New-York tribune., 1891-08-30
DRILLING UNDER THE SEA
WORK ON THE DIAMOND REEF SHOALS.
MONSTER FLOATING DERRICK = BLASTING
AWAY oBsTRucToNs-How THE
WORK Is DONE.

familiar with the sight Of the dredges and scows
anchored the mouth of the river that they hasoy
give them thought. Only few OF the inhaoi'ahts Oh
New-YorG or yrooyn have felt curious enough 10
make any efforts board them, and Il is prooaoe 'na'
many do not know what is going on there fe. 'ne
work which is being DONE tho blasting oil the shoais
east of Dlmond Diamond, Ref as 1t IS ca ed IS most
interesting and though the great drills are not no" m
usc q visit Is fruitful But not every one can se' .o
necessary Official permission to board the sco", as sno
Is under the military eye of Uncle sam, ana inc SEQ"
General Newton Is United States vessel though sho
doesn't fly the United States flag nor show threatening
runs The General Newton looks Ike an Ordinary
floating hostlng derrick from the distance out on oes
explored she proves herself veritaoe iioauhg ciV'
carpentershop, smithy with forses ana oio"ers. oi
fees with scientific instruments and charts, the ciag
and wheeling Of countless engines, hammenhg' anu
the rattltng OF chains all make one forget that lana
has been loft behind and that tossing river is sp
around The number of engines alone WOULD SURPRISE
one were there not many surprising things 10 see Oh
board this craft where every object Is strange 70 the
ordinary visitor There less than twenty-three
engines One works the huge suction pump ano'ner
the donkey pump Four great engines raise and>lower
the immense drilling dome which is sent to the po'o
of the river when drilling Is to be DONE At DO" anu
stern are capstan engines for hauling in and stacking
the six huge anchors which hold the scow over ihe
reef Two engines arc used for hoistng rock from the
bottom Two engines used in the shops for the
repairs and other necessary work. for the men ON the
scow can't Jump into the horse-car ana go 10 ue
repair-shop whenever anything gives way Conse
ouently the vessel is fitted up with almost every con-
ceivable instrument tool for doing al
most any kind of work.
Then each of the nine drills has an ooedient steam
breathing slave of its own. To furnish AIR 10 the t"O
divers perfect little beauty Of an engine Is useo u
Is evidently pet Of its engineer for he has posheo
and rubbed 1t tin 1t dazzes One, while every aVaaoie
place is daintily touched with bright coors' Iheh
there is the Edison dynamo, which is Recorder fres
toms special pride. When blast Is prepared ana no
starts the current the mermads hurry out Oh te way
for il Is sure little battery and Is responsible Tor
explosions that have broken up many dangerous reel
The General Newton is model drilling scow, ana mas
M counterpart She was built for work on reefs in
this harbor during General John Newtons admnlstra
ton and been at work for over twenty years. prov
ing herself moro successful each year. The construction
is OF great strength. Stout knees OF the best tmDer
are bolted on every few feet, and the planks are
extremey heavy and solid. 1t Is lucky Tor the exist
ence of the craft that her builders expended 50 much
care for anchored as she generally is where naviga-
tion is lively, collisions are frequent. Along her
sides she hears marks Of several such accldehts'
Twice recently feryboats have come into her at fu
TIT The meeting didn't end 50 luckily for them'
sout as they are as 1t did for the scow They had 10
lay up for repairs. while the scow escaped with
few scratches or slight injury that was readily re-
paired by her crew.
The scow Is rectangular 12S feet long and So feet
broad and has draught of seven and hall leeV
The work for which she Is built Is drilling blasung'
and pumping sand and gravel with her great pump
The work Of removing the debris is usually left 10 an
ordinary dredge In some cases, as In the preseh'
reef where dredges cannot work, the scow Is also en
ployed in removing the shattered rock ana she Is pro-
vided With derrick and chain tackle Tor that purpose
In the centre Of the scow Is an octagonai well
thiry-two feet in diameter. This opens directly mto
the river In It hangs the great dome, which is one
abIe
hemisphere of boeriron, entirely open on the Dot
tom, with smaller aperture on the top lts dam
etcr at the bottom Is thirty feet and the weight Is
about forty five tons. II Is suspended on chals anu
is rased and lowered by the two big engines ALREADY
mentioned In order to make it rest perfectly eVel
when sunk 10 the uneven bottom of the river, num-
her of bars of steel are adjusted like legs on the
lower rim of the dome. When the dome approaches
the bottom these "legs" are released ana drop do"h
til each one finds resting place. Cams fasten them
in such a way that, while they can move downward'
they cannot slip back when they touch the Dottom'
the dome rests firmly on an even foundation.
Nine slx-inch pipes pierce the dome, ending above IL
With funnel-shaped mouths. and extending dowh"aru
to a level with the bottom OF the dome Ihey are
arranged so they could If necessary, be withdrawn
and placed in different parts OF the DOME Ihese
tubes guide the drills to the rocks which have been
previously selected for boring The drills are IN
serted in them each drill attached to its engine by q
strong hawser. When the dome is submerged ana
an tho bottom the drills are rapidly hauled up and
allowed TO fall again by their own weight AS they
strike they revove and bore their way into the rock.
The drills long iron bars, with about seven is1 OF
steel welded on them. The bit is cross bit, some
what similar to q rose countersnk. Each drill weighs
at least 700 pounds and requires frequent sharpening
1t would naturally imagined that the holes bored
by this method crude and rough but IL is remark
able that they are extremely smooth and appear as
II they were polished. The drills bore holes IL
in No
horing the divers first 60 down over the side
OF the scow. After finding the spot they
mark It by placing hisTy weight there's
the weight being connected with the scow by long
rope The slack of this rope Is fshed up into the
we'll and then the is moved by means of taking
IN the anchor chains one side and Stacking those
IN the other. The scow be moved long distance
this way without moving the anchors themselves as
each anchor is about 700 feet from the craft The
anchors weigh about two tons each and there are SIX
of them aid in different directions After the scow
has been shifted that the well Is directly over the
selected spot which be by the line attached
70 the weight, the dome is lowered to the bottom.
After 1t arrives there the chains connecting it with
the scow are unlocked, so that no trouble may be
caused by any sudden movements OF the scow in case
collision should while the dome is the bottom
1t might otherwise be dragged along and smashed.
Then the drills arc set working long the tide
viii allow The currents which sweep that part of
the river are so violent that work be carried only
during part of the day. The depth Of the holes bored
varies greatly in the reef The rock Is of many diff
fcreIt degrees of hardness within limited area, and
while one drill may penetrate twelve feet or more after
a few hours work. another may not make an impress
sion on spot near Il. After the drilling the dome is
raised and the deposit cartridges in the holes
The sco is hauled away about $50 feet and electric
spark explodes ne charges.
Ordinarily, scow's work should then be COM
pleted But in tn the rock has broken so poorly
that dredges can do nothing with it, and what rock
is broken up must be removed by divers who go down
after the explosion ana load 1t on scoop which
Is sent down TO the bottom by a derrick This is
necessarily slow work The reef in question Is east
of the old Dimond Reef IL consisted OF two shoals
which covered about 10000 square feet, accord
tno IN the surycy. the west sIoai was 10000