Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 February 1877 — The Sewers of Paris. [ARTICLE]

The Sewers of Paris.

-Most of our countrymen who come Abroad now make a visit to the sewers of iParia one of the objects of their sojourn i» the gay city. The trip is not a difficult one to accomplish. An application to oar Minister is alone necessary to obtain one «r more of the tickets which are issued by the authorities for the monthly -exclusions to those lower regions. On -the day and at the hour stated on his £fefcat#e curious stranger must present Aianself at the Place da Chatelet There, k company with some sixty or seventy other sight-seers, be will be invited to dencead into the bowels of the earth by means of a commodious winding staircase •of iron. Arrived at the foot of this stair<xase, he will find himself at the entrance a spacious, well-lighted tunnel, lined with while cement ana surprisingly clean, <.dry and sweet-smelling. He and his comxtm will then take their places on a aeries of small hand-cars, each propelled Iw four men, which run on rails placed

at either side of the reservoir, the water of which may be seen flowing beneath the feet of the passenger. At a given signal the men start off at full trot, and the cars roll rapidly along the rails and through the tunnel. On cither side Of the roof of the vault extends a huge black iron tube; these tubes are the water-pipes that convey to Paris the waters of die Vanne and of the Ourcq; while in the center of the roof a cluster of leaden pipes is visible, through each of which is passed a tele-graph-wire, our dangerous and disfiguring system of telegraph-poles being unknown in Paris. A snort ride brings the travelers to the great reservoir that lies under the Rue Royale; the cars are then exchanged for large flat-bottomed boats, which are slowly propelled over the black waters till the staircase leading up to the entrance to the sewers that lies just back of the Madeleino is reached, and the journey is at an end; the sewers have been visited. Of course, this portion of the great work which is thrown open monthly for the reception of visitors no more compares with the other sewers of the city than a lady’s drawing-room does with her nursery uid kitchen. It is the show-place of the whole. Yet from its spacious dimensions, immaculate cleanlibess and thorough ventilation a good idea may be gaineaof the extent and grandeur or the subterranean world that underlies the Paris of to-day, and serves to keep its streets clean and inodorous even in the hottest weather. The present system of Parisian sewerage dates from 185? only. It was planned by one M. Belgrand, whose name deserves to descend to posterity as that of the man who has done more for Paris than the architects of the Louvre or of the Arc de Triomphe. He was made absolute sovereign of the subterranean world of Paris, and, thanks to his skill and intelligence, this city now possesses the most perfect and extensive drainage in the world. Her 850,000 meters of streets are cleansed by 773,000 meters of sewers. These subterranean canals are divided into two classes, the sewers and the collectors. The first, passing under eveiy street, receiye the impurities of the city and transfer them to the collectors, which carry them off to their distant destination. The backbone of a fish would well represent the system, the spine being the collector and the projecting bones the sewers. The collectors are situated in the valleys lying between the numerous hills that diversify the surface of Paris, so that the natural slope of the earth" may facilitate the transport of the sewage. There are three of these Ssat arteries—one on the left bank of the ine, and the other two on the right. All accumulation of solid matter is'removed by means of broad iron blades attached to the stern of those great fiatboats of which I have spoken at the beginning of this paper. These blades, pierced each with three or four openings, act as rakes, and remove every portion of the deposit, which is used for manure. There are numbers of odd articles to be found in this deposit—coins, jewels and silverware, weapons that have served to commit crimes, bodies of dead animals, corpses of murdered infants, etc. The inost common of these waifs and strays are corks, which are to be found, not by hundreds nor by thousands, but by millions. Thrifty Paris does not let these still serviceable articles escape; they are collected, cleansed, dried and pared, and are then sold to perfumers or druggists. They come from the wine-shops which abound in every street in the city. After the Commune the sewers were examined, and were found to be strewn with arms. The wretched Communists, finding themselves defeated, and knowing that certain death awaited them if they were captured with arms in their hands, threw down the openings of the sewers their guns, swords and cartridges, even their military caps and scarlet sashes. Six wagon-loads of arms and ammunition were taken from the sewers and transferred to the arsenal. The sewers are under the charge of 650 egoutier*— or sewerers, to translate the word literally. As there exist some 350 miles of sewers in Paris, it will be seen that this number does not afford a man to everj* half mile. These egoutiers must be men of unimpeachable physique and perfect health; they are submitted to a thorough medical examination before they, are admitted to the corps, and even the slightest trace of pulmonary weakness will cause the applicant to be at once rejected. For, as may well be imagined, the work is anything but healthy, notwithstanding the precautions taken as to ventilation and cleanliness. The damp, the lack of light and the foul air undermine the constitution of the strongest egoutier, and it is estimated that but few of them can prolong their service beyond a period of fifteen years. They suffer from rheumatism and anaemia, and it has been noticed that individuals from the south of France break down far sooner than do those from more northern climes. The state aids as far as possible in the preservation of their health by furnishing them with the enormous boots which they invariably wear, and which form the distinctive mark of tlieir calling. These boots, which reach half way up the thigh, are specially manufactured for the Government, and are of the stoutest possible leather, the soles being well garnished with great nails. Eveiy egoutier receives two pairs of these boots annually, and, thanks to their protection, ke can tramp with impunity through water or mud at will. At the end of six months the feet of these boots are worn out, rotteu and unfit for further service. The old pairs are preserved by the authorities, and are sold at auction in stacks of 100 paire each. They are bought by a speculator for the sake of the legs, which are always in good preservation, and the leather of which, softened and rendered supple by six months’ usage, is subjected to a pern, liar mode of dressing, and is then employed in the manufacture of the finest quality of ladies’ walking-boots. It is said that such supple, fine and strong leather can be obtained by no other Known process Lipuincotfs Magazine. Statistics nave oeen recently rumished in regard to the size and development of Americana, which are of interest. They serve to dissipate a good many unfounded notions that have crept into the general mind, and have obtained wide credence. These statistics were compiled from those taken in examining men for the army. Toward.the close of the war, when the average age of soldiers was the highest, there were examined 10,163 men, of whom 6,859 were native-born, 589 Canadians, 454 Englishmen, 1,417 Irishmen «hd 1,343 Gem ans. The mean height of the Americans was the greatest, 5 feet 7.9 inches; of the Canadians, 5 leet 7.5 inches; of the Englishmen, 5 feet 6.3 inches; of the Irishmen, 5 feet 6.5 inches: of the Germans, 5 feet 5.9 inches. The difference between the Germans, who were the shortest, and the Americans, who were the tallest, was about-2 inches. Colorado has over half a million head of cattle, and Wyoming 900,000.