The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-04-19
RAIL WAY OVER
bOTTON[ESS PIT
Whole Trains are Sucked Into
Salt Lake.
GREAT SECRECY PREVAILS
Engineers are Bafled by
DeWIiSh Phenomena.

Salt Lake. Utah. April 1s--Into the ca
pacious maws Of two quagmires in The
Great Salt Lake have disappeared recent
" a locomotive. more than a score Of
cars. section after section Of railroad en-
bankment and track and several human
beings Still the voracity OF those maws.
which may be the Openings Of sub-er-
ranean outlets Of the lake. have not been
appeased.
In his attempt 10 build its "Lucin cut
or across Salt Lake the Central Pacific
has developed another mystery In that
weird. mysterious inIand sea. Seemingly
bottomless pits Of shifting quicksand have
been encountered. Mountains Of rock have
have been dumped into the pits, but the
sands are still trescherous and yielding
I inc and again an embankmeEt has been
Quilt across, only to be swallowed up il
& night
The embenkment has at times appeared
10 be solid. and q temporary track has
been laid upon il At the first weight
of the cars the track has settled. Some
ting the train oil. safely. At other tim 5
cars have been lost while within the
last ten days the t-acl, settled so sui
denly that a locomotive and several cars
pitched into the water The fireman was
killed and the engine driver was in
Jured while the locomotive disappear ed
toward the interior OF the earth
Great secrecy IS preserved about con-
dItions on the cutoff. James r Kee1e
and his associates are charging that L
is a colossal failure Senator J. B Fora
ker declared IN h's argument in the
United States court before Judge Lurton,
In the Keene-Harrimon controversy, thai
II was coStinzf many millions more than
estimated and would have 70 be aban-
doned. The lips Of employees are sealed
under penalty Of discharge. Nobody not
an enploye is allowed on the cut-cr-,
newspaper men and photographers beng
especially barred. but access may be had
BIZ boat 20 the portions outside the shall
lows and marshes. and the stringent regI-
lations have not prevented at least some
of the facts from reaching the public
william Hood, chief engineer Of the
Southern Pacific road. is on the ground
Will CLIltl ms " 1-4F ~AtN
problem Some of the engineers say Dri-
vateIy that the case Is hopeless and THAI
the track can never be made safe. a no
matter what expense Officials in charge
deny this vehementIy. Chief Engineer
Hood being specially vigorous in his state
ments He feels that his reputation <
Ct stake. and declares that his pet project
viii be put through. all talk OF its abaa-
donment being childish.
According TO the best information OBJ
tainable. the two Quagmires have alreais
cost the company about s1.oco0oo mort
than estimated. while with good lucs
from this time on the work or the Lake
portion of the undertaking cannot cost
less than S40o0000.
CONSTRUCTION OF the Lucin cutoff was
against the advice of several prominent
civil en-incers. and from the start the
work his been frauCht with difficulties.
The present route circles the north end
of the lake and encounters tremendous
GRADES at Promcutory I'M The expense
Of helper engines % take trains over
these grades is heavy, and the necessity
Of an easier and shorter route has long
been recognized. Several surveys we-e
made with this end in view. Three Ct
these surveys skirted the south end OF