The daily gazette., 1876-09-14
From the New York Sun.
Making Ready at He'll Gate.

| Making Ready at He'll Gate.
MORE sLooP-LoADs OF EXPLOSIVES -
MEN BECOMING ExPEkT-
THE BATTERY.
| The dangerous task of charging thu
holes drilled in the bed of gneis
| rock at He'll Gate was continued yes
terday, and the men having become
more accustomed to handle the cart
ridges, accomplished more than dur
ing the previous day. Forty of th'
200 "groups" were finished. making {
total of 400 holes, or 1900 differen
sized cartridges, that have been made
ready for printing during the two
days. AS Gen. Newton anticipated,
the men have so improved in this kline
OF work that the final explosion may
take place prior to September 23
Everyone connected with the worl
Ceems anxious that the "blowing up
should take place as soon as possible
The work will therefore be pushed
forward as rapidly as is consistent
with safety. Some delay may occul
in filling the galleries with water, a.
this will have to be done slowly
through the syphon. The total area
excavated from the rock bed is Al, ,4G
cubic yards-two and three'quarters
acres in superficial extent-and ovel
twenty hours will be required to
flood the extensive works to the riv =
er level. Tunnels Nos. Z, 8, 0 and 10
are covered with damp sawdust, and
in each the unpacking, wiping and
asserting of cartridges went OH stead
lily yesterday. The explosive cartrldg-
es are permitted to be received only
as rapidly as they can be unpacked,
examined. and used, so that dangerous
accumulation in the shaft is avoided.
Another cargo of rendrock and vulcan
powder was discharged on the wharf
from tidy little white sloop. The
entire supply of vulcan powder was,
however exhausted before night, and
Mr.. Bernard Doyle, in charge of the
mining department, called for more
long before the whistle was blown for
the men to stop work.
"These high explosives differ from
gunpowder," said Capt. James Mercur
the superintendent, "in this that while
common powder is mechanical mix
ture of sa'petre, sulphur, and charcoal
sulphur and charcoal being elements
in themselves, and salpetrea mixture
of potash and nitric acid-nitro-gly. .
cerine is chemical compound made
by substituting the elements Of hypo
nitric acid for portion of the hydro,
gen contained in glycerine. AS used
in our cartridges the liquid has been
absorbed in keiselguhr, a silicious clay
that much resembles brown sugar. Ii
is hard to estimate the force of it, but
the difference in action is something
like this: Take stick of wood bore a
hole through it, fill that with powder,
and the stick will split; fill it with
nltroSglycerine and it will string out
like broome. In many cases powder
is better, it exerts its power more
gradually, but if you wish to make
powder of rocks nitro glycerine will do
that" The cover of the batteries
which form so important part of this
great undertaking-is being streng-
thened by an additional layer of stones,
and will be bomb proof. The battery
service will be under the supervision
of MIR. julius Striedinger. Within the
bomb proof are two frames, each hav-
ing 4SO cells, each 10 cells forming one
battery. The cells are single fluid cells,
filled with electro poion and solution
of bi chromate of potassa, dissolved
In diluted sulphuric acid. The zinc
and carbon plates ere 4x6 inches, and
oppose an area when lowered into the
fluid of 40 square inches each.
The cells are connected for intensi-
ty, about AZ of them forming one bat
terry, the intensity of which is sufficient
to ignite simultaneously one "set,"
consisting of eight groups of 90 fuses
In continuous circuit, equivalent to
100 fuses. There are, in all, go sets to
be exploded by 23 such batteries. In
order to insure the simultaneous ex-
plosion of these 23 times 100 fuses, a
novel apparatus will be interposed into
the circuit of each of these independ>
ent set. The apparatus consists of a
gravity circuit closer, brass pin clos.
ing the open circuit when the batteries
are lowered down, after the charging
OF the mines is finished by dropping
into cup filled with mercury. both
brass cup and pin being part of the cir.
cult. 1t is understood that there are
20 brass pins and as many mercury
cups in the instrument forming the
current closer. The simultaneous ex.
plosion of all the mines will hence, il
no accident changes the the program.
me, be accomplished in the following
way. After the wires are connected
with the poles of the battery, and the
brass pin and cup respectively, the
plate containing the brass pin is to be
lifted and held by a cord containing
the fuse the destruction of which. bV
a separate battery, will cause the
closing of the circuit by the contact of
the brass pins with the mercury in
the cups, and the explosion must fol
low.
Cure for Colds ia the Head.