HIE OMAHA BUND AY 15KE: 0(TO?En 27, 1007.
Siphon for the New Catskill Mountain Aqueduct a Wonderful Feat
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liltVK or THK ZnOSSfAG, OfiS TMK fffCU T ft STORM.
jeAf7 AND THK CROSS OAS JS'DK S"MOWS WEZ?E A SHAFT
js aetNG siswrr. oh the; ex-rKir cs:rT is BfezAHHECK
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TW TOPK. Oct. 20.-The borings
N
Into the bod of the Hudson river
off Btorm King mountain,
which have been In progress
during the last year under th
direction of engineers of lha
am
New
York Board of Water Supply, have
flow reached
a depth sufficient to justify
certain definite conclusions as to the char
acter and location of the great siphon
which mill carry the new Catnklll aqueduct
tinder the river.
It has frequently been contended that the
planning and building the new aqueduct
will be. In addition to Its probably larger
cost. far great achievement than the
construction of the Panama canal. In tha
opinion of an eminent enirlneer this Is
especially true as to the system of tunnels
provided for. Of all the tunnels the siphons
are the most Interesting, and they will be
of a magnitude never before approached In
the Mstory of civil engineering.
What Is probably at present the largest
siphon of Its kind In existence, that which
carries the new Croton aqueduct under tha
Ifarlem river, at a point between High
and Washington bridges, has a drop of
something' over 400 feet from tha aqueduct
to tha horizontal tunnel beneath the bed
of the Harlem. On the Catskill aqueduct
thera wlll be not one but many siphons
which will carry the water far deeper be
neath valleys than this, while the greatest
siphon of all, thit at Storm King, may ba
three tlmea as deep.
It will carry the waters from tha Asho-
. kan dam possibly 1.000 feet below the sur-
face of the Hudson, with a vertical drop
kan dam possibly 1.000 feet below tha sur
from the aqueduct grade to from 1.000 to
i.900 feet. Tha exact depth will depend on
the result of the operations now being car
ried on to determine the character and lo
cation of the bed rock beneath the river.
The work of planning this Btorm King
atphon and Its approaches and of construct
ing It will constitute the greatest single
feature of the aqueduct. Nothing like It
has ever before been attempted. Two
Tear hava already been spent In prelimi
nary work. Barring accidents, the siphon
Will ba completed December SI, 191L
The object of the tests now being carried
c by boring apparatus and diamond drills
Mtthe river off Storm King Is to determine
the depth below the river surface of the
bedrock which joins Btorm King and
Breakneck. It was until recently supposed
by geologists that the depth below river
level of this bedrock was not very great
at this point, the river proper being only
about ninety feet.
Tha operations of the last year have
shown that bedrock Is between 609 and 709
feet under the surface at places, with a
probability of still greater depths toward
the middle of the river. The siphon must
be cut through the solid rock, with at
least ISO feet of bedrock above the roof of
tunneL
The Catskill aqueduct as a whole ts very
far from being the generally level water
way that one might suppose. There Is, It
Is true, a general gTSde of about 400 feet
elevation established for the aqueduct, but
the crossing of deep valleys compels a con
stant deviation from this grade.
The section embracing the Storm King
crossing and Its approaches, about seven
miles long. Is shown in part in the drawing.
The Moodna siphon, also there pictured,
would attract more attention were not Its
'Importance overshadowed by the neighbor
ing crossing at Storm King.
Near Vails Gate the aqueduct approaching
tha Hudson along the normal 00-foot grade
comes to the Moodna creek watershed. In
order to pass It the aqueduct will drop per
pendicularly Into the earth for 000 feet and
run horiaontally In a tunnel for three or
four miles, at a grade 2C0 feet below sea
level, straight toward Storm King. It will
be bored through Hudson river slate and
then through granite and gneles.
Passing under the Moodna and the vil
lage of Comwall-on-IIudson, whose Inhabi
tants will be made aware of Its building
only by the occasional tremor of a blast
far beneath their feet, the tunnel will ter
minate directly under the summit of a low
shoulder of Btorm King. There It will rise
tot feet, within the heart of the hill, back
to normal grade, and follow the side of the
mountain a mile of so toward the river,
partly by tunnel and partly by cut and
oorer construction.
It might be asked why bore a second
perpendicular shaft since the deep Moodna
tunnel, at inn poini oniy mile rrom ine
river, must at the river bank dive still
deeper? In other words, why climb 600 feet
nly to drop back the same distance after
a mile's progress T
The answer which the endneers give
sounds surprising enough. They tell us
that It Is cheeper.
