Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-16
WORK AT PEARL HARBOR
Preliminary to Establishing tho U. I
Naval Station In Hawaii.

Freliminary to Establishing tho y. D.
Naval Station In Hawaii.
From the Hawaiian Star.
The party sent to Pearl Harbor by Ad-
miral Walker to make borings, with q
view to estimating the cost Of dredging q
channel through the bar that obstructs its
entrance. has been hard at work since Mon
day last, but owing to bad weather and ex-
ceptionally high seas they have accomplish
ed less than was expected.
Lieut. Woods first duty upon his arrival
was to anchor buoys across the bar where
1t Is proposed to dredge the channel They
are placed in two lines and mark the pro-
posed width Of the channel as 200 feet and
Its depth thirty feet at low water A scow
was anchored near one Of the buoys and the
work Of sinking a tripod that would secure
y and steadily hold the heavy drill was
commenced. The tripod used is constructed
or six-inch square timber, forty feet in
length 1t being Of sufficient height SO that
although the bottom is weighted and Sc
curely anchored to the sand beneath, the
apex Is eight or ten feet above the high
water mark. At first great difficulty was
experienced. the tripod In use being too
light for the work and not weighted to re-
sist the force Of the sea. but more weight
was used. and on Saturday last success at
tended their efforts and a tripod of suf-
hcient strength and weight was sunk.
The officers In charge had no more than
stopped congratulating themselves on the
completion of the hardest work they have
done since their arrival in Honolulu when
a line from the scow fouled the propeller of
the launch. The launch, losing Roadway,
could not control the heavy scow, which
drifted, aided by the heavy sea- against the
tripod, completely demolishing 1t. One Of
the forty-foot legs was carried away and
Lieut. Wood is now in town looking for an
other to take the place of the one broken.
The tripod has been placed In position four
times. only to be knocked down by the
heavy surf. each time falling upon the scow
and endangering the lives of all the men at
work.
The work Is attended with no little risk
to those employed. the sea running SO high
that the steam launch is half full Of water
most Of the time, being kept ahoat only by
continual pumping, There has been only
one accident, however. that being to DR.
Crandall. the surgeon in charge. He fell
overheard from the dingy, and being quick
ly rescued suffered from nothing worse
than an involuntary bath.
The officers are very comfortably quarter
ed In Mr.. c. A. Browns house. They have
their own cook and are said to be living
very well. Sharp discipline Is enforced
"reveille" at am. and taps at 10 pm
The men. fifteen In number, have swung
their hammocks in the trees surrounding
the place, which at night presents the APP
pearance Of small camp. McCandless
Brothers under the direction of the officers
in charge of the expedition, are to make
the borings. Several will be made, so that
the character of the bar can be ascertained
at each point. The machine used for doing
the work consists of a pipe, inside Of which
Is drill, set through the apex Of the tri-
pod. firmly held in place by heavy planks
and resting upon the bottom. Water is
forced through the pipe washing the sand
away and permitting 1t to gradually sink
The drill inside the pipe follows until 1t
reaches rock or coral. it being then raised.
dropped and turned by means of a long
piece Of wire. drilling hole of sufficient
size to permit of the pipes sinking after it.
The boring heretofore done has shown the
bar to be a deposit of sand. This being SO,
the dredging of a channel will be accom-
plished with comparative ease, and the ex-
Iense will be conside rabiy less than the
estimates. particularly as the bar has been
found to be narrower than was expected
England is evidently keeping her eye on
this work of the United States, one Of the
ieutenants from the Champion having gone
to Pearl Harbor during the past week os-
tensbly for a friendly visit, but 1t is be-
heved In reality to inspect the work and re-
pert.