Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1877-03-20

II lAtNh1 "a sHs
wofkmen, many Of whom worked for
wears i'm the Hoosac Tunnel. Massachu-
sets. They are pushing forward the work
with tremendous energy. an oxtra stinu-
lus being offered In the way OF extra pay
for all advancement made over . specified
number Of feet during the month. The
bonus thus distribst-d amenr the miners
for the month Of February an ,unted TO
Al, 900. Tho aggregate numDer OF men
EMPLOYED ON each Of the three hour shifts
Is twenty.four.
rnE DRILLING MACHINERY.
The most effective agency which within
tho past two or three years has revolu-
ticnized and greatly expedited the ad-
vance msnt Of the tunnel Is the drilling
machine. driven by two powerful air COM
pressing engines stationed 1t shaft No. 2.
at present 1000 feet blatant from the
header. The drill carriage. 30 feet IN
length and very substantially built. armed
with six l2.foat Ingerscil steel-pointed
octagon inch and . quarter drills. widen
ing out ~ inches. Is rammed up 70 the
face Of the header and set 10 work drilling
holes to the depth Of $ feet, each separate
drill making 800 seven inch strokes per
minute with . striking blow amounting to
nearly 1000 pounds. oftentimes twisting
the drills out Of shape or breaking them
like pipe stems. The din Of this huge en-
CINE of war hammering away at the face
Of the header with tremendous blows. Ia
such as tn render conversation impossible
for a distance Of . quarter Of . mile. Ths
time occupied in drilling the holes TO the
number OF II, averages about six hours.
in hard rock. The harder tho rock the
faster the ratio " progress. A jet OF
water shot into tho holes. alongside Of the
| drills, dislodges and drives out the drill
dust. The amount Of giant powder con-
sumei in "a hours ranges from $50 TO 200
pounds. Great caution IL required In
| nring tho blast. which IL lone by electric
| city, a. there IL danger Of knocking down
two or three sets Of timbers II the charge
IL too heavy. The conclusion from the
| blast Is such As to knock . mans
hat OF at q distance Of half . mile from
the header. Immediately after tho blast
/. fired. the valves in the comprcssers and
| reservoirs are opened and the bad air and
powder driven out. about half an hour be-
ing required for this purpose. A long
train Of cars, TO the number OF twenty or
more, drawn by two mules, speedily ar
rives. when the work Of removing the waste
hon, = r.ouir,l in making he trip from
the header to the mouth OF the tunnel, the
waste rcek dumped On ths Sa's'ae s;ai
- NJ sasro claims mai when the
tunnel !. completed the trip can 10 made
by steam In twelve minutes
THE TUNNEL rrskLr
Is As straight a. an arrow and sisnAi
triumph Of engineering skill. for the
entire distance from the sntranee TO the
h..,.r 4, 4. tan fact In width and eight In
s ,..,i. 81,
height, with ample iooh NO -,
track the who's uisesae. !. .nI.rys.
or more from me en.rAn.o ~, .io,,SIs
sun moio anu y yvLs.. a. .rorna
umiefeI aieyWays, "'e.o ~ ~, and
passed. throusn - s.,M.. s.,,,. ,o,ch
treaeherous tne se.s " ~. ~ ~ snf.
each ",n,r , :" o'uo' P.ss.asl - ,in,hcr.
iieientiy hard 10 MAKE .no Sols .ann.,
ing uhncves.s'y' I'm "a, IN,
Is three ineh.s LOT IN. " ,Sn ,.ins,..
present n%~ va I.=.snai $50 ,he
inehss. lne hns. ~ $3.50 49,
Somo'n'"ou cSam.~ >sIn,n. caan.nies
No,'I, ."o -, aar,h az Tho .a.,e.
s,rrv,,,xr,x unr.
a, ,nu,o a, o,r ,,.,, d tho tunnel.
-. . ,.r.on,I In.
~ NJ .s,,o,in,..,
spseuon VI ''0 sA"e' y" ~
- ....,.. p,,,,,., IAN, . NAL.
=. . ..,.hI. a, ...oumo.
est ID" PiA'o'" 's.i~ -"
dating tive persons besides the mule driver.
| Diye-ting ourselves Of our everyday APP
parel and donning an india rubber coat.
with o~veralls and gum boots. we took our
scat on tho ke-ar. A frisky mule by the
name Of Dandy was detailed 10 haul
our party into the tunnel. His right eye
was blindfolded a. he came from the stable,
but the blind was removed when he got
the word To 10. AZ the given signal nc
ratified of at q lively gait. y We found
ourselves plungipg along through tho
tunnel. leaving daylight rapidly behind US.