It Is explained that every foot that the
aqueduct ts carried below the established
grade means so much more resistance,
caused by the effort of the water to retain
Its original level. The force exerted In
thie way by a great body of water carried
at 600 feet below grade Is so great, they
say, that the added cost of providing for
force by strengthening the aqueduct
be much greater than the oust of
building a fiOO-foot shaft to allow the
water's escape back to grade and another
shaft to conduct It later down fcito the
Storm King tunnel.
It will be seen by the drawing that the
great drop Into the tunnel beneath the Hud
son Is provided for not by a single shaft,
but by two shafts connected by a horizon
tal section TCO feet In length. A simitar ar
rangement ts provided for on the opposite
Ide of the river, where the water will
oome up Into the Breakneck mountain.
The reasons for this method of construc
tion are the same as thoite which apply In
the case previously discussed. From a con
struction point of view the drop, so far as
practicability la concerned, m'ght Just as
e'ly be arranged for by rreans of a single
ehatt as by two shsfts. The 700-foot hori
soniai section would then oecouie a con
tinuous fart of the river tunnel Itself. The
ame arraraement could be effected on the
opposite end Of tbe tunneL
TIAm, however, weuld add LfcO feet et
exceedingly doep tunnel where the pressure
of the confined water would be something
enormous. It must be noted that the Inside
diameter of the completed tunnel will bo
nearly fifteen feet, or large enough to ac
commodate a rnllroad ti-atn.
It should be further understood that the
Immense floods of water pouring through It
will lift themselves out of the tunnel bacic
to grade, a distance almost as gTeat as tha
height of Btorm King Itself, and this with
out any mechanical aid. Theso facts may
make plain to the lay mind why It Is de
sired to keep these deep tunnels as short
as possible.
Tho eastern arm of the siphon will rise
within the moss of Breakneck, well back
from the front to avoid the danger of being
exposed or otherwise injured by rock slips
from Its precipice, and will approach tha
surface of the mountain near tha north
west ridge of Its slope.
Resuming its horrltontal course at tha
fO-foot grade the aqueduct will then tunnel
southeastwardly through tha mountains,
and coming out on the south side Just east
of the old quarry follow the contour df
Breakneck valley around to the north slope
of. Mount Taurus or Bull H11L It will
plunge straight through that elevation In
a tunnel over a mile long, soma 6,700 feet
In all.
Here will be found the opposite of the
conditions presented In the Hudson river
crossing. Instead of being about a thou-
sand feet below sea level It will be burled
In the Bull Hill tunnel by a solid mass of
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Tht tha Tatest amount of rock which
granue more man a tnousana reel inicit.
will overlay the aqueduct along tta course.
Bouth of Bull Hill several other moun
tains must ba pierced before the aqueduct
emerges from the Highlands at Pecksklll,
one tunnel being some two miles long.
Two shafts are already under construe--tlon
for the engineers at either land end
of the Storm King siphon. They may be
described at the present time as experi
mental laboratories.
One of the moat Interesting tests to be
carried on In them will be the search with
drills for evidences of water bearing faults
or flaauree In the bedrock underlying tha
river. None of the tunnels Is to be ex-
cavated under the air chambwr method of
Pioneer Builder of Churches
(Continued from Page One.)
and hundreds of shovelera were pressed
Into service. After three straight weeks
of plowing and shoveling the rescuers came
within reach of the snowbound train. The
occupants were given a square meal for the
first time in ten daya and hauled Into
Laramie. This Is accounted the record ex
perience of a snowbound train In the his
tory of American railroads.
$
Called from the Front.
The completion of the Overland road re-"
volutlonlzed missionary conditions. Popu
lation Increased rapidly along tha railroad,
towns began developing on permanent lines,
and with this growth came ministers to re
lieve those who labored at the outposts.
Having completed a church at Cheyenne
and the foundation of one at Laramie,
Father Kelly was called to Omaha and
assigned to less onerous tasks. He was
then GO years of age, the last ten of which
called Into action all the seal, devotion,
courage and physical endurance which he
possessed. It comprised the formative
period of the country west of the Missouri
river, the time of toil and struggle, of
obstacles overcome and lines of progress
definitely established.
