Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-02-23
The Great Mount Cents Tunnel.

oOuF1ut, WHO Was prtscut On the OCCdslOn
of the joining together of the two ends of
the Mount Gents Tunnel, gives the follow
ing account of the final triumph and a
short history of the gigantic enterprise.
After four hours travel we arrived at
Bardoneche at half past in the afternoon.
Engineer Grattoni was awaiting the party,
surrounded by various employees of the
company and by other guests. After so
frigid ride, the warmth of our welcome
was something charming. At three thou
sand feet above the level of the sea, we
found every comfort that heart could de-
sire
The band was playing the royal Fdnfa-
ra the population were all gathered at
the opening of the tunnel; there was no
time to lose. Hastily taking some refresh
ment, we Joined the crowd. The band,
composed of laborers, preceded US in an
immense car. Two carriages and another
car followed. In all there were about one
hundred persons. We had been directed
to lay aside overcoats, cloaks, etc, and to
put on linen ones, on account of the d.
versity of temperature, and we very soon
felt the wisdom of the direction. At the
distance of half mile from the opening,
the thermometer marked II degrees above
freezing point, and in the center, 1880.
When work is going on it rises to 35 de-
grees.
Six thousand meters having been passed
in carriage, we were obliged to descend
and travel the rest of the way on foot, only
the smaller section of the work being epen
The thick darkness was pierced here and
there by the Pickering lamps of the work
men who preceded us. Huge walls of
granite hemmed us in on every side.
Through hole large enough for the
miners to join hands with their fellow
| we ha c1p NJ ha
lamps of the French miners. That faint
glimmer in the distance; the grinning
faces of the alf-naked and stalwart labor
ers, which were weirdly illuminated by
their tapers, produced singular effect in
the obscurity. / was moved, contemplat-
ing this work and these workers. How
mony efforts of genius, of science, of ac
tivity, of patience, of hope, have been nec-
essary to conduct to a successful issue so
gigantic an enterprisel
The mines were prepared on both sides.
and word was given to all to withdraw q
half kilometer, the prescribed distance.
Here, huddled together in groups, We
awaited the final detonation, signal of
triumph.
The moment was supreme, too solemn
for conversation. Some seemed wrapped
in meditation. What a train of thoughts,
recollections of hopes and fears, must
have coursed through the minds of Some
meiller and Grattonii
Some, oppressed by the heat, which was
intense, crowded around the ventilating
shaft. The Pickering lights of miners
only made the darkness more profound. 1t
seemed the forge of Vulcan.
| At 4 80 o'clock in the afternoon a
heavy explosion took place. The shock
was so great that at the distance of 500
meters, all the lights were extinguished,
and we remained amid the quaking
echoes in the very bowels of earth's dark
mysteries. Other reports followed. The
smoke and smell of gunpowder were over
powering, but finally the breach was
| opened, the last stratum of rock crumbled,
and the problem of thirteen years study
and uncertainty gloriously solved. There
was a rush for the passage. The first to
go through was Grattoni. What a scenei
Amid the crumbling rocks that looked
like ruins, and toere instead success sort
of chaos, out of which is to come order
and prosperity-the miners hugged each
other with joy, and French aid Italians,
English, German and Americans, shook
hands promiscuously. The first grand
shout that rang out was, " ViuG z Italia,
ri1a Vittorio En1anueNd pa just tribute
to the King who has never lost faith in the
success of the scheme, or ceased to encour-
age it.
At seven a splendid banquet of one hun
dred and twenty covers was given. II
seemed impossible that we were amid the
eternal SHOWS of the Alps. Flowers, mu-
sic, illumination, wine, all the accompa-
niments of city luxury. And, indeed,
while Bardoneche is very gourd, sprung
up in the night, you would be astonished
and delighted with her fine edifices, mod
ern houses and her active, bustling streets,
already lit by gas Toasts were made to
the king, engineers, workmen, ETC., and
the whole affair was a fitting close for SO
neat day.
We returned to Turin, and from thence
to Milan to-day. Perhaps cabnot better
finish this hasty account than by short
sketch of the history of the tunnel.
The subject had been pondered and dis
cussed as early as 1874, and was warmly
seconeded by Charles Albert, of Piedmont
father of the present King of Italy. Va
rious studies were made but without re-
suit The war of 4S and 40 distracted
public attention from the scheme. To
the greatest of italian statesmen, Camille
Cavour, belongs the honor of having or
ganiZed and actuated the grand enter
prise. The mountain belongs to the Mt
Gents range, but must not be confounded
with Mt. Gents itself Its name is Frejus,
and the Italians call it the Virgin Alp.
Divers systems for boring were proposed,
but Cavour at once perceived the only
practicable one to be that of Grattoni, viz:
by the use of compressed air.
- Cavour died in the beginning of his
glory, but he lives in his magnificent, far
reaching plans, and is reverenced in Italy
as the noblest and ablest of statesmen and
patriots.
The work on the tunnel was begun in
November, 1857. The war of '59 occa-
stoned some interruption, but in 1850 it
was recommended with increased vigor,
and superior instruments and machines.
The perfection of the geodetic instruments
has been proved by the exactness with
which the two parts of the tunnel meet.
There is not the slightest difference in the
level And the calculations of the ad-
vance of the work only varied by about
twelve hours, variation produced princi-
pally by small diversity in trigonometrl-
cal measurement.
The tunnel is 1886 meters in length,
which is equivalent to about IL, $50 yards
nearly two-thirds of which have been
excavated from the Italian side, the great
est difficulties of the perforation having
been found on the Mondane side. Some
quartz formations which were menacing
were encountered, but were conquered by
the intelligent and indefatigable work of
engineers and men. The tunnel is the
longest in the world, and, as piece of en-
gineering, Is said to be of much greater
difficulty than the Isthmus of Suez. 1t
connects Italy with France, so that from
Milan to Italy one travels without change
of cars The st. Gothard Pass, on the
other side, which is to be pierced by rail
way (the studies having been already COM
pleted and the subsidies voted), the Anglo
Indian valise, which has been removed
from Marseilles to an Italian port, Brindisi,
open to Italy great commercial future,
which commercial and intelligent people
like ours will appreciate without any aid.
The rejoicings were much dlmpened by
the sad condition of France