The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-03-27
P|CA1NNY MOUNTAINS MONSTER MAGAZINES

Scattered about here ard there in A
long. narrow valley which Is pesehsd
nigh up ia the mountain region Rear
flccatinay. n. J., seven great giants are
SeepsEg. IL they were reused 20 fury
and ali the peni-up vsnainy within them
lei iooss-and the iinieSs spark would
90 TIA soodiy portion of North Jersey
weuid be torn Out by the roots. and
scattered III dust and chaotic fragments
10 ,ae four winds Of heaven. The very
mountains that glrdie the valley all
about would fairly reel in ;ise.r rock
3oeed foundations and even New York.
nearly nifty miles awag, would Qaivsr un-
der the terrific Jar.
For the bowels Of these seven Sleepers
are filled with thousands upon thau-
sands OF tons of gunp9wder and gun cot
Ton which for years back the ltseG
states government has been quietly and
un0nstrusiveiy storing away there in the
event Of there suddenly arising some such
history making crisis ia the nations life
as is now upon Us. Just how many thou
SAND tons 81 concentrated havoc are al
this moment Stored away n this piccatin-
ny government powder depot there Is no
means OF knowing. The officers IN charge
are never very communicative on the sub
aect, and just now they are more than
ever silent All that can be said is that
this 'nssa.sle is the largest in the coun-
try and tina. the government always has
Kept there its heaviest reserves of aumu-
milton. There are in all seven great pow
der warehouses-five for the army and two
for the navy. Each storeho,iSe is a build
ing having a floor room of 40 feet in
length by ca IN breadth. The height of
the room thus formed Is - feet. Now
powder. as IL comes from the factory IL
delivered In boxes that are shade larger
than the ordinary soap box so familiar IN
the country store, and each box contains
80 pounds Of the explosive. II viii he un-
derstood very readily that a room 90 feet
long by ca feet wide and - feet nigh will
hold a great number of the ordinary soap
boxes OF commerce, and when 1t Is said
that each one of these magazine rooms Is
piled high UP with layer after layer OF
these l50-pound soap-slxe powder boxes.
il Will be seen that the statement that
there are hundreds Of thousands OF tons
OF powder III storage IS well within con-
sentative bounds. And this, too. ia ex-
elusive of the tons of gun cotton " hch are
stored away in this remote mountain recess.
There are 1860 acres in the tract OF land
the government OWNS there, and the bulk
of this area is in n long. narrow valley
about three and a quarter miles Ircm end
10 end, and varying from Il quarter OF a
mile 10 a mile in width. IL Is "A beautiful
spot, distinctiveiy suggestive OF West
ground surrounded on all sides by great
rugged mountains which crowd up 10 its
edges and peer down over ZACH others
shoulders at it from all directions. There
IS no Hudson. 10 be sure, hut noisy,
fussy little mountain stream winds
through it and is spanned at various
places by trim white iron bridges. A gov
eminent road leads from the main high
way. about mile away. 10 the handsome
iron and stone gateway at the entrance.
But for the fact that the gate posts are
made in the form of upright cannon. and
that the iron OF the gates themselves Is
wrought into martial designs. the first
impression would be that some millionaire
reciuse had made himself 81 private park
away off I'm the wilderness.
Watchfui guards are everywhere about
as YOU enter the grounds. There is no re-
striction 10 visitors entering, even in these
critical times; but you are always con-
scious that watchful eyes are upon you.
There is a fine driveway stretching near
" mile straight before you as you enter
Il leads 10 the administration building
and to another wide avenue running ar
right angles to the entrance drive. At the
intersection OF these avenues Is a very i'm
portant structure-the fire engine house
Ii is o. handsome large brick structure,
and through It's windows you catch the
CLINT OF the polished nickel and brass
gnountings of fire apparatus. or to the