The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-09-29
%, 1870.
paris TMsfcrGrouna-The Sewers Re.
%arssed as Sfraacgicas Points During
sfan

the siege.
the Paris correspondent of the Dali
Meas writes, under date of August oSlh. a,
follows:
f"n know the stsge.,raps i'll pantomime
time, up which the guards of "'rhe De.
IvaVcd Demon Of Dumblcdownherry y
comes mp, armed cap-a-pie, thirstins 'for
the abduction of maidens and the blood O,
the innocent.
You have seen. too, mysterious men clad
~ divers and golfers. in huge stiff boots
aud blue Jerseys. emerge from the London
paycmentS. whiie-iaccd and mephitic, and
have said 10 Yourself plaridiy, Sewers =
combine these experiences as Count Smorl.
inrk did '<Chtne>c" and " metaphysics
and Won will arrive at Something fat more
enemy entering 4 modern city by it's sub
ierranean ways, and ut Il given signal ar.
pp&rcd above groundt
The chance OF the PruSSians attempting
This in Paris is actually being canyaSSed,
and the few people Who have been to The
pains to ascertain tor themselves, and by
nau>tous personal experience, what The
sewers Of II wcll-draincd capital are like,
what i il 10 walk in them and 10 follow
their courses. will admit the possibility oi
u vast force tindin" lis way below ground &c
street in the city Of London has its hidden
counterpart below. The sewer map of The
engineer 10 the corporation, Mr.. HAYWARD
j. rs complete in its general outline rs =
INA? nt the city itself. and beneath all the
larger thoroughtarcs men can walk erect
aud n many Of them three or four abreast
The >uhterranean works OF Paris are tar
more wonderful still, and are admitted to
SurpaS, those of ancient Rome. From the
suburbs at ASnierS to the Place de In Con.
cartic m enormous subway runs. which is
,iNtecn and half feet high. eighteen feet
T'road. and more than three miles long
Besides this are below the city three spa
,ious galleries running on each side of the
Seine the whole being provided with their
traps at regular intervals. and lighted with
oil lamps. Descend into either Of these,
and yuu fad them To- he aS we'll built rs
those beneath the city OF London. and with
facilities lor cleansing them which are en-
!rrmrly suggestive Of their value for strate-
zeal purposes.
The >uhterraucan drains. or galleries, arc
furnished with iron tramwayS. along which
small carts run. which are pushed by three
men and furnished With drop-plank, which
it's exactly into the drain, and pushes the
mud before il rs il advances. On the turbid
waters of the great collector, between
A$nirreS and the Place dc In Concorde. Il
rona-~iHrd boat is navlgattd. and the wild
r>t stories are abroad respecting its possible
uses To- The enemy. Most of these may he
dismissed AS idle. but am in position to
.ltirm that careful inspection ofthcSe sub.
ierrancan works has been made, and that
rari, i preparing itself, down even to the
waters uudcr the earth, for the possible
reception of its foe.
If gunpowdcr will blow up iron taps,
winter will spoil gunpowder. and the SAM
tary rite known a> flushing the sewers
would ctirctually dispose Of an intrudine
force. The catacombS again. into which
seventy different StaircaSes lead, and which
extend not merely under the fanhourgS
-. German. St. ,JaqucS. and st. Marcel,
hut under such important buildings rs the
Palace Of the Luxembourg and the Pan
theon. have had more attention paid them
within the past two days than has been the
case for wears. Their uses under cOntln.
gcncicS. which it is ineNpcdicnt to name.
their size and value a. repositories. are al
canyaS,cd eagerly, and nothing shows more
plainly The auticlpAtionS Of the people OF
Paris than the keen interest they display III
such topics As these.