White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-12-09
LHTTNN Il HUGE MOUNTAIN
FOR AUTO TRANSPORTATION

cash in the pine tree a foot above
his head and Pierce fattened against
the trunk. Geegan and Vickery al
ready were merged with the adjoin-
ing trees.
A 50-pound boulder hit the bunk
house a half dozen PAGES behind
them and carried part of the roof,
two hunks and twelve feet of floor
ing to the earth beneath. Another
boulder took off the opposite end
of the clubhouse and f1atteneG a
Yukon stove.
A quarter of a mile away pine
trees two feet in thickness were
snapped like toothpicks. A mile
away a two-ton meteor hit the state
highway and made a new road
through it. Other portions were
buried completely.
Two men, visitors, e%ncroached too
near. A fragment struck one in the
leg and the other in a finger. They
were taken to Truckee for treat
ment.
Telephone companies expected
some trouble, such as the necessity
of repairing a few wires. and crews
were rushed from Reno and Sacra-
mentO to the scene. Hurting rocks
carried away thirty poles of one
company and tore down a mile and
a half of wire. A pine tree crumpled
in the middle and wrecked a high
power line, recently installed.
While it is believed that trans
continental connections will be re-
stored promptly, it will take a crew
of fifty men several days to repair
the damage completely, officials said.
Bell Telephone, Western Union, Pcs
tai Telegraph and power companies
all suffered delays to service.
Before the poisonous smoke that
enveloped the mountain had cleared
away George X. Poulos, powder man
IN charge, declared the cliff slicing
operation to be a success.
When she goes bang she's no
good, when she goe wool! like this
one, everytthing's all right" was the
way he put it.
Engineer Vickary and the Trojan
and Hercules powder company repre-
sentatives also declared that the
blast had done the work required.
Tho front OF the cliff around which
the new Bonner highway will run
was sheared off for a depth Of more
than 100 feet. It Is estimated that
10000 yards of rock were moved by
the blast, much of it to distances of
more than a mile. Before the blast
the surrounding country was COW
cred with a blanket Of light snow
Afterwards it was a sea of gray mud.
A crew of approximately thirty
five men worked for forty-fve days
getting the cliff ready for the blast.
Five tunnels we're drilled into the
mountain, the longest being sixty
feet. From these tunnels eleven
powder pockets were connected by
passagewsys.
During the last six days when the
placing OF the powder in the pockets
was rushed owing to threatening
weather the entire crew of men
worked double time, passing the
powder cans and dynamite boxes
from hand to hand till thoy finally
were dumped into the powder holes.
An ammunition tramway constructed
from the magazine on the highway
to the cLf served to get the DOW
der to the tunnels.
Black p wde1 was poured into tile
powder pockets and when half full
a number Of boxes Of dynamite we're
placed on top. These we're covered
with black Eowder. Each poke. wa
fused and wired and the passage
ways and tunnels sealed, APPROX
mately $4,000 worth of powder was
used in the blast.
One thousand feet of wiring led
from the dynamite to the battery
box. which was installed in a shell
tered canyon above the cliff.
The new highway will follow the
exposed side Of the mountains at the
summit end of Bonner lake.
With the completion Of this SO
miles of highwty, probably late next
fall, according to Engineer Vickery,
many of the now difficult problems
OF the highway department in this
section will be eliminated. In shell
tered spots on the presen: highway
winter shows drift to depths of forty
and fifty feet During past years it
was necessary to tunnel these hugs
drifts to SLOW automobiles through
them.
Engineer Vickery pointed out that
on the new road The snow will be
unable to accumulate to depths grea:-
or than live or ten feet. IT is also
hoped that with the sun constantly
shinig on this stretch II VII be DOS.
Sihla to ken the Damn