Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-06-28
and flashed by wire June q. to the re

and flashed by wire June 21. to the re-
clamation service in Washington. 1
marked the completion Of the Straw
berry tunnel, one Of the largest ant
most difficult pieces Of engineerin,
work the reclamation service ever ha
been called upon to undertake.
With one exception, this under
ground waterway tunnel Is the larges
in the world. Many hard engineering
problems had to be overcome In plan
ming 1t; and great physical endurance
was required of the men who carried
out the work.
The tunnel pierces the solid rock o
one of the highest peaks Of the Wa
| satch mountains at point wher'
those eternal hills are more than 20.
900 feet through. 1t will move good
| sized stream, the Strawberry river
from one drainage basin to another
forty five miles away. Only 1000 fee
below the snow-capped crest Of th'
mountains the tunnel has pierced it.
| rock way.
Barren Field Into Fertile Valley.
To the south and east of Utah lake
in one Of the most beautiful valleys ir
the west, are $4,000 acres Of exceed.
ingly fertile land, now only partially
productive for lack Of water. To trans
form this valley to a rural settlement
dotted with thriving towns and vii.
lagos and barred with long rows Of
fruit trees, the government engineers
have overcome almost unheard of OBJ
stacles.
Beyond the Wasatch range, which
rims the valleys eastern border
Strawberry river, for centuries bank
full perhaps, has run uselessly by, its
waters finally reaching the Gulf oi
California through the Colorado river
To divert this water from the Colorado
drainage basin and turn 1t into the
Utah valley, the enormous Strawberry
tunnel, nearly four miles long has
been bored through the Wasatch noun
tains. Its cross section measures more
than sixty square feet. 1t Is walled
and buttressed with timber and lined
with cement.
Preliminary Work.
Before construction could begin
thousands Of square miles Of valley
and rough mountain country were
surveyed and mapped, and tunnel and
canal lines marked out. A telephone
line thirty eight miles long, extending
from Spanish Fork to both portals OF
the tunnel was constructed, and a wag-
on road from. Diamond Switch, the
shipping point on the Denver & Ric
Grande railroad, to both portals thir-
ty-two miles long was made. Down In
the foothills a diversion dam was
thrown across Spanish Fork river and
the waters turned into a power canal
three and one-half miles long, which
dropped them through huge pipes on
the big turbines 100 feet below. Pow
er thus generated was transmitted
electrically to the tunnel site, where II
was used to turn. the diamond drills
in the rock, light the camps and run
the heavy machinery. The surplus
has been sold to towns in the valley
for municipal and commercial pur-
poses.
The camps are located q mile and q
half above sea level, and during sew
eral months each winter have prac-
tically been isolated from the world
the roads blocked by masses Of snow
and ice. For more than two years
the work has gone on without ceasing,
three shifts Of men alternating during
the twenty-four hours Of the day and
night. Thousands Of gallons Of wa
ter, poisonous gases, and swelling
ground have made the work difficult
and dangerous. The men fled for their
lives on several occasions.
No Loss Of Life.
In 1910 the work Of placing the
concrete lining was begun and since
has been carried on simultaneously
with the excavation Of the heading
This required skillful handling OF
men and material to avoid delay in
either feature Of the work. Not
withstanding the difficulties Of the un-
dertaking it has been carried to COM
pletion without the loss Of a single
life.
Beyond the tunnel, in the shadow
Of the granite peaks, a great reser-
voir Is being built. A retaining dam
of rock, cement and steel Is being built
so deep that a six-story building might
be hidden behind it. Fed by melting
SHOWS the waters will rise behind this
structure, covering $500 acres with
278,000 feet Of water.
Historical Valley.
The valley to be irrigated Is especial
ly interesting because 1t Is the scene
of the earliest irrigation by Anglo
Saxons in tn west. Settled by Brig
ham Young and his followers In 1847
after their march through more than
1000 miles Of unknown territory peo-
pied by savages, it Is the oldest exam
pie of community farming by an Eng
lish-speaking people in the west. Fol
protection against the Indians the far
mers lived in little towns throughout
the valley, their houses built close to-
gether and facing q common street OF
square, thus practically forming forts
Some of these old community houses
are still standing. The original farms
were for the most part not more than
forty or fifty acres I'm size, which may
account to some extent for the early
success of agriculture undetr extreme
ly difficult conditions.
When the storage and distribution
system Is finished and an ample wa
ter supply assured for all time. the val
ley will support more than 1000 homes
Salt Lake City and the nearby mining
camps will furnish a home market fol
many of the products. and three rail-
road lines, which traverse the irriga-
BILE area, will furnish unusual trans
portation facilities to the outside
world.
- Charlotte, n. c.. June 10: The
l.. fA,