Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-05-18
NEW YoRK's TUNNELERs.
Pcrils Of under River WOrk-DanGcr
Of n Live burial.

Among the daring undertakings that
made New Works. subway tho most ia
nous engineering triumph of modern
times. none was as bold and ingen-
ious as the building Of Il section which
is now steadily nearing complexion
that including the laying of the pair of
Gigantic parallel tube tunnels to con-
meet Manhattan aud Brooklyn under the
East River. says Pearson, Magazine
simultaneously from both shores these
twin tunnels. measuring 10 l. feet in
diameter. the one to contain the north
bound and the other the south bound
track. are being driven. Like the
double barrels Of two stupendous snot
guns pointing directly at each other.
these pair of tubes eventually to ex-
tend 1918 feet. are lengthening toward
each other. to be connected in mid
stream. Within Is months the engineer
in charge. Mr.. Walton !. Aims. expects
TO pierce the last of the 1000 feet now
separating the muzzlcs OF these 'bar-
rels; then the four muzzles will he run
into each other, forming two continu-
Gus tubes through which the pondcrous
six-car subway trains will thunder at
express train speed, daily carrying 49,
on passengers. who will not even re-
aizc that they arc travelling under u
throng of river and ocean craft buck
ing the bluc-gtay' waters Of the tur-
bulcnt tides overhead.
OF the million of persons who will he
whirled through these tubes in years to
come. many never will cease narveling
at this achievement of science. Yet, Of
all these. few will realize the perils. tho
dangers and the hardships endured by
the mud bespattcrod men who are risk
ing their lives day for day in gnawng
"a highway deep beneath daylight. be
meath "A forbidden element and through
forbidden ground.
With - feet of water above them hd
nothing but an inch-thick shell OF stce;
and eight feet OF mud to keep a Niagara
from breaking in upon them, the men
are at work under the most trying con-
|ditions. The tunnel is kept full OF air
compressed to 10 pounds to the square
inch: and in this all but overwhelming
pressure, wherein your cardrums threat
en- to burst. wherein your voice sounds
strange in your own ears, wherein men
with weak hearts drop dead as If struck
by lightning, and out of which even the
strongest is borne, doubled up like a
iack-knife, screaming in the oxcrutiat-
ing agohy of the dread 'bends," the men
push bravely onward. working in eight
hour shifts day and night and seven
days in the week.
Every instant, with the anxiety Of men
whose lives hang by a thread. they are
alert for the muffled crash which means
a race for a life in a human rat trap
with every chance of being over taken
by the most frightful OF deaths. de-
spite the utmost precautions. the river
may burst through tho heading. hurl-
ing scethng cataractS of mud and slime
and water, flooding the tunnel from end
TO end and buryinC the men alive. al
inside bottle,
Next to the danger of live burial. the
chief danger confronting the men in the
pressure Of the East River Tunnel is
the bends" What these are. physi-
clans are not agreed, except that they
are caused either by coming out of high
pressure into low pressure too suddenly;
or By staying under high pressure too
long. Cenrtan it is that the victim OF
the ''bcnds' suffers cXoruciating agony.
His body becomes rigid as IA poker and
doubled UP like jack-knife. Pains as
liz molten lead and doubled-edged dag
gers were circulating through veins and
arteries rack the unfortunate unto mad
ness. His face becomes distorted gri-
mace. His hands and fingers become