The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1906-06-21
A Big BLAST
OPPOSITE MOSIER

An electric spark that ran along a
wire far into the heart of the basalt
mountain opposite Eighteen Mile Is-
land, on the Columbia River today set
free l400 kegs of imprisoned powder.
and the resulting explosion ratified
windows at, Mosier, two miles away,
across the river.
With roar like broadside from a
battleship, the cliff marked for des
truction crumblnd as an egg shell
crumbles in IN n's fist, and fell
= way from the mountain side. The
Precipice, $50 feet hlgh and 80 feet back
from the river, was reduced to a huge
pile OF broken stones, with hardly a
piece larger han a mans head. As
the mass of rock toppIed into the ri 7er
big wave formed, which ian foaming
to the oppos te shore and broke on the
bank.
The blast vas laid and fred by men
in the employ of P. + Johnson, con =
tractor for the P2Itlaid & Seattle Rail
way, and che three mines of explosive
took crew of men two months to
make ready for today shot. Powder
that was exploded amounted to 50, 600
pounds and the blast cost the Portland
Il Seattle Railway between $1,000 and
$1,000. The explosion threw down
about 40, 900 cubic yards of rock, de-
molishing a cliff with 200 feet frontage
on the river, $50 feet in Height, and
running back into the mountain 80
feet. The shot piled up rock just
where it is needed to make a grade
along the face Of mountain that rises
sheer from the river.
A main tunnel 80 feet long was dIiv-
en- into the face Of the cliff on level
with the grade of the railroad. At
that depth, two branch drifts we're
run at right angles, one 10 and the
other 40 feet in length. Three mines
OF blasting power were then laid, one
al the end of each tunnel, and rock
tightly tamped behind the explosive,
while a wire vas laid to each cache of
powder for setting all three off stimuli
taneously by electricity. The work
of preparing and firing the blast which
is one of the biggest ever shot along
the Columbia, was under the general
supervision of Engineer W. G. Sayles,
in charge of a division of the Portland
& Seattle construction.
Preparations for firing the blast to-
day were carried out carefully and the
explosion, which had been set for 10
o'clock, took place exactly on time.
A workman placed far back on the
mountain made the electrical connec-
tion that fired the shot. When the
blast was fred it shook the mountain
SO that rocks Iolled down into the riv
or from the tops of cliffs at some dis
tance away.
1t was feared the explosion would
couse such big wave that Eighteen
Mile Island half way across the Co
lnmbia, would be flooded. The island
has a solitary inhabitant, Tom Hen
messy, and word was sent him of the
time of the explosion so that he could
take his valuables and escape to the
mainland. The wave however, did no
damage to the island.
Announcement of the blast had been
made, and many of the people of the
nearby country turned out to see 1T.
70 those who saw it, it brought to
mind the tabled duel between Mount
Hood and Mount st. Helen's when
the two volcanoes threw stones aG
each other and demolished the Bridge
of the Gods that Indian legend asserts
stood but short distance below where
the blast was fred.
An Indian stood by and watched the
white mans thunder demolish the
landm arks of his fathers. He gave no
expression of how he regarded such
bi0 no1ipi sava nv q shrup Of the