Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-22

made walking extremely difficult. Some
times 1t was hard to pull the great rubber
boots out OF the tenacious mud and pro-
gress vas. therefore. relatively slow The
splashirg Of the water resounded and re-
echoed and at a little distance became a
perfect roar. The air was pure and sweet.
and, as stated, cool and pleasant There
were no gases 10 befoul the atmosphere. as
no work. was being done except at the shaft
itself. There was a faint movement OF the
air. caused by the draft that comes frem
the great chfmney-fike openings at howard
University Champlain avenue, Rock creek,
Foundry branch and the west ends Of the
tunnel.
Traversed for Nearly n Mile.
The tunnel was traversed by the visitors
for nearly a mile and then. as specimens OF
all the various conditions had been passed.
It was decided to return. as no more fnfor-
nation was to be obtained from pro-
longed stay in the tunnel The tunnel Is
lined with hrickwork through the Howard
University heading and part way into the
Champ,ain heading" Then ensues a
stretch of rock. excavation trimmed for the
Srickwork with the floor reasonably smooth.
Next comes the long and difnc ult passage
over a section that had never been trim
med, in which the rocks lay loose upon
the floor. making the walking very painfol
and slow, especially in the great rubber
boots that the visitors wore. In the lined
section the holes that were cut In the
brickwork by the investigating committees
were, of course, still visible. with their
yawning cavities beyond where the shrewd
contractor lad outwitted the government
and had done cheap and lazy work. These
openings were made at frequent intervals,
determined by the soundfngs that Mr.. Spar
row made with his little rod.
These holes. or caves, as they were
facetiously called at the time OF the In
vestigation are shockihgly numerous; In
some cases. as will be remembered, they
extend FOR fifty feet or more beyond the
opening. But the cuts through the arches
show that the brick work was generally of
an exceptionally good quality. and even
today. after the years of submersion in
water, the arch Is solid and intact. the
mortar hard. ana the lining itself generally
In perfect condition. There is little or no
evidence of rotting in the timbers that
were placed N the soft spots where the
rotten rock was encountered. and Major
Knight is of the opinion that If the tunnel
is ever used, and Is allowed to fill with
water. the complete subn}ersion of the
timbers will preserve them for an indefinite
period.
Weep Holes.
At irregular intervals the wall of the tun-
mel is pierced with weep holes" through
which the seepage runs that fills the tunnel
If the pumps are stopped. 1t is calculated
that the pumps must extract about 265, 600
gallons of water day in order to keep the
tunnel clear. Each "weeper' brings in a
y,
rock above, and the great number OF these
can be known fnethe work that they all ac-
romplish. In some cases the water comes
5broueh the small metal pipes with such
sorce as to force streams bodily into the
sunnel several inches, while other iniets
Cow smoothly down the sides without any
PRESSURE The water in every case Is clear
and cold. 1t Is no wonder that this should
be the case. as 1t has passed through one
Of the best filters in the wor1d-1JO. and in
some cases 300. feet of soil, sand, gravel,
clay and rock. layer upon layer of fiiterIng
material better than any man has ever dis
covered or Invented.
There is In. places a peculiar yellow,sh
deposit on the sides Of the tunnel that has
enough tenacity to hold 1t together. and
strings and even sheets of this material
may be seen waving spectrally In the
draft. This deposit has also been examined
and has been found to be somewhat fungus
and vegetable in character, and not at all
deleterious to the excellence Of the water
IN the eastern end of the tunnel, which
was visited today. there are no lime forma-
Aons. such as are usually found under
ground. but it was stated that there are
rome ftQe specimens of stalactites in the
western end.
None of the Fragments DislOdged.
Everything In the tunnel was covered
with a fine soft deposit of mud, showing
that tt had rested undisturbed just as it
was left over seven years ago. and. as
Maj Knight pointed out, proving that the
lapse of time and the action of the water
had not served to dislodge any fragments
from above. r7'.~-
Almost all Of the appliances for mining
and excavating a tunnel had been taken
out. although here and there may be seen
a length CT rusty rail, and on one side a
thousand feet or more from the university
shaft, a poor old wreck of a car lay on its
side, mute reminder of the active scenes
nearly decade ago. There was an OPP
pressive sense of visiting the bottom of
the sea in a diving bell. 1t was all cold
and still, save for the dripping. dripping.
dripping, of the water from the sides. Oc-
casiona!ly an unusually active weeper sent
a splashing sound into the quiet that
re-echoed and was magnified a hundred
times. Far up the tunnel the civil engineer
was working with couple of assistants,
measuring the cavities behind the lining,
and their voices came booming along the
tube-like construction with a mufIled roar,
while their lights blnked fainter and faint
er as the distance between the two parties
IL creased
If the tunnel should ever be used as a
conduit there is a great deal of rubble,
blasted from the roof, that would have to
be taken out, while III some places there is
enough sand and mud that have drifted
back and forth from the shafts that would
necessarily have to be removed. 1t is. of
course, question for the engineers to set
tie whether the tunnel could carry the
without the entire length being lined, and
in order to determine this question as far
as possible Maj. Knight will endeavor to
Submit the tunnel to pressure and de-
terrnine as accurately as possible the
amount of loss by flow through the
seams Of rotten rock that are exposed in
the open sections
This rock IS of the consistency of Roche
fort cheese. AMI II Is, OF course, very easily
penetrated by the water. The civil en-
gineer who is making the measurements
will be through with his work in about two
more days, and will then retire to the sur
face to compute his notes, and the tunnel
will then be filed and the pressure applied
Once Again at the Surface.
1t was quarter of IL when Maj. Knight
and those who accompanied him reach
ed the Howard University shaft once more
and In few moments they were again on
the surface. considerably spattered with
mud and their faces grimed by the oil
smoke of the torches
They sighed with regret for the delicious
GOODNESS of the lower regions, but with a
sense of thankfulness that they were no
1orger at the mercy of the captious steam
pump that might strike suag at any mo-
nent and allow the water to accumulate
Good, old, solid earth Is fairly comfort
able place even with the temperature at
VI degrees.