The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1886-05-29
Two Miles a Minute.


In trade OF some reporters to tell
how fast he Travelled. When old |
William II. was alive the public |
used to read with great interest
how he would harness up the fleet
est engine at his command and reel
off mile minute and all that,
but fast railway travelling is not Civ
en- to the common multitude.
There are several trains that go out
Of Chicago daily that between sta
tons and on level places go a mile
in sixty seconds. "There is moth
ing novel in the sensation" said an
old newspaper man the other night
at the Press Club. "If you want to
feel that you are going fast over the
ground you want to ride on Neva-
da lumber hume. I picked up a
paper the other day and caught this
item:
"The residents along lumber
hume in the mountains above Chi
co, Cal, have a novel way of getting
their mail 1t is started on raft
from the head of the flume at regu-
lar dates and the people below
watch for it, take out what belongs
to him, and then send the raft with
its precious cargo on its way"
"That isn't quite true, but it illus
trates the general use of those
fumes. Lumber fumes in the
Sierra Nevadas are all the way from
five to forty miles long. They are
built on a regular engineers grade.
The bed of the fume is made OF
two inch plank in the form of v
the sides of the V being from eigh-
teen to twenty-six inches high,
They are built on grade of about
sixteen feet drop to the thousand.
They carry eight inches of water in
the acute angle, and discharge it at
the rate of four hundred miners
inches a minute. In other words
turn in your water at the head Of
the hume, and it will carry log
weighing four hundred pounds with
velocity greater than the fastest
engine that was ever made. The
logs displacement just about fill.
the V, without any more friction
than is necessary to keep it in place
"About nine years ago was VI
at Lake Tahoe" said the velocity
sharp, with E. W. Smalley, of thu
New York Tribune, and W. II. Pat
ton, of the Mackey & Fair I.umbe
Company. Patton was showing III
the sights. We had come up from
Carson City, sixteen miles by stage
and it was-a hot and tedious ride
About shutdown Patton said, Boys
We'll go home by the Aume, anC
we'll get there a little quicker,
think"
"He directed man to bring on
the yacht, as he called it This wa
V shaped canoe about fourteen
feet long, very shallow, and made t,
fit the Aume and just about fill
with the displacement of 60
pounds. The yacht had brake
two rubber pads ON either side
worked with lever, and so apple,
against the sides of the V fun
that on pressure it would lift tn
yacht gradually and allow the light
ming current to pass under he
She also had two small rubbe
wheels, one ON either bow, to kee
her nose from grinding the sides {
the hume as she went by curve
Now, boys, said Mr.. Patton, 'bu
ton up your coats, tie down yor
hats, and hold on. Don't get scare,
Trust your lives to me for the nc1
half hour. I've sailed in this yacl
before, and | know she's stancl
There were three seats. Patton toe
the front one, to handle the brak
Smalley took the next one, and
took the rear and worked the tile
That was rugged just like a ship
rudder, with a rubber wheel TO ca
off her stern against the side of IL
flume if she got to yawning Pa
ton told his men TO put ON two j.
chcs more of water, and then, vii
wave of his hat, we 'weight
anchor. Great Scott How til
thing jumped. Smalley got S,
sick. ! jammed my helm hal
down, but Patton yelled throue
the air, Let her 90. I've got her
and with one hand on his braI
his hat crushed down on his hea
and his teeth set, he looked the i
carnation of courage We plung
down the mountain with a spe,
that no steam could give. Ire
flew by like specters looking ahei
down the narrow, thread-like fur
it seemed like a plunge to destru
ton. Several times the fumes CT
ried us.ovcr high trestle. 1t seen