Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1878-09-15

Half an Hours Wanderings Under
Mob Hill.

As almost everyone knows, W. IT. Clark
has, undoubtedly, the largest establish
ment OF general merchandise and groceries
in the State of Nevada. His place Of
business is a massive stone building, front
ing on Main street, and extending back
along Clark street as far as Monroe.
Within these walls are tiers upon tiers of
goods, in his line Of trade, and then he
has other store-rooms in different parts
Of town. Some time ago Mr.. Clark 'stook
the bull by the horns;" be thought about
fires and the exhorbitant charges for in
surance he was forced to pay to guard
against an entire loss Of tho tons OF goods
he had stored in shells Of houses about
town, and commenced to tunnel under
Monroe street from his back door. 1t was
easy digging, and he kept going back until
well underneath Chinatown. 1t was cool,
and a nice place to work in during the hot
days Of last August, and right then and
there Mr.. Clark made up his mind to go
into the bowels of Mob Hill for a fire.
proof chamber that would ease his
mind from all fears of the de-
structive element fire. Yesterday q re-
porter from the SENTINEL office was con-
Quoted, by Mr.. Clark, through the store,
and were then at the entrance of the sub
%terranean galleries. This entrance is a
narrow p~assageway, with walls on either
side OF solid stone blocks, set in cement.
Where this passageway passes from the
store are iron doors, and then, IA feet dis
tant, where it opens into the walled cham
bers under Monroe street is another iron
door. This space of IA feet between the
face Of the excavation and the building is
partially filed in with rock. brick, sand,
etc.. but the upper part, from the roof Of
the mber to the stone building. is COW
cred with iron grating to afford light at
that end OF the vaults. From the store to
the west end Of the chambers is a railroad
and car, upon which to move goods the
more conveniently.
Once inside the chamber and yon are in
a room 25x30 feet partially divided by a
wall Of brick, but in fact, it is one room,
and is so built up with strong arches that
a person might imagine that four or five
departments were intended by its builders.
so much subdivision il occasioned by the
necessity of making the chamber safe from
caves on the sides, and from the top by
heavily loaded teams as they pass over
head and along Monroe street. This first
chamber is about IS feet from floor to cell
ing, and has a double floor. Running
back 40 feet from the west wall Of this
front room is another chamber 10 feet wide
and IA feet to the top of its arched ceiling.
At the western terminus OF this room is a
ventilation and '.sky-light" shaft, six
feet in diameter. The walls are formed
on bedrock, and we never saw better
work in any construction of the kind.
Boulders that were too heavy to remove
have been sunk below the floor, and the
dirt was excavated at the rate Of seven
wheelbarrow loads every five minutes.
during working hours.
Mr.. Clark has a storage capacity here far
greater than that Of his immense building
On the corner, and the stranger would ride
over it for a lifetime and never dream of
such chambers beneath him. The floor is
twenty-eight feet below the surface Of the
street. These chambers are pronounced,
by all who have seen them, to be the finest
for the safe-keeping of goods from fire,
mice, etc, to be found on the coast. When
the floors are all laid, we should not be
surprised il Mr.. Clark was waited upon by
a surprise party Of our venturesome young
folks for a dance in the bowels Of Mob Hill.