The New York Herald Newspaper, November 26, 1865, Page 2

2 MOUNT THE ENGINEERING WORK OF THE AGE Description of the Great Franco- Italian Tunnel. Boring Through a Mountain by Compressed Air. CENIS. Dangers and Difficulties of the Work. Three Hundred Drills a Year Used Up and Two Thousand Perfo- rating Machines Required, PROBABILITIES OF TRIUMPHANT SUCCESS. Journey of a Herald Correspondent Into the Bowels of the Alps. STRIKING SCL MAP OF THE LOCALITY. &ee ee ke Our Fourncaux Correspondence, Foursesvx, Savoy, VaLury ov THe Arc AND Moura ov tilt GxkaT ALINE TeNNEt, Oct, 27, 1865, If the rocks which dam up the Niagara river and cause the mighty fall of water which is one of the wonders of the world should give way on some fine evening and be swept by the irresistible tide into the gulf below, and Niagara shovld be no more, it is not probable that people in New York would be long left in ignorance or even in doubt of the fact, And yet for the past three months romors have been in cfrculation in Paris, have assumed tangible form and found their way into the journals of Europe and America, regarding the fate of another won- der of the world, and the truth or falsity of which, or the relative amount of each they contained, 1 found it im- possible to ascertain by any amount of the most careful inquiry in Parle. ‘That the work upon the great Alpine tunnel, which has now been in progress seven years, had been suddenly suspended seemed to be genor- ally believed, and various causes had been as- signed for its being brovght to so abrupt a ter- mination, The Emperor Napoleon had decided that upon the whole it would not be to his interest and the interest of his dynasty—which are the two prin- cipal things the Emperor Napoleon looks out for—to break down the barrier which separates Italy from the rest of Europe; and so France bad backed out of her share of the bargain, The Ltalian government, overwhelmed with debi, bad become appalled at the daily imereasing expénsé of the undertaking; the experiments im pro- gress on the “American railway” over Mount Cenis had already proven that it was perfeetly practicable to scale the mountain, and at an infinitely less expense than to pierce through its stony heart. A ledge of quartz had been reached which it was found impossible to perforate, and which shivered the drills into thousand pieces as fast as they struck it; and finally, in boring, the work- men had found gold aud precious stones in immense richness, and the French and Italian governments were working the mine secre:ly for their mutunl profit. These were come of the principal reasons given why the work had been suspended; for that it was suspended seomed to be gencrally acknowledged in Paria. €RYTING OUT IN SEARCH OF INFORMATION. I determined, tnerefore, to go and see for myself, and tm the interest of the readers of the Henan ascertain what the real difficulty was, believing that if the enterprise had been abandoned for lack of proper machinery some sbrowd Yankee would be able, upon a proper represenuta- tion of the fact, to invent some process by which it might be continued. So T left Paris on the 18th of Octo- her, and, arriving here the day after my departure, have been engaged for » treek in examining the ground, visiting the tunnel itself and studying its history, and propose to furnish the readers of the Herazp with tho result of my researches and observations regarding this wonderful piece of engineering, in all respects the most wonderful now in progress in the world, YIRST IMPRESBIONS, ‘The moon was rising, on the night of my arrival here, as we began to ascend dhe mountain path, which follows the course of the river Arc, from St. Michael to Mount Cenis. Through a barren, narrow, steep valley, by fr-covered bili sides and suow-capped mountain tops, my Jehu drove me for two hours. Just before reaching the village of Fourneaux we passed large white building, in the rear of which some twenty huge iron pipes rose up, looking like mon- ster organ tubes, and through them came a heavy, hiss- ing masic, This was the house and this the machinery im and by means of which the comprossed air, which is the motive power that’ is pow boring a tunnel through the Alps, is, if I may be allowed the term, “manufac. tured.” A little further on, upon the other side, and high up the monntain, the moonlight felt upon s huge black mass of debris, ‘This was the stone taken from excavation, and back of it, not bidden ‘by it, however, from view, was the entrance to the tunnel, which is ing LP he reniove the barrier which shuts out the ‘plains of Piodmont and the rest of Italy from Frauceand Europe. STOPPED, 1 may ad Well state iy the beginning tbs all thi about the work upon tic tuunel being stopped are the Pye <r ht guare oa pace in them. ee e dal van rndeod wtruct im tue toni of June lat. This, a z a however, bad been J ity for, and the only effect of it ts to the amount of eae a ae have any effect ‘upon the general resuit nor delay” completion of the tunnel beyond the antictpated time—the year 1870, Many, if not'm ‘of the. people in these of Savoy aro afflicted either with goitre—a disgusting cee trouble sooh may pics, bat Your that if lem fear compelled to remain here much longer I shall at least , for Fourneaux is # very y little village of fifty or horses, sheep, cows, pigs i ‘ i i £ in @ great bore. It ism roiief here ture away from the ignorant