In the succeeding years Father Kelly's
activities were confined to Omaha, his
home city. With the exception of a few
years at Lincoln he has been attached to
old St. Phllomena's cathedral, acting as
pastor during vacancies, and as anslstant
until advancing years relieved him of re
sponsibility. He did not like the responsi
bility of parish management, preferring the
duties of assistant to the honors of the
other. Simplicity marked every phase of
his life, whether on the altar or In the
world outside the church. He avoided elab
orate ceremonies when possible. An In
stance Illustrating the dominant trait of
modesty occurred when he was appointed
aft.rw,r(J , . form,dab docu.
ment enumerating his powers, duties and Tner, llm. doubt that tne ,under,nf of tren(th and ,nduranc wer requli;d strong abiding faith that made him so gen
responsibilities. His associates at the the ties which bound him to the old home ,i...,.i .i,. . .. .i. i- i..inn to. k.. i
cathedral Jollied him about the honors of
his new position and the necessity of living
up to dignity imposed. That was too much.
A few days after he conferred his power to
grant dispensations upon a fellow priest,
and later the "formidable document" was
foi'fid In a waste basket, to which Father
Kelly had consigned It.
Treatment of Pledge Takers.
The native trait of love of humor did
not shine In Father Kelly. If he Inherited
tha gift of wit. It waa held In check or
crushed by the earnestness of his devotion.
n one occaslon- l lea8t' th 'tent flr
burst into a flame, producing amusing
suits. The priest waa a great favorite
an ons; drinking men desiring to "take the
plejge. Ills earnest counsel and heart
touching "God bless you" turned countless
numbers of men from danger to paths of
sobriety and usefulness. Soma would re
peat tha pledge-taking and dishonor tt aa
quickly aa a loaded schooner hove In sight.
For this grade of booxsrs Father Kelly de
cided heroic treatment was necessary. He
compounded a "medicine" constating of
thickened Missouri water flavored with
ginger, tobacco sauce and like things
and obl'tred each chronic pledge-breaker to
drink a glass of the dope aa proof of good
faith. It Is related that few of the chosen
victims balked at the test, most of them
gulped it with evident relish. One day a
taller far advanced toward dipsomania took
the treatment cheerily and waa taken to
the hospital a few hours after. Father
Kelly waa thoroughly scared when the
Bewa waa breub.l bXm. lie hurried to tha
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construction such as Is employed In the
shield driven tunnels about New York.
They will be dug much after the manner
of railroad tunnels. Their exeavntlnn will
ol rauroaa tunneis. rneir excavation win
be largely a matter of plain drilling and
blasting.
It is Important, therefore, that there
shall be no leakage of water In the case
of the Hudson river siphon from the river
bed above. More important still, there
must be no leakage from the high pressure
aqueduct upward Into the rlvor bottom.
This will be partly guarded against by al
lowing for 130 feet of rock between the
tunnel and the ancient river bed,
The second precaution, the search for
faults In the rock, has already been thor
oughly gone Into theoretically. As soon as
the shore shafts now building have reached
a sufficient depth the drill will be set to
work probing for trouble. Should a fissure
ItEV. WILLIAM KELLY.
hospital and sought the dootors, telling
what he had done and pleading for help.
They assured him his dope did not cause
the man's Illness, but advised him to quit
dispensing free medicine. To this he readily
assented, the mixed medicine was banished
and practical Joking soionv r abjured.
Father Kelly was more attached to SL
Phllomena's cathedral than any priest
called to that aanctuary. To him the
locality was holy ground. One block east,
Eighth and Howard streets, where stood
the pioneer church of St. Mary, he took
the vow. of priesthood and entered upon
- , erectln "thf
dral building his energy and devotion holds
first rank. For fully a quarter of a century
his home was within the shadow of Its
pire. ne was as niucn
a part of the
parish as the , cathedral Itself, so firmly
was his life Interwoven mith lLa Axlatenc.
banished his unfailing cheerfulness and
hastened his death. When on Wednesday
a week at. he work of stripping the
cathedral residence begun, the Venerable
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- LOSl& TOi; TIZIV dTS'Kri.X, sAOCSZ: over1 wHgne,
ba dlscov'f- the drill would be withdrawn
and a second drilling made lower down In
the shaft, then a third from a point still
lower down and so on until It was con-
cluslvely proved that tha fissure had run
out.
In order to determine whether there ex-
Ists a fault so deep that It would be lm-
possible to locate the tunnr' out of reach,
the eia!reers asked the co-operation of the
geologists. The conclusion that the scien-
tlsts arrived at was that a fault of large
proportions probably does not exist in the
river gorge bedrock.
