employed to obtain an overflowing Well. 329 
was overcome ; but a few days afterwards I discovered that 
the upper part of the well had not been properly constructed, 
and it became necessary to take down about 10 feet of brick- 
work. The water, which was now a continued stream, ren- 
dered this extremely difficult to execute. I began by construct- 
ing a wooden cylinder 12 feet long, which was let down into 
the well, and suspended to a strong wooden stage above, upon 
which I had fixed two very large pumps, of sufficient power to 
take off all the water that the spring could furnish, at 1 1 feet 
below the surface. The stage and cylinder were so contrived 
as to prevent the possibility of any thing falling into the well ; 
and I contrived a gage, by which the men upon the stage 
could always ascertain to the greatest exactness the height of 
the water within the cylinder. This precaution was essentially 
necessary, in order to keep the water a foot below the work 
which was doing on the outside of the cylinder, to prevent the 
new work from being wetted too soon. After every thing was 
prepared, we were employed eight days in taking down 10 
feet of the wall of the well, remedying the defects, and build- 
ing it up again ; during which time ten men were employed, 
five relieving the other five, and the two pumps were kept 
constantly at work during one hundred and ninety -two 
hours. By the assistance of the gage, the water was never 
suffered to rise upon the new work until it was made fit to 
receive it. When the cylinder was taken out, the water again 
ran over into the temporary channel that conveyed it into 
the road. 
The top of the well was afterwards raised 18 inches, and con- 
structed in such a manner as to be able to convey the water 
