Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1869-08-13
s.DEIlAV WARE; OHIO FRI DA.Y.5A AUGUsT.15 5, 1869

Il is tbis -f75le ia fl5rg earth Suppose
some Of the prediete8 rivers, or possi-
bic lakes, should ind eirsi1UaY
through seme aperture just 0peAedp
and engulf us nowg Suppose the air.
pipe should burst, orr worse still, the
sUpplys0f air be stoppeds ana we All
Il suffOcatedi Suppose-but the thread of
my rapidlY Wning hypotheses was
! broken bylsaa sudden ollleli 9 !Nialch
4 might iEEeH0onnaer AL ataei ocifca Ifl7
y stances have appalled, a 0bHaVec ana
II more fFm1V-a0RstitBtea man, and
which forsan iRstant made neub believe
I that one. Of nav suggestions was about
to become q rTeality Bangl-butbn not
the sharp 7eraekinga bang, aot7 q lheated
4 cannon, or the sound of "a roek-btash in
the open sair--R dead, !dpA 3 Eunbling
EexPlosi0n which FeTeTpe ed throngh
I the gallery, and seemad8lta give l8hs
H whole earth assl1ake. 4 starts an
1 inYo oluntarily y looked mp as if eEpectT
/ ing to see the stony Roof 81 se va. aIld
tumble. Bang banE lbanP3 in rapid
succession five ors other biesssl were
blown /; the oakeu doors were 0penedS
q hinge gust Of thick yellow smoke and
sitting black gunpowder came rushing
| toward US, when my guide touched nae
on the shoulder and said we could now
i proceed. Tfuttered an inward t4thank
i God % that = was real " safe sIIld
speedily spfang ap ana joined him. =
THE ADyANCEp q sI.IEE.Y, j. 80 80 q
t. Suddenly we emerged from the heat
4 and smoke, and were breathing an airsi
\ fresh, sweet eXhilarstln lngs and d9upIy-
I bgratefuI to the Lungs after the SleterloL l-e1
/ ated material upon when en- ~ ss.5I la
/ been feeding. We we're IN the aa-
] vanced gallery at the end Of the t1Tl-
mel, and before rs was the 'tsEf atsto, y
\ bearing its nine perfgratO tOrsg persistent
I Iy stFik ing and boring their way into
4 the solid rock scattering around them
Ii % e,-7o lrnr1y
4 The gallery here is not quite nine
feet in width and but lght and @ half
i in height The a1fttstos as the huge
structure is called upon YEhl lch- the per-
Il Iforating gmachinesare borne and which
/ bears precisely the same reAat1onI TO
] them that the carriage does to the gun,-
+ nearly fills I1p the entire space. In or
I der -te obseFFeethe aetfon-of-the- a.
! GbifleI# FE6 were OBJ ed to oast care
| fully along the side of this heavy
wagon, and when arriyed at the 'front.'
/ in. Here the sights and sounds really
| became cheerful and pleasant. The.
| gallery is brilliantly lighted the COM
! pressed ,air,ga let eff which is constant
| Iy escaping from the eondu1t pipe, is.
1 fresh, cool, and 81 efuI to the Syearied
I lungs the constant rapid sttud,
thud, ,i3of the drill asIait strikes the
lroeh, the Missing sound of the eseaping
/ air, the cries of the w0ris men to each
4 other, sounding g uTrflat turalIy loud in,
4 this pure air and acont1neqH space all
j constituted a scene as ae1oitingl asl it
awas strange i 3aI q ~ az1so1 1o +
/ The wOfk men petfofni their labor in
this little hole with q Femarkable sense,
of security. They seem to play with.
/ these huge machines-they -put-their.
handssuPOpan direct the steel bar
| which strikes the rock, and the power
IL A
I glides between heir T1ngers Ike q
child toy. They hop about Ike toads
! between the 3drIl1s, perch cthemseiEes
upon and under the various parts Of
i the monster machine, and never seem
to dream that any rr1oll4eiit some nm
known, unlocked for tissure in the
rock may be discovered, and they
crushed to atoms by. the tumbling
Iaasss or that this poNe Efal agent,
which they have made their slave, with
i its explosive force Of six satn10sp pheres,
/ may some time burst its iron fettersy
and scatter death and OBSTRUCTION
/ around It,. sis1FIff=T- TIasifails
.zEsesfzk ~ DRILLING.
