The Republican journal., 1871-09-07
THE kankakee Company"

's'iN' 'i'O'i y
| Claycrngs.
The Kankakee Company"
| Those of our citizens who have not as
yet seen the large dam that the kankakee
Company are now building across the
river just above the city. should take an
early occasion to visit it and examine the
structure before the frames or ribs are
hidden by the planking. There is proba-
bly, no timber dam in the United States
that is more strongly put together. The
base OF the dam is 20 feet the height from
the bed rock to the top of the planking, or
crest, is 16 feet; the length nearly 1000.
The sils are Il inches square, Norway
timber, bolted to the hard limestone with
seven bolts Of 1-2 inch round iron, so
inches long, passing through each sill and
wedged at the bottom in such manner that
when the bolts are driven home the lower
end is expanded to such degree that the
iron is immovably fastened in the rock
The structure looks like an immense roof,
with its long ratters sloping up and down
the river. The up stream ralter has to
bear the great weight of the water that
will cover it, and it is supported by heavy
posts from to 3 - feet apart, and it has
4 slope Of 2 II feet base for every foot in
height. The lower rafter carries the apron
which has q slope of 2 feet base for every
foot in height, and is supported by posts
in the same manner to the upper one, but
with fewer posts. The object of the apron
is TO prevent the back LASH which is al
ways present when water falls perpendic
ularly from the crest of the dam, and
which has nearly destroyed the large dam
| at lIolyoke, Massachusetts. The frames are
placed feet apart from centre to centre,
and heavy purlines of l2inch timber are
stretched from one to the other and over
all is the planking of 3-inch white oak.
The engineer estimates that the dam,
when completed, will contain $50, 900 feet
Of timber and plank, and Is tons of iron.
The dam at the west end will be support
ell by u heavy abutment, n feet high with
wings: back of which is to be an embank-
ment 81 feet thick at the bottom in its
widest place, and narrowing up rs it rises
along the side-hill. AT the east end is Il
heavy wall which is continued up the
| river some distance above the crest of the
dam. which wall serves as an ice-breaker
! to split the large fields of ice which may
| come down the stream, so that the ice can
not be forced against the guard gates that
admit the water into the large canal and
| head race. The canal is 5000 feet long,
| 100 feet wide, with banks II feet high.
At the first glance, one is impressed with
/ the idea that the work is needlcssly strong.
and that some timber could be spared :;
but when the force and pressure of water
is carefully calculated, it will be under
stood why such Il forest of timber is need
| ed When four feet of water runs over
the crest of the dam, it has to sustain q
pressure of 5000 tons, or six tons Tor each
foot in length; a weight which is from
four to six times as severe rs our strongest
railroad bridges are obliged to sustain
| That weight acts with 4 leverage Of 5 IL
| feet, showing force of 81, 900 tons striv-
| inc to topple ovci the dam. The entire
| framing has been under the supervision of
Frank Gould, and it has thus far been
done insp very thorough manner. Will
mington Qll.) Independent.
The above work was planned by +. S.
Waters, Esq, the Chief Engineer of the
Company. Since its projection, it has had
the approval of eminent hydraulic en-
ginecrs both East and West, and since
more than half completed, it has the full
endorsement Of Mr. Francis, of Lowell,
and Mr.. Chesbrough, of Chicago, whose
| Judgment in such structure are second to
none in this country. Hence, the perma-
nency and reliability CT the water power,
thus created, cannot be questioned. This
is the work in which II. O. Alden, Esq,
of Belfast, is largely interested.
How TO DO IT. The most difficult thing
in the world for a woman to do is to get
ready to 60 anywhere. And there is
nothing Il woman will resent quicker or
more iiercely than an intimation that she
may possibly miss the train. Our friend,
Braytogle, gives us an instance of this.
Mr.. Bray was supposed to take the ten
o'clock train on the Bee Line, to visit
some relatives in an interior town. Hav-
ing suffered on previous occasions for in
1udicious suggestions, Bray thought that
ior once he would let things take their
natural course. So he slipped his coffee
and ate his eggs and toast while Madame
curlcd and powdered, and danced attend
ance on the looking glass, and tied bark
on the back Of her head Then Bray sat
by the stove an hour and read the morn
ing paper, while the Madame still contin-
ued to get ready. At last. just as he
reached the final paragraph of reading
matter and was beginning on the adver-
tisements, Madame tied her bonnet strings
under her chin, took one long, lingering,
loving look at the image reelected in the
glass, and sweetly announced:
''Well, my dear, I'm ready"
''Ready for what ?" asked Bray in we'll
affected astonishment.
''To 60 to the depot. to be sure, said
Mrs. Brayfogle, tartly.
"Oh!" said Bray, Cpd forgotten; well,
Madame" continued he, looking at his
watch THAT train has been gone thirteen
minutes. just keep on your things, and
you'll be ready for the train tomorrow
morning"
We draw veil over what followed
We are assured, however, that the next
morning Mrs. B., was ready an houl
ahead Of time
Some years since, prominent business
man of Northampton, Mass, who begar
to SOW his wild oats when boy, and has
not 0Ot all throuUh vet attended n cOlOre(