In a message dated 8/3/2007 3:30:55 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: We dug with railroad pick, mattock, and shovel in my day...not dig bars - like they do now. I wore down the tip of my Estwing rock pick to a nubbing... The reconstituted adobe off the walls of the 18th century Spanish cannon battery at Ballast Point, San Diego, California was so tough my crew hammered marlin spikes into it to break it down for screening. We also used those old antique screwdrivers that were cast steel from the tip to the handle and literally sculpted our way through the adobe. But I would expect most people on HISTARCH have never heard of such tough soil. Ron May Legacy 106, Inc. ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour