Griggs courier., 1898-09-15
ruNHRLs UNDER FORTS
secret. Exoavasis.s fer nilasary P.r.
Doses u Witch the Pablio
u Igaora1t.

~ appear in public print. One Of the
notwithstanding Of these secrets il the
underground tunnel. For explanation.
the tunnel at Fort Adams, near New
port, R. L, is described here. As indi-
Gated in the illustration, there are two
doors made of heavy oak, and though
they look substantial they are not Of
sufficient strength to resist the force
Of an attack. The invaders may, as is
usually the case In attacking q fort
from the land. steal up to the. very
walls in the, dead of the night and try
either to scale them or batter down
the fort door. The two doors In the
wall on the lower side of the fort fac
ing the sea present an easy mark for
invasion. Either Of them can be bat
tered down in a few minutes by stout
oak plank or heavy RAM in the hands
of dozen men.
These two doors are entrances to
the tunnel. There is no exit, for the
simple reason that it is impossible for
any living being to go entirely through
it. 1t is sinuous underground pas.
sage, twisting and turning in and
about the fort, over half a mile in
length and finally terminating within
dozen feet Of the first entrance, rum
ming, in its course, as far out as the
ocean.
An inspection of this secret passage
is suggestive Of everything gruesome
and unearthly. It's purpose is equally
repugnant to the senses. At distance
of 200 yards from the mouth it is i'm.
possible for an enemy to retrace his
steps. He is doomed to languish there
and eventually die of starvation. On
first entering the tunnel the sensation
is narrowing one. Itseems as though
the ground under ones feet was sink.
ing and that the earth were opening
to swallow up the intruder. This is
due to chill and fear. The air is sitting
and breathing becomes more laborious
the further one enters. The explorer
feels for the wall to guide him, but al
every step he goes further and further
until he loses his way entirely.
When the enemy, after an assault,
obtains entrance to either of these
openings, part of the fort, garrison
plant themselves at the door and blaze
away into the interior. Those who are
not killed outright soon lose their way
in an endeavor to escape from the fire
Such devices as these make 1t evident
that an attack must always be made
with great caution against fort as
we'll as on battlefield where an army
may be f1anked or ambushed before
the commanders are aware of the situ
alton.
When the boys of the Torty-seventt
regiment went into camp on the plains
surrounding the fort party of then
decided to explore the tunnel. They
linked arms and went "into the bow
els of the EARTH" as one of them ex
pressed it. They advanced about 8
hundred yards. keeping close togethe,
and whistling to dispel all thought.
of fear. They were treading slowly
when some rasping sound reached
their ears and they broke and fled as /,
pursued by Satan himself. There wa.
never more thoroughly scared lot OF
soldiers in camp as the party who
made the adventurous trip, and they
have not gotten over 1t yet.
In the construction of a fort the ex
cavation is made first before the outer
walls are built, and but for the sur.
rounding walls the whole thing woule
look like neatly dug trench. The ex
cavation at Fort Adams is not more
than ten feet wide and about Is feet
deep. There is similar trap at Fort
Monroe, Va. As far as is known these
underground passages have never been
used in actual warfare.-N. Y. Times