Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1886-05-06
TuENELING THROUGH ICE.

A Buffalo IN. ~ dispatch says; A very
remarkable piece Of engineering came to ar
end at Niagara Falls Monday. 1t was the
tunnelng of the ice-mountain at the foot oi
the American falls. The work was under.
taken by Superintendent Welch, of the State
Park, and his assistants, in order, if possible
to recover the body of L. G. Dewitt, of
New York, who fell from the ice mountain
on February 2Sth. The ice.mountain this
year has not been as high as usual, and its
bulk formed nearer the bank than last win.
ter. 1t is nothing but the accumulated
frozen spray of the falls At present its top
is one hundred feet above the level of the
river. By Thursday Of last week change
had taken place in the ice, and the body OF
the man could be seen from the top of the
bank. 1t WAS lying apparently on the left
side, with the face toward the falls. 1t
looked at first as if the head was bound with
a white handkerchief and that started the
report that De Witt must have been alive
for some time after he fell, and placed the
handk erchef around his head for protection,
and that he perished from exposure instead
of hy the fall After the body was discov-
cred the question arose as to how it could
be reached. So rapidly did the ice seem to
be wearing away it was thought the body
might drop into the water and toat down
where it could be picked up with boat.
Friday morning, the body still remaining
in view, Superintendent Weloh decided to
adopt some plan for getting it. That of
blasting away a portion of the mountain
was thought best, and the work was begun.
C. Reisig, who has had considerable expe-
rieuce in the Use Of dynamite, assisted by
Messrs. john McCloy and John Conroy, did
the work, using II! pound cartridges. Find
ing that the blasting did not give the de-
sired result, the work was abandoned. Su-
perintendent Welch then came to the con-
cu-op that the only way the body could
be reached would be by q tunnel through
the mountain, and on Saturday morning
about 8 o'clock the work was begun. Mr..
Welch was assisted in laying out the tunnel
by Messrs. Ware and Harrington. 1t was
no easy problem. Here was mass Of solid
ice to tunnel through, with one great fs-
sure to Cross, and perhaps others which
could not be seen from the top of the bank.
1t was comparatively easy 10 Chamber up
the long, slippery, spray-swept slope OF the
mountain. But TO approach its crest toward
the falls was perhaps, to share the fate of
D6 WIN, lUE gilc NOatuSi huuC ObO
overhanging ledge of ice liable to break
Off at any point. The wind is always
strong at the foot of the falls and the
icy spray is binding. 1t was impossi-
BILE to drop line over the face OF the noun
tair. The proposition was made to let q
rope ladder over, and there were several
men who volunteered to descend it even for
80 small sum as fifty cents, but Superin-
tendent Welch didn't want any more dead
men on his hands.
It was estimated that the body lay about
forty feet from the top of the ice-mountain,
and with this bearing the work began
They started in on the slope of the ice-
mountain back abont sixty feet from the
face of the ice cliff. They cut tunnel four
feet wide and five feet high. The men
worked with picks, shovels, and e.break.
ers. The ice was sometimes hard, like
river ice, and sometimes would shovel out
like meal. The men worked in gangs of
two, each gang throwing back the pickings
of the gang ahead. BY noon Sunday the
tunnel had been carried forward forty feet
and downward few feet. A section of
eas.pipe was driven through the heading.
1t failed to pierce the face of the mountain,
and second piece was driven in. 1t was
found that there yet remained twenty-three
feet of ice to pierce through, but the gas.
pipe had come through the ice wall about
twenty feet above the narrow shelf
where the body of De Witt lay. The
work was carried on all day Sunday and
Monday. About & o'clock Monday evening
an opening was struck, and the cloud OF
spray which rushed in seemed to Indicate
that the work was nearly at an end. 1t had
grown extremely hazardous. They were
practically tunnelipg through great mass
of ice, which was separated from the main
mountain by wide assures, and which might
detach itself and be precipitated into the
river below at any time.
When the face of the mountain toward
the fall was finally broken through the fore
most men found the body on little ledge OF
ice about foot below them. They put q
rope about the body and it was drawn into
the tunnel and so to the bank above. A
piece of the skull which had been crushed
by the ice and portion of the mans brains
still lie plainly visible on the ledge from
which the corpse was taken. The remains
of the unfortunate man were placed in the
the old shadow of the rock observatory,
where Coroner Cornell summoned jury,
who. after viewing the body, adjourned to
meet at the town room next morning. From
the examination there seemed no doubt
that the man was instantly killed by the
ice. The indifference of DeWitt's friends
concerning his fate is remarkable. Though
telegrams and letters have been sent bis
EMPLOYERS, nothing has been heard from
them, nor from any of his relatives or
friends, by Superindent Welch.
SHovELs, SPADES, RAKEs, HOES, FORKS
y and other Garden Tools, in great variety and
4 lot larp pboIa Ia