The morning times., 1896-01-14
WENT ON 1 WEIRD Search
Expert Engineers. Again Explore
the Lydeck I Tunnel.
CAUGHT IN TIGHT PLACES
Piles of Dirt and Stones Choke the
way-Com omission of Investigators
Find 1t In fhe Condition in Which
1t Was When Abandoned.

hill Ia report upon the feasibility OF pre-
pairing the Lydecker tunnel for use has
resumed its sessions In this city, ana yes
lerday made an inspection of that part OF
the tunnel IL failed To examine before the
|. holidays.
The personnel OF the inspecting party of
yesterday was identical with that OF the
first day Of inspection save the absence of
Col. Elliott. The experts who visited the
new length Of the tunnel We're: Capt. Gall
lard, Major Marshall, Capt. Townsend,
Capt. Lush, Mr.. Telly, Desmond Fitzger-
aid, Mr.. Main and Mr.. Sparrow, who were
connected with the work six years ago.
A photographer and his assistant took
flash lights of the tunnel. Mr.. Ftelly
Joined the party when it made its exit
at the reservoir at Howard University.
Sickness prevented him frum making the
entire journey.
ENTERED AT ROCK CREEK.
The entrance Ia the tunnel yesterday
was made at the Rock Creek shaft. Just in
the rear of Oak Hill Cemetery, George
town. This shaft is fifty-five feet deep,
and ingress and egress are made by a
flight of ice-coated steps fastened to the
| timbers that have been in position since
the tunnel was begun.
The experts descended shortly after 10
| O'Clock. They first turned westward and
traversed that part OF the waterway lying
between the entrance and Rock Creek shaft.
Before The last OF the slippery steps lead
ing down the shaft was reached, the in
vestigators themselves. STOPPING over to
| save their heads from violent contact with
overhanging sharp, ioe-covered boulders
and thlpl lpirlgs npd thpir
drenched by the drippings from the pump
ing machinery above.
LIKE A SMALL NIAGARA.
At the bottom of the shaftl the way back
10 Foundry branch led off to the right.
Before getting half way down one heard
the water rushing in. Not fifty feet from
the bottom the cause was discovered. There
was a break in the tunnel where the water
from Rock Creek overhead, flowed at the
rate OF about 200 gallons an hour. There
was no lining in the tunnel at this point
and the water poured from a crevice in the
rock some half dozen feet from the
bottom OF the passage.
little further on the ilart y had TO crawl.
The cause of the extremely small cavity
left for a passageway was due to muck
pile which had been allowed to accumu-
lat there. This was Formed of loose stone.
fallen from overhead and here accumulated
debris from other portions of the waterway.
The chaotic mass extended for distance OF
nearly 1000 feet and, in some places it
approached within three feet of the tAn-
ners roof.
SOUNDINGS WERE WEIRD.
The tunnel was so inkr black as would
have made Eg ypt's 'sniehtappear astwilight,
while the throbbing of the pumping engine
was as the iabored breathing OF hideous
monster. Then the sound died away and
nothing was heard but the voices of the
explorers. Their voices were magnified
when long stretch of the tunnel that had
been walled was reached. The curved
walls. in many places with cavities behind
them. gave echolike great sounding boards.
Now and then an investigator OF several
of their party strayed behind OF sauntered
on ahead. With their feebly burning torches
and careful tread, their peering glances and
tlieir pickings aud soundings OF the walls
about them. they seemed transformed into
dwarfs and overgrowu elves in a land
nobody knew where.
Where the brickwork fringed the sides
and dome of the tunnel there We're apertures
in the roof at distance Of about every
twenty-five or forty feet This was the
result of previous soundings that had
proven hollow spaces to exist behind the
brickwork. Some OF these cavities were
large.
SOME GOOD WORK FOUND.
As had been the case in the last lengths of
the tunnel, SO the experts found yesterday
that the masonry where completed was
good and that the cement between the bricks
was as hard as it was shortly after it was
first used.
The start from the, entrance shaft to.
ward the reservoir, at Howard University,
nm ltn ngS nj a rSf
500 feet. Again stretches of walled tunnel
alternated with rugged stretches that were
still in the condition the biasters' powder
leftthem. excepting that much of the po wder
torn rock had been removed. In this
direction the mortar was i'll excellent
preservation.
About 1,OOO feet from the shaft, at
Champlain avenue, an unusual break was
found in the walls. A cavity fully 800
feet long and varying in height from three
to twelve feet. was found above the brick
walls The former saunders. who had
revealed the cavities. had caused the wall
TO be cut in longitudinal lines, on the
circumference of the tunnel from one side
OF the flooring TO the other. There were a
dozen of these cuts, most OF them about
two feet in width. By squeezing through
these apertures, IL was possible TO get in
behind the tunnels walls. and have
sufficient room TO turn about between the
brick wall on one side and the wall of
natural rocks on the other.
Another spot of interest was reached
just after passing Champlain avenue shaft
The tunnel bad not been walled at this place
and the great massesof rock and soil above
had been supported by ftimbers that had
been placed there when the blasting was first
done. These timbers had rotted away
and in their decayed. condition yielded to
the weight above. An obliQue subterranean
landslide followed with the result that the
mass of rock from one side had been pre-
cipitated into the opposite side OF the
bottom of the tunnel and hole of fifteen
feet iii height and almost as much in circum-
ference will be left to be filled in case it is
decided to continue work Oh the tunnel.
The experts will resume their sessions at
the War Department, and may visit sections
of the tunnel again. if they consider the
case requires 1t. 1t will be about ten days
before their report is submitted to Gen.
Craighll and through him to Congress.
In summing mp the result OF the inspection
n Ilo ri cfafa hot sfin