Vermont daily transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1868-1870, 1869-04-15
HOOs0c Mountain 0ud 1'ui,acI.

North dams is thriving manufac-
turing town on the Troy 4 Boston R.R.,
the western end of the Tunnel. Having
spent a few days at this place, stopping
at the Wilson House, "a first class hotel
where guests, by the attention of "mine
hosts" Messrs Strceter and Rogers, are
made to feel very much at home-I con-
cluded to 90 over the mountain and
visit the Tunnel, rather than go 80 miles
further by rail.
On the 1st of April the snow had
nearly disappeared at the foot of the
mountain, but up the side and on the
top it was very deep. The road makes
vcy shary turns, with angles like
letter u, on Y one more of them.
From the top of the western crest, the
prospect is very fine, bringing into view
not only the mountains of the vicinity,
with North Adams down in the valley
at the base, ana Williamstown, with its
college and haystack monument, the
birthr place of the American Board, just
around the spire of one of the neighb Dr-
ing hills, but, it is said, the mountains of
five different States in the distance.
The rain of the previous day had
frozen to every twig and branch till
they were loaded down with crystals,
which, in the sunlight, presented a
most beautiful appearance.
The view from the east side is not az
extended, hut about half sway down,
from turn in the road where one first
comes in sight of the depot, the hotel,
and the little tcnements of the miners
who work in the tunnel, with perhaps
a mile of Dcerfield River winding its
course along the deep ravine, with hills
rough, rugged and rocky rising from its
very bed, the view is exceedingly wild
and picturesque.
Over this mountain siX-horse
coach conveys passengers travelling be-
tween Troy and Boston, running each
way in connection with the trains. No
tourist should miss this route during
the summer.
The Hoosac Tunnel is being made
through this mountain, and when COM
pleted will make the distance between
Troy and Boston 32 miles less than Ey
any other all rail route. The length of
the Tunnel is to be 47-10ths miles.
$3.50 feet have been worked at the East,
and 4 300 feet at the West end. From
the top of the mountain, near the CEN
tire of the line, shaft is to be sunk 1887
feet to the bed of the tunnel, 5S3 feet of
which were completed in Oct. 1867, at
which time the building and hosting
apparatus at the top was burnt, leaving
10 men to perish in the bottom, whose
remains We're not all recovered until
work was recommended last year.
The drills which are used in the Tun-
mel, now more than a mile from the en-.
trance, are worked by air, (com rressed),
and driven through iron pipes from the
engine house in the bank of the river.
Air is also constantly forced through
tubes to the heading for ventilation, and
thus a constant current is returning
through the Tunnel to the mouth, car
rying out the smoke from each blast and
the impurities which would otherwise
make it impossible to work or even live
far from the mouth. 1t is SAID that
about S7,OOO,OOO has already been ex-
pended in this work, and the present
contract with Shanly Brothers, requires
81 1914, 2Gs for it's completion in 1874.
The work is being done by the State
and when completed will be the grand
est work of the kind on this continent,
and with the exception of one through
the Alps the grandest in the world.