The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1885-10-15

= = - = =
The great obstruction at Hell Gate,
New York IIarbor, was FlioF Reek Fer
nine years it has beer a question i,eN 70
remove it. Last Saturday Tie eng isscf-
ing skill Of Mr.. Newton, il charge oi Tie
work, was brought to aeonsuinnla(iels. Is
his little daughter Mary touching tie but-
ton that caused an explosion that broke he
rock into thousands Of pieces. AID de-
stroyed the massive obstruction il s4e
Earbof. A dispatch dated the 10th, gives
the particulars, as follows
At II A. NJ. today the csc, 000 pounds Of
dynamite under Flood Rock, He'll Gate,
were exploded The shock was plainly
felt at the lower end of the city.
The elevated railroads and the horse
cars began to carry large numbers of pas
sengers from an early hour this morning
TO various points of vantage in the upper
art OF the city to witness tie explosion.
These got off the cars all along from
Eightieth to Ninety-lifth Street. and
walked down towards He'll Gate. The
scene at 10 O'Clock Was pretty and i'm
presslve. Tie shore Oh The New York
side was fringed with dark masses of men,
'
sible way to get the best view of Flood
Rock. Some were perched upon huge
piles of boards in the neighboring lumber
yards. Some with more enterprise sat in
fancied security upon the roofs of tene-
ment houses, while others planted them
selves upon terra frnd.
The largest crowd was collected in front
of Eighty-siXth street. Here several
acres Of ground were completely covered
with people. A few yachts and boats,
more Yenturesome than their neighbors,
lay off the piers awaiting the pressing OF
the electric button, which should blow up
the hidden mine. A few barges loaded
with brick were. anchored at their docks.
The owners seemed willing to take the
risk OF being sent to the bottom by the
upheayal Of the waters. Policemen were
as thick as autumn leaves. and were every
where. Every foot of land along the
river front was under the surveillance OF
these guardians Ut the peace Soon after
10 o clock the police boat and the boat of
the Commissioners of Charity steamed up
the river and began their work of clear
ing the stream of the venturpsome craft.
They stretched imaginary ropes across
the river, both above and below Hal,ett S
Point, and gave orders that no vessels
should pass until after the explosion had
taken place. Photographers, with their
cameras, were perched upon available
spots ready to take instantaneous views
| of the mighty upheayaE
The bell in the tower Of ST. AIMS school
building struck the hour of IL, and $4,000
people waited expectantly for the explo-
sion which was advertised to be on hand
at that hour But at that moment there
was still q number eff people on Flood
Rock. A few moments later. however, a
| tug took them off and then the spectators
| braced themselves for the expected shock.
| Ladies and gentlemen in carriages stood
upon the cushions and leveled their opera
| glasses towards the island A h6shed ex-
| pectancy fell upon the vast crowd, who
seemed almost afraid to breathe for fear
| theact would disturb their view OF the
explosion, should it occur at that moment.
The river in the vicinity of Flood Rock
and Hallett's Point WIS now clear Of YES
| sells. AT u respectable distance. how
| ever, scores of excursion steamers. their
ldecks black with people yachts. tugs, and
even sound liner waited for the pressing
of the electric button.
| At precisely l1:i3 O'Clock the earth
| trembled and the bosom of the river was
pierced with a mighty uplleaWtl Of rocks
| and timberS.
Up, up went the 'glitferiag masses of
water, until it seemed as if they would
never stop. At Il height of two hundred
| feet the uplifted waters paused in tier
| upward flight and fell back again to the
river. At this moment, when the air for
| for hundreds of feet III each direction was
| filled with the white masses OF sparkling
water. the spectacle was grand beyond eX-
/ preston.
Mary Newton, the eleven-year-nll
daughter Of General Newton who, as
chief engineer, has conducted the opera
| tion at Hell Gate since the start, touched
| the button that set free the electric cur
rent that exploded the submarine mines
and shattered the mountain of rock, lit
! ing it out of the bosom of the sea and
crushing it intoa million of fragments.
1t was little Mary Newton who, when a
mere baby, touched off the first He'll Gate
| explosion IL few feet from the point where
she stood to-day. The shock of the col
| lapse was felt only Slightly on the Astoria
shore, and the noise resembled far-distant
subterranean thunder. A tremendous vol
ume Of water rose to q height Of $50 or
200 feet. masses of white foam shining in
the sunlight, presenting the appearance of
a fantastic iceberg lifted bodily upon q
solid basis Of dark frozen water. For Eve
or six seconds it trembled aIoft and then
sank back in the river upon which vel
low snlphurious glow rested for a minute
after, and then the river resumed its
wonted course When Flood Rcck had
lifted its stony back, mass OF broken
wreck was seen on top Of it. All the big
derrick that had been left 10 it's fate
turned over on its side and was broken. A
huge tank that had been left at the north
end of the island still stood in its place,
lifted over little rs it had settled when
let down with the angry waters from its
aerial flight. Immediately after the ex-
ploSion fire broke out in the wreck and
burned Justify among the sething. Four
instantaneous photographs were taken by
officers OF the corps of engineers from the
firing point at Astoria. AS far as it was
possible to judge from the position and
appearance of the wreck the explosion
had been an entire success, though for
the present theagicinity Of the blasted
rock will be even more dangerous than
heretofore, until the wreck can be re-
moved.
The shock was felt to aslight extent in
the city. It was distinctly felt in the City
Hall building, the structure. trembling
for the space of about five seconds. At
the county courthouse the shock was also
distinctly felt. Judge Lawrence was
hearing motion in the Supreme Court.
Heheld up his hand stopping the argu-
ment, and exclaimed THAT is the He'll
Gate explosion. Do you feel it ~ In the
upper part of the building the floors shook
and the Windows trembled when the eX-
plosion occurred.
HTo.c,1I- 1r,,rtxy