Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1885-10-13
Gureka Dailp Sentinel.
HE'LL GATE.

hEsh OhA
On Sunday morning last the SENTINEL
published IN extended Geographic &C.
count Of the opening of He'll Gate by the
aid of CSC. 900 pounds of dynamite, and
the scenes that followed the terrific ex.
p%losioD. But, it appears. few of our
readers know little Of the necessity and
object of the great work. In his charm.
ing and picturesque History of New
York, Mr.. Dedrich Knickerbocker
wildly describes the first exploration, by
the Dutch, Of those waters bounding
Manhattan Island on the east. In a
note to this chapter he refers to He'll
Gate, and says: "This is narrow strait
in the Sound, ct a distance of six miles
above New York. 1t is dangerous to
shipping, unless under the care of skill.
full pilots, by reason of numerous rocks,
shelves and w%hirlpools. These have re.
ceived sundry appellations, such as Grid.
iron, Frying-pan, Hogs Back, Pot, etc.,
and are very violent and turbulent at
certain seasons OF the tide"
In this narrow and turbulent strait
the exploring fleet of the doughty Van
Kortlandt was so sorely buffeted that he
then and there bestowed upon it the sin.
lister title that it has since borne. From
that day to this it has been regarded
with terror by those mariners who have
been obliged to navigate among its savage
tides, swirling eddies, and intricate
channels. All coastwise vessels bound
to and from eastern ports pass through
this ominous gateway; and from these
fleets it has for many years collected toll
with grim regularity at the rate Of one
schooner a week. The value of vessels
and their cargoes passing He'll Gate each
day is estimated to be between 81, 0O0,.
600 and S., 600, 900, and as this vast
traffic is constantly increasing, the i'm
portance OF removing the distractions at
this point can readily be appreciated.
Instead OF being six miles from New
York, as it was in the days of Mr..
Knickerbocker, He'll Gate is now op.
posite that thickly populated part of
the city lying adjacent to N~inety.sec.
ond street. from the foot of which a ferry
crosses its troubled waters to Astoria, on
the Long Island side. For many years
engineers of the United States Govern.
ment have been engaged in removing
He'll Gates menacing rocks and reefs.
Little by little they have steadily i'm.
proved the channel, and in the Autumn
of 1876, after years of arduous labor in
preparing the mine, they blew up and
destroyed. by one gigantic explosion, the
dangerous reef that extended into the
river from Hallet's Point. In this effort
$4,000 pounds Of explosives were used,
and it was the largest single blast that
had up TO that time ever been fired. AS
. result the sight of the once.dreaded
reef is now a twenty.six.foot channel at
mean low water, and He'll Gate is shorn
of many of its terrors.
Although this reef was blown into his
tory, many perils, in the shape Of rocks
and reefs, still remained; and to these
the attention of the engineers was next
directed. The most formidable OF them
is Middle Reef, lying on the western side
OF the main channel, but in the very
middle Of the river. It's prominent
rocks are Flood Rock, Niger Head, Hen
and Chickens, and Gridiron; and of them
all, Flood Rock was the most dangerous.
Immediately upon finishing their work
at Hallet's Point, the engineers began
work upon Middle Reef, and sunk a
shaft sixty feet deep in Flood Rock.
From the material thus excavated they
built al island on and about it, which
they made the base of their operations.
This island is about half an acre in ex.
tent, and is, or has been until recently,
covered with buildings containing en-.
gines, steam.pumps. hosting apparatus,
machine.shops, and all the app~urtenances
OF a complete mining plant.
From the bottom of the shaft, CALLER.
les were driven in every direction
through the tough gneiss forming the
reef, until q mine eight acres in extent
had been excavated from the solid rock.
BY linear measurement these galleries
extended 2l,670 feet. or something over
four miles. According to q telegram in
to.day's issue the explosion was a sue.
cess. inasmuch as all that was expected
OF it was realized.
The Grant monument fund in New
York has now reached q total Of nearly