The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-02-10

tense; from the men in the tunnel to
the chiefs of construction in their Of
fices in Missoula, the suppressed ex-
citement was felt. There was not
much said about tit has been char
acteristic of the work of construction
on this tunnel that there has been lit
tie talk about it--but the excitement
was there.
A Busy Day.
Yesterday morning things were ac-
tive about the tunnel. On the Mon
tana side of the work there was more
stir than usual, but the work moved
on with the clock-like regularity that
has characterized it from the time it
was taken up by the Winston COM
pany. On the Idaho side there was
the same stern resolve as the men
went into the tunnel for the last
days driving. 1t was the final as
sault upon the grim wall of rock that
separated two states and interposed
the last obstacle in the way of the
new line of railway to the coast
Steadily the work went on through
the morning shift. The great drills
forced their way through the stubborn
rock, forced on by the tremendous
force of the compressed air and di-
rected by the skilled hands that had
guided them through thousands of
feet Of mountain wall. And thus the
day advanced, and with every hour
the thickness of the rock wall be-
tween Montana and Idaho became
less.
The Last Hour.
Into the rock, grinding and grinding
and grinding their way through. the
drills pushed on Noon passed and the
suspense became greater as the ex-
pectancy waxed stronger and more in
tense. BY the measurements of the
engineers, the drills should pierce the
wall of solid rock in a short time.
Almost any minute, they said, the ad-
vancing points OF the conquering
steel would penetrate the last foot of
the barrier. And the minutes passed
with the watcherg intent as the drills
churned on. At 1880 it was a guess
which drill would get through first.
At PAS everybody knew that the end
was a matter of minutes, perhaps of
the announcement.
Idaho First.
At 1 o'clock the Idaho drill pushed
it's way through, and the end of the
long months of effort was in sight.
The drill was withdrawn and crow
bar was showed through the hole; the
Montana man seized its advancing
end and "shook hands, with their ri
vais on the other side. 1t was a mo-
ment for congratuaticn. II was the
hour of triumph.
Then came the hours of preparation
for the last shot. 1t wes wei, into the
night when this work was finished,
and the eagerness Of the morning was
nothing, compared with the concern
which was felt over the outcome of
this shot There was no doubt of the
success of the work of the last hours;
the work of the drill had demonstrated
the eXactness of the engineering, and
the construction men were sure of
the skill of their operatives; but the
rock was uncertain in places, and
there was the possibility of too much
eagerness; there were many things to
think Of
Through the Heading.
But they were all thought Of and
every condition was met The shot
was fired, and at 9:42 the Montana
men broke through the heading and
reached their Idaho fellows. evening
up the score and completing the finest
piece of tunnel construction the world
has ever known. 1t was all over but
the shouting: the work that remained