The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-03-11
%NDIAN HEAD" DESTROYED.
The Stately Cliff That LoOmed for
Ages Over the Hudson River.

From the New York Times
Indian Head one Of the finest and most i'm
pressive points of the Hudson Palisades, the shad
ow Of which has fallen upon the broad waters Of
the river for amounted centuries, the towering
majesty of which impressed Hendrix Hudson when
ne first explored the silent stream, and has de-
lighted millions Of people during 200 years, was
yesterday blown 10 pieces by 200 pound OF dy-
Mantle set of by Miss Alice Haggerty. of Coytes-
VILE. ~ j.. pretty slip Of an Irish girl, who
giggled as she did it, and by Hugh Reilly, fore
man for Carpenter Brothers, contractors, who
had bought the place. The body Of Italians who
had done the preparatory work cheered enthu-
siastcally when the destruction had been accom-
plished.
Indian Head was opposite the upper end Of Man
haitian Island, midway between Fort George and
Fort Washington. 1t precpce of gray rock
rising straight 200 feet from sloping decilvIiy
of 100 feet more, the foot of which was close TO
profile Of a typical Indian, bold and massive, as
il some Titan sculptor had carved it with the
hope of making an impershable memorial OF a
race doomed to vanish.
As distance lessened, the outline faded. but
the scanned and beetling mass of naked rock crown
ed with green made picture of awful. silent
strength and grandeur il seemed to proclaim
10 the puny and their little machines pass
ing BY that il had been there before men began
TO crawl upon the earth, had looked upon the
passing of innumeTable generations of them. and
would remain after the last Of them had gone,
and all the crowded. aspiring structures they
had built over the river had crumbled.
The precipice consisted of $50, 900 tons OF rock,
which can be broken up into small blocks for
mankind TO walk and drive horses and machines
over. Therefore, many weeks ago little army
of men, who from the river looked like worms,
began TO burrow and gouge into il. Along the top
forty shafts. each inches in diameter, were sunk
% feet deep. Eighty feet below a tunnel was
dug from the face OF the precipice. IL was dug
s feet indiameter and back into the rock
100 feet From the inner end OF this two shafts
sunk q feet deep. Fifty feet above the
base another 5foot tunnel 100 feet run, and
from the inner end of this two 5-foot shafts de-
scended almost to the rivers level.
All these shafts and tunnels were filed with
dynamite, IS per cent, pure nitro glycerlne and
each charge of the explosive provided with
Illuminating cap and connected with wire. All
the wires led 70 one central wire connecting with
an electric battery, which was placed 200 feet
back from the innermost row of shafts Crowds
OF spectators from COytesyille, Fort Lee, and
neighboring villages assembled yesterday morn
ing to see the show. They stood PACK respect
fully, of the young women resentfuy, for
there had been quite an animated contest for the
distinction of destroying one of the most widely
known and splendid pieces of scenery in North
America. Miss Alice Haggerty had won by yir-
tue of pull She is not only niece of Bishop
Qugly Of Buffalo, but a particular friend of Mrs.
Hugh Reilly, and Mr.. Reilly, although boss
blaster, is yet merely human and subject to
domestic influences.
II just 10 O'Clock in the morning when
Mr. Reilly, who obviously had no sensations about
gave the signal. Everybody shouted Look out!''
and edged a little further away. Miss Haggerty
dabbed coquettishly at the ''plunger' that was
to precipitate a tremendous momentary struggle
between the rending power of the manufactured
earthquake and the resisting power of rock that
had stood for ages, and then swept her skirts
around with an involuntary movement of one
hand and fed. She had need to run at all.
There silence for ten seconds, and then
dull rumbling under the bottom of the precipce.
A puff OF brown smoke swiftly from near the
riy Lowell IN tbp nf oil ubpra ha
wind sliced it, quickly tore it TO pieces, and
hurried it away. Some pieces of rock rolled and
clattered down from the lower tunnel.
Boss Blaster Reilly hurried forward, saying to
himself things which the fact that Miss Haggerty
was the special friend of Mrs. Reilly and the niece
of Bishop Quigly forbade him to say aloud. He
scrambled hastily down a path leading to the
river bank, where he met the Carpenter Broth
ers, his employers, who had waited in a boat
far out in the river to watch results, and who
had rowed TO the Jersey shore when they saw
called four of the best of his Italians. and with
them scaled the cliff. As he expected he found
that very little Of the dynamite had been fired,
the closing OF the circuit having been incomplete
under Miss Haggerty's weak push OF the plunger.
There wait of nearly an hour while
Reilly and the Italians climbed and crawled, saw
that connections were intact, and restored them
where they had been disturbed. Meanwhile In
dian Head reared its crest majestically as
ever if despising its small foes
At ii O'Clock Reilly himself ran back to the
plunger. Again the crowd gave back and the
cries Of Look out!' over the scuffling and
laughing The brawny arm OF the boss blaster
few high as he drew the "plunger'' out to its