Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1894-08-17
AT WORK UNDER WATER.
PRESSURE MEN HAVE TO BKAR IN
DIoaINo TUNNELS.
Peculiar Sensations Experienced
The Greatest Danger Lies In Com
ing Out Into the Open Air.

hap, gr imbhng at ones hard
luck, a person seldom, il ever. stops
to think that men work day after day
/ deep down in the water, or the mud,
! with none but artificial light to guide
their movements, and only the air
that is pumped to then to breathe.
People who work in the open air
would have only to work for a short
time in a divers suit, e caisson, or an
.irlock, getting taste of what 1t Is
like and how it feels, to be cured for
ever of grumbling at their lot and to
thank their lucky stars that it has
been ordained that they work on top
of tho earth.
The work of a diver, his sensations
while under the water, and his ex-
periences have often been written
about, but those of the airlock and
caisson worker have not. While he
does not face the danger of fouling
pipes and lines, as does the diver, he
stays down longer, gets warmer, and
his great danger lies in the stagnation
Of blood and paralysis, resulting from
the change of atmosphere.
Mr.. r. c. Rapier, of East Cambridge,
is an airlock worker, and talks most
Interestingly. His work was mainly
in the airlocks used in building the
great Hudson River tunnel. To n
Boston Herald reporter he talked OF
some of the sensations, dangers and
experiences.
He said that, while a man working
on the surface of the earth bears up
an atmospheric pressure of fifteen
pounds to the inch, men In the locks
bear a pressure of from fifteen to fifty
pounds of compressed air, according
to the depth. The heaviest pressure
ever worked under was borne by five
divers ON the Swedish coast--sixty-
five pounds. Four of these died five
minutes after coming out,
! While, as a general thing, the diver
stands not nearly that amount OF
pressure, and seldom stays down more
than two hours, the men in the Hud
son River tunnel stood "A pressure OF
from forty-fve to forty-six and one
half pounds, and worked on four hour
shifts. Some men stayed down twenty
hours at stretch, but did not work
all the time, and Superintendent Has
kins stayed down once twenty-four
hours.
The sensations experienced are Pc
,ulisr. When man first steps in
here is a tingling in the ears and
pain in the head, and when he talks it
is apparently through the nose. This
il caused by the pressure, and the
remedy is to hold the nose, close the
mouth and blow against the ears,
This relives the pain and stops the
sensation. When the pressure is all
On the worker feels all right and ex-
oeriences no discomfort. Then there
is sort of exhilaration, and man
does more work in the lock than he
could outside.
Another peculiar thing about the
action of the pressure is that a man
may have liquor enough aboard when
outside to just make him feel jolly,
but when he steps into the lock he is
Trunk as loon.
The danger lies in coming out OF the
pressure into the open air. 1t is then
hat man is apt to suffer from stag.
nation of the blood and paralysis
caused by the change of atmosphere.
Besides this man may be attacked in
The head or stomach with severe pains.
Three ont of five cases where the head
and stomach are attacked result IA
tally.
Another severe malady resulting
from the change is what is called the
"bends." This IS the air getting in
between the flesh anu the bone. 1t is
extremely painful, and so severe that
a quart of whisky administered in half
an hour would not intoxicate the
patient. The stagnation and paralysis
are the worst dangers, and do the
work quickly. Many men have been
keeled over by these causes, and not
few die. Old timers at the business
sometimes get caught. Mr.. Rapier
himself was twice attacked. The rem.
edy for this paralysis is a quick re-
turn 10 the airlock.
The effect of the pressure varies on
animals, as is shown by the mules
used in the Hudson River tunnel
Some of these beasts are kept at work
down below for year, and on being
brought up are worth more than when
they were taken down. Others that
had only been in the works four
months had to be killed.
The men, as a general thing, do not
remain great many years at the
business, and man should never
work at it after he is forty years OF
age.
Cutting hole and building tun-
mel through water is an extremely diff
ficult thing, and by many was thought
to be impossible. Still. it was done
in the case of the Hudson River tun-
mel, and the method, as told by Mr..
Rapier, is very interesting.
The work on the tunnel had pro-
crossed until body of water was
struck. How to tunnel through this
hole Of water was puzzling question.
It was done this way: A so-called bal
loon was constructed by making q net
ting of wire rope and covering this
netting with canvas. The interior OF
the balloon was then filed with blue
clay and salt hay. When filled, the
balloon, thirty feet in diameter, weighed
lao pounds. The hole of water was
then located, and with the aid of q
huge steam derrick the balloon was
dropped into the hole. Then several
scow loads of dirt were dumped down
onto the balloon, and the whole thing
was left to settle. At the end of ten