and stupid, haif-idotic and bratal looking peuple to the wild graudeur and sub- limity whiety navure has imposed upou ber handiwork in this valley, It is a mere g's, between the Alps, and through which runs the the Are. There is only room upon the river bank a single row of houses, most of we village being upon the hill side, to- | ‘ward the enirance to the tunnel. OUNT ue CHNIS 4 MIANOMER, The tunnel ot Mount Cenis is an “misnomer, what mountain being distance of (wenty-seven kilo- metres (the kilometre is #ix-tonths and a fraction of the lish mile) irom here, But as Americus Vespucius sarried off the honors which should have fallen upon the ame of Columbus, and as the battle of “Bunker” was actually fought upon “Bteed’s"” Hill, #0 is it prob- ne subject to-go give a suocinct history of the enter- prise from iis uneipiency up to the present time. Sat os a catertained the idea of in some Way ronder- ing the passage of the Alps, from France into more accessible, and mado it the object of serious study, The idea of a tunnel was hardly dared then to be enter- ij, and as the sub-Alpine voy, from Susa to the bert, then King tained; but, as time Nain, occupied by the Berg rh fortress of Alexandria, from Lago becamo tracks, covered hecessity overcoming the formidable barrier which arrests the rapid railway cironlation through Europe, by a continued line of rail through a tunnel, came to be considered abso- lute. The Austrian engineers were opening that wonder- railway route across and thro the other across the Ai'trat tho, idea of a teanel, although spoken of dee of a sug nnd aia ay wan il eam a e was a climp the mounted J yar with this ems, ‘until the present time, wi commencement of the vot a railway, upon the across Mount Cenis. When the objections were made to and the difficulties in its way were cer- e boldest engineer had never dreamed The distance was much greater ; and how was air plan invented by an A! course of construction tunnel was talked of all sorts of of actually facing. than had ever been before atte: h to be obtained in a tunnel seven miles in length to keep passengers? How was it known what obstacles might be encountered in tho gloomy heart of the mountain itself; what mountains within tains of iron or copper, or of rock so hard that a of powder would blow out of the hole made by ag it would out of a can’ withor rrounding mass? Imagination pictured within those unexplored bowels of the earth quicksands and yawning chasms aud caverns—perbaps bottomless or ex- tending down to Hades itself. and even fire might be encountered. The most practi and plausible objection seemed to be the fear of th nel being whelmed with water percolating throu; earth from the mountain torrents and the mel inj of the Alps or from sources existing in the interior. Tush of this water through the tunnel, drowning the workmen, would then pour out of the mouth and deluge the valley of the Arc and convert it into one mighty ‘Then there was another real and very practical difficulty about which there could be no doubt. Tho ordinary and quickest and cheapest mode of making tunnels is to sink down vertical shafts or wells at intervals from the summit, This, however, in the case of the Alpine tunnel was plainly impracticable, as it was found that at a distance of 650 metres from the entrance ashafi to reach the level of the tunnel must have been 338 metres deep—(the metre is 3.281 feet); at three thousand metres it must have been 1,078 metres jousand seven hundied it must have been 1,620 metres deop, and engineers calculated that such a shaft would require forty years to sink; and if instead of u vertical shaft an oblique one were sunk it would be required to be aimost as long as the tunnel it- self. It was evident, then, that the mountain must be attacked from the two ends, and it was desirable that no other than the ordinary means of cutting suould be em- ployed, asin the latter case the generation which com- meuced it would not have seen it completed, as it would have required by any known mode of operation some sixty or seventy years to bring it to a termination. THE PROJNCI LAID ASIDE AND AGAIN TAKEN UP, After the disastrous battle of Novara, which la‘d Sar- din.a prostrate beneath the foot of Austria, the project a while; but when Count Cavour began to instil new life into the veins of Piedmont it was revived moro and he determined that the Alps d, and to him and to the fact to France is due the alive the workmen and Molten masses of rock cal in depth; at five heartily than ever, of tho annexation of Savoy fact that the Alpine tunnel is nearly half completed. it thing naturally to be decided was, in what of the mountains the tunnel should be pierced. must be determ:ned by three principal reasons: the Icast thickness in the intervening barrier, or, in other the shortest passage through the ‘mountains; secondly, the most penotrable kind of rock; and, lastly, the most cenvenient points for uniting the tunnel with the railways existing on either side of the Alps, More than thirty years ago an inhabitant of Bardonneche, on the Italian side, indicated that point as the one where a tunnel should commence, and the commission to whom ‘the Italian Parliament sum tted the study of this whole uestion, aud which cuneisted of Messrs, Sommellier, randis and Grattoni, iter lo: contirmed the opinion of sedail neche as the Italian and Fourneaux as the Savoy