The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1858-08-25
The Blue Ridge Road.

a correspondent writes rs follows to
the Edgefeld -Adsertiscr. 1t will be found
to contain an interesting account Of the
progress Of this enterprise
All this is the Blue Ridge, with its
long sweep Of beetling crags, looming up,
grand, stern, huge sombre aud sublime,
like tSc battlenents of some rral genii.
What y that we see rising up, graceful AS
Grecian column, from the brow OF Won
high, dpsky mountain Is it smoke is
SUNG from one Of the burst furnaces Of
voIcapo l}ut while we vet gaze, al.
mire aud wonder, the winds have broken
the beautiful column, spreading it rs IA
veil over the face OF the mountains. and
we ace at once that it is nothing but
cloud. How natural it is for one, amid
surroundings like these, to fall into
dreamy reverie. The willing captives Of
fancy for the moment, we arc carried
way and away into the empyrean through
vast OF new and sweet irnaginings.' But
hsrk what po!tentous sound do We hear
rumblin9 down in the very heart Of the
ridge on which We are standing Are
we II danger OF being swallowe ed up bv
an earthquake ! | trow no.. This is
Tunnel Hill, alias Stump House noun
tain, ani those explosions are the blasts
IN The great tuuuell.' The Blue Ridge
Railroad, extending from Anderson TO
Knoxville, viii he one hundred aud nine.
ty five miles long a; tiftl TWO miles in our
"~m STATE, seventeen in Georgia, seventy
" three in North Carolina, and fifty ,hrec
~ TcuuesEe",
The s,umi iSIouso Tunnel is one mile,
five huud.ed and seventy two feet III
length lie entire grade upward in a
Westerly direction is sixty six feet it is
twenty feet high by sixteen in ~idth-sn
opening .rge enough, it would seem TO
admit any train Of cars. / SAW it stated
in the paper, some time ago, that the
Blue Ridge Tunnel in Virginia was found
to be too small, and have been surpris
cd TO learn that many Of our intelligent
citizens had gotten themselves into the
belief that this piece Of information had
reference to the Stump House Tunnel.
But am about to digress. The rocky
macs, through which the tunnel passes, is
composed mainly Of quartz, which, &C.
cording to Dana, is an essential constitu.
ept Of granite. 1t is due to truth and
science, however, to state tina, there is al
90 gneiss formation, or in other words,
that in some places the rock is made up
Of thin parallel plates, capable of being
separated by splitting. Though this lat
ter feature would escape the notice Of
casual observer, for at no point in the
tunnel has prop or an arch been found
necessary. Wherever the full section is
eYcavated, the tunnel is complete and self
sustaining, both at the top and at the
sides, and will thus remain for years.
From the Eastern portal, the tunnel is
oper 1900 feet. Curiosity generally i'm
pels visitors to explore this artificial cav
ern, although the gloom, the smoke, the
borrid din, and the constant dred Of a
premature explosion are apt TO work fear
fully upon the nerves and upon the imag.
ination. After stumbling and cropping
along the darkened way for consldera-
tie distance, one 10 rather surprised TO
find, in such place, brace Of smither
les 10 full blast but il is necessary for
the blacksmith to follow up the work, SO
that the drills may be kept in good order.
The ringing anvil. the shooting sparks, and
the stencil Of sal,peire, lrng to mind the
fabulous story about the Cyclops assisting
Vulcan to forge the thunder hohs Of Jove.
And as the Cyclops are fsbled to have
had bu, one eve, in tho middle OF the
forehead, almost hidden by the lowering
brow--the little lamps, making darkness
visible and suspended from each work
mans oil.cloth bat, are not at sll ca'culs'
ted 20 deiraci from the illusion.
Shaft No. is now useless except for
ventilation, and it serves admirably for
that purpose, the current Of air rushing
alternately, up and then down, through
the opening Standing more than l7O
feet beneath the surface Of the earth, and
catching glimpse Of the blue sky
through this shaft, one Is prepared to sci
right estimate upon the light Of day
Not quite twelve months ago, could e
into the mountain, from the East end
only 420 feet, but on this occasion. wen
in 1900 feet, or nearly one fourth Of !
| mile
At sl,aft No. 2, which is 226 feet deep
the progress Of the work Is very good
the excavation having been carried fifty