Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-01-05
Blasting at He'll Gate.

Mani. Record.l
The great explosion at He'll Gate,
for which preparations were being
made for several years, took place
last fall. Flood Rock was situated
about mid-channel, due north from
Halletts Point, and from twelve hun
dred to fifteen hundred feet from the
Astoria shore. 1t had an area of
about eighty acres, of which only
about two hundred and fifty square |
feet showed above high water mark.
The same general plan of operations
was adopted here that proved SO
successful at Hallets Point. Around
the highest point of the rock sea-
wall was built, the enclosed area be-
ing filed with broken stone, 10 afford
space for erecting the necessary
buildings. The artificial island thus
created was about seven feet above
high water. In the center the main
shaft was sunk, having depth of
sixty-seven feet. A few feet away
was another shaft, forty feet deep,
, opening into the same heading as the
! main shaft. The smaller shaft was
= used for machinery, and the tubes
: for conveying the compressed air,
which drove the drills and gave the
men at work the necessary fresh air
= which could not be introduced 9TH
! erwise. The main shaft was used
for removing The rxcayated rock.
@ The first series of headings branched
. out from the main shaft at depth
of about forty feet, and from the bot
tom of the shaft diverged another Sc
ries of headings directly under those
above. Those headings branched at
N right angles every twenty feet, and
4 were sixty in number on either tier.
c. This double system of headings was
x employed, in order to gain sufficien
a depth after the explosion, withou
IN the labor and expense of dredging Il
A remove broken rock, as was necessa
hi ry at Hallett's Point. The tota
d. length of tunneling was about fou
n. miles, consisting of twenty-four gal
o. leries running north and south, an
no forty-six running cast and west. Th
re longest of these was 1,200 feet i
at length, 6 feet WIDE and 10 feet higl
es. There was thickness of from 10 t
.ly 25 feet between the roof Of the to
nd tier of galleries and the water. Thel
10 were 467 pillars left to support I'll
ed roof. These were 10 feet squar
m The whole rock was honeycombe
ed with tunnels. Eight drills of mo
la improved patterns were employed
he preparing the blasts and making Il
ich receptacles for the cartridges.
we round figures, $4,000 cubic yards
,as rock have been removed. This W
de carried to the surface by means of 8
mo elevator in the main shaft, to whiC
nc. it was transported Ill small wago
the on narrow-gauge trucks runnir
red through the tunnel, Thirteen tho
lite sand two hundred aud eighty-s
vas chambers for holding the cartridg
elv each three inches in diameter al
ing about nine feet deep-were drilled
,er. the pillars and roof at distance
eri- four or five feet apart. These chal
hat bers were filled with "Rackaroc
en- dynamite cartridges, of which the
are were about 1900, each being t.
Just and half inches in diameter, t.
lose feet in length and containing
the pounds ofexplosive. The cartrid
am cases were made of thin copper.
n I. was found some months ago tt
sat the cartridge cases had corroded, "a
tue. it was found necessary to take tb'
she all out and put new ones in, VIII
has had been dipped in melted beesw'
pom The latter expensive commodity v
used in this work. In addition
in the "Rackarock" cartridges, tn
,ose we're several hundred ordinary dyl
ner- mite cartridges, TO which the wi
ftcn connecting with the donating bait
.yor les were attached. 1t was throu
,uth these latter that the simultanet
SSH shocks causing the explosion Of
tain the cartridges were produced. l
With estimated that 2S5,000 pounds of
lere plosive were used. Over $4,000 t
NAL of wire were used in. connecting
mn blasts and the batteries.