning it, and every one thought himself entitled to whatever share of this godsend he could obtain. As the news of the phenomenon spread, the people came pouring towards the liman from Odessa, and from all the surrounding steppe, with spades, troughs, and carts, and soon set right merrily to work. The Spanish consul at Odessa especially reckoned on a glorious harvest, as he possessed an estate on the liman, that stretched upwards of a verst along the shore. He declared all the salt deposited upon this tract to be his ; hired a great number of workmen, procured an immense quantity, and sold it for 300,000 rubles. Others marked out for themselves a certain portion of the liman, according to the law of first come first served. The concourse of speculators became larger and larger, and there was soon a regular and not imimportant colony established on the liman. Since no provision had been made for the victualling department, and covetousness induced many to remain beyond the time they had at first reckoned on, there soon arose a scarcity, almost amounting to famine. Bread was sold for five times its usual cost, a glass of water fetched half a ruble. The people had brought with them their wives and children and servants, that all might help in the work. The wages of labour rose immensely. A good workman earned from twelve to fifteen or twenty rubles a day, and salt was sold for half a copek, or less than a quarter of a farthing the pound. The business of collecting the salt was carried on in a hasty and disorderly manner, and many people, in consequence, lost their lives in the marshes. The greatest misfortune, however, was still to come. The officers of the crown, appointed for the protection of the salt monopoly, were at first at a loss what course to take under such unexpected circumstances. They began by declaring that a tenth belonged to the cro\vn — and then they demanded a fifth. At length came a higher order, declaring that by virtue of the monopoly, all the salt belonged to the crown, and that those who had taken it must not only replace it, but must also be punished for what thov had done. Many were arrested and thrown into prison, others had lieavy finea imposed on their property. The consiJ, however, who had rejoiced so much in his good luck, found himself in tJie worst case of all, and was glad enough to escape with the loss of his estate, which he sold to a Russian princess to satisfy the demands of the crown.
The morning was splendid, and the roads excellent when we left the liman, and our horses seemed to fly along towards the harbour of Odessa. Already we could distinguish the pennons of the vessels lying at anchor there, and the elegant mansions of the boulevard running along the beach. The approach to Odessa is not marked by any of those features that might be expected to announce the vicinity of from 50,000 to 60,000 inhabitants. No prosperous villages — no manufactories — no forerunners of any kind ; — here is the steppe, and a yard further the city, and one might almost fancy it exercised no influence whatever on the smTounding country.