The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1892-02-06
SCIENCE AND PROGRESS.
USEFUL INFORMATION FOB
ENDURING MINDS,
The Tunnel at Observation-Disclosures
Ieisphone--Just Like Bird
y Warlike Clock.
Tho Tunnel at Niagara.


To cut through seven thousand fee
OF solid rock which has held back tn
torrents OF the Niagara river is tn,
task that the Cataract Construction
Company has undertaken. Last weel
total advance OF 262 feet was made
bringing the total excavation up tc
d,733 feet in Is months. This leaves
only 1857 feet to complete the work
as originally intended, but in all prob
ability 800 feet more will be ex-
cavated, bringing the total length oil
the tunnel up to an even 1000 feet.
This is not the first attempt to utilize
the power of Niagara Falls. The
early French settlers built mill be-
side the rapids just above the falls.
In colonial times the British put up a
saw mill there and used it to cut tim
bers Tor their Notifications. Later
the Stedman and Potter mills were
built, and still later two raceways
were built, supplying power to numer-
GUS factories. 4
About 40 years ago the Hydraulic
Canal Company cut q channel through
the rock about three-auarters of a
mile long from the river bank above
the falls to point on the deep gorge
below. Standing on the suspension
bridge just below the tails the visitor
sees on the American side score or
more OF miniature cataracts, the wat
er in some cases dashing over the brink
OF the cliff, and in others pouring with
terrific force from holes cut in the
bank. They are fed by the hydraulic
canal, and before the water dashes
over the precipice it does it's work in
the mills that line the bank.
The hydraulic canal was q white
elephant. 1t was expensive work, and
it was finally sold to satisfy a mort
gage some three years ago. 1t is 100
feet wide, nearly a mile long, and it's
estimated force is 10000 horse
power.
All that, however, is only drop in
the bucket to what the immense water
power hurled over the cataract daily
is capable of, and capitalists have
studied ways and means to avail
themselves of it's possibilities. Finally
the present gigantic work was con-
ceived. 1t was determined to run tun-
mel from the surface of the water tunnel
below the falls to point on the river
bank above. This tunnel is really |
only waste weir for the water which !
will be drawn from the river from |
short surface canals, wheel pits and |
cross tunnels, after performing it's |
service for man will pour out through
the tunnel into the river again, having
merely been diverted from it's course
The tunnel has three
sections. Shaft 1 was sunk directly
nnposite the New York Central depot,
men began forcing their way -etlsCwniu
and westward through the solid rock
with drills, dynamite, and picks.
Shaft 2 was sunk about half % mile to
the eastward, and there the tunnelirg |
was pushed both ways. Simultane-
ously great rent was made in the
face of the cliffs in the deep gorge just
below the new suspension bridge. On
an average /, 400 pounds OF dynamite
are used every day, or a car load every |
10 days.-New York Sun.
Natures Telephone.
A marvellous story comes from Da-
kota of discovery which has been
made in the mountains
of Rapid City. 1t is stated
that there is natural telephone line
b. ween two mountains in the Black
Hills range.
On each side of valley, IL miles in
width, stand two high peaks, several
thousand feet high, which tower above
the other mountains and have long
been known as landmarks. They have
only on rare occasions been scaled, so
very little is known OF their topogra-
ply. Ill.
started out, one for each peak, taking
with them photographs for thepurpose
OF signaling to each other across the
valley. The ascent was made, and
when the top was reached one OF the
party on the north mountain was
surprised to hear voices which appar-
emily came out of the air.
BY changing his position he discov-
cred that at q certain spot on the
mountain he could hear the voices,
but that in other positions he could
not hear them. He called the atten-
ton OF his party to the phenomenon,
and when the attention OF the other
party had been attracted twas found
that an ordinary conversation was
plainly heard from one mountain top
to the other.
This may be considered a rather
tall story to foist upon the intelligent
reader OF the day, but Electricity
offers thefollowing asan explanation:
The form of the mountain might
be considered as serving the
purposes OF elliptical reflect
ors OF sound, the speakers
placing themselves in the foci at each
end of the eclipse. The low density OF
the atmosphere at the altitude at
which the observers were would also
tend towards intensifying the sound.
The various whispering galleries IN
England and the continent can be
quoted as showing how sound is mag
nified under certain conditions; an
other instance may be found in the
Mormon Temple in Salt Lake city.