end of the tunnel, The tollowing map shows the SITH SMLECTRO FOR 1HH TUNNEL, ST JEAN DE MAURIFNNES 3 studies and surveys, by selecting Bardon: thero ix a duul hewn stone intended for the mason work of the tunnel, the machinery and all other noveasaary material. The wagons used upon this road present a@ vory singular app much lower than the hind ones, giving them very much the look of kangaroos, and indeed they aro known as “kangaroo cars.” The object of this arrangement is as the plane is bam steep, to keep the contents the cars on a level durin, fifty steep stone steps brought me, somewhat out of breath, upon the immens: platform, or a of debris, which ts brought from out the tunnel shot down the chine and carpe’ number of dilapidated machines, worn out fm this bard service, and numbers of flourets, or drills, broken in their encounter with the solid rock, were lying around, kindly tur ing nearly to my heels, and which, he suggested, TF would find a vi accompanied me to the entrance of the tunuel, only a fow yards distant, of appearance, resembling in Cther’ The urch is pearly vem.cirele, atid the tunnel In ascending the narrow-valley of that the river in describis rives its name brings the Savoien valle; neaux to the Picdmontego valley of which runs almost parallel with it on the other side of the Alps. The Arc, ranning from cast to the Dora, running from Here the distance between the two sides is but little more than twelve kilometres, or seven milesand a fraction; the railways upon both sides could be easily reached from the two points of entrance, and who examined the structure of the moun- tain to be pierced decided that the rocks composing it be divided into two principal Ms = and Se con into greens, ae talc. - | limestone quartz were the inguishing /ngre- ing glandular swelling upon the neck—with sore or |: diel T have not of goltre = nearest at Four: Dora Riparia, into the Isere, and gus and water pip lery, and which is wide and deep enouge t affor ATR PRESSED INTO THE SERVICE Previous to the final decision as to the points at which the tunnel should be commenced Mesery, Sommeiliei Grandia and Gratton! had been engaged in the study of eeme méans of applying com; sion of railway trains, this power the: and dangerous inclines of the rail- ‘and Genoa, where it ietu “d nir to the propul being to work with Moet hinpenetrable served that the entrance of the ally growing smaller and smalier. Occasionally turning Lone ed it, until it dwindled down to the size of an ap- ple, the horizon into the sea, h favor with the Sardinian government that the right was threo engineers m 1854 of apply of trains up these steep inclines. tined to achieve & much more important mission. While the three engineers had studios of compressed air as « motive pow: mac! Por which was a combination sir, by which an iron bar was darted out like s rerpent’s tongue with wonderful force and velocity against the circumstances this cuttings and open tunnel: entirely impracticable the Alpe, where the supply of fresh air, fire, and fire is the great consumer ol however, to M. Sommeliier and his friends that if they could effect a combination between their ap) it to the propelling t was, however, der rock. Under ordinary that is, in short ef, a proposed tunnel reat desidoratum was a constant be gouerated bi ‘blo that the ‘Col Frejus’’ will be obliged to rest in com — obscurity bene Ca ope [as A ‘w taller and more 8 no aeichbor, L delve, However, ‘fm behalt of modest ne hich the’ yo ‘tl the Sido "(ana de "i2%y Really er te. Gal sugiit to an fi of “modest for ie cortainly looked out about the shadiest piace tm the | th. whole valley), to put op record the fact: nt Cenis in ad eh hes honor wi cn A 43 int of re vibe Baedonueclc nde known sn the Col oo Is ode, the COURTEOUS RECKPTION. called Chevalier Copello, the 1deal director of work, the morning after aie Tos aaarror mg my card, was unbesitatingly int Wy him that there Wa peeeirae mes spel te Turia fora Puit; 0 & line wo Signor SNe aitechor OF Vie. actual Inbor at the “twonel ine himself if he were not tte 1 19 leave for Turin, and that he wie very glad to e860 me. From him in the course ofan hour's rary Lobrained a vast amount of inor- mation relative to this {thmense work, whieh, with facts nnd staltejes guthored from other sources ant from ac- y J viges ation, Fsudil eudvavor Ww plage in ag wager” compressing air and Bartlett's perforator the result would be just the kind of machine necessary for piercing the Experiments were made, and the machine was found to work admirably, OFERATIONS COMMENCED. The work was actually commenced upon the tunnel in early part of 1858, and was iollowed U ry the work with band and bar, @ when but savon hundred and twenty-four i n cut, when the machine entered the gallery at Badonneche; ah not till the 26th of January, 1863, and twenty-one metres had rye oe honk ipa, ihe. Savoy ry e having been o¢cupied in perfecting the leberere to work thous, uaa, J P im the miserable villages of FRANCE JOINS THR MOVEMENT. the cession of to France the French gov- interested in the jyro- By the treaty of cos. iment reserved the rij A convention between cuniary aid of France the tunnel had bem Synge, aud, upga e mt of course became rn completing the tunnel; the two governm e woe secured, The total cost whuated at Bixty-Gye millions of s term ens ti 1, _ 1862, , was juced; and this jum was