Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-01-13

time for so large building. The windows
were SO large that there was insufficient sup
port between them. Mr.. futile and myself
talked about it several times. The brick pilas-
ter to support the floor timbers were carried up
only two stories. and in higher stories projec-
tons were thrown out of the wall. Mr.. Bige-
low gave directions in regard to laying the
foundation the walls were double, each eight
inches thick with a vault between the wall at
the south end by the stairway where the wall
cracked was not as thick as the rest; think
this was about one foot thick and built solid.
WIN. sULLIvAN's TESTIMONY.
did the excavation for the foundation of
the Pemberton Mill; did the work by the yard
and contracted to dig until good bottom was
found Mr.. Coolidge told US when we had got
deep enough; the wheel-pit was dug to the
hard pan from the wheel-pit, as we stepped
on to the higher ground, we came to sand and
gravel, and some streaks of clay water leak
ed into the trench, from the canal, when we
were digging considered the foundation deep
enough have worked on the excavations for
other mills on the river; think the Pembcrton
foundation was more solid than that of the At
lantic; in the middle of the Atlantic mill, the
foundation was ten or fifteen feet deep in some
places.
JOHN d. TUrTLE's TESTIMONY.
John b. TuHle-l reside i'll Lowell am a
brick mason of thirty four years experience;
was one of the firm that put up the brick
work of the Pemberton Mill my brother, Gil
mer Tuttle, was my partner; the contract was
made with Charles H. Bgelow, engineer of
the corporation; had nothing to do with the
foundation; should think the foundation was
about live feet deep on the east side; while
building the mill, we got our water to drink
from the foot OF the foundation wall l thought
at the time that the water came from the canal.
but have some doubts about it since; in about
two months there was a droutb and this wa
ter dried up it was constantly running
through the stones of the foundation towards
the lower end of the mill the piasters in the
fourth story projected out eight inches. and. in
the second story, they were dropped to four
inches orders then came from Mr. Bigelow
to dispense with the pllasters altogether when
the tlmbers for the upper stories came, they
were too Short and we were ordered to put
projections on the walls, to rest the timbers
on; L expressed my opinion, at the time,
and many tunes since, and | have never
changed it, that the walls were too weak
for such building; told Mr.. Bigelow SO,
when we were building it; told Mr. Putnam,
one OF the owners, so, in Boston; told many
others the same don't know any other large
mill with walls so weak as the Pembertons.
and never want to hear of one; the building
was much cut up with windows, which weak
ened it; we had orders, every day, from Capt.
Bigelow and Mr.. Benjamin Coolidge, the en-
gineer; we generally have built walls for mills
twenty eight inches, including space in the
middle of four inches on the first story drop
ping to sixteen inches at the top. The wit.
ness expressed some doubt about finding out
from the appearance of the foundation, now, if
it should be cleared. The usual width of mills
is forty-eight feet; there were irons on the
ends of the floor timbers, turned up, but they
did not connect with the outer wall; it would
have added strength to the building, had they
been screwed through the cross wall the
steam chimney formed one corner of the build
ing Witness complained several times to
Capt. Bigelow of the poor quality of the brick
the water was running freely in the foundation
wall for two months; we could hear it running
through the stones; we dug out small place,
about as low as the bottom wall, inside, to dip
water from to drink; l considered that water
running at the bottom of the foundation wall in
this way would be dangerous, inasmuch as it
might undermine the wall. Witness explained
that where the upper floor timbers were put in
upon the projections built out on the inner wall,
the whole wall was made solid, and when the
timbers were discovered to be too short, the
wall had been carried so high that it was nee
essary to tear down in those places where the
timbers were to rest and build in the proec-
tons.
AT the conclusion of the testimony of this
witness, at O'Clock P. NJ, the jury adjourned
until nine O'Clock tomorrow morning.