The Michels cave is set into a cliff face that rises quickly to a sizable elevation. Perhaps because of this there is only one vent hole. Most caves 85 feet in length would have several.
When I got a good look at it I immediately noticed that it was square. Odd. Almost all cave vents are round and I have found evidence that strongly suggests they were drilled up from below with a sort of auger. Otherwise it would not be likely that they would consistently be in the exact center of the cave.
Hmmmmmm.
A closer look shows something even odder. It has a square brick lining. I have never seen anything like it.
OK, so how was this built? We can assume the Michels brothers to have had above average abilities, there is mention of them doing mechanical work and specifically brick work when they were out west during the Gold Rush. The distance from cave roof to surface is not immense, perhaps 15 feet or so. I suppose you could drill a smaller round hole from below, then from above drill a larger hole, then lower a prebuilt brick "chimney" in with a winch. And then what, purposely make the lower hole square? I can't imagine anybody wanting to be held by the ankles and doing the bricks one at a time.......
Oh, here's the top part. The pipe looks to be a modernish replacement. Probably a little structure with a cover once sat here.
As I go here and there I have encountered two previous square vent holes. One is in an "unspecified location" site that had a very short distance to the surface. So apparently there is some way to cut square holes from below.
The other is a very anomalous cave, the Diefenthaler site. This has apparent vent holes that are not only square but in the sides of the chamber. Interestingly this is only a few miles from the Michels cave.....
In addition to wondering how the Michels brothers built the odd vent in their cave I am now wondering if they perhaps built the Fritz Diefenthaler cave. It is an attractive theory. Obviously the locations are close. The Diefenthaler cave was build in "the late 1850's" when C. and J. Michels were new to town and looking to put their building skills to work. Who knows, perhaps working on this project was what gave them the idea to enter the brewing trade. They were certainly a lot more successful at it than Fritz Diefenthaler proved to be.
How large is the hole in the ceiling? I'm having trouble with the scale. And is the bottom course of brick resting on top of the layer of stone that makes up the cave ceiling?
ReplyDeleteToo small for a skinny 1860's dude to work from below? In theory you could chisel the hole in the ceiling, dig out some dirt, build up a course or two of brick, remove more dirt, lay in more brick, and in that way build the whole shaft from below. All of which would be frightfully annoying to do. But there aren't any ways I can think of that are easy.
Old-West timber-shored mineshafts (including for ventilation) are typically square, so maybe they were inspired by their time hanging out with gold miners?
Or gnomes. They could always have hired gnomes.
Bear
ReplyDeleteThe shaft is about 18 inches square. And there is no dirt, this was solid rock from cave to surface. The distance of the shaft is maybe 8 to ten feet. The hole in the ceiling is just a bit smaller, maybe 15 inches square.
It makes no sense at all, nor does the equally puzzling system in the (potentially) related Diefenthaler cave.
Inspired by gold mines. I do like that theory.
TW