to be increased to #ix hundred thousand for cach year, by which a term of fifteen was reduced, from the same time. shoud the Talian far) however, bd scenaiate, the work within wenty-five years from the ‘the convention, or should they give up the eae the French govern- ment was absolved from aay further ment, Should sie ape acen nn eee 35.175, 000 frames \¢ French government 18 to francs for the construction of one half the’ tunnel, or at the Tate of 6,250 francs the metre. MAKING EXTREMES MERT, The first point io be settled beforo commencing actual operations wa; the axis of the tunnel. It would be » very fepione joka if, after working ten or twelve years of the tunnel, it should be found that ‘two tunnels had each other in the depths of r, M the tunnel. Once in three mont nels. Th th iy ployed in pi the tunnel 16 motive power employed in piercing the through the Alps is (as I have steady mentioned) com- mon air, compressed by hy pressure to of {ts ordinary bulk, and consequently, when permitted to escape, possessing itself a pressure equal to six at- mospheres, Th» fact that compressed air could be used as a motive power was not a new idea to M. Sommellier, who has applied it to the present work; but the mode of compressing and the mode of application are with him entirely original, It was a grand idea to utilize the tor- ronts of the Alps, to pierce a tunnel through their stony heart. I shall not here describe the compressers, but leave that until my vist to the other side of the tunnel; but will simply state at present with regard tothem that by the pressure of a column of water pouring down the mountain side common alr is driven into a resorvolr, after being compressed to one-sixth its bulk, then con- veyed through an iron pipe to the end of the galley where the workmen are employed, and applied to the machine which is perforating the solid rock, at the same time supplying air for them to breathe, ‘When M. Sommellier Suapesied his plan the ‘“Joarned pundits” were gener- ally agreed upon the fact that it was impracticable; first, because in being conveyed to the place where it was tobe utilized it would lose its force; and secondly, that ‘on its compression such a quantity of caloric would be disenvaged as to heat ihe machinery to a white heat, and even to melt it. Prictical operations, however, have destroyed both these fears, and it is found that the com- pressed air loses but one-tenth of its force for each kil- ometre of distance conveyed, and M. Sommeilier is of opinion that at the cenire of the tunnel, nearly four mes from the reservoir, he will able to apply @ force of five atmospheres and a half, which will be amply sufiicient for all practicable purposes, The conduit pipe which conveys the com- pressed air to the end of the tunnel is a common iron pips, about eight inches in diameter, and in sections about eight feet in length, a thick layer of caoutchouc being made use of to render it perfectly air tight at the joints. This pipe, which goes at first, underground from the reservoir, which isan eighth ofa mile from the tunnel itself, crosses the road and is then laid upon the tops of stone pillars, till it comes opposite the mouth of the tunnel, when it makos@ sharp turn and crawls like a huge serpent up the side of the mountain into the tunnel, where it Is conveyed along the side to the end, where flexible tubes, uniting it and the p2rforating machines, convey to the latter the comproased air. ‘VISIT TO THK TUNNEL, With my letter of introduction from M. Copello, the Engineer-in-Chief on this side of the mountain, to Signor Genesio, the captain of the workmen, I started up the mountain side about nine o’clock in the morning. The mouth of the tunnel is not, as would naturally be ox- upon a level with the valley, but at a distance of one hundred ‘and six metres, or more than a hundred yards, above it on the mountain side. ‘The reason for this is t the level of tho sea of the two valleys, that o! the north or French side being 1,202 metros, while that of the south is 1,336 (the metre is thirty-nme inches und a fracuion). There is, th:retore, a difference in tho level ot the two valleys, as compared with the mountain to be attacked, Of one hundred aud thirty-three metres, one hundred and +ix of which is overcome by commencing the tunnel difference of elevation above on this elde at that distance above the level, and the re- mainder by tho differonce of the iucline from the oppo- site entrance of the tunnel to the centre, The Bardon- noche entrance of the tunnel is a: the base of the moun- tain, and, an incline being necessary to carry off the water, to remaining difference between the heights of the two entrances is overcome by an incline of two hun- dred and twenty thousandths to the metre from the north or Frewh side to the centre of the tunnel, while there is adoscens of but fwe-thousandths from the centre to the exit on the south or Italian side. There is a inf eee b i which l-ads from the valley to the tunnel, but I pr ferred climbing up by the side of the steep incline, on which bie tramway, usd for conveying up the pearance, tho fore wheels being g the ascent, r hundred and in wagons and ountain side. Hers a number of ma- er shops have been erect and bere a EQUIPPING POR THR RXILOWATION, Genesio mvited me into bis burean, where he Signor ‘shed me with x caoutoboue overcoat, reach- juable protection against