The evening times., 1899-02-15
USE OF CRUDE OIL
TO STOP LANDSLIDES
Western Engineers Proposal
to Try 1t on Hillsides.
Fortune Awaits the Disc0yerer of a
Preventive.
Thousands of Dollars Damage to
Property Every Year in the
City of Seattle.

Seattle Wash. Feb. 15.-P0ssibly no
question before the city engineering de
partment bids fair to maintain itself as A
perpetual bugbear more than what can
be done TO stop Slides
In City Engineer Thomson's desk are
many pigeonholed communications and
store of pamphlet literature which pur-
ports to solve this problem but the slides
continue just the same. and a fortune of
millions awaits the man who shall devise
means TO successfully stop them. In many
districts OF France and Germany these
slides have caused the loss of hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
In British Columbia the Canadian Pacific
Rsilroad is at this time involved in a vast
tuiu growing out of slides along the Thorn
son River. In many parts of the country
remdey for this disastrous trick of ma
lure would be hailed. with delight by prop
erty holders.
The latest suggestion made to the city
Is that the sliding hillsides be soaked with
crude oil and be thus made water proof
This experiment is said to have been tried
on bad roads in the East with great sue
cess. The theory is that oil and water will
nor mix, and The earth being porous enough
TO retain the oil viii shed water. When
ihe oil takes hold. moisture must depart
and the earth becomes compact.
III seems that leaky oil pipe near a
small Pennsylvania town was responsible
Tor the discovery. This pipe was near a
place in the road that was invariably i'm
passable during the season of spring and
fall rains. When the leak occurred in the
pipe the ground became saturated to some
extent with oil, and very soon il was no
ticed that the earth became hard and re-
RaaFW aaI TH
was this piece of bad road that the effect
of the oil on it became a matter of so
much comment that presently the expert
ment was repeated in other localities and
with the same effect
In regard 10 the Use of the oil on The
Rainier and Yesler way slides. City En-
RIneer Thomson is of the opiuion thar ir
would be absolutely useless since the for
NATION OF the hills is such that oil might
he poured on alb libilum and without af-
fecting the ground 10 any extent since
The surface layer is gravel
II might do very we'll on adobe land
said Mr.. Thomson. "buJ not here Adobe
il thick. heavy. pasty soil. hard in sum
lher and seems to actually nell in winter
Il oll were poured on while the ground
VAS dry and hard. 4 waterproof crust
would probably be formed
The formation OF the soil here aud The
cause and manner OF The slides while
me and OF ocular demonstration. were de-
EcIibed as simply as possible by City Fu-
gineer Thomson as follows
The clay was lett a deposit in The
glacial period. Oyerlying is straium OF
gravel which is part Of the wash of The
Inoraiue brought by the succeeding glacial
period. In slides in Seattle and the imnla-
diaIe vicinity the action is of two char
acters. Some portion is caused by The
absolute dissoiving Of The clay in water
and he clay runs
The other and more frequent class is oc-
rasioned by the fact jhaI the clay contain
lug large percentage OF Ieldspar has Tend
ed TO mass itself into large irregularly-
shaped crystals. the lines Of crystalIiza-
ton nearest perpendicular varying some Is
degrees from the perpendicular while the
other lines are almost precisely horizontal
Between those large masses there are dis
iinct dividing lines occasioned in part hy
The fact that as the clay has dried from
Eme 10 time The different masses have
Ehlunll in size and thus given opportunity
90 fll the seams with foreign matter, of
teutimes sand and gravel.
Owing 10 this fact the water which falls
upon The everything soil often. after de-
EeendiHg 10 the surface of the clay passes
down through these small crevices and
fometmes makes quite large channels of
them Sometimes in IN extremely heavy
Hood Of water, these channels become
rEoked, and in The vertical seams holding
tnc water hydroslatic pressure is caused
sufficient 10 drive series OF these great
pieces OF clay forward. The amount ul
movement depending upon the supply of
wafer and the saJurajion ot the horizontal
lines of cleavage.
On our hillsides the original crystal
line masses have usually been worn so
1hdT by reason OF their upper and outer
corners having been carried away they
present 4 wedge shape, Hence when the
movement takes place it generally results
III setting forward a series OF clay wedges
standing on their bases. IT is NOT at all
uncommon TO see The sharp points OF these
Wedges projecting through the broken sur
fac Of the slide. The forward movement
Of he wedges Of necessity leaves a space
to be filled. This usually occasions the
saving of the overlying drift. from point
serpendicglarly above that point from
which the wedge started, ana nearly al
ways results in making u small basin Oh
:h- hillside between The wedge and the
Elore stable earth. This movement can be
easily traced on almost any hillside in the
vicinity of Seattle and has been The occa-
sion of calling from hundreds Of engineers
The question as to WHY 50 many little ponds
and basins are to b. found OF the hill
g-1