The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-09-16
DOWN IN A SALT MINE.
How 1t 10 Operated Thousand
Foot Under Ground.

Foot Under Ground
IA our readers are aware, we have
been working for the past three or
four yenrs TO ket pass down into the
Rctsof salt mine at York; says the Gem
CISCO Democrat It 50 happened one
| day recently TINT two personal friends
Of ours had buaincas down in the minc,
and, meeting us afterward they gave
rs n very graphic description OF tho
| trip, so much So that we almest imag4
med we were with them from tho time
they left the top until they returned
again, aud for the benefit OF our read
what they experienced aud what they
saw. Referring t0 the matter they
said:
"You may imagine TINT you would
| like to go down that shaft. but let us
tell you that when you once stood on
the verge Of that ynwninR hoe waiting
for the car 10 let you down, II Ii 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
1 intcndent Chapin was the enc who
went with us, and, Of course. there
| was no cause for alarm, MS he knows
the workings Of the whole plant from
one end 10 the other Well, we jumped
into the car and waited for the signal
10 start and,we did not have 70 wait
i long before the gong sounded aud that
was the signal To let her 10. From
that time until we reached the bottom
1 no man will ever BIO fully able TO de-
scribe the experience.
when tho signal sounds, the flrst
thing yon do is TO hing your hat down
on your head for keeps, and by the
time that you have got that net accom-
/ plished II seems as though you were
| going down at about tho rate 81 thou-
| sand miles n minute. You have seen
! one streak of creased lightning chasn
another well, it's no comparison II
seems as though the cable has been cut,
and you,are just dropping down to the
bottom. You cant see. and tho only
/ thing To be hcafd-is that terrible roar
OF the air as you rush through space.
After tho first two or three hundred
feet there Is feeling II would be hard
to explain, sort Of goncness as II were,
and you don't caro- much whether
| school keeps or not. and the changes
nre SO different and varied that one be-
gins TO wonder what win come next s
"When near the bottom the car on
which you arc riding begins to slow up,
and then comes the most peculiar ex-
] pcfiencc Of all. You Imagine that you
are shooting Hpwartl, 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 a
j sigh Of relief as you step out.
well the frst thing you do Is to
look for salt; it's there, all around you.
above, beneath. on all sides. but II
don't look like salt near the bottom Of
the shaft, Us lights are burned con-
stantly and the smoke has blackened
| the walls. You look away to the east,
through a long, dark tunnel, and You
/ discern in the far distance some flicker
ing lights, and you arc informed that
they nre lights used by the workmen
1 who are engaged in mining the salt.
Your guide steps up to O man near
where you land and says: Three lights,
/ please. and three tallow candles are
handed out II may seem q little
4 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
4 each man carries one, and they are
| hung up from tho ceiling where the
mining Of salt Is going on, and they
| are the hardest lights that can be
used. They don't purchase these lights
by the dozen or hundred. but by the
i carload.
'sThe candles were lighted, and with
/ them in hand lsc followed the guido
and proceeded to make tour of the
mine; we might add, partial tour, for
itwonld take person something like
week to walk all over the mined ter-
ritory We followed the guide along
through dark and winding pathways,
4 until we reached point where tho
workmon were bHsily engaged mining
the salt They were not at work with
picks picking 1t out, as might be sup
posed, but were breaking up the large
humps and shoveling Il into the cars,
/ the salt having been blasted out ahead
Of them. While some were engaged in
shoveling the salt, others were drilling
holes into the solid mass, making ready
for d blast, machines run by com
pressed air being used for this purpose
sAs before stated. tho main tunnel
runs directly east, aud Is nearly half
mile in length Near the shaft two
other tunnels branch or from the main
tunnel, one on either side and run par
alicl with it These, we believe, are
termed aiFshafts From these shafts
rooms branch off both north and south.
ard in these rooms Is where the salt Is
mined These rooms nre nothing moro
nor less than short tunnels. and in time
will probably be heightened out as far
as the main tunnel or even farther, ms
they can 60 miles IA pny direction and
sim be in the salt The rooms are. pert