wet and dirt, and then ‘THR TUNNEL MOUTH. ‘The mouth of the Alpine tunnel ‘presents no ny respects that of any here is twenty-five foet three and a half inches wide at tho base, twenty-six fest two and three-quarter inches wide at the broadest part, and twenty-four feet seven inches high. On the Bardonneche side the height has been increased eleven and three-quarter inches, Here, 2s far a8 we can see into it, the tunnel ts built up with solid masonry, and this is continued as rapidly as it ad- vances. Two lines of rail lead out of it Into it to the. advanced pallery, where tho machines are at work, and into which my guide and myself were about advancing. STARTING FOR THR INTERIOR. Sacer he the custodian » Retle dat, tron jam), « spended a oo that it hangs, when ca:vied, » few ft 1" ind, we commenced our journey. Along cach here 17 2 trodnr ur sidewalk of flag ‘on which we walked, lighting « path for our feet with the hong pear thera, Looking into the distant Dern, there was int one spark of 4 a gas con sta ‘ty burn, 4 cut & yards from tho en. trac’, as a guide for the observations I have spoken of iuady © pon the other side of the valley, wit the object of the side of the tunnet ~ w theah uere 18 any deflection from a straight line. ‘The conduit .or the air is ranged along the side of the gallery, while in middle of the tannel, between the canal bas been dug through whieh the re conveyed to the end of the gal means of eit In case refug: tunnel should be fled up by a fall of the crumbling rock above, Overhead we do not seo the mason work of the vault, but ition, dividing the tupnel into about two equal galleries, above and below. The object of this, which is merely temporary, is to create a current of air, the rarified air from the lower gallery rising and rushing out through the upper gallery, while fresh air is to come into the lower one and poy ite pl this partition only extends & short distance, and is not of much practical use. ¢. As yet IN THE BOWELS OF THR RARTH. We passed the gas Jet, ‘and before us was nothing but the ‘ness; and, looking bebind, I ob- tumnel itself was gradn hen suddenly — ag the sun drope from out of sight. DARKNESS VI-IBLA, Looking then ju either direction I saw only impene- trable darkness, I use the word saw intentionally; for the darkness seemod to be palpable a thi h nd tangible—some- more than the mere absence of Hyht—somothing erand more solid than a negative—a real positive , Which it seemed to me } could feol inst and around me as, guided by the flaring tlame agi our lamps, we etn fo through ft. Upon inquiring of my guide how far we a little notch in the wall where the distance was marked one thousand metres, or about two-thirds of a mile. In the distance, but seeming to be miles and miles away, wo how saw some lights dancing about as the fru follet or wild fire dances on summer evenings over bogs and fe and heard a dull and rumbling sound, and in a moment ‘one of the heavy wagons loaded with debris peseod us oa ite way to th reached he pointed me to trance. Up to this time 1 bed on pesticular )p to this tran a ular incon vemeees e reat! hin 2 Teint i Use aur was upnatey hn advanced Wt began, Yo wr bet entered @ thick J gunpowder, which, tm a recent blast to the hot and E i a i é i i e i 3 | i i 3 forty or fifty half ‘2 F } for ‘Th gallery became narrower more’ encumbered with debris, and th ing for a few minut bright blazing gaslights and a and a sbarp hissing sound. The air became fresh pure and grateiul to the lungs, and in a mii were in the “advanced gallery” at the extremity of the tunnel and beside the “affusio,” in which were mounted the, perforators, boring ther way through the solid Tol GALLERY, where the perforating machines are actually at the machines themselve h by eight wide, just large enough and the per. orators it bears entirely excavated b: but about nine feet hi in fact to contain the affusto upon it and the thirty-nine men employed upon the sto when it is in full operation. When wo ad entered ery we wére obliged to crouch and is huge machine to get to the front where we saw the drills darting out from it like adders’ tongues, and saw them knocking against the solid rock, siriking fire at every stroke, A hissing, rather frighten- ing sound, caused by the compressed air in eacay companied the movement of the machine; wo breathed here was pure, refreshing and‘deticious, OONSTRUGHON OF THE PERFORATING MACHINE. to describe the action of the per- its effect, upon the rock than to explain its delicate and complicated organism. Indeed, wituout diagrams, it will be impossible to convey more than a general idea of the manner in which the com- pressed air—brought through iron tubes a distance of a milo and a half—sets and keeps Upon the “affusto,”” which bears the same relation to the perforator that the carriage does. to the gun, nine perforators are mounted—each being entirely scparato and distinct from the other. In tho operation of these it was nm movements to It is much more e: forating machine these machines in mo- and progress, the drill against the opposing rock is given by a piston, to which the drill Is fixed, and which oscillates with extreme rapidity, downward, or rather forward and backward movement the piston ‘alternately opens and shuts yalves which let in aud out the compressed air. Tho posterior section of jer than the anterior section, to which the drill is