The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-12-10
STREETS MADE OF SALT.
KANSAS MINERS 4 FOURTH OF
4 NILE UNDERGR ROUND.
Digging Long Passages and Rooms Out
Of Rock Sslt--Thc Famous Subter-
ranean city With FIFTY Miles OF streets
IN the Great Rock Salt Mine OF Austria.

tire of the State. II lies almost on the
border of that western part OF Kansas
where. as a well known-writer has said,
crops are very uncertain and the farmer
mus, work ten days in the week and sleep
only on holidays" It's population In 1900,
li,745, increased in ten years only by 294
souls. But Rice county has attained a
claim to distinction that Is almost unique
in this country. II il mining rock salt
nearly a quarter of a mile under ground
and has dug out Of this mineral wealth
about as many streets as there are in Lyons,
the capital Of the county, a little city of
some LOO inhabitants.
Fourteen years ago some prospectors
were searching for natural gas or oil when,
much to their surprise, their drill, at a
depth of $50 feet. penetrated n body OF
rock salt. They kept their drill at work.
but it was not till they had reached adepth
OF l.iOO feet that they got to the bottom
of the thick bed Of salt. Several years
later a company was organized to work
the salt bed and 30 a shaft was sunk about
three-fourths of a mile from the city of
Lyons. The shaft penetrated the bed
of salt to a depth Of 2e5 feet. the bottom
of the shaft being ,065 feet below the sur
face. There were thirty or forty feet of
salt below the bottom Of the shaft.
One vein of salt, eighteen feet in thick
ness and OF exceptional purity, was selected
for mining. and IL is through this vein that
the underground works have been ex-
tended. The bottom OF the shaft IL the
centre of operations and the works ex-
tending from il resemble the rectangular
streets OF a well laid out town. The main
streets are twenty-five feet in width, running
east and west. Al frequent intervals
they are crossed by other streets OF the
same width. running north and south.
From these cross streets rooms or chambers
are dug out, each having a width Of fifty
feet; and between each room and the one
next to it a pillar Of salt il left. fifty feet
wide. to support the ceiling. or. in other
words. the salt roof over the workings.
which IL only about ten feet above the
floor. As this bed Is yielding nearly 500 600
barrels Of salt every year II will be readily
understood tina the ramifcations of these
streets far below the surface have become
quite extensive.
Ingenious machinery is used for mining.
the operation being comparatively simple.
A mass of salt is first undercut on a level
with the floor Of the az adjoining street by a
channelling machine operated by COM
pressed Gir. Holes are then made with
air drills in the salt above this cut, The
next step is 10 place dynamite in these
holes. which is exploded by electricity,
bringing the salt down TO the floor Of the
mine The loose Sal, l. then loaded on cars,
each holding about two tons. and the cars
are run on rails through the streets 10 the
shaft. The cars are hoisted 30 the top Of
n hve-storv mill that has been built directly
over the mouth OF the shaft. The salt is
dumped automatically from the mine cars
into crushers and passes by gravity down
through different sized cr1ishers 10 the screen
room, where by screens Of various sizes il is
separated into nine grades. u Is then con-
veyed into large bins, whence II is loaded
into railroad cars. The salt IL 50 pure
that il requires no cleansing operations.
In spite OF the large Western demand,
considerable OF the product. particularly
the dairy and table brands. now finds its
way into the markets of the Eastern States.
Kansas also produces n great deal Of salt
by evaporation from brine wells, the total
product OF the State, according to a Census
Bulletin just issued, being ,8t5 $50 barrels
In 1900, or los per cent. OF the total pro-
duction of the country. Kansas IL sur
passed only by Michigan, which yielded in
that year 34.3 per cent. and New York
with 32.2 per cent. OF the total production
No one knows yet how extensive this
Kansas bed Of rock salt NAV be, but the
PROSPECT is that 1t will b. the SCENE Of in
dustry for many years to rome II, Of
course. suggests the wonderful mines
al Wirliczka -Bochnia, Austria, which have
been excavated In the midst OF a mass of
rock salt hat Is believed 10 h. 800 miles
long with an average thickness Of 200
feet. sufficient TO employ n great number
of miners for many centuries. These ia
nous Austrian mines are among the won
ders of the world. Some fresh details
with regard to them have recently APP
peared from the pen of DIR. wilhelm Ber-ch.
Ancient documents seem To show that
thes.. immense deposits ~ rock salt were
discovered 10y a hCrder named Nieiic2.
whose name vas given to the town 81
Wieliczka, which now stands over the
most important AREA ~ mining develop
mcnt IN this vast region OF sali The de
posts seem "a hav. attracted attention iu
the eleventh century and mines have ts'cn
0prned a. various places along Them.
particularly from Nieliclka 20 Bpotnia
The largest dey.lopmout uHderli.s the town
of Ni"liczka the streets, square and pas
sage of the -uhierrlneau city occupying
much NOR" space Than the town above
II The work, extend over a distance 81
about fuur-hfth- - o maj" from north Co
from ra.I foo N.-t To- depth below the
surfarr DO lr-- than 'ua' .u the hauras
mlus. l+'iIg about rpl tu 80 lssf a. Uur 80
th' e]ntrtu',s the mime b. only about 30
let do'p
niur. o... 1880 = them having ,i.ar uoufir
10 tHr taNt ahu,r lu urH = thrrs Re- Irll
rialfWat wI'h eco r''Il- ',adf dow tH U'
nir. lbs utNrr AMI Shorter -ian hoe 900
rlrNafnI sfi thr I- uruallN rmf '.''i iu
UaI tIrH |.-li.I- uI ari DOL 49,
a. is Is alst' uNDf uus tI.uraId
vufhus.u ars constantly go IHuttI fIt#r
I- IsuH| lnH'uriH ~ Iaf- I.'
rift.|r ODD .|I..r U.. fave "a fHfH| fIF|I
~ rrH o." u.l.r Me ~ thf .H.sr sIr
uu1 vui ..HHf' Zoe NH' la-raF 80 HI
H nfl.' .l 20 rr .s'- ian. OF H.
n.aH &C. r.HTU.. I.H#fn ....HH fH.IH 900.