Each perforator, nine of q55lich are
I at WoFE Is eEltit5I lnQ5paAdent Of
i every herr 50 4 hat ElleI1 ono Is placed
| hoFs De CONDUIT, its inability TO act, does
not affect the rest. IS IS much easier 90
GBEGfAllE aAl7 DAt1AtA ~
tor and its effects, than the cotaplieated
machinery by-whioh il is in motion.
The motive power i4s eeHVsyed to it
/ from the conduit by flexible pipe,
2. cylinder placed horizontaIIv along
i the a69tstosa In this cylinder a piston
4 works back and forth, and to this pis-
4 ton is attached a fe2ret or drill about
three feet. long, fnely tempered and
4 sharpened at the end, As the piston
moves mp and down, it of course drives
the drill against the rock and inter
draws it, and by g very delicate and
/ fcomplieated pdecs of machinery 3 ro-
tary motion similar to that in hand
labor is given to the drill itself, We
4 arrived In the advanced gallery" ct a
i very favorable moment, just as a new
attack was about being commenced by
Il a uerforatOrg "A drill Was attached 9by
El 1Iexfble Joint to the piston rod a
Il workman standing upon the front end
n OF the machine held and directed this,
4 as a gardner would the hose OF a CONF
air was turned on by another work.
man at the hind end of the G65CSt0, and
the drill commenced its rapid and
heavy blows upon its formidable foe.
rate of two hundred times minute.
( 1.-Two men mind this portion Of the Sp-
paratus-one to give the general direc-
II tioff of the sdrill, and the other, stand
ing upon the ground, holds the end
II where it strikes the rock with crook
: ed irons to preyenb it from flying of
I from the desired point Of attack. The
s force of each stroke ofsthe bar is so
/ kiIogran1 mes, or 198 English pounds F;
: and as the piston moves back and
: forth, and consequently Y causes the bar
, to strike the rock at the rate Of from
, $50 to 200 times 2 m1nute, each drill
+ therefore, exercises upon the point of
: attack a force equivalent to 80, 600
Tgls' The P6ek dSon which the perforators
7 were at work, when we entered, was
: hard. white quartz, the most difficult
3 to pierce whichshas yet been encount-
J. Tered. This layer was struck in the
3 middle Of June, and its presence has
, I materially retarded the progress of the
) tunnel. Formerly, in the mica, horn
!, blende, slate and limestone, through
] which they quarried, the sperfOraf0rs
1 made an advance OF from one and 8
2 half to three yards a day. In this
2 quartz they now make but from eigh-
{ teen to thirty inches. A few figures
: will exhibit the rapid and decided re-
!, 6ueti6n in the rate of progress. In Efay
: the advance was ninety-oRe meters
!, in June, when the first groupings o.
2 the quartz began to appear, it was re
5 daced to forty-nine and a half; il
: July, to sixteen; in August, to thir
: teen and in September to nineteeI
j, and half meters. 1t is supposed thai
e there still remains q years work il
g this quartz.
q In commencing a Perforation, Tho
y first difficulty is in making a hole, suf
e ficiently large to cOnfine the drill
= When this FIRST strik es the rock it Bit
n wide and wild, like a pugilist blinded
by the blows of his adversary WheI
F I once fairly enteredt however, it work
p ! back and forth, and rotates with grea
.e1 precision and regularity, a stream o
- water being conveyed into the hole bi
VI a flexible pipe, to facilitate bOring.-
d The nine perforatoTs are placed above
b below, in the center, and on the side
d of the G6atstO, so as to attack the rocl
1 at different points and angles, upon
r surface of seven square meters. Abou
c, eighty holes in the ordinary rock, from
n varying in diameter from an inch an,
3 IA half TO three inches, are thus bore,
" in preparation for blasting. In III
{ 7 k NOW in progress, the holes are mad
Il but from seven inches to f.Ot il