attached, and the preesui being in direct ratio to the surface upon which it bears, it results from this fact that in the forward movem«nt tho blow given by the drill is much more the returning one. The force given to the advancing piston is one of a hundred a: nds, piston is driven forward from one hundred and eighty to two hundred times a minute, the effect the game as though a weight of one hu pounds were allowed to fail two hundred times a minute movement of percussion given in band labor, and by a jece of machinery a rotary ‘motion is the rock by a spring behind the p:riorator wi In its upward and e piece of rock, and then the #1 josion running aud securing t the ajusto. AS soun as an ¢! unaller at hemectven behind takes place: ) Which dilutes and phere caused by the explosion, an: it towards the entrance of the tunnel. explosion of the mine occupies three bou: rocks which are broken by the explosion into small blocks aré thrown into wagons, and in two hours the space is cleared out and rendy for a fresh attack. Anew set of workmen Comes in, the affus‘o w wheeled back, and set to work upon their p.rsisten! this mighty mountain. And so this continues, without juterrupuon, sammer and winter, weck days and Sun- holidays in tue year The workmen, of whom there are two thousand employed on cach s:de of l, are divided into tegen day and receive but oy mem or about while the miners and more expert and men receive {rom iour vo six. ‘The charging and hard and irresistil ; the only two and Cl workii ht ete, ng cight Two reprises a day are the tunn watching forators for nearly half ap hour, rewii me more anything else of an old-fa@hioned Scattered ubout—on, under and at the sides of it—were in tending ite various while. in froni—the w! with gas—were the ppened was being made with which is about four feet long, rod, which joins the turned on, and a ig attached, jst as a. direcis it against the point to be attacked. “thud,” “thud,’’ it goes at the rate of about two hundred away at this rapid rate with @ all around it at every come in Just as a new attack peiforators The drill, attached to a flexible The compressed air’ is the rod to which the drill the nozzle of a times a minute, thumping rotary motion, and scattering stroke. Two men tend one to give the general direction of the dri the ground, holds the end where with @ crovked fron, to provent it from flying off from the destred point of attack. En this portion of the other, standing w shivered, bo have tem) an ool uy ae M. the termination of the tunnel least two thousand of ing machines themselves will be put out of After the hole yng once formed the di ” and turn round in re firme of water being onveyed to it by & flexiblo tube, to facilitate the boring. BIOHTS AND BOURTS figures of the workmen, the by the exit and entraace cylinder, the rap: rill ag it it the ing sour + Of the comprosved air { ‘and persistent thud of the of fire it struck out at the if we wore breathing, the: doadened by the other mile and a third from the only. accessiblo means ting on its surface with an intervening space of hanging before I was ready Jeave, tumble and shut me in. * i My mates m4 were thie ee Jaat mouth five men were yy an or fall the Commeooement of tke work on — on killed. But here about the in whic workmen are continu ting their Toteet pinched, in this little esataed nee “¥ with remarkable sang froid of Playing —_ those upon strikes fire from thé rock, and the formidabt which is piercing the Al like a child's toy, drills, perch. of tho huge machine, and seem never to at avy moment some unknot here sometimes, and on! ing rock, and’ sivée {fon fetters and scaier haeut whic! the - Hora vn ate, now. Which ; prone abou the veidige uf June, and has a teil He ui ‘ $82 dl sil Hi I E2 il , & é met ness, and will to pieroe through, after which Thayer of xypsum will be struck, He a = o FE Be er H i H 1 z i & : ore ik efaytt eh eee 2 3 E & 25 ayREEEEUIE ibeea 5 ag efeE F 5555 i E 0c in which it ne je under and a mile in we had crouched by the affirsto long and #0, touching my guide again upon the shoulder, we took down our lamps, which we had sus- pended during our stay to tho rear part of the i fon and and about in beau. a pI As I have stated already,.after the ‘advanced gallery”? is opened by ond aap -eanorgi the enlarging of the sides ‘and vault is done by hand, by blasting an hen pene means. On our way back we cHmbed up a narrow wing ing staircase cut in the rock into the upper gallery, whore the miners were at work enlarging the vault. It was singular looking place—an immense stone chamber, walls of uneven, jagged rock, into which those swarthy, half naked men, by the flickermg lamp lights, were driving drills and wedges. It was hore the blasts which we heard on entering had taken place, and the gal- Tory wag still full of smoke and stifincly hot. The tem- perature, summer and winter, in hero is about the same, ranging trom 22 degrees to 20 degroos Centigrade (81 de- es to 97 decrees Fahrenheit), and in this hell under ground men hve and work from day to day and year to year for sixty cents a day. Upon remshing, the little barrack where we had left our coats Iwas glad to put mine on again, for we already Degan to fool a little of the fresh breath from the outer world, and movod along tho frotioir as fast as we could go. Soon the mouth of the tunnel, smail at first as an apple, rose in view, and