Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-03-26

lest spark would do It
goodly portion of
north Jersey would be torn out by the
roots, and scattered in dust and chaotic
fragments to the four winds of heaven
The very mountains that girde the valley
all about would fairly reel in their rock
ribbed foundations. and even New York,
fifty miles away, would culver under the
terrific jar.
For the bowels of these seven sleepers
are filled with thousands upon thousands
OF sunpowder and gun cotton which for
years back the United States government
has been quietly and unobtrusively storing
away there in the event of there suddenly
arising some such history making crisis
In the nations life as is now upon us. Just
now many thousand tons of concentrate
havoc are at this moment stored away in
TINS Piccatiny government powder depot
there is no means of knowing. The officers
IN charge are never very communicative
on the subject, and just now they are more
than ever silent. All that can be said is
that this magazine Is the largest in the
country, and that the government always
has kept there it's heaviest reserves of am
munltlon. There are, in all. seven great
powder warehouses-tive for the army and
two for the navy. Each storeh olse is a
building having a floor area of 200 feet III
length by go in breadth. The height of the
room thus formed is 40 feet. Now, powder
in boxes that are shade larger than the
ordinary soap box so familiar in the coun-
try store and each box contains $50 pounds
of the explosive. 1t will be understood very
readily that room POO feet long by 50 feet
wide and 40 feet high will hold a great
number of the ordinary soap boxes of COM
1nerce, and when it is said that each one of
tnese magazine rooms is piled high up
win layer after layer of these 150-pound
soap-box size powder boxes, 1t will be seen
that the statement that there are hundreds
or thousands of tons of powder in storage
IS Well within conservative bounds. And
inns. TOO, is exclusive of the tons of gun
cotton which are stored away in this re-
mote mountain recess.
Reservation of $50 Acres,
There are ], 800 acres in the tract of land
the government owns there, and the bulk
OF TINS area is in long, narrow valley
about three and quarter miles from end
TO end, and varying from a quarter of a
mile to a mile in width. 1t is beautiful
spot. distinctly suggestive of West p nj,
with ITS PLACID stretch Of level ground sur
rounded on all sides by great rugged noun
talns which crowd up to it's edges and peer
down over each others shoulders at it
from all directions. There is no Hudson.
10 De sure, but a noisy, fuSsy little noun
tain stream winds through it and is SPAN
ned at various places by trim white iron
bridges. government road leads from the
main highway, about mile away, to the
entrance. But for the fact that the gate
posts are made in the form of upright can
non, and that the iron of the gates them
selves is wrought into martial designs, the
nrst impression would be that some mil
ilonaire recluse had made himself a private
park away off in the wilderness.
Watchful guards are everywhere about
as you enter the grounds. There are no re-
strictlons as to visitors entering, even in
these critical times: but you are ALWAYS
conscious that watchful eyes are upon you.
Look Quite Harmless.
Scattered here and there at wide inter-
Vals apart, and apparently in no regular
order, are the seven silent sleepers for
whose benefit all this wide expanse and
profound solitude have been secured. Very
quiet and harmless they look-dull, lead
coiored brick buildings, with red-t tiled roofs
sho RED iron shutters and doors-doors and
shutters partially thrown open in fair dry
weather, that the air may get through the
buildings where the incased explosives are
stored. Water. as well as fire, has to be
guarded against in the storage of powder,
ana dalnpness Is water. One reason the
nigh mountain region was selected was to
get away from the moister air of a lower
level
The navy powder is stored away and
apart from that of the army and the
buildings are all painted in dirty muddy
yellow which, for some reason, Is tradi-
uonal with the navy. They are In a set-off
tract or SiO acres. and on a mountain side
above the valley proper. A branch of the
Morris County railway runs into the reser-
walton. Cars are backed up to the maya
zines at various points. Two hours after
ammunition is put aboard them it may be
in New York, if there is need of so great q
rush. They are filling shells now in the
navy magazine, and carload after carload
of them have been sent away since the
war scare began.
1t is Maj. burlington. the inventor of the
1ria ,ich hos
worked such revolution In coast defenses,
who is now in charge of the Piccatiny
powder magazine. He has been at the post
about year.
Comparatively few people know there is
such an establishment as this removable
ammunition depository in existence. Lying
right at the very gates of New York, not
one New Yorker in thousands knows of it's
existence. AS for the country people who
live in the vicinity the fact of the powder
magazines existence has SO long been an
old story with them that they had practi
cally lost all interest in it until the recent
war excitement came on. But now the
humblest mountaineer to be found within
a radius of ten miles v.sibly swells with
patriotic pride at the mere mention of the
great government depot. They obviously
feel that the great temple Of Janus is right
at their doors. and that they have sort
of personal responsibility for the safe
keeping Of the keys.
Suspicious of Spanish Spies.
1t is a matter Of conviction among them.
just at the present moment, that the
weeds are filled with Spanish miscreants
loaded with explosive designs on the maya
zines. The stranger Is glared at with the
eye of suspicion. and to ask the road to
the government reservation is to open the
door to a rigid Characterization.
81 won't tell you no road to no reserva-
ton nor nowhere else" was the greeting
a photographer. a mild. pale-faced dim lit
the man, got from native out In q noun
tain road the other day. Il won't tell you
nLthin'; believe you're a gol-darned Span
ish spy If you are yorll never git out of
these diggins alive. You can bet your yal-
Ter hide on that!'
To be sure. this was an uncommonly
bellicose citizen, but the general atmos-
phere of the country is impregnated with
the same sentiment, and any hapless way
farer who comes at all near the Piccatiny
mountaineer's ideal Of the Spanish type
would certainly run the risk of disagree
able attention. On the reservation ITSELF
while there Is, of course, no relaxation of
the usual vigilance. there are no indica-
tons whatever of any special anxiety. The
administration will not tell what is being
DONE how many men are at work. how
many tons of explosives are In storage
win not tell anything, In fact. Everybody
connected with the concern is blandly ST.
LIANT Silence indeed seems n he ho v,ra