Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1916-03-29
EXTENSIVE MINING
OBJECTIONS IN FRANCE.
Big Mines are Exploded Every Day
Under Honeyeombed Hills.

Barbecue. France. March 2S.-The
mining operations on some sections Of
OF the French front resemble vast rail-
road tunnelins enterprises All along
the slope OF hills where the SUBMITS
alone separate the cOmbatants. there
are mouths Of tunnels framed with
timbers such as support the galleries
OF coal mines. All day and all night
soldiers wheel earth out Of those tun-
nels TO platforms where dump cars on
a strategic narrow gagged railroad
are waiting TO carry il on TO be used
CIR
A study OF the official communiques
gives only slight indications OF the OBJ
tect OF all this activity. What IL
means depends upon the lay OF the
land. in some cases IL amounts TO
nothing less than the blowing of OF
the tops OF hills. There are places
where the Germans hold the summit
and the French are dug in on the
slope; there are others where neither
the French nor Germans have been
able to occupy the summit excepting
with small Isolated advance posts that
are annihilated at intervals. and here
IL Is necessary TO blow the top OF the
height before an issue can be reached
This tunneling has been going on
for more than a year in some places.
but public evidences OF the extent OF IL
date only from the beginning Of the
| year.
| Big-mines are exploded every day
/ inside those honeycombed hills where
II is not rare for the Frenchman's
/ tunnel to run into n German under
ground gallery II they meet before
/ the mine is ready. IL is a 'CamOufiet'
| or n small blast. that is set Off by the
| adversary that locates the other fell
low first. II Is quickly done with an
| American pneumatic tool that bores a
hole in the direction from which comes
the tell-tale sound OF the pick. \
charge of dynamite. lyddite, or melin-
lite is stuffed in and the hole Is plug
| ged so that the mine is safe and the
force of the explosion al turned to-
| ward the adversary's gallery.
Blasting is sometimes done also 70
hasten the eNcavat!ng work. but most
OF the digging requiring discretion n
the work OF the American pneumatic
drill and pneumatic pick kept work.
ing by air cnmpressOrs brought UP "a
the foot Of the hill
| The forests OF the ArEonne all along
| the front have been RACED by shell
and shrapncl: and the aspect OF the
hills Is being still further modified by
these tunneling and mining operations
| A practical miner IN private life
specialized at the front in this kind Of
! work describes the conditions under
which the work is often suddenly stop
ped and the encmy's operations check
ed at the same time:
| The sappcrs are digging. shovellinc
I'm silence. when suddenly one OF them
stops: he has heard a hollow sound in
the soil under his pick; two OF three
more strokes and his instinct Of an
old miner reveals to him that there Il
a hole under the gallery: he strikes
again. the point OF the pick penetrates;
there IS no more doubt but that q
German blasting hole exists under
meath. By small strokes slowly with
infinite precaution the sapper enlarges
the opening, then aided by his COM
rades. lets himself down into the hole
with revolver in his fist. II is indeed
| a German blasting hole that he has
discovered. with a gallery ~ the end
; The question is whether IL Is occupied
impossible to tell: the enemy per-
haps viii appear and rush upon the
intrduders: no one comes. the mine 4.
| empty. Leaving a Waterman. tht
sappers and miners ascend into thS
French gallery and go and report theil
discovery to the captain who decides
10 profit by the occasion TO play 9
good game upon the Germans. While
continuing to work in the neighbor-
ing mines to deceive the adversary