Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-03-25

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months trains will be running passing
under millions of tons OF solid, snow
capped mountains, with the rock I'm
places considerably over mile thick
above the tunnel roof
The obstacles encountered have been
many and stupendous. Nature has OPP
posed with all the might Of her subter-
ranean forces the invasion of the in
trepid human burrowers, Landsldes
have interviewed to stay their advance.
Heat has done its best to battle them.
Imprisoned streams, cold springs and
hot springs, have burst forth from the
bowels Of the earth discharging some
times from 10000 to $4,000 gallons
minute to overwhelm and destroy
them. These things have greatly re-
tarded the progress Of the engineers,
occasionally causing them to halt for
weeks while they summoned fresh
powers Of science to their aid; at other
times reducing their advance by boring
and blasting to a few inches a day.
But never were they beaten; never did
they deviate by hairs breadth from
the straight course that had been
mapped out for them
SUBDUING A BOILING FLOOD.
Last October when only two hun
dred yards separated the Swiss and
Italian sections, the pent-up forces Of
old earth, as though bent on last SUI
preme effort to put an end to the at
tacks of dynamite and hydraulic drill,
let loose Il boiling food That was
how 1t was described ut the time, though
to be precise the temperature of the
water was 1888 degrees Fahrenheit
quite sufficient TO put stop to human
labor when the rate OF flow was several
hundred gallons a second. In many
quarters 1t was gloomily declared that
the work would have to be abandoned
and that six years OF incessant labor
and millions OF dollars had been vast
ed. 1t was darkly limited that the CEN
ter OF the mountain was great "molt-
en- mass" through which nothing could
penetrate.
The hot spring was several degrees
hotter and much greater IN volume
than any that had been previously en-
countered Its outburst at this spot
had not been expected, But little did
laymen appreciate the skill and perse-
verance OF the engineers directing the
work They proved fully equal to
graphing with the situation which had
been deemed so terrifying None of the
water from the hot flood reached the
workmen until it had been diluted with
cold water from the hydraulic mains.
AT the same time the temperature OF
the air was cooled some 20 degrees by
means of a high pressure water spray.
And after a while the men were able to
continue their tasks In comfortable
sort OF shower bath. AS for the 'molt-
en- mass" that Of couNse turned out to
be a geological myth.
In the building of the simplon forces
OF nature, harnessed ana controlled.
have been employed to combat other
forces Of nature wild and rebelious or
ponderously passive. Water derived
from the Rhone on the Swiss side and
the foaming Dlyera on the Italian has
supplied the power that has driven the
hydraulic drills through the adaman-
tine rock, subdued and diverted the
sbuterranean floods and forced ihto the
tunnel the fresh air and cooling spray
from glacial streams, which have rem
dered work possible In what would
otherwise have been sufiocating in
ferno,
THE GROWING TRIUMPH OF
cIENCE,
But the cpwning glory OF the