Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-05-31
A Narrow Escape in the CrOtOn Aque-
s. duct. .

Once year, or oftener, usually in No
vember, an exploration is made of the in
terror of the aqueduct, from end 20 end,
by Mr.. Benjamin S. Church, the resident
engineer, who for over twenty years has
been in charge of this part of the work.
The water is shut off at the Croton dam,
and the aqueduct is emptied by the waste
wiers which I have described. Many
strange and exciting adventures befall the
men detailed for this service; and though
but one life has ever been lost, large par
ties have sometimes been IN imminent
danger. The man holes having been
opened previously, the laborers, under
charge of h1r. Church, dressed in rough
suits, enter the aqueduct at the dam, and
travel downward, either afoot or in an in
genious car propelled by crank, like the
handcars used on a railway. The effect
is weird and awe inspiring. Some of the
men carry torches, whose smoke and
wavering blaze curl and flash in the dark
ness, and throw fantastic shadows and re-
fiectiOns on the moist walls. The voices
reverberate like peals of thunder,
and seem to awake responsive Vi
brationS in the massive stone and
brick work itself. In some conditions OF
the atmosphere, laborers repairing thema-
heard by those at the entrance, and at all
times the human voice pitched in an ordi-
nary KEY can be heard at a distance of
two or three miles, in long low rumblns.
A broad halo of light frames the men in,
and behind this there is an impenetrable
blackness, so dense that an inexperienced
person takes every step with extreme eau
ton. There are few greater promoters OF
terror, than the power of darkness, and
the simple, superstitiOus. lrishmen de-
scending the ladder at the entrance leave
sunshine, sky and fields above IN no
cheerful mood. The short clay pipes are
allowed to. go out, and few words are
spoken. 1t is business to be done with
as soon as possible. Thousands of tons
of water are pressing against the gates at
the entrance, and, should bar give way,
or an order be misunderstood, the flood
would rush down upon the uhortunates
and engulf them with irresistible force.
Once, intact. an order was misunderstood,
and twenty men narrowly escaped with
their lives. Mr. Church, with this number
of laborers, entered the aqueduct to make
some repairs, and instructed the. keeper
at the dam 10 let the water flow in agaia
at eleven p. m. The party were making
some repairf at point some distance be-
low the entrance at eleven a. m, when
Mr.. Church noticed gradual rise IN the
water. Afraid of causing panic, he did
not say anything to his men, but urged
them on in the hope that the work might
be completed that morning The water
continued TO rise, however, first submerg-
ing their feet, and then creeping up to-
ward their knees with terrible stealth and
certainty. The situation was that OF
shipwrecked crew cast upon rock which
l,xr a1f10r
tide. The engineer now realized the fact
that his order had been misunderstood,
and that the water had been turned On at
the wrong time, and would soon be with
in a few inches of the roof of the aque-
duct By this time the men were IN
highly nervous condition, and Mr. Church
had to use his authority in preventing
them from making a confused retreat tor
the nearest exit, which was some dis-
lance away. Meanwhile the water LAD
made its way above their knees and was
rushing through the aqueduct with
velocity of two miles and 2. quarter per
hour 1t was no easy work walking
against such a current as this. and the
progress made toward the man-hole was
unavoidabiy slow. The torches we're sue
cessively prt out by the splash until only
one remained, and that threw dim, yei-
low, uncertain uiCheI On tliO NN
roundings There was one danger Whlch
Mr.. Church foresaw and was particularly
anxious to avert. If the men were not
kept under CONTROL each would make
disorderly struggle to reach the ladder at
the man-bole. and delay would result
| that might prove fatal. AS the water in
creased in depth the greater, of course,
| became their terror, and when the gray
| light of the opening came into view their
| bodies were submerged to their waists,
while the current almost lifted them of
their feet. By reasoning with them and
encouraging them, however, Mr.. Church
allayed their fears and they gained the
ladder, and ascended it, one by one, in
safety.-Wm- FL. Rjde5ng, IN Scrtb'ser TOR
June.