Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1892-11-03
DOWN In A SALT NINE.
How 1t Is Operated q Thousand
Feet Under Ground.

Retsof salt mine at York, says the Cen
eseo Democrat. II so happened one
day recently that two personal friends
Of ours had business down in the mine,
and. meeting us afterward, they gave
us very graphic description Of the
trip, so much so that we almost imag-
ined we were with them from the time
they left the top until they returned
again, and for the benefit of our read
ers we will give their description OF
what they experienced and what they
saw. Referring TO the matter they
said:
"You may imagine that you would
like TO go down that shaft, but let us
tell you that when you once stood on
the verge Of that yawning hole waiting
for the car TO let you down, II Is two
to one that your courage would fail
you and you would inform the
guide that you would postpone
the trip until some other day. Super
intendent Chapin was the one who
went with us, and, Of course, there
was no cause for alarm, as he knows
the workings OF the whole plant from
one end to the other. Well, we jumped
into the car and waited for the signal
to start and we did not have to wait
long before the gong sounded and that
was the signal TO let her 60. From
that time until we reached the bottom
no man will ever be fully able TO de-
scribe the experience.
"When the signal sounds, the first
thing you do Ia TO hug your hat down
L. al L. h.
time that you have got that act accom-
plishcd IL seems as though you were
going down at about the rate of thou
sand miles n minute. You have seen
one streak Of creased lightning chase
anothcr-well, it's no comparison. 1t
seems us though the cable has been cut,
and you are just dropping down to the
bottom. You can't sec, and the only
thing to be heard Is that terrible roar
of the air as you rush through space.
After the first two or three hundred
feet there Is n feeling 1t would be hard
20 explain, sort of goneness as IL were,
and you don't care much whether
school keeps or not, and the changes
are SO different and varied that one be-
gins to wonder what will como next.
when near the bottom the car on
which you are riding begins to slow up,
and then comes the most peculiar eX-
pcricncc of all. You imagine that you
are shooting upward, and you will soon
be among the stars. You can imagine
the sensation from going down at the
rate of about one hundred miles min
ute to going up at about seven times
that rate. Finally the car lands at the
bottom of the shaft, and you breathe u
sigh Of relief as you step out
"Well, the first thing You do is to
look for salt; it's there, all around you,
above, beneath, on all sides, but IL
don't look like salt near the bottom of
the shaft, rs lights arc burned con-
stantly and the smoke has blaclSened
the walls. You look away to the east,
through long, dark tunnel, and you
discern in the far distance some flicker
| ing lights, and you are informed that
| they are lights used by the worlSmen
who arc engaged in mining the salt
Your guide steps up to u man near
where you land and says Three lights,
handed out. 1t may seem q little
strange that tallow candles are used in
this age of kerosene, gas and electrici-
| ty, but such is the 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 tho handiest lights that can be
used. They don't purchase these lights
by the dozen or hundred, but by the
carload.
1.-THE candles were lighted, and with
them In hand we followed the guide
and proceeded to make tour of the
mine; we might add, partial tour, for
II would take person something like
q week TO walk all over the mined ter
ritory. We followed the guide along
through dark and winding pathways,
until we reached point where the
worltmen were busily engaged mining
the salt They were not at work with
picks picking II out, rs might be sup
posed, but were breaking up the large
Jumps and shoveling It into the cars,
the salt having been blasted out ahead
OF them. While some were engaged in
shoveling the salt, others were drilling
llplNo lhNp bho oCAiA ihhoot AhUhAhb ANuAJ
for blast, machines run by com
pressed air being used for this purpose
AS before stated, the main tunne'
runs directly east, and is nearly hall
mile in length. Near the shaft two
other tunnels branch of from the mair
tunnel, one on either side, and run par
allel with II. These, we believe, are
termed airshafts. From these shaft:
rooms branch off both north and south
and in these rooms is where the salt l.
mined. These rooms are nothing more
nor less than short tunnels and in time
will probably be heightened out as fal
as the main tunnel or even farther, a
they can go miles in any direction anC
still be in the salt The rooms are, per
haps, twenty or thirty feet wide anC
from seven to eight feet in height
section of salt some thirty feet II
.. thickness is left between eacl
: room as support TO the solid mas
above. A thickness OF Eve or six fee
= is left above as u roof, and n substan
tial roof it makes, as the salt in Its nat
: ural state is almost as hard as rock
There arc no other supports than thu
columns OF salt that are left
"of these rooms mentioned there a.,
fifty or sixty Ut the present time. AM
the workmen are diatributed about