登陆注册
4716400000028

第28章

The center of this wooden disc was hollowed out to a diameter equal to the exterior diameter of the Columbiad. Upon this wheel rested the first layers of the masonry, the stones of which were bound together by hydraulic cement, with irresistible tenacity.

The workmen, after laying the stones from the circumference to the center, were thus enclosed within a kind of well twenty-one feet in diameter. When this work was accomplished, the miners resumed their picks and cut away the rock from underneath the wheel itself, taking care to support it as they advanced upon blocks of great thickness. At every two feet which the hole gained in depth they successively withdrew the blocks. The wheel then sank little by little, and with it the massive ring of masonry, on the upper bed of which the masons labored incessantly, always reserving some vent holes to permit the escape of gas during the operation of the casting.

This kind of work required on the part of the workmen extreme nicety and minute attention. More than one, in digging underneath the wheel, was dangerously injured by the splinters of stone. But their ardor never relaxed, night or day. By day they worked under the rays of the scorching sun; by night, under the gleam of the electric light. The sounds of the picks against the rock, the bursting of mines, the grinding of the machines, the wreaths of smoke scattered through the air, traced around Stones Hill a circle of terror which the herds of buffaloes and the war parties of the Seminoles never ventured to pass.

Nevertheless, the works advanced regularly, as the steam-cranes actively removed the rubbish. Of unexpected obstacles there was little account; and with regard to foreseen difficulties, they were speedily disposed of.

At the expiration of the first month the well had attained the depth assigned for that lapse of time, namely, 112 feet. This depth was doubled in December, and trebled in January.

During the month of February the workmen had to contend with a sheet of water which made its way right across the outer soil.

It became necessary to employ very powerful pumps and compressed-air engines to drain it off, so as to close up the orifice from whence it issued; just as one stops a leak on board ship. They at last succeeded in getting the upper hand of these untoward streams; only, in consequence of the loosening of the soil, the wheel partly gave way, and a slight partial settlement ensued. This accident cost the life of several workmen.

No fresh occurrence thenceforward arrested the progress of the operation; and on the tenth of June, twenty days before the expiration of the period fixed by Barbicane, the well, lined throughout with its facing of stone, had attained the depth of 900 feet. At the bottom the masonry rested upon a massive block measuring thirty feet in thickness, while on the upper portion it was level with the surrounding soil.

President Barbicane and the members of the Gun Club warmly congratulated their engineer Murchison; the cyclopean work had been accomplished with extraordinary rapidity.

During these eight months Barbicane never quitted Stones Hill for a single instant. Keeping ever close by the work of excavation, he busied himself incessantly with the welfare and health of his workpeople, and was singularly fortunate in warding off the epidemics common to large communities of men, and so disastrous in those regions of the globe which are exposed to the influences of tropical climates.

Many workmen, it is true, paid with their lives for the rashness inherent in these dangerous labors; but these mishaps are impossible to be avoided, and they are classed among the details with which the Americans trouble themselves but little. They have in fact more regard for human nature in general than for the individual in particular.

Nevertheless, Barbicane professed opposite principles to these, and put them in force at every opportunity. So, thanks to his care, his intelligence, his useful intervention in all difficulties, his prodigious and humane sagacity, the average of accidents did not exceed that of transatlantic countries, noted for their excessive precautions-- France, for instance, among others, where they reckon about one accident for every two hundred thousand francs of work.

同类推荐
  • 四部律并论要用抄

    四部律并论要用抄

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 还源篇

    还源篇

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 无明罗刹经

    无明罗刹经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 外科痈疽疔毒门

    外科痈疽疔毒门

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说龙施菩萨本起经

    佛说龙施菩萨本起经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 母亲

    母亲

    小说的主人公原本是个逆来顺受的普通劳动妇女,在从事革命事业的儿子巴威尔的影响下,思想迅速成熟,逐渐成长为一名无产阶级革命战士。这部小说第次深刻地反映了20世纪初无产阶级政党领导下的群众革命斗争,反映了工人运动从自发到自觉的历史过程。
  • 密码之谜

    密码之谜

    挖掘了人类社会、地球乃至宇宙所包含的难解谜题首次披露了大干世界中神秘的、充满悬疑色彩的谜团背后鲜为人知的内幕。百万字的传奇读本精选了有关国宝、密码、海盗、大谋杀,诡异事件、离奇事件的未解经典内容选配了数千幅珍贵图片,带给读者一场视觉饕餮盛宴。
  • 丹武神皇

    丹武神皇

    少年丹药师叶强,一次机缘得到了上古神物混元珠,解开了丹神和剑魔两大神武者的封印,丹武双修成就一代至尊神皇威震天下,强者之路充满各种奇遇,生死历练中获得强大突破,强者需要强者的尸体堆砌而成!
  • 妙法莲华经论优波提舍

    妙法莲华经论优波提舍

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 锦绣陷阱

    锦绣陷阱

    云子衿穿越了,作为胎穿的她,睁眼的第一件事不是婴儿啼哭,而是思考着如何在这个吃人不吐骨头的大宅院中立足生存。沐疏重生了,他睁开眼的第一件事就是仰天大笑,感谢天恩浩荡,给了他重来一次的机会,他一定好好谋划,虐死前世将他利用至死的渣女。总之一句话,就是重生男主自以为设了陷阱,引女主跳进去,却自己先掉进去了的故事……【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 王爷的小小小新娘

