No spring was
discovered, so Uncle Ed had to construct his large filter. Bill and I went
over to Lumberville in search of a couple of cider barrels and a pailful
of charcoal. The barrels were placed one on top of the other after cutting
a large hole in the top of the lower barrel, and a smaller one in the
bottom of the upper one. The latter opening was covered by an inverted
saucer. Over this we spread a 3-inch layer of coarse sand, then a 2-inch
layer of charcoal, a 4-inch layer of clear, sharp sand, and a 2-inch top
layer of gravel. The lower barrel was provided with a faucet, through
which we could draw off the filtered water as desired. In order to keep
the water cool we placed the filters in a shady place near the river, and
piled up earth around the lower barrel.
"Now, boys," said Uncle Ed, "form in line there, and we will go through a
fire drill."
He arranged us about five feet apart in a line extending from the filter
to the river. We had six pails, and these Dutchy filled one at a time,
passing them up the line to Reddy, who emptied them into the upper barrel
and then threw them back to Dutchy to be refilled. Working in this way it
did not take long to fill up the filter, and the burden of keeping the
barrels full, instead of falling on one person, was shared alike by all.
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