The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1873-02-20


4 upon an oval shaped cage, made of
paper mache, with false bottom, en-
closed within which the miners were
enabled to endure the intensest heat
of two hours each day. The drilling
was all done by means ofthe diamond
| pointed instrument, and the blasting
by nitro-glycerine from the ontset, so
that the principal labor consisted in
shoveling up the debris aud keeping
the drill point in situ.
The amazing fact was shown that
the weight of the atmosphere -increas-
ed in a ratio proportioned to the
square of the distance from the sur
! face down W ard * The
magnetic needle also evinced some
curious disturbance, the dip being IN
variably upward. Its action also was
exceedingly feeble, and the day before
the operrtions ceased it lost al polari-
ty whatever, and the finest magnet
would not meander from the point of
the compass it happened to be left at
for the time being.
Every appearance of water disap-
peared at the depth of only 5000 feet.
From this depth downward the rock
was of . basaltic character, having not
the slightest appearance. ofa granite
formation, confirming, in . remarka-
BILE manner the discovery made only
last year. that ali GRANTEES are of aque-
GUS, instead of igneous deposition.
AS, a .corollary FROM the law of atmos-l
pheric pressure. it was found utterly
impossible to vaporize water at q
greater depth than 1900 feet, which
point wac reached in 1881 *isl+53 y
SIS The reportthen proeeeelsto discuss
the question Of the true figure, of the
eartiI, whether an oblate spheroid, Ms
generally supposed, or only truncated
&C the poles The length 2ofo a. degree
of ,longitnde, al the latitude of Dudi
zeeie, anu one orltwo other )probieins
not bearing on; the points Of the re-
po-' ['0'- " /" 0duce 81 ~ isbnsHo 9fI3
For the past twelve. monthly IL was
found impossible to endure The heat,
even sheltered as the miners were by
the adiathermic cover and cage FOR
more than fifteen minutesIGatIea timel
SO that the expense of sinking had iin-
creased geometrically for the past two
years. However, important results
had been obtained, and q perpendfcu-
lar depth reached many thousands of
feet below the deepest sea soundings.
of Lieutenant Brooks. In. fact the
enormous excavation on the LIST of
November, 1872 measured perpendfc-
uIarly. no less than 81, $40 from the
floor of the shaft building J. The high-I
est peak of the Himalayasa is, only 3
little over 28,000 feet, 50 that it can at
once be seen that no time had been
thrownssaway by the Commissioners
since the elinceptien of the undertaking /
in April, lS49. ,ea,,, s,i.5t,i5 40 iss4s 4
The first symptoms of alarm were |
felt ON the evening Of Nov. 1. The
men complained ofa, vast increase of
heat, and the cages had to be dropped |
every five minutes for the greater part |
of the night; and of those who at-
tempted 10 work at least one-half |
were extricated in condition of faint !
ing but one degree from syncope. To-
ward morning, hoarse, profound and |
frequent subterranean explosions |
were heard, which had increased at |
noon to one dull, threatening, and |
continuous roar. But the miners |
went down bravely to their tasks, and I
resolved to work SO long as human |
endurance could bear it. But this was
not to be much longer, for late at
night on the 4th, after hearing ter
ri6le explosion, which shook the |
whole neighborhood, a sirOcco issued |
from the bottom, which drove them |
all out in state of asphyxia. The |
heat at tie surface became absolutely /
uncomfortable, and sending down a
cage with only dog it it, the materi-
ais of which it was composed took
fire, and the animal perished in the
flames. At 3 o'clock a. m. the iron
fastenings to another cage were found /
fused, and the wire ropes were melt
ed for more than Loo feet at the low
er end.
The detonations became more fire.
quent, the trembling of the earth at
the surface more violent, and the heat
more oppressive around othe mouth
of the orifice. A few minutes before /
4 O'Clock a subterranean crash. was |
heard, louder than Alpine thunder,
and Immediately afterward a furious
cloud of ashes, smoke and gaseous ex-t
halation shot high up into the still /
darkened atmosphere of night. At |
this time at least one thousand of the /
terrified and half-naked Inhabitants
of the 9neighboiing village of fDud- 7
zeele had collected deno the spot, and !
with ringing hands and fearful out
cries bewaifed their fate, and threat
ened instant death to the officers Of /
the commission, and even to the now
terrified miners. d Finally just before
dawn on the fifth. of November, or to
be more precise, at exactly, 20 min
utes past 6 q. M, molten lava made its
appearance atithe surface! ,b9isfs" Ssi1
The fright now became general. and
as the lbnrning buildings shed litheir
ominous glare around, and the LAM
guild stream of liquid fire slowly bub-
bled up aud rolled toward the canal. |
the scene assumei an aspect of awful
sublimity and grandeur. The. plains +
around were lit up for many leagues,
and the foggy skies intensified and re-
duplicated the effects of the illpmina-
tion. Toward sunrise fhe flow of Ia
va was suspended for nearly an hour, n
but shortly after 10 o'clock it suddenly
in volume, and, as it cooled,
formed sort of fsaucer-shaped funnel,
over. tile edges Of which il boiled up,
broke, and ran offIin every direction.
1t was at this period that the accom-
plished Dusoloy, SO long the Superiii-
tendent, lost his life. AS the lava
slowly meandered along he attempt
ed to crossed the stream by stepping /
from one mass of surface (cinders to
another s 5 Making a false step, the
floating rock upon which he sprang
suddenly, tnrued over, and before re-
lief could be afforded his body was
toa crisp. regret to add
that. his fate kindIed no 9 sympathy
among the assembled multitude; but
they rudely seized his mutilated re-
mains. and amid jeers, excavations
and shouts of triumph, attached
large stone to the half consumed
corpse and precipitated 1t into the
canal. Thus are the heroes of science
frequently sacrificed to the fury OF
plebian mob.
It would afford me.a pleasure to in
form the department that the unfore-
seen evils of our scientific convention
terminated here. But regret to add
that such is very far from being the