Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-02-23
The Great Mount Cents Tunnel.

the Mount CeMb Auunci, gives VIC ioAow
inc account of the final triumph and
sSort history Of the gigantic enterprise. !.
Aher four hours travel we arrived at
pardoneche at half past in the afternoon
Enoineer GrattOni was awaiting the party,
surrounded by various employees OF the
company and by other guests. After 80
fridd ride, the warmth OF our welcome
was something charming. At three thou
sa1d feet above the level of the sea, we
found every comfort that heart could de-
The band was playing the royal Fdnfa-
r.: the population We're 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 Law aside overcoats, cloaks, ETC., and to
put on linen ones, on account of the, di-
yersity 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, $3.50.
When work is going on it rises to 30 de-
gees. 9
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 open.
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
workers, we caught the CLEAN of the
lamps of the French miners. That faint
glimmer in the distance; the trimming
faces of the half-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 successful issue SO
gigantic an enterprise!
The mines were prepared on both sides,
and word was given to all to withdraw a
half kilometer, the prescribed distance.
Here, huddled together in groups, we
awaited the final defamation, signal Of
triumph.
The moment was supreme, too solemn
for conversation. Some seemed wrapped
in meditation. What train of thoughts,
recolections of hopes and fears, must
have coursed through the minds Of Some
meiller and Grattoni! fht f'a -
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:J0 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
towering, 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 rush for the passage. The first to
60 through was Grattoni. What scene |!
Amid the crumbling rocks that locked
/ like ruins, and seers instead success-a sort
of chaos, out of which is TO come order
and prosperity-the miners Rugged each
other with JOY, and French aid Italians,
English, German and Americans, shook
hands promiscuously. The first grand
shout that rang out was, Yea Z Italia,
rlca Vittori0 Emanuela "a just tribute
to the King who has never lost faith in the
success of the scheme, or ceased to encour-
age it.,
At seven splendid banquet of one hun
dred and twenty covers was given. 1t
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 h very gourd, sprung
up in the night, you would be ,astonished
and delighted with her fine edifices, mod
ern houses and her active, busting streets,
already Lit by gas Toasts were made to
the king, engineers, workmen, etc, and
the whole affair was fitting close for so
neat q day. ~
We returned to Turin, and from thence
70 Milan to-day. Perhaps cannot better
nnish this hasty account than by short
sketch Of the history of the tunnel. u
The subject had been pondered and dis
cussed as early as 1874, and was warmly,
seconded by Charles Albert, OF Piedmont,
lather Of the present King of Italy. Vs.
nous studies were made but without re.
suit. The war of 48 and 40 distracted
public attention from the scheme. To
the greatest of Italian statesmen, Camille
Cayour, belongs the honor Of hxving or
ganized and actuated the grand enter
pnse The mountain belongs to the Mt.
Cenis range, but must not be COMPOUNDED
with At. Gents itself. Its name II Fr@us, \
and the Italians call it the Virgin Alp.
Divers systems for boring were proposed,
ont Cavoir At once perceived the only
Practicable one to be that of Grattoni, viz
o. the use of compressed air. ii
,Cayour died in the beginning Of his
gory, but he lives in his magnificent, far
reaching plans, and Is reverenced In Italy
a. lne noblest and ablest Of statesmen and
patriots
:, Thework on the tunnel was begun in
november, 1857 The war of SO Occa-
stoned some interruption, but in 1850 1t
vas recommended with increased vigor,
ana superior instruments and machines.
Inc perfection Of the gcodetic instruments
Las been proved by the exactness with