The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-08-13

HELL GATE.
An interesting Description of the
Work by Bangorean.

Says the Bangor Whig: We are permitted
to print the following from private letter
written by DR.. Henry C. Jefferds, formerly of
this city, but now one of the medical staff of
the Homeopathic Hospital on Wards Island,
New York Harbor:
We left the hospital wards ISLAND at one
O'Clock and reached the Long Island shore a
little before two-where we had to wait for a
steam tug to carry us to Flood Rock, which
is in the middle of the river.
When they began operations this was a
rock which was nearly covered by water at
high tide; but they have converted it into
quite a good sized island, on which all the
machinery stands which is. used in the exca-
vations.
We were provided with rubber boots, capes
and hats, and light for each of us. Clad in
these sombre garments, we formed in line to
begin our descent into the excavations, and
before we had descended ten steps L thought
that the place was well named, and that the
man with horns would soon appear. The air
was sitting with heat and steam, and the
noise of the pumps deafening. This, togeth-
er,with the weird light of our small lamps
and candles, made us feel glad when we sud
denly emerged from it all and found our
selves at the foot of the elevator shaft, where
we could again see daylight, forty feet above
us. Under this shaft is deep well, into
which the water runs from the rest of the
mine and from which it is pumped by the
engine.
We soon left this chamber and began
threading our way, after the guide. through
tho Galleries gfO0nlnQ low tn
avoid striking our heads and again walking
through pools of water nearly to the tops OF
our boots, while at every step we were al
most deluged by the water which is constant
ly coming through the cracks in the rocks
Nine acres have been excayated, and nothing
is left to support the everything bed OF rock,
which is ten to fifteen feet thick, except the
pillars of stone, about fifteen feet square,
which have been left standing during the
excavations. These pillars and the roofs of
the galleries are filed with holes which have
been drilled few feet apart, many of them
ten feet deep. These holes are filled with
cartridges. Thus you see that nine acres of
the ledge of rock, which forms the river bot
tom, is supported by pillars of stone about
ten feet apart. and when ready for the final
explosion this roof of the mine, together
with the supporting pillars of stone, will be
completely filled with cartridges of power
full explosive, any one of which would knock
a good sized house into splinters.. One hum
used, and the cartridges, if put end to end,
would reach eighteen miles. just picture to
yourself what the effect will be-nine acres
of the rivers bed suddenly shattered by the
tremendous force of so much explosive.
We came upon several gangs of men charg-
to watch them. They work in pairs, one
bringing the cartridges from the box, the
other carefully inserting them into the holes,
one after another. until the hole is filled.
III. Eol,f H.
operation which is filed with danger to the
men; for the copper covering of the car
tridges is very thin, and as they are intend
ed to be exploded by concussion, you can
see that the greatest care is necessary in
handling them.
AS we stood grouped about the workmen,
the sight was weird one. The men are
typical miners, dirty, unshaven, and con-
sumptive looking. One, the younger of the
| two, brings the cartridges from the box
| They are cylinders of copper, two feet Ions
| and two inches in diameter, with three pro
| jecting rods of wire at one end to retaiI
| them in place in the hole. AS he comes
walking along the gallery with the cylindel
| carefully held in his hands, not a sound il
| heard, as we all know that the fall of the in
nqcent looking tube upon the rock beneath
| him would send us all into eternity. Slowly
| he approaches the man who is waiting be
| fore the hole in the roof. With great cart
| he takes the cartridge, and carefully inserts
| III luJU Jllc uOlt, dllu Will Slll SIcdbcl CdIt
| by means of wooden rod, ten feet long
| pushes the tube into the farthest end of the
| hole where it is retained by the projecting
wires at the end Of the tube. This is fol
| lowed by another, and another, until th'
| hole which is ten feet deep is filed A mari
| is then made upon the miners plan, to indi
| cate that the hole is charged, and they ar
| ready to fill another.
Every hole which has been drilled ha
| been numbered, and each miner is given
| plan of the entire excavation, with the exac
| location, and number of each hole. An ex
| act account is thus given to the engineer 81
| that he knows when all the holes are charged
| All the excavating has been finished anC
| the loading of the holes was begun only las
week. 1t will take them until October Il
| finish loading. The mine will then be flood
| ed, and after removing the buildings and ma
| chinery from Flood Rock they will be read,
| for the explosion. Flood Rock, and the ar
| tificial island which they have made on tOl
| of it. will go with the rest, and the rocl
which has been a terror to navigators sine
| New York was founded will no longer exist
| After the explosion it will be necessary fo
| divers to remove the fragments of rock
| which remain on the bottom of the river
| shattered by the explosion. There yet re
mains some of the ledge to be undermined
| and the next base of the operations will b
| ON the point of our island.