gradually growing larger and larger, after having been nearly two hours in the very bowels of earth's darkness, we emerged again and breathed the swoet, fresh Alpine air, and I looked more joyously than ever u hose snow capped, pine girdled mountains above ind me. ‘FFECTS OF THE EXPLORATION. bedded kindly invited me into bis burean to take a wash. I Jooked in the glass and found I needed it. faco was black and smoke begrimed, my hands exces- sively unclean, my saliva fairly black and my nostrils filled with soot, my pantaloons spoiled in spite of the abide, and I feeling generally rather ‘used up” by 6 trip. OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE. To-morrow I shall leave for Lanse-le-Bourg to take a look at the railway in process of construction by one of your countrymen over the Alps, and thence to Bardou- noche, the entrance to the tunnel on the Italian side. aera aaeeeiel FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL. Saturvay, Nov. 26—6 P. M. The stook market opened with an improved tone this morning, and at the first session of the public board prices were higher than at the close of business last even ing, Erio sold at 93%, Hudson Rivor 110%, Reading 116%, Michigan southern 7674, Cleveland and Pittsburg 9234, Rock Island 10934, Northwestern 3834, preferred 6634; Fort Wayne 105%. At the regular board the mar- kot was active, but somewhat irregular. Erie closed % higher than at yesterday's second board, Hudson River 3, Michigan Southern 3, Cleveland and Pittsburg-3{, Rock Island 3. Reading was % lower, Northwester: 34, prefer- red 34; Fort Wayne 5, Ohio and Mississippi certificates 4é. Panama Railroad sold at 235, Mariposa 14. Govern- ment securities were dull. Coupon five-twenties of the old, fesue declined 3, second issue 3. Seven-thirty After the call prices were higher; but at the ont o'clock open board there was, as usual on Saturday, considerable realizing by parties unwilling to hold stocks over Sunday. The sales of Northwestern common aggre gated cight thousand three hundred shares, under which the price'declined to 86%—1% below the closing price at tho regular board. At the open board at three’o’clock prices were genoraily a fraction higher, Erie closed on the call at 93%, New York Central 97%, Hudson River 110%, Miebigan Southern 7634, Cleveland and Pittsburg 92%, Northwestern 36%, preferred 66%; Fort Wayne 1053, Mariposa 14%, Cumberland 4434, Canton 45, Obio and Miasissippl certificates 20. . Afterwards, on the street, the market closed dull, but with an upward tondency. Northwestern was quoted ct halt-past four P.M. at 36% @ 37, Erie 984 a \, Fort Wayne 105% a 5, Michigan Southern 763, a 4, Reading 1160 %. The demand for money was a shade more active this morning than yesterday, but after noon, as the wants of tho brokers were supplied, the market worked easier. Loans were made freely at seven per cent, but the exceptions at six were very fow. It is noticeable that the preference of lenders, formerly shown for gov- ernments as collaterals, is passing away, and firet class rallway securities are regarded with equal if not greater favor, That government securities have manifested a downward tendency since the recent funding loan was offered i# not to be eoncealed; and this is partly owing to sales by banks and private ’indi- viduals, who, being im need of money, consid-' ored their five-twentios and seven-thirty notes the securities by which they would be likely to lose loass: in selling. The effect of the: funding was seen in the’ depression of all the funded and unfunded public securi- tles—the currency'of course being left out of the ques- tion—and the holders of these securitios naturally be- came apprehensive of further funding and further de- preciation in consequence. A steady, although limited, flow of bonds end seven-thirty notes towards the finan- cial centres has been felt since that time, and is likely to continue till more confidence is felt in the stability of prices; for while some of the sales are made under necessity it is clear that many are made under a desire to change investments, in view of the possible contingencies which may affect the price of national securities, This drain, however, it is right to say, is met by a demand from other investors induced to purchase by the low quotations current; but it is evident that this demand is not equal to the supply from other sources, otherwise there would be no decline, and more firmness than the market has latterly shown. Had the Treasury been prompt in the delivery of ibe bonds subscribed for, the temporary embarrassmenta to which some of the country banks were subjected would have beon avoided and the market for government se- curities would have probably suffered less, The fund- ing operation seems to have made the gold premium firmer, instead of exerting an opposite effect; for it confirmed the previous impression that the cur- rency wonld never be redeemed in gold, but simply funded into bonds at par. Tho five- twenty bonds of the new issue are now selling below par; but, supposing them to be’at par, with gold at 147, they are worth only 68 cents in coin to the nominal dol- lar, Hore is a difference at once of thirty-two per cent shown, by an act of the government itself, to exist between the value of the currency and the gold dollar, With the decline of the gold premium this difference would of course decrease, just