The Columbus weekly dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 1902-1905, 1905-05-03
SYMPTOM TUNNEL WORK
Scene When the Great Under
taking Was Finished.
LABoRERs YELLED LIKE DEMONS.

Side Walls United Exactly - Over
Two Billion Gallons of water
Flowed Out.
A Condo (Switzerland) correspondent
OF the Chicago News thus describes the
scene when the great Simplon tunnel
was cut through to Italy:
Outside the tunnel mouth at Iselle,
near the telephone In the workshop, an
excited crowd had gathered. The la
Dor of six and one-half years was
reaching an end. The Simplon tunnel
was about TO be pierced through. There
was a babel of questions, mixture of
German, French, Italian and English.
How many feet more?' What's the
news now2'' viii there be an acct
dent?'
Every one knew the danger to be ex-
pected from the suddenly released
mass of water in the north section
when the narrow wall dividing it from
the south tunnel should be broken open.
Dams had been erected to break its
force, and a wooden canal had been
built in the parallel tunnel to receive
It
The strain of a nights vigil was be
ginning to show its effects. With tense
faces engineers, officials and correspond
ents waited. 1t was now Z 80 o'clock
A train was ready to take leading en-
gineers and press men into the tunnel
AT some one had telephoned that a
material train had been derailed and
ten cars were lying IN heap. Men
IL cd 70 Gro
tent at the delay.
Suddenly the telephone bell rang
furiously. Some one jumped for the
receiver. A voice, scarcely audible on
account Of the tumult, was shouting in
triumph from far in the interior, a
mile or more under the summit of the
mountain.
''Traforo! Traforor' c'ThroughrO
Like a fash the news spread. Work
men waved their hats and yelled like
demons. A flag was hoisted over one
of the buildings The locomotive
shrieked discordantly. The big steam
siren at the boiler house booted The
noise was deafening
There was a rush for the telegraph
office, and then the telephone was be-
sieged with questioners asking for de-
tails. Sulzer, one of the leaders of the
undertaking, and Beissner, chief en-
gineer, were fallen upon by mob and
congratulated until their arms ached
Beissner seemed disappointed, for the
last blast had been fired before he and
the others could reach the scene of ac-
ton. In the meantime the locomotive
had been decorated, there was a hur-
ried scramble for places, a few last
words of instructions to the innkeeper
and the train pulled into the Simplon.
Inside the tunnel Engineer karpf had
taken charge Of the last shift at 3 in
the morning. The boring was directed
obliquely upward. A miner named
Bedassa, the same man who had drill
ed the very first hole over six years
ago, placed the last dynamite cartridge.
Five hundred yards back were work
men and engineers.
The signal was given. A sharp re
port a defamation. gasp for breath,
and then suddenly there sprang from
what had been the solid wall of rock
flood of hot, muddy, turbulent water
that rushed down through the gaping
hole and, vaulting madly over the first
third and raced away through the
wooden canal toward the mouth of the
tunnel, seven miles away.
Starting from opposite points twelve
miles apart one in Switzerland and
one in Italy, bored toward a common
center. the side walls of the tunnel had
united exactly. The giant work is I'm
ished.
over 1000 900 cubic yards of mate
rial has been removed, a great part of
it carted several miles from the in
terror. There were 255,000 blasting
holes bored by machinery with total
length of 100000 feet. but the num-
Der of holes bored by hand was much
larger, 100000. 1t required 26.000,o00
bore points to drill them, representing
an enormous amount of tempered steel.
Over 1000 tons of dynamite were ex-
pIoded by 5000 miles of fuse and 1000
600 percussion caps.
Much has been written concerning
the difficulties caused by water. 1t is
estimated that from the time the first
spring was piped from the south sec
ton IN September, 1901. over 1000, 0O0,-
600 gallons of water has flowed out Of
the tunnel-at the rate of 100000 gal
Ions daily for 1,242 days.
When the train bearing Sulzer.
Beissner and the rest arrived the heat
was unbearabIe. Professor Rosenmund
and his assistants stood it for ten
minutes while making measurements
For some unknown reason the air cool
ing machine ceased working at this
critical moment 1t was sitting. OBJ
Jects appeared to wayer. Beissner
warned Sulzer and those who accom-
panied him to turn back. There was
not a moment to lose. Suddenly
Grassf. a representative Of the Simplon
company IN Domodossola. sank to the
ground A few who could do so car
ried him to the first train. already
filed with workmen When the outer
air was reached he was hurried 70 the
hospital. but died from heart failure
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