Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-11-03

WHAT MEN DO THERE OVER A THOU
SAND FEET UNDER GROUND.

low Candies which Arc Bought in
Cnrloads-An UNDERGROUND VILLAGE.
AZ our readers are aware we nave been
working for the past three or four years to
Ect pass down into to the Retsof salt
mine at York. It so happened one dav
receutlv t,9t two nersonol friends hod
bus;n,ss dou,r i, tl,a ,niro md ,,,o,i,,,,
,,.,,et.,...i =,
.'"''' '"'' S"'' 10 " '''F t'"P"''
",S'' pc'o" VI 'ue tr'p' 50 hl.iCh so thaU we
"''''"9O "S'"Vu " t were WIN tncIi from
. io '''"u '"ts 'i' we '"P In'H OheS re-
'l'1U "e'"lI' "''' ''i '.c "r'eno VI o"r
Nc "'' SN' '"0'i H'a'i pun" vi
w, i''. ~, eNPo' '0'o''' al" "l'O '"'S S""'
'''t' -,
., ',,'' '''i,'e i'i9 '""U 90 "'u'" INC
IN ,'','v '.''',' ~ 'OO - .0li !o's
,iat y" "I'ee 9,1Iu VI, .'io 'eISe VI
''!'!9 ""'''i'7 iol .i'o ''i W
,.,',,,,,,., ,...', W O'i0 '''''o Soui
t,'r,,!7 '"',, '.'ii w. '.n" Yp.' ""''lu
tIn ,-,ii ,,.,,.,
t,,.is.P 'o'''0 ~ ''o' ""S' '"Pei ''
,,iti 80, ~,'I I s '''' ',iI "''o "iio "'"O
''',,' u VIZ "'', ''o Jus
'i'' 81 '.e '"o vi
Va, ,''' p",'V ii o'l'' CIV, - .iie " eI;
for the si,nal to start. and we did MOI.
have to wait ioug before the ront sounded.
and that was the silnaI to let her 20
From that time until we reached the bot.
tom no man will ever be fully able to de-
scribe the experience.
After the first 200 or 800 feet there is n
feeling it would be hard to cyrlain sort of
oneness, rs it were. and ven don't calp
much whether school keeps or not. and the
changes are so different and varied that
one begins to wonder what will come ncyt
When near the bottom the car on which
you are riding BEGINS to slow M. and then
comes the most ueculiar experience of nil
You ima,.i.e that Won are shooting nm.
NG-d and that Won will soon be among the
star, You can IMAGINE the sensation
from going down ut the ra.e of nboI,t loO
miles a minute to Going IN at about seven
times that rate. Finally the car lands at
the bottom of the shaft, and YOU breathe a
sigh Of relief as you step out.
Well the first thing Won do i. to looL, for
salt; it's there, all around YOU. above. he
meath. on all sides. but if don't lool, ,nuch
like salt near the bottom Of the shaft. as
lights are burned constantly and thn
smoke has blackened the walls. You look
away to the cast. through "A LONG. dark
some Pickering lights. and Won are i'm
formed that they are lights used by the
worLmcn who are engaged in miuin.. the
salt. Your guide steps lIp TO a man near
where You land ana saws. "Three light..
please" and three tallow candles are hand
ed ont. K may seem little strange that
tallow candlc are used in this arpor karo.
scnc, gas and electricity. but sncb is tbo
case. and they are the only LIGHTS used in
the mine, and each man carries one. and
they are hung up from the ceiling where
the mining of salt is going on. and they
are the handicst light, that can be used
They don't purchase these lights hy the
dozen or hundred. but by the carload
TIE candles were lighted. and with
them in hand we followed the guide and
proceeded to make a tour Of the mine. we
might add partial tour. for it would Take
a person something like a week to walk all
over the mined territory. We followed
the guide aloug through dark and Winding,
PATHWAYS until we reached a point vnere
the workm.n were Lusilv ENGAGED miuiu-,
the salt. They were not at work with
picks pickin. it out, rs mi.sht be slnnos4I