Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1891-04-12
POWER OF WATER IN MOTION
Incredible Statements Made by Justice
Field

Incredible Statements Made by Justice
Field
About two months ago, says the New
York Sun, there was dinner party at
General Schofeld's house In Washington.
Among the guests were President Harri-
ton, Chief Justic Fuller, the late Secre-
tary Window, Speaker Reed, Senator
sherman and Senator Stanford and JUS
tice stephen j. Field.
During the dinner the conversation
turned upon mining operations in Call
furnia, and Judge Field, whose knowledge
Of all matters relating to the Pacific
coast is as extensive as his powers OF mar
rative are entertaining, aStOnlshed the
distinguished company by some OF his as
ScrtionS in regard to the force OF the Jets
Of water employed in hydraulic mining.
lie described the wonderful manner in
which the streams from the hose cut to
pieces and tear down the hills that hold
the precious metal. Judge Field cited
james G.. Fair as his authority for the
statement that under vertical pressure
Of one or two hundred feet the force Of
! the stream Is sometimes so great as TO
hurl away or hold buulders weighing "a
thousand pounds, and that 1t would be no
more possible to cut through such
stream with crOWbar or an AK, where 10
issued from the nozzle, than TO sever eight
inches Of solid iron with penknifc.
As Judge Field aftcrward informed
| Senator Fair, in letter asking for expert
testimony about the power Of water by
! hydraulic machinery, these assertions
were received by some of General Scho-
fields guests with smiles of polite in
crcdulity The eminent jurist felt that
his posi- lion, for the moment was some
what like that of the EngiShman who
informed the king of Siam that in Eng
land water often became so hard that
4 10 II ut n
surprising that the facts gravely alleged
by Justice Field should Stagger even AN
Imagination like the chief Justices, or
strain the faith Of SO profound believer
In dynamicS as Thomas b. Reed.
In consequence OF this incident, and for
the vudicaJioH OF his own reputation for
veracity, Judge Field has collected from
several Of the highest authorities on
practical hydraulics evidence and Opin-
ions that are OF great interest. N-Sen-
atur Fair tells Justice Field that at the
Spring Valley gold mine in Cherokee,
Cal, the water used in the hydraulic
mining operations was brought IN pipes
and bitches from distance OF nearly one
hundred miles, aud that the volume of
water used on every working day in this
day in that mine amounted To three times
the number Of gallons consumed daily by
the entire city of san Francisco.
Louis Glass, for sixteen years the super
tcudeut of the Spring Valley mine, as
surcS Justice Field that he has seen an
elEht-tnCh stream, unucr 81 feet Of yer
ticlc pressure, move IN sluggish way a
twO.tln boulder at a distance of twenty
: f g, from the nozzle; ana that the same
stream striking rock q 900 pounds
: would throw 10 AS u man would throw a
. twenty pound weight. NO man that
ever lived ACIDS Louis Glass, could
. strike "a bar through one of these streams
within twenty feet of DISCHARGE, and "A
human being struck 10y such stream
would be Nued-puundcd into shape
less mass.
Augustus j. Bowie. of san Francisco,
the author of a standard book On by
draulic mining, estimates that the stream
from a SiN-iuch nozzle, under $50 feet Ver-
tjSal pressure, delivers a blow oI 5SS,135
foot pounds every SvC1uu, equivalent to
l,u1l horse power. 1t Is absolutely i'm
possible says Mr. Bowie, 10 cut such a
stream with an aN or to make an impress
Siou on IL with any other Indictment
MIR. Bowie adds that although never to
hlS knowledge has a man been struck by
such a stream As lt comes from the pipe
several accidents have occurred where
, miners were killed 10y very much smaller
streams at distances OF $50 or 20 feet
from the nozzle.
: After an elaborate series Of comuuta-
lions Professor samuel b. Chri>ty, OF the
University OF California, an eminent
portS To Justice Field that n nozzle Of
from six To nine inches diameter were
specially arranged to throw stream
vertically upward against spherical
howldCr ~ quartz Weighing l,co pounds,
| the vertical head being anywhere from
loo TO 5oO feet. the boNlder would be forced
! up until the diminished velocity OF the
b stream established an equilibrium OF
preSSurrS. There would ue q point at
. which the upward pressure Of the stream
would exactly balance the gravity pres
% sum OF the bow .dtr. holding %. tho half
ton rock, there suspended. In practice,
, Of course, the bow der could NOT he bal
. auUcI accurately Uuun tlc axis or the
stream. but WOIId fail 10 Uue side
OF the other. Bar lf q large conf
cal basket ~ iron bars We're ar
.rauCCu about Iho nozzle - as 20 catch
the bow ldcr whenever 10 should De de-
ID dtctcd from tbo stream and rctUrn il %
the nozzle, the Loo pounds of quartz
would be- hC9t ln pay Ike bali in "a
fountain. rs go cutting these streams,
7 Prof CEristy saws that Dee has often tried
. to drive q crow bar in one uf thvm. I G
stream fcit SIS SoIjo as q bar ui iron. aua.
. although be could feel the point % tle
cuowbar enter the water Tor perhaps Eaii
an Inch. she h2r was thrown forward with
. such force that lt Was almost impossible
' 90 rCtain % in SIZE grasp. An axe swung
p . hv the most powerful NAN alive could not
Q penetrate The stlcau.; y.t 8. u Cht be cha
by ihc nuZCr ~ child SO the child were
. seated uu railway train moving para ..t.
& with Che stream .D the same direction aud
with tIr same velocity. I0c Vol1city
7 would De considerably more than mile
, . @ on mute.
. The statements here p-e>Ca lied la sum
u mary Will uaI aStOui>l erEinoc-iCg eN-
. peIt> or members 81 fEc New NorK Tire
= I department The average citizen. haw-
. 4 ever. IS accustomed io n gard waller ~ tlt
, least destructive liquid ttatc&u lt plI 20
4 motion. and De is lam liar with no strong
70 CT manifestation % Us power than llt
Vclvciy touch of the steam from the Gro
d son faucet
OLD EosS"
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