The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-06-03
Mines and Cou nter-MineS at
SebaStOpOl.

The information gained by tn
Russian comman der-in-cheif on the
subject OF the mines dug by the al
lied armies had been sent to him by
Prussian officer living at Paris,
where photographic plan of them
had appeared in a shop window.
This was at first supposed to be
mere TItSe de geterTe of the allies for
the purpose Of misleading the
defenders of Sebastopol and induc-
ing them to dig counter-mines
where there were no mines. A
few days later an Italian deserter
from the Legion Etrang-re of the
French army arrived at a Russian
outpost and was taken to head
quarters for examination. He
stated that he had been
working in a mine close to
one of the bastions, and he de-
scribed the place is being exactly
where it was represented in the lith-
ographic plan that mines had been
by the q les. Still the cautious
Russian general would not
believ1 IL the possibility of a secret
milit .ry operation being made
kn M by the publication Of plan
of it. He supposed that the So
called deserter had been designedly
sent to convince him of the accu-
racy of the plan, in order to divert
attention from the real position Of
the mines which were being dug.
The man was therefore taken in the
night to one of the trenches, where
he was left in the dark and blind
folded. He was soon made prisoner
by a French sentry reliable Rus
sian scout followed hin, and brought
back Intelligence of his having been
shot as soon as he had been recog-
nized as a real deserter. Russian
counter mines were then at once
commenced, according to the lithO-
graphic plans of the mines of the
allies. One night a distant rum
bling noise was indistinctly heard
at the end Of q Russian gallery. On
comparing the position with the
plan by the assistance of a mari
ner's compass, it became evident
that the sap was approaching one Of
the enemy's mines, laid down in il
as being near the salient angle OF
one of the Russian Sastions. 1t was
then certain that passages were II
process of formation through thu
lsame stratum of clay as the Rus
SLAMS had cut theirs in. The ad
vance of the latter was therefor
stopped and a large chamber wa
constructed. In it 400 pounds O
gunpowder were placed in barrel
touching each other and Withou
| lids. The end of a long fuse com
municated with one of them. Ola
was then filled into the passage
strengthened by transverse scat
| foldings of thick wood and wei
beaten down, to act as wadding
through which the fuse was mad
to pass. Men were placed on tn
rampant to watch the third Frenc
parallel, and the fuse was set fire tt
After little time something like a
earthqu Ike was felt, a smothere
roar was heard, and a cloud O
smoke rose from the parable
When it had cleared away me
, were seen carrying dead bodie
from the breach where the smok
J had escaped. Eighteen eff thos
. mangled victims were counted o.
, going into the gallery from the for
!; it was found by the Russian Office
Of engineers that the wadding @
clay had not been in the least dis
turbed, and that an aperture ha
burst into the enemy's sap. Ser
} tries were placed in it to report an
sound they might hear. Three day
afterWard they announced tha
digging had again been commenced
The Russians then proceeded t
remove the wadding of clay, wit
the view of getting near enough t.
; tile enemy TO spring other mine
: against him. The French fired
mine. but it did no harm to tn
Russians, who met every advanc
by an opposing passage. Mines an
; counter mines were freQuentl
sprung on both sides with more c
less success, and this fighting in tn
bowels of the earth resulted finall
in the establishment of the fourt
French parallel.