Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1871-01-27
from the New York Sun

| An8 AT1uAupA Oh I00 ago.
From the New York Sun.
A dispatch from Susa says the
Alps were pierced through on Mon
day, and the workmcn from both
ends Of the Mont Gents Tunnel join.
ed i'll congratulations upon the com
pletion of the great work. The
work on the great tunnel, which had
been talked of for over quarter OF
a century, was actually begun III
1857, on the Italian side at Bar,lon-
nache. a little later operations
were begun on he French side, at
Fourncaux. The tunnel passes un-
der the three peaks called Col. Ere
jus, Mt. Grand WALTON, and the Col.
de la Roue, the first beginning on
the French, the third on the Italian
slope, and the second almost equal
distance between the two. Mont
Gents, from which it takes it's name,
is II or is miles from the French
entrance, but it probably enjoys the
honor of the tunnels baptism from
the fact that it is much better known
than any Of the SUBMITS Of ranges
in the nci ghborhood.
HOW THE WORK WAS ACCOMPLISHED.
The work on the Italian side was
continued for about four years, when
about 900 yards having been com
pleted, perforating machines were
brought into requisition. The or
dinary motive power, steam, could
Lot be employed in operating these
machines, as steam needs fire for
generation, and fire needs air for its
support. After long deliberation
and countless. experiments, com
pressed air was employed. The
machine is composed Of II or IS
iron tubes, in which, by vibrating
motion caused by the rise and fall
of water, and regulated by pistons
in the tubes, the air is compressed
to one-sixth its natural bulk. This,
when released, exercises an expan-
sive force of six atmospheres.
As the piston ascends it forces the
water up, compressing the air and
driving it into a reservoir; as it de-
scends a valve is opened near the
top, through which the air rushes
into the vacuum, and is in turn com
pressed and forced into the reser-
voir. From the reservoir large
iron pipe conveys the compressed
air into the tunnel. Ten Of these
pertorators were kept constantly at
work. The drills, working by the
compressed air, were kept constant
ly boring the rock at the rate OF
nine feet a day. The perforators
were not introduced into the tunnel
at Fourneaux, on the French side,
until 1868, two years after they had
been in use on the Italian side.
THE ENTRANCE TO THE TUNNEL
is 25 feet wide and as many in
height. During the progress ofthe
work, double railway track run
into the tunnel, carrying the nipple
ments and the stone for the mason
work, and bringing out fragments
of broken and blasted rock. \ tenn
porary wooden partition divided the
tunnel into two equal galleries,
above and below; the raritied air
from the lower gallery rising and
passing out through the upper, and
fresh air coming into the lower to
supply its place.
For some time after the work was
begun, visitors were admitted at all
times, but as the work progressed,
stricter rules were adopted, and
permission was given to inspect the
work only on two fixed days of the
month. The visitor is taken in
charge by the director of the work
ingmen, who gives him long India
rubber coat and lighted lamp at
tachcd to half a yard of wire, and
with them they set out upon their
journey, into the bowels otthe earth
After going some distance the
patch Of day furnished by the en-
trance is lost sight of, and the dark
! ness seems positively tangible.
Ahead through the blackness glim-
mer number of lights, nd the
rumbling sounds of the wagons car
rying out the debris is heard. Then
comes dull, heavy rumble, echoing
and re-echoing through the gallery,
and seeming to shake the mountain,
from base to summit. 1t is the
sound of an explosion. One follows
another in rapid succession, and,
after seven or eight, the wooden
doors, which are closed Just before
the blast, are thrown open, and
clouds Of yellow smoke come pour
ing through the tunnel in such den
density and volume rs to be pos
itively painful. At the time of
the completion of the tunnel the
workmen from the Italian side had
| bored four and one-half miles into
| the mountains, and those on the
French side about three miles, the
whole distance being seven and
four-htths miles.
Four n lies from the outer world,
and with more than mile Of Alps
towering above their heads, the Wis
itors find the men and machines ut
work, The drills making two hnn-
dred revolutions a minute, and seat
ter innumcrable sparks of fire from
the rocks. After about ninety holes,
three feet in depth and two to three
IN hes in diameter, are bored, they
are charged with powder, and
tamped, when-the miners with
drawing behind the wooden doors
the slow match is ignited and the
explosion takes place. So the labor
has continued without interruption,
day and night, week after week, in
Guiding Sundays; month alter month
and year after year. The workmen
are divided into three relietS, eight
hours being given to labor and six
teen to rest. The common laborers
receiving only three francs a day,
and the skilled but five.
the CASUALTIES.
or course, in such work, accidents
must happen. 1t has been told that
more than 900 workmen have lost
their lives up to 1869; but the guides
Al