Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1867-11-06
Paris Sewers.

A few days since, had the curiosity
to make visit to these subterranean
tunnels with which Paris is undermin-
ed, and through which the drinage of
the city is made and its waste and dirty
water carried to the river and the sea
Wedescended q spiral stone staircase
through trap door near the church of
the Madelaue, and upon getting down
some fifteen or twenty feet under
ground, found ourselves in large and
well lighted vault or tunnel of solid
masonry. about twelve feet wide and
the same in height. In the centre ran
q muddy, turbid stream, about ten feet
in width, and upon sounding it with
my walking stick, found it about
three feet deep. This was one of the
"egouts collecteurs," or main sewers,
into which the little ones ran. Attach
ed to the arch overhead were the tele-
graph wires and the gas and water
pipes On either side of the muddy
stream was little troitor, orside-walk,
about foot in width. At the foot of
the stairs where we descended were
several boats, into which we entered,
and the boatman then pushed US down
the turbiG river, which, upon seeing,
with its surroundings of darkness,
lightened by the hickering lamps,
which threw a CHASTITY glare upon our
faces into the boat, and the unearthly-
looking boatmen, who live down in
these vaults, Immediately suggested TO
me the Styx-the river of the dead.
Our Charons pushed US under the
Bue Royale and the Place de la Con-
corde, and here we were to leave the
boat and take the train. Upon reach
ing the point where the Rue de Rivoli
comes into the Place de la Coneorde,
at the junction of the Rue Royale, we
debarked and seated ourselves upon
comfortable platform cars" each hold
ing sixteen persons. Here the sewer,
which emptied into themain one down
which we had to come by boat, was
about six feet wide. The cars on which
we were placed ran upoa rails fixed
upon the very edge of the water, and
were pushed along at a. rapid rate by
men who followed them at the sides.
There was not particle of bad smell,
the sewers all being thoroughly Venti-
lated.
Thus we rode down under the Rue
de Rivoli, past dashing cataracts of
dirty water, and rolling floods of filth
emptied by thousand of house drains
into the small sewers, and by them IN
to this. Suddenly we came to large
light vault nearly twenty feetin width.
This was the main sewer under the
Boulevard Sebastopol, and here our
train was turned upon a turntsble, and
in few minutes we were at the end of
our journey, and emerged upon the
quai on the Place du Chatelet, having
occupied not quite an hour in making
the trip
Now, of course the primary object of
these immense subterranean canals and
railways, which extend beneath all
Paris; is drainage. But it will be raadi-
ly seen what facilities they afford for
the transportation of troops, and it is
said that the whole ''garde de Paris" is
exercised in small squads in descending
and mounting, in embarking in the
boats and disembarking to the cars
So that IN case of their being trans
ported in this manner, they would be
somewhat familiarized with it in ad-
vance. One of the outlets, one of the
principal stations" for this net work
subteranean railway lines extending
over Paris is in the court yard of the
Tuileries, into which FIVE thousand
men could be thus made to RAISE out
of the ground in half an hour after the
orders had been sent for them by tele-
graph.