Four big plledrlver scows strung across
the narrows of the Highlands are the of eight lnchea diameter. Thus the boring
points from which the engineers have been pipes continued to extend like sections of a
groping for the rast year for Information telescope, down through silt, clay, sand,
about the ancient gorge of the Hudson bo- gravel, cobblestone and boulders to bed
neath which the aqueduct must pass. Thiy rock by the addition successively of six,
began by lowering flfteen-lnch pipes In to four and finally two and a half-Inch pipes.
dean was beside himself. He could not
believe that the time for removal had
come. From his own room he would walk
into the hall, then Into the rooms of his
associates and back again, sighing at the
wreckage he saw, and striving to suppress
the tears the scene brought forth. That
iiifc-ht was tha first in years he had spent
away from the cathedral. Early next
morning he was at the old home. But
it was deserted. Every room was stripped.
Everything proclaimed definitely and sl-
lently that the end had come. Overwhelmed
by a realisation of tho ruin he turned
away, broken In spirit and sobbing his
grief. To a parishioner who met him with
a cheerful salutation his only answer was,
"Good-bye, my child, good-bye." As events
proved it was his last "Good-bye."
In the local biographies of Father Kelly,
his record as a collector has been given
prominence. That he waa a successful
collector the record shows. Indeed he pos
sessed a delicacy of touch velvety In its
smoothness, a touch so gentle that a second
experience would not be Unwelcome. It
was the cause for which he labored, his
manifest sincerity, his unselfishness and
devotion which made him successful. Ha
was, flrs of all, a church builder among
pioneers and a pioneer among church
builders west of the Missouri liver. To be
a succeesful church builder nowadays, one
must be successful in reaching the means
"herewith to build. It was a far greater
" """ vk iniriy ana iorty
'ar " of the humble build'ngs
reared by Father Kelly have been sue-
Ja by more elaborate and costly struc-
Mre. out for each he laid a foundation
"ndurlng as the republic.
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th, cf th. 0maha
with which he was Intimately associated for
aimo,t half a century" says Rev P A.
McGovern. pastor of the abandoned cathe-
draI who hmA hMn M a faithful aon to the
KrA father for nlna r mi.i "ti.
a pioneer, and suffered aU the hardships
t tt. .
"" ' .' . ii.v lie bvuuiir m wiuwn our
fathers had cometo break the virgin soil,
to rear primltlva dwellings which would
protect them from the rigors of cold and
storm, to establish villages and towns and
sSHSSOCBZ VAXXST KILXTA&T BAJO-A sTOCCEafJFUL
lit
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the water until their lower ends rested In
the river mud.
Water was then forced Into a smaller
twelve-Inch pipe, contained within the larger
pipe. This water, rising In Its escape in the
space between the two pipes, brought up
with it the mud which It dislodged. The
two pipes during this operation gradually
sank deeper Into the river bottom.
After they had reached a depth of, say,
too feet and the Increasing friction made
further work difficult, a ten-Inch pipe waa
Inserted and the silt and sand forced up
between that and the twelve-Inch pipe,
Later on a still smaller pipe was Inserted
open up channels of communication between
them so too were religious Influences neces-
aary to soften and refine the character of
those hardy men, who had spurned the
comforts of the more populous east and
turned towards the setting sun to find new
homes for themselves in the wilderness.
"It was not alone a strong constitution
and robust health, but a spirit of patience
and Christ-like gentleness that would be a
necessary qualification for the 'man of God'
who could hope tl evangelize such settle-
menta For " w" Grange body of men
that crossed tha Missouri In the early GO'S
to build up this great commonwealth of
Nebraska., Besides the hardy sons of Ohio
and western New York, there were adven
turous Irishmen and sturdy Germans from
the banks of the Rhine. All of these needed
the refining Influences of religion, and,
above all, the example of truly a post olio
men who could show forth In their own
lives the lessons of virtue which they
preached. To this class belongs the vener
able priest whose death has cast a gloom
over this city and diocese. He . waa one of
those men whom Almighty God raises up
as a benediction o their generation, and
whose kindly deeds live long In the mem
try of posterity.
