Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 45.djvu/632

 besides those which have already undertaken to go there, to an extent that will make it the foremost power-consuming center in the world.

The chief piece of work in connection with the power installation has been the construction of what, in almost any other situation, would be termed the tailrace. In this case the head utilized is so great that what is ordinarily understood by a tailrace would be an artificial chasm of abysmal proportions that would almost require illumination other than the natural to be visible to the bottom at midday. Instead, a tunnel has been excavated, of which



the dimensions are so remarkable as to make it unique among engineering exploits of the kind.

The location of the power house, on account of difficulty in acquiring sufficient adjacent lands and rights of way and for other reasons, is not very close to the falls. The Cataract Construction Company has established itself about a mile and a half above the American Fall, and has dug a canal of considerable width, of a depth of twelve feet, and length fifteen hundred feet. Along its edge for a distance of at present one hundred and forty feet is dug a great trench or slot one hundred and sixty feet