The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1917-03-24
TELLS OF SIGHTS
AT BIG SALT MINE
Glencoe Lady Writes From
New Orleans Where She
is Spending Winter

Mrs. Isabel Zrust, wife of JOhl
Zrust, proprietor of the Tempt
store, who is among other lOca
citizens who have escaped expert
encing the fury of Old Boreas thi
season by hleing to a warme
cline, writes the Glencoe, MINI
Enterprise from New Orleans
La. the following interesting let
ter.
| The readers Of this newspaper
will doubtless read with interest
her descriptive and instructive
story of one Of the largest sal
mines in the world which she Wis.
tied at Avery Island
| New Orleans, La, March 10 =
1t has been my great fortune to
take a most delightful trip tC
Avery Island where one of the
largest salt mines in the world Is
located, and | am taking this lib
erty to tell you about our trip.
Mrs Beck, Mrs. Deltry and N.Y.
self left New Orleans on Thursday
morning at 1855 on the Illinois
Central. At AvOndale, 10 miles
above New Orleans, our train was
put on the Southern Pacific rail.
way barge "Mastodon," the larg
est of it's class 10 the world, and
towed across the Mississippi river,
a novel experience to me. All
along the route to New Iberia we
passed great stretches Of swamp
and live oak forests. Also saw
vast sugar plantations and other
very novel sights. For instance:
We passed a small town where all
the buildings, including the
church, were painted in barn red
with black roofs and gray door
and window trimmings. Another
town, Garden City, had it's build
ings all white with red trimmings.
1t looked. indeed, like a spotless
city.
We reached New Iberia at Ais
p. M, and while there we stopped
at the home Of Mrs. l. 4. Rand, who
entertained us most royalty. Also
had the pleasure of an auto trip
around the Bayou Teche, which
LoDgfellOw has immortalized iD
his Evangeline."
New Iberia is also the home of
Joseph Jefferson Of Rip Van Win
kle fame. All around this section
of the country the scenery is very
beautiful.
Avery island is about eleven
miles from New Iberia, and is
reached by branch line train
which leaves in the morning at
$50, returning in time to make
connections with the limited at II
a. m, arriving at New Orleans at
8 p. m. The salt mine is $50 feet
deep, and the tunnels are dug in
all directions from 800 to 900 feet
long. We were most unfortunate
10 choosing a day when they were
not In full working blast, caused
by the shortage of cars. However,
there were several men at work in
the large tunnel which Is 60 feet
high.
The mine is solid rock, and the
first operation is the drilling of
holes for the insertion of the dy
manic charges, this being accom-
plished by II foot drills. Rock
salt has the resisting power Of
6, 900 pounds to the square inch.
The salt is cut ont in tunnel form,
arched columns being left to pre-
vent q collapse. These tunnels |
are from 800 to 1000 feet long, 80
to 100 feet wide and so to 100
feet high. The blasting is done
at night to prevent accident and
to allow the atmosphere to clear
for the next days Work.
The salt is then loaded on mar.
mule trains, which car.
~ it to the foot Of the shaft.
There, it passes through a great
electric modern
driven crusher. After being |
the salt is fed by gravita
tion into the cage and carried to
the mill, where 1t is fed automat
ically into screens and separated !
into various commercial grades,