"Many were the difficulties he met with,
many the trials he suffered In the long
years of his missionary career, but his
simple, unaffected faith sustained him In
every crisis. In saying that he founded a
large number of churches, we form no
Mt)m,te of his llfe-werk, for we must re-
mfmb(lf. that these churches were built in
,Darceir settled communities, with slender
nwl at hl, dgpogal. If we speak of his
,,..,- lournevs. we must remember!
that they were made for the most part on .
horseback or by stage, without any of the j
modern conveniences of travel. If we apeak
of his lodgings, we csnot forget that they
frequently the sodhousas of the plains,
"hose clay floors furnished his only couch,
'However, what we admire more than
te1va tabors was the ehtla-llke con-
Adence In Ood which prompted them. His
constant advice waa: Trust In God and
k. wn rv.KiMa it thia
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tlmately for many years, and he has al-
ways shown that same gentleness of char-
acter that endeared him to all with whom
he came In contact.
OBOAlOZATIOs
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rtTien the bedrock was reached a diamond
drill was Inserted In the smallest pipe and
eores of rock brought up for examination.
One of these drills was lowered through
pipe sections to bedrock over 600 feet below
the surface.
Borne remarkably fine beds of pure blue
slay of great value were they situated on
the river bank were discovered In this
work. Borne large boulders have been en
countered which It was necessary to blast
out of the way.
At the depth at which they occurred the
water Is very cold, often as low as 7 de
grees, which was sufficient to chill dyna
mite to a temperature at which It would
not explode. The difficulty was overcome
by forcing the dynamite down through a
pipe In company with a warmer volume of
water, a wire being attached to the de-
scendlng explosive, which was Immediately
set off by electricity when it reached the
point desired. The pipe wss raised out
of harm's way Just before the operation.
A dlscoursglng accident happened to one
of the big drills last summer which had
reached very deep bedrock after nearly a
year's work and taken out about nine feet
0f core. It had been Intended to go a llt-
tie further down, but one night a river boat
broke Its steering gear, and, drifting down
upon the scaffold supporting the drill near
the scow from which it is worked, bent
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the drill badly and broke tha diamond drill
ahnrp off within tha deep down granite.
The Interest attached to the Hudson
river crossing project from a geological
standpoint is partly due to the facts dis
closed as to the nature of the gorge thrpugu
which the ancient Hudson flowed and
partly to the fact that the dimensions of
this gorge are fur greater than many
geologists believed them to be.
Only two years ago tha author of a bul
letin issued from the state geologist's of
fice. In discussing the prehistoric valli-y of
the Hudson, assorted his belief that the old
rock bottom of the river might be found
at a depth not very great. Oft New York
City, where a doicn or more tunnels will
soon pentrate the mud of the river bottom,
he though It might ba only a few hundred
feet deep, while among the highlands it
would ba still nearer the surface.
The engineers of the Water Supply board
have already followed It down to a depth,
off Btorm King mountain, between 600 and
700 feet below river level, with a probability
or finding it at a still lower depth. But
even this depth is shallow, compared with
that at New York City.
According to the figures given out soma
time ago by the geologist of the Water
Supply board, the rock off Manhattan Is
land has been scoured out to the enormous
depth of S.00O feet. New York, In fact, he
states, was once a mountain 3,000 feet high,
bounded by the gorges up the North and
East rivers.
According to this theorjr the ' continent
waa once very much highe:- above sea level
than now. The present drowned delta of
the Hudson may be traced far out through
the harbor below the city. The coast is still
sinking at the rate of a foot or more a
century.
As the land gradually sank the old river
gorge filled with silt, especially off New
York. In the Highlands It Is largely
with boulders and other drift material, left
there during the glacial period.
The accompanying drawing Is one of tha
first published pictures of this old Hudson,
rock valley, and was made possible only
through the researches of the last twelva
months.
ID
BRAND
vCblletfeClothes
OME tailors would
be happy if they
could make clothes
half so good. But,
1 they would charge
twice as much. More
ginger and Btyle and
quality than you
should expect for the
Senior price.
your dealer hasn't
thett Clothe$ in$tock,
we'll gladly direct
you to one who ha.
Send J0 cente in etnmpe for
et of Clever ColUgt Poet
ere ready to frame.
One-way, aecond-ciasa "Colonist"
tickets to California and Paclflo
Northwest on aal dally via tbe Rock
Island '
Tonr choice of four dally trains and
the two beat routes to the Coast.
DAILY TO OCT. 31
Tickets food In personally-conducted
Tourist sleeping cars on payment of
berth, rate.
r. w. kimnroiD,
a 9t An BVock Xslaad Uaea,
OKUi, MUM,
Mfll
X It".
A
