This shaft is located about 264 feet westerly of the West Shaft. Its
dimensions are six feet by thirteen in the clear. The rock to be removed
from an area of eight feet by fifteen. The labor is done by contract.
The first price was $40 per foot; increased July 1, 1866, to $50 per
foot. The State furnishes all the materials for construction, and the
power to raise the stone and water from the shaft. The depth of the
shaft will be 277 feet when open to grade. On the first day of December,
the miners working down had progressed 180 feet, and those working from
the tunnel up 45 feet. It was then calculated that the shaft would be
excavated in two months. Plans for permanent pumps had been prepared; to
furnish the pumps according to the plans, would take several mouths. In
the meantime, a temporary pump was to be made at North Adams, under the
direction of the engineer.
On the first day of January, about thirty-eight feet of stone remained
for excavation in this shaft. The water in the tunnel stopped the work
from below, and the work is driven upon one face only at the present
time.
There are two small engines at this point, one of fourteen and one of
ten horse power. The pumps at this shaft, if constructed agreeably to
the design of the engineer, will discharge sixty-five gallons to a
stroke and are to be worked by a bull engine. The lift of the water will
be eighty feet less than at West Shaft, being discharged about 40 feet
below the surface.