The Newtown bee., 1880-07-28
Terrible Tunnel Tragedy.

under the Hudson river, between Jersey City afid New York. There are about one huns dred and fifty men at work on the tunnel, divided into shifts of from thirty to forty men. Each shiit is subdivided into two gangs. Work proceeded Continuously day and night on the tunnel, each shift working eight hours. At the time the accident happened one of the gangs oi the morning watch had just gone into the tunnel and the other gang was coming out. Seven men were in the air-lock, and when they heard the rush of water they hast ened out of the air chamber, but so quick did the water come in that the cage was partly filled with water before the men could open tue door and get into the shaft. They ran up the ladder leading to the bottom of the shaft and escaped.
 The tunnel had been extended out about three hundred teetafrom the working shalt. There is O space of about thirty feet from the working shaft to the point in the tunnel where the permanent work has been built. This passage slopes toward the liver and hss hitherto been protected by a temporary filling. The workmen had been engaged for several | days replacing this temporary bulking with permanent work. The iron plating above the roof had been placed in position, and the men were working tbeir way downward through the silt and debris, putting in the iron plates at the sides. It is supposed that some of these plates which were placed next the brick wall of the working shalt were not placed | close enough to eonfine the compressed air | supplied to the men working in the shalt by the engine On the surface. This compressed air worked it's way out, turning the plates backward and allowing the water to flow into the tunnel. It was not the water directly | from the river that flowed in, as the place | where the break occurred is about fifty feet | from the bulkhead, but the ground is filled in l ground and was much loosened and broken | up by the excavation for the working shaft. l The ground is filled with water, and as soon l as a current was created the water from the | river Iu he'd in through the bulkhead, filling | the tunnel and working through the refuse | shaft in the working shatt fllliUg 1t with fifty | feet of water and coming within ten or twelve | feet of the surface ot the ground. Twenty -one men were overwhelmed by the rushing water | and drowned.
 Thomas Brady, a miner, who was in the connecting chamber when the accident oc- cured, was found at his home by a reporter, and gave the following description of his | struggle for life, together with his fellow | workmen: ]" We went on at midnight. There | were twenty-eight of us. The shaft leads | down to the ai.-Iock. We have to pass through the air-lock in going into the tunnel and com l ing out. The air-lock is twenty five feet long 1 and boiler-shaped. A thick iron door four
 feet high and about three and half feet wide | is at each ond. The air is forced into the connecting chamber and tunnel to support the | iron plates on the roof by force pumps. We | go into the air-lock, close the outer door, | turn on the air valves, and when the air in
 the lock is of the same density as the air within the tunnel we can push the inner door i ot the air-lock open and pass into the con- | necting chamber. Then the inner door is | closed. Circular tracks around tho
 chamber and connect 1t with the two tunnels | running under the river to the eastward. The | north tunnel is about five hundred feet long l and the plates in the roof are all in position l and the brick work around the sides has also
 been finished. The south tunnel is fifty feet | long; the roof plates are put up, but only
 few feet of the side brick wo k was completed. | The eastern part of the large connecting | chamber was completed and the roof plates all
 over the roof were in position, but only a very | little of the side brick work in the part | of the chamber nearer the tunnel was con- pleted, and we wore at work last night putting
 the plates near tho inside door and building | the brick work at about the central part. Mud | sbenches and wood ork hold up the plates
 until we build the brick work underneath.
 Braces were used to keep the plates in posi-
 ton, and the air which was forced in held them | up.
 "At four o'clock all but twelve of us who
 were at work in the chamber went through the
 air.lock and up the shaft tor lunch At about 1 lf-past four they came back again, aud we
 who had not yet gone stopped work and were
 ready to go for our lunch. Two or three men
 were in the air-lock and ten or twelve of us
 were near the air-lock waiting for these men
 to come out so that we could go up. Just
 as these men were coming out ot the lock a
 leak occurred in the mud on the northern side
 of the chamber, very near the air lock. It did
 not trighten us much, because we had seen
 leaks of this kind before, and knew what to
 do in order to stop them. We immediately | set to work trying to plaster up and stop the
 leak with mud. But 1t was no use It in- 1 creased constantly. The air rushed through
 1t at terrific pace, making very loud, hissing | noise like a steam engine blowing off at high
 pressure. In less than a minute we saw that it
 was no use. We could not stop the leak. We
 waited for the orders oi Night Superintendent | Peter Woodland, who had charge oi the gang. He told us to save ourselves, and seven
 of us succeeded in doing SO. I rushed
 into the air-lock with others. It was not two I minutes betore the whole thing was over.
 The water began to pour in upon us and was
 rising fast. A tremendous pressure closed | the air-lock door next to the chamber, and | poor Olat Anderson, miner, was ammed in | the door. heard the inside moaning,
 and Anderson was crushed to death by the
 door. tried to help him out, but he was
 nearly dead in a second. He clutched my
 hand as if it was his death girp, and had all
 could do to release myself from his grasp.
 We thought that we should surely be drowned
 because the water was rising fast. We
 attempted 10 open the inside door to let the
 other workmen out, but Superintendent
 Woodland who was in the chamber with the
 others, called to us to save ourselves and send
 the others help as quickly as we could. We
 put all our strength to the outside door to
 open it. It opened toward us Of course. But
 we could not start it. Then we almost gave
 up hope. But one man had an iron bar with
 which we broke the two holes in the door,
 which were filled with very thick glass. This
 was to let the water out, but they were not l large enough to keep the water from rising. | Help arrived outside the door, and two men
 pushed the door while we pulled, and we
 finally opened it against the force of the water.
 Then we scrambled up the circular stairs ot
 the large brick shaft and got out. After that
 Mike Kerley, the night watchman, and went
 back into the air-lock to see Ii we could ger the outside door opon, but the roof of the air
 chamber had fallen in, the water had risen,
 and we could not budge the door. All then | was still. believe the men were drowned by
 that time. It was all over in few min l utes."
 James Hayes, one of the survivors, was
 found by reporter, to whom he gave the
 following graphic statement oi the accident and the escape of himself and several others: CT went down with the gang at twelve
 o'clock. Myself and few other men were at
 work excavating in the tunnel short distance
 inside the inner door. The two doors are about fifteen feet apart. Each door is about four feet in diameter. In passing in or out | one door is closed before the other is opened.
 This is necessary to prevent a rush of air,
 which would happen if both doors should be
 open at one time. At about five o'clock, as
 near as can judge, we were all working near
 the air-lock, and we were startled by noise that indicated leak, and immediately after- I ward there was loud noise, as if something I had been suddenly broken or bursted. All
 this took place in Q minute. l never ex- perienced anything that was more sudden. The leak was discovered on our left as we faced the door. The water poured in rapidly. f1kal lna1 hxyo hOu fneyn ny1Y | clothes into it. We worked with might and 1 main Some of the men removed their