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The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., March 15, 1912, page 1

WORK AT NARROWS
Long Tunnel - Now Sluicing at Site Farther Up Valley

     Out at the Narrows where Chas. Flick, the eccentric German, led a hermit's life, setting out a few apple trees and inclined to fight away all sight seers, there is something doing in the way of work. Excavations, tunnels, holes, piles of rocks, engines and cook houses indicate usual operations.
     Stone & Webster, electrical contractors of Boston, are following out the plans of engineer Walsh for the construction of an immense dam for the Northwestern Electric Co. Nearly $5,000 has already been spent in the experimental work. We say "experimental" for it is not certain that the dam will be erected at the present site, which is ideal as a site, but may not be at a part of the river where a suitable foundation for the concrete abutment may be found.
     Parts of the hill have been gouged out by hydraulics, a 12 inch pipeline having been laid for over a half a mile, connecting with a creek high upon the mountainside back of the Kuhne farm. When the nozzle spurts with this great pressure behind it the earth flies and is washed hastily away. The construction of this pipeline was no small job in itself.
     From one of these excavations a six-foot tunnel now leads about 175 feet into the hillside, men picking away at the stones and gravel by candle light and hauling out in wheelbarrows. It has all the appearance of a mine. The tunnel is made for the purpose of finding bedrock capable of being drained of all water. The abutment must rest on good foundation. For the pressure upon it with building of the dam will be something tremendous. A powerful donkey engine has been placed at this point ready for business. The steam shovel has been left near Grange Park for hydraulics may be sufficient for all digging.
     The contractors have not decided to abandon the present site yet, but Monday began sluicing nearly half a mile higher up on a point directly back of the Kuhne place. This work is purely experimental, for while it will make a good dam site it is much wider than the Narrows, the point preferred. It has been reported that all works had ceased, but the writer found it far from otherwise.

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©  Jeffrey L. Elmer