The Press., 1885-07-23
OPERATIONS AT HELL GATE.


 OPERATIONS AT HELL GATE.
 PREPARATIONS FOR MONSTER EXPLOSION
 IN OCTOBER.
 Before the explosion at Hallett's Point, Hell Gate, New York, in September, 1885, work had already begun upon Flood rock, a far more important and dangerous reef than that destroyed in the memorable ex- plosion of ten years ago. Flood rock is the exposed ledge marking rock shoal nearly nine acres in extent and situated almost midway between Astoria and New York The work at Halletts Point clear ed off ledge of rocks about three and a half acres in extent, projecting out from Astoria into the channel. These rocks were directly in the way of vessels rounding the point the advantage of being able to hug the shore at certain tides is invaluable to pilots, and the results have pr6ved.s that the work was well worth doing. The dis appearance of Flood rock reef will be a still greater boon to East river navigators. After the work in undermining Halletts point was sufficiently advanced to show that there were no insuperable difficulties in the way of doing the thing upon still larger scale under any ledge of rocks 1n the river, soundings were made over Flood rock ledge, and in the summer of 1875 the first shaft was sunk. Since then the work has been going on in an intermittent sort of way congress has allowed it to languish for year at time for want of money. Work was stopped at one time for fourteen months. But at no time has the water been allowed to fill the mine; three steam pumps have been kept steadily at work pumping back the water of the East river as fast as it percolates through the crevices of the rock. When money was plenty, 8 force of from I50 to 200 men were kept at work Ill three gangs, one third of the force being always at work, night and day. Last week the
 GIGANTIC LABOR
 of cutting 21 ,670 feet of galleries through solid rock, burrowing under the whole reef, and perforating the roof of the structure with 13, 700 holes three inches in diameter and nine feet long was finished. Some mo- tion of the extent of the work may be gain ed from the engineers statement that | 80, 16O cubic yards of rock were cut out and carried up through the shaft which opens on top of the little island which has been constructed on Flood rock. A drill ing machine worked by compressed air re- quires five hours to drill one of the l3, 700 holes which are to be loaded. The enor- nous labor of ten years is now done, and the score of men still employed in the mine are engaged in cleaning it out preparatory to putting in the explosives expected to do the final work some time in October.
 In the Hallett's Point explosion the chief attack by dynamite was made upon the pillars which supported the roof of the mine. These were honeycombed with dy- namite cartridges, and when they were ex- | ,,1o kho foll ir in tp frop ments. In the work under Flood rock it has been deemed better to honeycomb the roof itself with cartridges, paying less at tention to the walls between the passages.
 The holes upward are drilled at an angle of 35 degrees or 40 degrees from the per
 pendicular line. Each hole will contain three or four cartridges, and the eXpecta-
 ton is that the explosion will break up
 the reef into smaller bits than was the case
 at Hallett's point A reporter made
 VISIT TO THE WORK
 yesterday afternoon. After putting on rubber boots and suit, there are four flights , ,, of steps down what appears to be the en- trance to coal mine. Escaping lsteam from the pumps and the rushing water
 make noise so great that much conver- sation is not possible, and the steam and darkness prevent the little kerosene torch : es carried by the miners from casting light : more than few inches ahead. At points of the descent the passage is low and nar- . row; at others there is room to drive a : team through. The level of the shaft is reached at 50 feet below the level of the river Near the ceutral shaft, used for hoisting out rock and not for the miners, is deep we'll 28 to 30 feet in diameter, used as a collect for the water which drips ] necessarily from the roof and runs in streams, from one inch to six inches deep, = along the floor of the galleries. The pipes of the steam pumps suck from the collect. Radiating from the bottom of the main
 shaft are the galleries, running for hund- . reds of feet under the ledge, the longest
 extending to the northeast. The scene at the main shaft is familiar in some of its , features to any one accustomed to visiting coal mines, but an added interest is the incessant noise of steam and rushing water, :, and the sense that the streams one sees ;. and feels are but the millionth part of the v thousands of tons of water which are strug- f gling to force their way down. The roof l. of the large chamber at the shaft is 15 ol ], 20 feet in height; that of the galleries " varies from to 12 feet. Every few feet a may be seen the opening of the holes made e by years of patient drilling. Along the s 5 floor of each gallery runs railroad track used in carrying away rock as the galleries e were extended. The reporter went to the end of several galleries with a guide e When the men are plunged in darkness 1T T through too much water falling upon theil d lamps they can feel their way back to the ) main shaft by following the track Q About one acre of galleries at the nortl ,1 end of the ledge is shut off from the rest n of the mine by ponderous gate, intended d to keep out water in case of accident il e that particular part. The average thick
 ness of rock between the roof of the galler 70 ies and the bottom of the river is about l; ;e ;e feet, but in some places the rock is rotten ,, ,S and the water pours down so freely as t, :, make the engineers anxious. Several o i, these dangerous spots occur in the part o o Q the mine shut off.
 Hale's Honey the great Cough cure, ,25c SOC < e1 n Glenn's Sulphur Soap heals X beautihes. 2sc. tA aseru,auCO COrn K q pp0 over kills Corns Buniopa