The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-02

face forward. as rigid as death itself,
|, Two of his companions picked him up
and hurried him away. There was no
comment made and no one took any par
ticular notice Of INN except me.
"Ue's cot the bends, said Mike,
IacouicaJiy. as we enteyed the lock.
After we were all sandwichcd in III sc
so many saTdineS. one oN top OF the
other, Mike turned ON the air from the
tube, and the door which we had en-
tered slammed shut. The air came III
with terrific force and the iron lock com
menccd to get hot. Mike suddenly
turned off the air pressure and yelled
at me. Hold your nose and blow or
You il get blocked, | did rs | was
told Immediately and Mike turned on
the pressure again. Suddenly one of
the gang held up his hand and Mike
shut off the pressure instantly. - m
blocked - he shouted, and SO 1t was
necessary to reverse the pressure, let
ting in the outside air until the door
could be opened and the man LET out
The feeling of being 'blocked' - is
a most common and uncomfortable one.
It is as if some one were forcing a
sharp knife between the eyes. and If
one does not go out of the air at once
the cardrums are likely TO burst. We
closed the door and Mike turned on the
air from the tube. and This time we
went through without mishap. As soon
as the air in the lock and the air IN
the bore were equaized, the other door
opened and we entered the tunnel.
Working in Gloom.
The lock.kccper greeted as with a
+ duskv smile as we hlod past HIM and
walked down the little single car tracks
toward the heading: 1t was dark,
gloomy place. and, although a string of
electric lights illumincd the blackness,
| often stumbled over the unaccustomed
road, The only bright place was the
heading. whore two or three clusters of
flights on large retlectors shone brightly
on the work.
The heading is the end Of the bore
that is. where the shield, the instru.
mcnt used to push through the muck
is Joined to the last steel ring Of the
! tube.
The shield is showed from the last
ring of the tube through the. muck by
! jacks operated by hydraulic water pres
sure. After the shield has been showed
a little = ring comprised of plates is
fitted into place and boted to the pre-.
| ccdlng rug. and so the bore is made.
| When the ring has also been boltcd to-
gcther tho shield is allowed 10 come
back until it rests close against the
rlBG, ana then another shove IS made
( The. muck comes in through doors in
! the shield and is shovelcd BY the black
men, called muckers, put into ears,
and taken up on the lift outside the
! lock, The men who 6t tho plates to-
! gethcr and bolt them TO each other are
cnllcd ''irou men, and they surely are
made of iron, I saw ono screw an
! enormous bolt together with his bare
! hands rs tightly as an ordinary man
| could with n wrench.
An unfinished tunnel is rather an uu.
! canny place until ono is used 10 IL.
| Every sound echoes and revcrbcratcs
| through its entire length. and there is a
continual dropping Of mud from the
t0p--In fact. 1t rains mnck all the time.
! Then. too. there is at first the contiu.
ual thought that If The compressed air
! should stop for moment, the water
would rush in like a tidal wave: and
| If there should be too much air. If
would blow out the bottom Of the river
and les the water in. anyway Rnt no
water comes IN and the air Iiceps on
coming through the large pipe in the
tube, and ono soon forgots al about il.
About o clock great boiler Of black
! cenee, sweetened with molasscs, and