New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-10-03

along the right track and a the visitor tak,, tina
other track a difninutive mule with light attached
load of debris. whie workman, decorated with a
headlight. urges him on from behind
Does the mule ever lose hi. focthold and tumble
into the centre between the tracksfp
"Somct,mesr Ia the guides short answer.
q De the muics live down hcreis
Some Of them, At some shafts they are let
down IN thesmorning and taken up at nioht.r
The end of the brick lining Of this section Il
finally reached. There IL an electric light here and
men are telling on hubble and brick work The
timber roofing has been removed here so that the
masons can take ND their task. The work In all it's
stages. save that OF drilling and excavating s seen
at this point The hole which is to he lined with
stone and brick is exposed Its walls are of solid
rock. This Is no soft spot" Along one part of il
the supporting wall of masonry has been built.
There IS no vacan cy behind this All IS made solid
with hlling of rock. The men seem 70 be at work
N their usual way and do not even pay any atten-
bobbing here and there trowels are active, stone
and mortar are deity put together and solid wall
Is rsng 4 little back of this tie brick lining ia
are rapidly and carefully laid close up to the
masonry, so that wall of brick and stone at least
I'VE feet 10 thickness is laid inside the rocky
The visitor next follows Mr.. Dnsmore carefully
up a ladder and takes look at the rubble work
| which forms the hlling above the arch of brick.
| The masonry is solid with stone and mortar No
| loan cheap filing il visible
further plunge away from the electric light and
into the gloom brings the visitor to the heading.
Here the din of the drill is heard and 1t is that
| the torer is run by compressed air supplied from
| the six-inch pipe seen long before The hand put
/ in front of the exhaust air Gnds that it is cold
This air forms another means of keeping the in
the tunnel pure. There is slight odor Of exploded
| chemioals. but MT enough TO be dIsagreoable
| There is a huge pile of debris at the heading. The
visitor climbs mp over this and slippery as 1t
the rock above peers over the debris through an
open ng seemingly a foot in height, and sees men
with headlights. who form the advance guard of
workers. They are eIcav ating the loose earth or
are making what IL known the centre cut"
which is a V-shaped piece Of rock drilled from the
centre Of the heading, the first step in the onward
march Of the tunnelling. Electric lights abound
! here and the patient mule makes hther his
pilgrimage to get his load Of debris and then trots
! down the darkness TO the shaft 2. 900 feet away.
THE OvEIPOwEIIN5 SENSE OF DANGER
One wonders in this pent-up place, where the
| supporting tmbers have not vet been placed.
whether the roof Of 'rock will not fall in and bury
him forever. The feeling is almost overpowerinc
| But the gnide's assurances of the contrary give
more or less consolation, when the question comes
| MIR Dinsmore. how far are we below tie sarths
| surface 2"
Oh, about $50 feet
Absolute confidence in ones being comes back
only after return to Shaft No. lSl2. touch upon
the bell. ascent 10 the surface, and the sight OF
| the blazing sun assure one that he is among the
living. although in hotter and apparently less
pure air than that be-oT. He has travelled 5000
feet IN The new AGueduct tube. and begins to have
faint idea of what Heman Clark meant by his
J invitation Shaft No. Isle is only one Of fifteen
! under the contract of q Brien & Clark.
A short distance from the shaft Is the machinery
! binding A huge engine congresses the air for
running the drills and this air in the compressor
| is so bot that the hand cannot rest on the pipes
Yet when it reaches the drills 1000 feet away IL is
| cold. A big dynamo machine keeps M the electric
supply while close at hand yawn the months Of the
pines by which the tunnel is ventilated al th 8
machinery the best 20 be bad. the names Of its
makers indicate. The entire plant for the Gfreen
| shafts has cost over $500 600 ard would pretty
well till ten acre lot. There are twenty miles Of
/ railroad tracks and fifty miles Of pipe
! corrected with the work. From the mouth o. he
| shaft narrow gauge road runs 70 and over
| immense piles OF excavate1 rock, which give an
idea of the extent of the excavations. crushing
machine grinds into fragments the rock taken from
| below Here and there posted rules and reGnla
| lions by the contractors The orders against
drunkenness strict yet despite all restraints tie
| tunnel-iigger Will get his whiskey And he
! invariably buys the cheapest anl most abon naule
stnf to be found. Two drinks will make him for
! the tire worthless q a workman. To COunteract
danger from this source great precautions are
taken. and walking bosses and fOremen are re-
qured - be the lookout and to discharge at once
men found intoxicated.
The men can procure provisions wherever tney
please They generally go to the rearest store,
! however Mr. Clark has issued notices to order
mOngers that the firm viii not recognize orders on
which money stores advanced TO the men AT
| higher rate than per cent He Is determined
! he SAYS, TO protect his from this Iniqulty.
There are 200 men. the average. at each shaft
and tney are divided into day and night shifts
which alternate weekly and then exchange, each
from day TO night, working hours being ten. Most
of the unmarried.