    王爷的小小小新娘

    我,十一岁的某真真(未免父母得知后伤痛,忽略姓氏不写),居然于一次溺水身亡后来到一个陌生的朝代,成为蔚真真,某地一七品小官刚出生的孙女。那就算了,让我安安稳稳地过完一生就好了嘛,可是……可是,为什么会先有一个像牛皮糖一样的家伙残害我的幼小童年,接着又有个不让人省心的家伙要来时时刻刻牵引我的心,最最过分的是,为什么还有一个莫名其妙的家伙要在我七岁时要求我当他的妻子!无语问苍天啊!请问,到底有没人来拯救我?!…………………………^^……………………………………………………^^……………本文的写作宗旨与方向是希望可以逃离复杂与喧嚣,从而最终走向宁静。现代生活的熙熙攘攘很容易让我们忘记很多事情,每日单调的生活与学习,往往让我们不得不变得世故与虚假,很多时候我们怀念过去,开始向往乡村的宁静与和谐。虽然明知自己不可能真正过上那种生活,但还是让我们在书中得到一些寄托吧!坚持就是胜利,我要努力写!嘿嘿!希望大家喜欢。秋第一次写长篇,而且思维有些跳跃,可能有些地方漏洞百出,还请大家多多为秋指出。鞠躬……大家可以在会员中心注册,网址是潇湘的优秀作品很多,编辑们总不能厚此薄彼,有很多好的文章还需要通过首页这一平台让大家的眼睛可以看到。因此,如果你对这本书感兴趣,觉得可以一看,可以去注个册,是免费的,且并不耗时。那样,你就可以将自己喜欢的作品收入你的书架,随时掌握作者更新与否,并投票支持你所喜欢的作者了。希望大家可以收藏我的作品,并投票支持我!你的支持,便是我最大的动力!致谢……58253735,58253735,58253735,十分寂寞的一个群,就是传说中俺的读书群,大家如果感兴趣可以加一下……
  • 我穿越进了我写的玄幻小说

    我穿越进了我写的玄幻小说

    一个落魄网络玄幻小说写手,一次普普通通的码字,一次意外的触电,叫他穿越进了自己所写的一本无人问津的玄幻小说,并成了主角,在这里他就是王,就是那无所不能,无所不知的神,但是事实真的是这样吗让我们拭目以待,
  • 弃夫难甩

    弃夫难甩

    梧桐新文《总裁的代育禁宠》颜曼蝶,现代女子,婚礼前夕,她无意间撞见继母与未婚夫偷情而被推进大海致命一劫,她在赫连堡刚死的新娘身上重生然而等待她的却是万劫不复他说:“你最好祈祷浅唱能活过来,否则我要你陪葬!”他说:“你不过是一棵棋子而已。在百里山庄是,在赫连堡亦是!”他说:“我要你求生不得,求死不能…”失身、失心、失子…让她再一次尝透爱情的苦当殷红的血从下身不断洇出,她才明白,她于他而言,永远只是棋子前世今生,古代现代,两段婚姻背后都是阴谋她,要如何逃出棋子的宿命?眼看她绝望的纵身跃下悬崖,他才彻底醒悟,她才是他生命之重仰天长啸,却悔之已晚逃妻难追,穿越时空来寻你站在车来车往的大街,汽车喇叭声不绝于耳迷茫的仰望她的世界,他态度坚决:“蝶儿,不管是前世今生,还是上天入地,我都要找到你!”★花絮★:某幢雄伟的大楼前,颜曼蝶在众多保安、职员的拥护下走出,他冲上去急切的呼唤:“蝶儿…”她回头,片刻的怔忡之后,勾唇冷笑:“先生,请问你哪位?”“我是你的夫…”“夫?不好意思,我未婚夫在这里!”随手一指,他看到一张和百里熙一模一样的脸孔,瞬间苍白了脸,“你到底,还是和他在一起了…”“我已经是你的人了,你要对我负责!”莫名其妙的一夜春宵后,床上古典美的男人腆着脸赖皮道。某女满头黑线:“赫连先生,你N百年前就不是处了,我负什么责啊?”“那,你的处是我破的,换我对你负责好了!”某男嘿嘿一笑,再次把她扑倒,心里暗暗发誓,“小女人,这辈子你休想再甩掉我!”《浅唱篇》——苏浅唱和百里熙的故事。江南苏家曾名盛一时。用父亲的话来说,平生得意之事,一是娶了个如花似玉的母亲,二是收着一部祖传的剑谱——虽然他没学成功,但在江湖上提起来,也是挺骄傲的。谁能想到,就这是两桩,成了苏家灭门的原因。五岁的苏浅唱,眼睁的看见着母亲被奸杀,那一刻,仇恨的火就燃烧了她。辗转多年,一场居心叵测的南北联姻,成全她复仇的心愿。可是,也毁了心上人的一生。悬崖边上,她抱着昏迷不醒的他,慢慢落下泪来。如果时光可以重来,她会不会还选择伤害他?郑重推荐梧桐的另一个文文《总裁的嚣张弃妇》(已完结)他们是父母之命,媒妁之言他们是王子与公主的完美结合然而婚姻不是童话的结尾,却是另一段故事的开始谁人知道,这天作之合背后竟然是相敬如“冰”
  • 武尽天途

    武尽天途

    力之极境,可拔山,可覆海,指碎星辰!武之巅峰,天难葬,地难灭,万劫永存!万族林立,天骄并起,问世间谁主沉浮,唯我武尽天途!
  • 墨宸咖啡店

    墨宸咖啡店

    这是一家咖啡店,我是这家咖啡店的老板。你好,我是墨宸,想要什么,寿命来换!