The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1856-11-21

200 woodoock, 10 bosn' heads,
400 plover, % bbls. oysters, --s
200 ducks, 200 plates rslishcs.
100 geese, 200 plates sandwiches,
1000 lbs. beef, 200 jellies and blanc mango,
1000 lbs. mutton. 200 charlotte ruse,
$50 lbs. veal, Apples, grapes, cakes, 4c.
$50 hams, 800 baskets Mumm's vsr.
lenay Champagne.
The days proceedings closed with . Torch
Light Procession. The procession was re-
spectacle In number, and some Of the de-
vices and transparencics were very 6ns, but
as whole we think, the Yankees can beat
the Canadians in Arranging torch light
marches. .E
SECOND DAY.
EXCURSION TO the VICTORIA BRIDGE AND tn.
WATER WORKS.
Thursday morning was exceedingly pleas
ant. The sun shone out in great brightness
as the first party lef, The Island wharf abou
Q A. NJ, in the Steamer Muskrat for an ex.
cursion 10 Victoria Bridge and The Water
Works. The distance IRON Island wharf 10
Victoria Bridge 10 about two miles. About
5000 persons took advantage Of this oppor.
,unity to view the massive structure now in
progress and designed 10 span The waien o.
the majestic St. Lawrence. Our readers
can obtain some faint idea Of its immense
proportions and stupendousness from the fol
lowing, which We copy from The Portland
Advertiser, the editor Of which has been
enabled to realize in some degree.
TIE VICTORIA BRIDGE As COMPLETED.
Looking ut 1t then, through the ''mInds
eye, HOratio," we behold gigantic structure
OF iron and stone extending from river bank
TO river bank, 10 292 feet or nearly two Eng
Iish miles. or this extent, 1000 feet ATE
taken up with the abutmenis and approach
es of the two ends, viz: with the abuimen,
800 leo, long and Ito approach on tho south.
ern side, aud the 200 feet abutment aud
its approach OH The northern, or Montreal
side-,hs abutmen's being Of stone with
hollow chambers, aud the approaches oi
mixed earth and stone. There remains,
ther eio,e, for the bridge proper, 1000 feet,
or nearly mile and one third. How, then,
Is this vast sheet Of water, flowing swiit, and
sometimes piled to the height Of 80 feet
with hinge masses OF ice, to be sparned
We find "a stone piers, standing 242 feet
apart, perpendicular on three aides, and
sloping down 10 the waler's edge, like a
,now pillow, on The river ride III exception
however, to this general statement, u should
he observed that the center span il $3.50 wide,
Tor The purposes OF navigation, and 10 bound
ell By piers much larger than The others
Resting, without other support, on these
piers, and running from abn'ment To abui
ment, IS The bridge, consisting OF q great
hollow iron tube, % feet high in Tho middle
by &c wide. and descending to 10 ieet hinh
ut the Two ends Now let US remind the
reader ha, all the envravines he has prob
ably seen Of this structure, do moi give hin
a correct idea in one particular. They rep
resent il as horizontal whereas the centre
span is TO be Go lee, above the average leve
ii the water, thence sinking gradually tow
ards either end loot in $50, thus maxim.
me height Of the abutments about 81 feet
And so, in these terminal masses OF mason
~, in these "a colossal piors breastiny Tor al
,ine the floods OF the 81. Lawrence, in th
enormous tube of iron through which loade,
trains will shoot like weaver's shuille--yol
have The Victoria Bridge. the wonder Of tn
void Statistics cannot enhance our al
miralion, still we odd. that the estimate,
cost is over 81, 600. 900, that The weigh, q
iron in tho tubes only will be 5000 tons. an,
the contents Of The masonry will be- 2,0O0,
zoo cutie feet But, afier saying that 'h
whole WILDE completed In the fall Of 10 O
. the sp,ing OF GO, 1t Ia time 10 paS TO ;
THE PRESENT STATE OF THE BRIDGE.
/, We were to land on The northern side, o
near Point ST. Charles-but looking scros
the river wecould see that The southern abu
: men, and two piers were finished, or nearl
= 50. On our landing side were seven pier
completed aud The abullneDt. The piel
:, are of stone SQUARED and dressed III III
' edges. The hollow chambers in the abu
: mems, to which wa have before referred
Q are archad ior sustaining the roadway. I'll
;. whole wark. when viewed al hand. Is OF ih
most Titanic character, aud would seem
y defy any destructive element, short OF a
t earthquake which should topple down u
= mountains. But at the same time, such
- The magnlcencs OF The surrounding sceneI
4" and the grea, scale Of the 81. Lawrence
, self, that the works appear bat ordinary
o the distant observer.
a The current is very swift here, and h,
a been increased by the pushing out Of Ii
- abutments. In many places the water seer
.. shallow, but in laying the foundations
f" the piers, it has been found that the bed
Ne the river consists mostly of u deposit Of loo
/, stones OF all sizes. Three thousand tons
such materials had to be removed to nal
n room for the filth pier alone, one Of Il
IT stones weighing, according to its admeasur
&c ment, about IL tons. The engineer, S
>, Alex Ross, says, .'masses of 3 and tol
., are strcwcd Us thickly Us pebbles on the q
u shore" The method Of construction, as
n probably well known, is by Golfer dam
jv built Of framework TO exclude the water
:. The stone is carried forward from shore
= abutment and pier, m needed, by small ire
10 railways piled by suitable cars with suspen,
il ing boOks-thus avoiding the use of de-
ID ricks. Already it is calculated that $50, 90
tons Of iron have been used.
From the lower side of the northern abu
70 ment new wharf extends sloping dow
d stream into fourteen feet Of water. This
|, to afford river crafts of all ordinary sizes a
- opportunity for tnnshipment ofgoods, will
|" out the necessity of carting.
% From the Bridge the company passed !
y some thirty cars to the wheel house Of tn
MONTREAL WATER WORKS,
distance Of about three miles. These wa
ter works are Of great magnitude, and al
} built to supply the City with a mover fail
I ing supply Of excellent water. In some pal
ticulars they resemble the water works o
Philadelphia at Fairmont. The supply Q
water is obtained from the st. Lawrenc
about one and half miles above the La
chine Rapids, q dirtancc Of five miles an
brought to the wheel house, in canal o
open acqueduct, 40 feet wide on the waite
surface and eight feet deep at tho loves