Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-20
Rock and Cement.

The dam will be a solid mass of rock and
Portland cement. The materials are all
found on the ground and the power Is fur
nished by the river itself which generates
10000 electrical horsepower for handling
the machinery that moves the great rocks,
grindS the cement and transports the ma
l. teral. The river is thus forced to assist
in constructing Its own prison. Many of
the blocks of stone weigh ten tons more,
and they are imbedded in a pudding of
Portland cement. AS the wall grows i.
becomes more and more difficult to place
them in position, but the machinery is per-
feet and the work is all done by electricity.
The dam is in the shape of a crescent
mass OF masonry as solid as the eternal
hills rising from the bottom of the canyon.
26S feet, thus making it the highest (al-
though not the widesD dam ever construct
ed. The canyon is 210 feet across at the
bottom and $50 feet wide at the top of the
dam. The masonry is 15S feet thick at the
bottom and tapers to twelve feet at the top.
which will be paved for a roadway and
guarded by steel balustrades on either side.
The reservoir is In the shape of an eagle
with outstretched wings, the beak repre-
senting the canyon and the wings measur-
ing twenty-five miles from tip to tip. The
river drains an area of about 12.OOo square
miles, including a range OF snoW-capped
mountains. The water for irrigation q III
be drawn from the reservoir at the bottom
through a tunnel drilled through solid rock
and closed by three sets of steel gates,
which capable OF SUSTAINING d pressure
of 1900 pounds to the square foot. Iney
will slide upon roller bearings and will be
handled by electricity through shafts sunk
from the surface of the rock An engineer
sitting in his little cabin at the top OF the
dam will open and close the gates at Will
by throwing switch; and can release as
much water as is needed at any time. ana
calculate its volume by the movements OF
a meter at his side. The reservoir VIII
approximately cover an area of thirty-eight
square miles and submerge between l4,ouo
and 10000 acres, some of which Is now oc-
cupied by farms, but which Will De pur-
chased by the government.
Designed by Mr.. Davis.
The dam was designed by Arthur p.
Davis assistant to F. H. Newell chief en-
sineer of the reclamation service of the
geological survey at Washington. Mr.
Davis was the protector of this the great
est of irrigation schemes ever undertaken
The engineer in charge is Louis c. Hill.
a native of Michigan and a graduate OF
the university of that state, who has done
a good deal Of valuable work as consult
ing engineer. He is assisted by a staff of
competent men in charge or various oil
visions of the work-Mr. A. l.. Harris Is his
deputy on the ground: Edward Duryea
runs the cement mill; HI. A. Tobelman is
chemist; A. M. Sprague and o. T. Reedy
are building the canal; Chester W. Smith
is in charge of the work on the dam; B.
F. Harrison Is directing the construction
of the tunnel; DR.. f. G. Lind is account
ant and disbursing officer; w. A. Parish is
in charge of the land, and DR.. r. F.
Palmer looks after the health Of the camp
and has hospital capable of caring for
twenty-five patients. But the doctor has
very little business. thousand men have
been employed for sixteen months and
there have been only three deaths-one
from disease and two from accident.
The dam is being built by John A.
Rourke & Company of Galveston, who re-
Gently built the big sea wall that is to
protect that city from future floods. His
contract calls for N,147,6O0 worth of ma
sonry. The grading is being done by
Sherer & Company of Los Angeles. and
the tunnel is being bored by John futile
OF San Franeisco-all under contracts. The
canal which is to carry the water to the
main irrigating bitches requires the exca-
walton of six million cubic yards of earth,
and the several tunnels viii require 1900
feet of boring through solid rock. The
machinery was all built in Chicago, much
of 1t being designed for this especial pur-
pose
About 100000 barrels Of cement will be
required. which would cost in the market
with transportation added. not less than