The Cecil Whig., 1877-05-26
A Narrow Escape in the CrOton Aqueduct.

Narrow Escape in the CrOton Aqueduet.
Once year, or oftener, usually in No
vember, an exploration is made of the in
terror of the aqueduct from end to end, by
Mr.. Benjamin S. Church, the resident en-
gineer, 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. Many strange and excit-
ing adventures befall the men detailed
for this service; and though but one
life has ever been lost, large parties have
sometimes been in imminent danger. The
man holes having been opened previously,
the laborers under charge of Mr.. Church,
dressed in rough suits, enter the aqueduct
at the dam, and travel downward either
| afoot or in an ingenious car propelled by
crank like the hand cars 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 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 atmosphere, la
borers repairing the masonry five miles be-
low can be distinctly heard by those at the
entrance, and at all times the human voice
pitched in an ordinary key can be heard at
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 i'm
penetrable blackness, so dense that an mex
perienced person takes every step with ex-
treme caution. There are few greater pro-
moters of terror than the power of dark
ness, and the simple, superstitious Irish
men descending 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 unfortunates and engulf them with
irresistible force. Once, in fact, an order
was misunderstood, and twenty men mar
rowly escaped with their lives. Mr.. Church,
with this number of laborers, entered the
aqueduct to make some repairs, and in
structed the keeper at the dam to let the
water flow in again at II P. NJ The party
were making some repairs at point some
distance below the entrance at II A, NJ,
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 toward
their knees with terrible stealth and cer-
tainty. The situation was that of ship
wrecked 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 few in
ches of the roof of the aqueduct. By this
time the men were in highly nervous con-
dition, and Mr.. Church had to use his au-
thority in preventing them from making a
confused retreat for the nearest exit, which
was 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 quarter per
hour. 1t was no easy work walking against
such a current as this, and the progress
made toward the man-hole was unavoida-
bly, slow. The torches were successfully
put out by the splash until only one re-
mained, and that threw a dim, yellow un-
certain flicker on the dark surroundings.
There was one danger which Mr. Church
foresaw and was particularly anxious to
avert. If the men were not kept under con-
troll, each would make disorderly struggle
to reach the ladder at the man-hole, and
delay would result that might prove fatal
AS the water increased 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
off their feet. By reasoning with them and
encouraging them, however, Mr.. Church
allayed their fears and they gained the lad
der, and assembled it, one by one, in safety.
Wm. II. Rideing in Scri 6ner for June.