as «with ‘its advance it would increase; but while so many uncertainties attend the future of our finances the probabilities are not much im favor of the former for a long time to come. The exports to balance our foreign exchanges are likely to continue till Southern crops turn the scale and check the drain; but watil the resumption of specie payments gold will be more an article of commerce then a standard of the public credit, although it will to « certain extent at all times refiect public confidence or distrust of the national credit, dis, ia it hkely to decline otherwise than very slowly, As ® standard of values uninfluenced by supply and de. mand it would be a gauge of the public credit during the suspension; but as an afticle of commerce, sich ag It becomes when we sport ito. balance our exchanges, it is Influonesd by the ofdinary laws of supply and dev taand, - _ Tho gold market was firm but dull. The opening price ee Tenby one 1473g. Loans were made ‘208 per cent of the borrower. The »liipzuens varia took out $348,200, the City of Washington 416,626 ‘and the Arago $337,000. e Foretgn exchange was dull at 108% @ 10934 for bank- ers’ bills at sixty days. ‘The total imports at this port for the week exuding om the 23d inst. compare thus with former returns:— pk. 7) i con ee ion Gen'fmase:So aan Ts8 "Saou 08 “Ssaalons *820%;208 Total . .... $5,875,138 $6,174,656 $5,807,725 $6,703,228 Petroleum stocks were active, At the first board Pit- hole Creek closed 70c. lower than at the same time ye terday, selling ab $14 80; United States G6c., selling as $25 15; New York and Nowark 60., selling at 00.5 Bennebof Run 60c., selling at $19 45; Oceanio Se, selling at 40c.; Palmer petroleum 10o., selling at $2 76. Forest County, was 20o. higher, selling at 350, ; Pithole Consolidated 20c., selling at $295; Excelsior 20,, selling ‘at $1 15; Fee Simple 1c., selling at 820. ; First National S0., selling at 48c.; Ham & McClintock ‘60c., selling at $6 00; Oll Creek 46c., selling st $2 25; Gunnell Gold bc., selling at $1 45. Bradley sold at 90c., Cherry Rum 260,, Webster $1 33, The Philadelphia Ledger remarks of the petroleum trade:— ° ‘The growth and value of the oil trade of r bo. Inkeared. Seem the xine. cam and. ‘il road com] tails of a contract were agreed upon with Miller & Court- nae re con! Hae construct a rail. road Irving to Oil x i a) ceded of 1ees--egued to about eleven ies are already Bg i 2 i Eg il reali seven per cent bonds by whe Waren and road company, endorsed by both Pennsylvania the: Phitedelghis and Re compantot This for the oil produ: i road will be a new outlet jotions. The Bennehoff Run Petroleum Company will pay @ dividend of ten per cent on the 1st of December. ‘The business at the Sub-Treasury to-day was as fol- lows :— ‘Total roceipta. .... Payments, Balance For customs. On account of Gold certificates. ‘The following were the closing prices at lar board on the dates mentioned :— ow Stocks, Nov. 4. Nov.11. Nov. 18, Nov. 28, Atlantic Mail.............145 = 14a = ‘Alton & Torre HauteRR... 483% © 43% «4496 Rt oe levelan oe Cleveland & Toledo. ......103%{ 102: wx Central . 6 56 51 from Chicago to Galesburg, Large additions are being made to the rolling stock of the road. ‘The following are the comparative earnings of the Chi- cago and Rock Island Railroad for the second week im November:— $74,488 ease weet Exchan se. $690 i Da 35-10% $2000 US, "61-000 ih ho ahs re. a %. 25000U:6's, 6" 15000 U36's, 6-20c, "68.1013 200 60000 Ohio& Miss cer. 29 10000 do... 28% 14000 NY¥Cen 7’s,’76c 103 6000 Erie 4th mort. 04 1000 Alton & TH in 74 1000 Tol & W2dm. 76 2000 Galena &C 2d. 95 3000 Mari’a&C Istm 85 60 Kx Bank 111}, 20 Gallatin Nat Bk. 106 4 Commerce 108% 7 do, . 1900 Mariposa Mg Go 14 300 AUMallSSCo,.b30 137 100 Br City Land Co 9 200 Ashburton ClCo 17 300 0. 6s wane 3 Fun 97% 100 do. 97 600 eee 93% 160 Chi & Alt pref.. 106 The Labor Question in the South. « VIEWS OF A PLANTER ON THR BEAUTIES OF THB, PREEDMEN’S BURFAU. : TO THE EDITOR OF THR HRRALY. : ‘Natcnme, Nov. 8, 1866, ‘The policy of President Johnson has won all hearts im this region of ‘country. He has raised us from our ab- Ject state of despondency to hope and to an earnest offers to restore our ruined fortunes. All here have long since given up the “peculiar institution.” What we want now is the control of the free labor, precisely as you contred it m New York. We wish to be able to say to any laborer in our employment, “You do not suit me, Here is your money; go!”” This we cannot do, The Bureau of Freed- mon will not permit ft. The consequence is, as you mus® see, the hands on our plantations will only work when i suits them, and they defy us to turn them off, How cam the calture of cotton or the culture of any other article prosper under such ® system? T live on & pla tation fifteen miles east of Natobes, My before the war was three hundred bales Of i the “old plantation.’ My contract with them this season is to divide equally with them thé crop of cotton after the nt of plantation expenses. They make thie but thirty bales, ‘They could oe made one i ane we ye yey Now, one an es of cotton at the Something mondoome. i 100 bales would net now. Plantation expenses, say —One-half of which, divided among: and ‘would give one hundred and besides their food and ‘Stock I port, 128,000 balos. Exchange heavy. Cheese ‘on New Work at par to 3 per cont premium, Gold 14