"ABYSSINIAN" PUMP. 



457 



The operation described on page 456 can usually be performed without 

 any difficulty. Sometimes, however, the tube may come in contact with a 

 large stone, and in that case the experiment must be tried elsewhere ; but, as 

 a rule, the pointed tube, in consequence of its small size and penetrative power, 

 pushes any moderately-sized ob- 

 stacle aside, readily turns aside 

 itself, or passes between pieces 

 of stone to the desired depth. 

 Nine times out of ten the 

 operation will be successful, and 

 the experiment will not occupy 

 more than an hour, under ordi- 

 nary circumstances, and the 

 tubing (and pump) may be 

 obtained at a moderate price, 

 which can even be diminished 

 by arrangement. Ordinary 

 wells are relatively very diffi- 

 cult to sink, and the soil thrown 

 out from the pit is in the way, 

 while a parapet is necessary to 

 protect the opening. Besides, 

 should water not be found after 

 much work, the expense and 

 trouble of digging will be use- 



lessly incurred. Thanks to the 

 tube system, we can search or 

 probe for water anywhere with 

 ease, and if we do not find it 

 in one spot we can easily move 

 on to another without incurring 

 any serious trouble or expense. 

 We believe the idea of 

 these " instantaneous wells " 

 originated in the United States 

 during the War of Secession, 

 when some soldiers of the 

 Northern army sunk rifle barrels 

 into the ground, and obtained 

 water in a barren land. To 

 Mr. Norton the development of 

 the idea is due, and in the Abyssinian Expedition the utility of the 

 notion was fully demonstrated. Since that time M. Donnet of Lyons 

 has modified and improved the tube-well, and arranged all the materials, 

 including wider tubing and the hammers upon a carriage, thus giving 



Fig. 485. Abyssinian Pump. 



