The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-12-06

I in diameter, bricked with solid aud perfect ma.
sonry, leaving clear diameter Of five feet. This
tunnel is 10 extend two miles from the shore,
uhuer the lake, beyond the regions of puddIed
water and mischievOus minnoWs, and will cost
over quarter Of a million dolla The contr @
! tors are MeSsrs. Dull & Gowan, Of Pittsb1rg, NJ
| whose invitation number OF gentlemen Goa
nectcd with the press and the cry Government
yesterday afternoon visited. explored, ana In.
spCCtCd the work.
Descending the shafto on platform that raised
and lowered by steam, the party reached the
mouth Of the tunnel, where the perfcc ion OF
brlCk masonry at once excited the most unuuali.
htd admiration. wooden track has been con-
5'ruciod along the base Of the tunnel upon
which the cars run, carrying in brick and mortar
and bringing out dirt. Planks laid between the
rails ailOrd a good fO1thod, aud as these are
raised about six inches from the base of the tun.
neil It Will be seen that space OF but four feet
and half remains tJ the use OF pedestrians
who are consequently OBLIGED to continue thcir
pur nit of knowledge under difficulties that
would break long back, and give a weak limb
rheumatic cramps. Il is not 40 al surprising
that several of the visitors iugOnuluutly
backed out upon reaching the bottom of the
shaft, though there we're some who would not
under any Cirrumsta have missed the oppOr-
tuuity Of going through 90 the end. Eleven hun
drcd and twenty feet brought us to the wurkmcn
who wi h pickaXe aud shovel, were assai ing the
hard blue clay that offers 50 stern resistance
that the workmen can penetrate It only at the
rate OF ten feet per day. THIS Is slow pro -rcss
but carly uoNt spring another shan vii, be sunk
In he lake at the extreme end of the tunnel, and
the work will be prosecuted with Increased vig0r
Slow rs Is thc progress, the job will eventually
be completed should no mi,bap occur, such as
running against deep hole I'm the lake. or by a
slight deviation from direct line, tapping the
bottom Of the lake
While we were conversing with the worSmcn,
jet Of gas was discovered, which, upon being
igultcd, burned with q steady, bush-yellow
flame for some time, brilliantly lighting up the
vault and almost eclipsing the sichly light OF the
little oil lamps.
Save the realization of the fact that the enter
prise is great one, and the contemplation Of bare
possibilities of mlshaps that are suggested to the
mind, there is nothing about the tunnel that can
furnish material for either rusy-tiuted romance
or philosophical research. No buried cities have
been run against nor bones of mastodou been
eNhumed. Not even a trace of vegetable life or
vegetable decay have the workmen yet brought
forth. And as 70 geology, no more barren field
could well be imagined.
a heavy bed of blue clay, streaked here and
there with gravel and sand, with an occasional
and stray vein or two of oil stone, are all that
have as yet been discovered. Curiosity hunters
may yet DO gratiticd with petrifed Indian war
riors, treasure-ladcn wrecks, or the ruins of
heather temples. If none of these fancies are
realized, may we not hope that the more tangible
matter OftaCt enterprise, which certainly could
not have been entrusted TO ADLER hands than those
of Messrs. Dull & GOwan, will in due time be
accomplished, and our citizens be blessed with
pure water from the depths of Lake Michigan,
rs cool, sparkling, and grateful as that which
flowed from the rock that Moses smote Chi
CagO Journal.