The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-06-13
Narrow Escape in a CrotOn Aqueduct.

Once a year, or oftener, usually IN
November, an exploration is made Of the
interior of the New York aqueduct from
end to 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
empticd by the waste wiers which [ have
described. Many strange and exciting
adventures befall the men detailed for
this service ; and though but one life
has ever been lost, large parties have
been in imminent danger. The man.
holes having been opened previously,
the laborers under charge of MI.
Church, dressed in rough suits, enter
the aqueluct at the dam, and travel
downward either afoot or in al ingenious
car propelled by a crank like the hand
cars used on a railway. The effect is
wierd and awe-inspiring. Some OF the
men carry torches, whose smoke and
wavering blaze curl and flash in the
darkness and throw fantastic shadows
and reflections on the moist walls. The
voices reverberate like peals of thunder,
and seem to awake responsive vibrations
in the massive stone and brick work
itself. In some conditions of the atnlos-
phere, laborers repairing the masonry
five miles below can be distinctly heard
by those at the entrance, and at all times
the human voice pitched i'll all ordinary
KEY can be heard at a distance of two or
three miles, in. long low rumbles. A
broad halo of light frames the men in,
and behind this there is an impenetrable
blackness, SO dense that III Inexperienced
person takes every step with extreme
caution. There are few greater pro-
motors of terror than the power OF dark
ness, and the simple, superstitious Irish
men descending the ladder at the ell
trance 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 q business to be
done with as o o as possible. Thou
sands of tons of water are pressing
against the gates at the entrance, and
should a bar give way, or an order be
misunderstood, the food would rush
down upon the unfortur ates and engulf
them with irresistible force. Once, in
fact, al order WAS misunderstood, and
twenty men narrowly escaped with their
lives. Mr.. Church, with this number Of
laboreiS, entered the aqueduct to make
some repairs, and instructed the keeper
at the dam to let the water flow in again
at eleven P. NJ. The party were making
some repairs at a point some distance
below the entrance Mt eleven A. NJ. when
MI. Church noticed q gradual rise in the
water. Afraid of causing q panic, he
did not say anything to his men, but
urged them Oh in the hope that the work
might be completed that morning. The
water continued to rise, however, first
submerging their feet, and then creeping
up toward their knees with terrible
stealth and certainty. The situation was
that of a shipwrecked crew cast upon a
rock which is being slowly covered by
an incoming 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 within a few inches Of the
roof OF the aqucdnct. BY this time the
men were III a highly ervou condition,
and MI. Church had to use his authority
in preventing them from making a con-
fused retreat for the nearest exit, which
wa some distance away. Meanwhile the
water had made its way above their knees
and was rushing through the aQueduct
with velocity OF two miles and 4 quarter
per hour. 1t wasno easy work walking
against such a current as this, and tie
progress made toward the mau-hole was
unavoidably slow. The torches were
successfully put out by the splash until
only one remained, and that threw Il
dim, yellow, uncertain flicker on the
dark surroundings. There was one dam
ger which Nh. Church foresaw and was
particularly anxious to avert. If the
men were not kept under control, each
would make a d~isorderly struggle to
reach the ladder at the man-hole, and a
delay would result that might prove
fatal. As the water increased in depth
the greater, of course, became tleir ter
ror, and when the gray light of the open
ing came into view their bodies were
submerged to their waists, while the cur
rent almost lifted them off their feet.
BY reasoning with them and encouraging
them, however, MI. Church allayed their
fears and they gained the ladder, and
assembled it, one by one, in safety
ScriLue1's luU0zjne.