The Louisiana cotton-boll. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.) 1872-1883, 1873-12-31
WORK ON THE SULPHUR MINES.

who has come to sink a shaft 40 feet IN
depth to the sulphur deposit of the Cal
casieu mines.
A few lays before, Mr.. DelIam was
proceeded by about sixty miners and
laborers. most of whom have tor years
been engaged with him in similar work
ON mines of various description in Vir-
ginia mad elsewhere. Their tools, bag
gage. etc., were taken from New lbcsla
TO Cnlcasieu in wagons, while these har-
DIV sons IF toll, most Of whom are white,
made the journey on foot. fhe few
women who accompanied them went
with the wagons, but on&y a te" are
married or hav9 their wives aE0ng.-
Mr.. DeHum himself passed through
Vermilionvillo on the stage, on Satur~
day, the 9Th, and no doubt began work
vigorously on Monday or Tuesday last
As many have expressed doubts of
the successful sinking Of a shaft to the
depth of 400 or 500 feet into the bowels
of tho earth, we will mention that Mr..
! DeLam considers thnt q comparatively
smull undertaking, when compared with
the work on son c mines where he has
been engaged, which were sunk to far
creator depths, in localities where the
natural formation Of the earth made tho
undertaking much more difficult and
hazardous. Not unfrcquently are
shafts sunk to depths of 1000, 1900 or
| 1900 feet, and in one of the Western
gold mines, a shaft 1900 feet deep has
been sunk, from which rich quartz is
being annually taken in large quantities.
Feeling great interest in Mr.. DeHam'S
undertaking, the accomplishment OF
which will add untold millions to the
wealth of our country, we CLEANED from
him as much information as possible,
and especially as to the means en-
ployed in sinking shafts. The usual
method, which he will employ here is
to dig by hand a circular pit, the dirt
from which is hoisted by a windIas pro,
PEELED by steam. To prevent the cav
ing in of the earth, he will build an out
side wooden curbing, also of circular or
octagon form. This will be constructed
of pine logs, knotched and put together
closely, in the manner employed by
the builders Of log houses. The friction
of such a mass of logs against the sides
Of the shaft of course renders it impos-
sible to build from the top to be lowered
by the undermining of the structure ;
but, instead, he will build at the bottom.
To the inside face Of the wooden curb
ing, he will nail boards, to make
the work more secure, and as cash
piece of wood is placed in the
position prepared for it by displac-
ing the earth, il is nailed fast to the por-
tons above, and thus the curbing is
never allowed to move at all, as one side
is secured, or given a base on which to
stand, before,the other is undermined.
10 keep himself well informed of the
character of the earth through which he
has to pass, SO that he can prepare for
it, he bores down, frequently, in the
same manner as did the original work
ers on the D mine, when drilling for
petroleum. Whenever he finds that he
is approaching quick sand, which, if
dug down to unprepared, would sink his
curbing and perhaps cause a collapse Of
the whole work, he stops his wooden
curbing in time to leave it a secure base
on which to stand, and instead, inside Of
that sinks an iron curbing, which he
puts down in solid circular sections
When he has thus passed through and
shut out the quick sand, he will brobe-
bly, resume the wooden curbing again,
inside of which, throughout the whole
length of the shaft, he will put down the
iron curbing. When he reaches the
sulphur, and before the work is com~
piete, he will put down a second course
or series of iron sections, building the
last from the bottom of the mine, and as
he works upward, the space or crevaccs
between the octagon>shaped wooden
curbing and the circular iron tubing will
be closely packed with a cement.
Whenever he strikes u vein Of water,
the men have to leave the shaft and the
work is done by a sand pump until the
water is shut out by the first iron tubing,
when the water is all pumped out and
the men resume digging. In like msn.
ner, when rock has to be passed through,
the work is all done by a drill, worked
by machinery on top, and the sand or
portions beaten off by the drill will be
raised by a sand pump. After the rock
is passed through, the men again de-
scend aud continue the digging by hand.
When the rock is sufficiently hard, it
will not be necessary to put down the
first iron curbing, but it will be begun
as soon as it is passed.
Nr. DeHsm proposes to men
an entirely new shaft, and have nothing
to do with the old failures, whose curb
ing was collapsed by some neglect of
the above-named precautionary meas.
ures. He must be very sanguine of sue.
cess, from the fact teat he has contract
ed to take $4,000 in stock of the $780,
600 which he is to receive for the work.
W. predict his suscess, for he is a prac.
teal man, not afraid Of work, which be
always personally superintends. From
time to time we shall report the progress
he is making, and in a few months visit
the mines, when We can give a more