The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-08-23
WIN IN A SALT MINE.
What Men Do There Thousand Feet
Under Ground.
FROM the Geneseo Democrat.


From the Geneseo Democrat
AS our readers are aware, we have been
working for the past three or four years to
get pass down into the Retsof salt mine at
York. 1t so happened one day recently
that two personal friends of ours had busl-
ness down in the mine and meeting US after
ward, they gave US a very graphic descrip-
ton OF the trip, so much so that we also tmag-
agiued were with them from the time they
left the top until they returned again, and
for the benefit of our readers we will give
their description OF what they experienced,
and what they saw. Referring to the mat
ter, he said
"You may Imagine that you would like to
go down that shaft, but let US tell you tn at
when you once stood on the verge of that
yawning hole waiting for the car to let you
down it is two to one that your courage
would fail you aAd you would inform the
guide that you would postpone. the trip
until some other day. Supt Chaplin
was the one who went with US, aud, 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 be-
fore the gong sounded, and that was the
signal to let her go. From that time until
we reached the bottom no MAJ will ever be
fully able to describe the experience.
when the signal sounds the first thing
you do is to hug your hat down an your
head for keeps and by the time you nave
got that act Accomplishment seems as though
you were going down at about the rate of a
1000 miles minute. You have seen one
streak Of creased lightning chase another
well, it's no comparison. IL seems as though
the cable has been cut and you are Just
dropping to the bottom. You can't see, and
the only thing to be heard is that terrible
roar of the air as you rush through spacs.
After the first two or three hundred feet
there is feeling 1t would be hard to ex-
plain, sort of a goneness as it were, and you
don't care much whether school keeps or
not, and the changes are 80 different and
varied that one begins to wonder what will
come next.
when near the bottom the car on which
you are riding begins to slow up, and then
comes the most peculiar experience 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 100 miles a minute to
going up at about seven times that rate.
Finally the car lands at the bottom of the
shaft, and you breathe 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 it don't look
much like salt near the bottom of the shaft.
as lights are burned constantly and the
smoke has blackened the walls. You look
away to the east, through long, dark
tunnel, and you discern in the far distance
some Pickering lights, and you are in
formed that they are lights used by the
workmen who are engaged in mining the
salt Your guide steps up to man near
where you land and says: Three lights,
please and three tallow candles are handed
out. IL may seem little strange that tai
low candles are used in this age Of kerosene,
gas and electricity, 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 the handi-
est lights that can be used They don't
purchase these lights by the dozen or hun
dred, but by the carload.
The candles were lighted, and with them
in hand we followed the guide and pro-
ceeded 10 make a tour Of the mine ; We
might add. partial tour, for it would take
person something like a week to walk
all over the mined territory. We followed
the guide along through dark and winding
PATHWAYS until we reached point where
the workmen were busily engaged mining
the salt. They were not at work with picks
picking it out, as might be supposed, but
were breaking up the large Jumps and
shoveling it into the cars, the salt having
been bastsd out ahead OF them. While
some were engaged in shoveling the salt,
others we're drilling holes into the solid
mass, making ready for blast. machines
run by compressed air being used for this
purpose.
"As before stated, the main tunnel runs
directly east, and is nearly a half
mile in length. Near the shaft two
other tunnels branch off from the
main tunnel. one on either side,
and run parallel with 1t. These, we believe,
are termed air shafts. From these shafts
rooms brancn OFF both north and south,
and IN these rooms 10 where the salt is
mined These rooms are nothing more nor
less than short tunnels, and ia time will
probably be heightened out as far as the
main tunnel or even farther. as they can 90
miles IN any direction aud still be IN the
salt The rooms are. perhaps, tsenty or
thirty feet wide and from seven 20 eight
feet 10 hight. A section Of salt some thirty
fcet % thickness Is left between each room
as a support % the solid mass above. A
taicGu. - Of i've ~ six fsai rs left above as
roof. aud substantial roof IL makes, as
the o. Ia % natural ssats - ain Jst as hard