Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-10-15
PRAIRIE Du OH1EN.
Old Fort Crawford-Zach Taylor and Jen
Davia-John LAWYERS Floating Railroad
Bridse-HOw 1t Is Bnllt-The Advantages
Claimed for IT.
Correspondence Of The Chicago Tribune.

ner OF vicissitudes. Young towns
like young people, not unfrequentiy
outstrlp the old; and age and pros
perlty, In the case of the one as o
The other, are very often strangers
Prairie du Chen is an instance of {
town old 10 years, but great neither
in magnifcence NORM wealth. When
Prairie du CHEN Was founded, Phil
adelphia was not, and Chicago wa
not dreamt of. Indeed, Prairie du
Chen might he the grandmother oil
your Metropolis. The name is nc
misnomer. 1t Is prairie and, as
one meets with dog hero and there,
the propriety of the appendage "du
CHEN" is of course quite apparent.
Still, the prairie here is no such
prairie as that on which Chicago is
bnilt. 1t is only 5 miles in length
by z in width, 1t is entirely sur
rounded by high bluffs, save Ga one
portion, aid there it is bounded by
the Father of Waters. The MAPLE
tree abounds in this vicinity.
Among the associations of the
place is old Fort Crawford, of which
now scarcely vestage remains. A
convent marks the site of the fort,
and nuns are telling their beads
where Zach Taylor and Jefferson
Davis began their military career.
The people of Prairie du CHEN take
u pardonable pride ia the fact that
one who afterwards became Chief
Magistrate of his country was resi-
dent of their town. They, in some
way inexplicable to ordinary minds,
connect his greatness with his resi-
dence here. But, alas for the con.
sistency of man when you begin to
talk of Jeff. Davis, the case is quite
altered, He, they would prefer US
to believe, would have been much
worse than an arch-Rebel had he
never lived on the prairie.
An object of more modern interest
than Fort Crawford is the new rail-
road-bridge, Il miles in length, that
crosses the Mississippi at this point,
and which connects Prairie du Chen
and McGregor, Ia. This bridge is
exciting great deal OF interest at
the present time, from the fact that
il promises to make 800 900 do the
work of 100000 or 81, 10000 A
stationary bridge of the same length
as that at Prairie du Chen would
cost over 81, 900. 900. This has not
cost much more than 100000. Is
is rs safe, at least, as stationary
bridge; and pilots on the Mississippi
say thac they DO not have one-twen~
tieth the apprehension in approach
log IL that they do in nearing the
enormous stone piers of ordinary
bridges. 1t consists of two parts.
1t is partly fixed and partly nova
BILE. The stationary part does not
differ from the c3ntrivances used to
carry railway trains over swampy
grounds or small streams, and which
are familiar to all railway-travelers
1t is nothing more than pile-bridge.
But, whore the river is deepest, a
floating drawbridge, constructed on
an original principle and plan, and
specially adapted to railway-motion,
is called into service, and in such a
way as not to interfere with the nav.
igation OF the river, since it can be
swung open by steam power in a
minute or less. Over the floating
portion track is laid, just as on sol
id ground, only the road-bed is itself
movable vertically, being adjustable.
by means of enormous screws and
other machinery, to any stage OF
water. The stationary and movable
portions are connected by means of
iron aprons. Your correspondent
saw two trains pass over this bridge,
-one of them a train of twenty-five
cars. They rolled over as easily and
safely as if on solid ground. The
experiment has proved that it is pos
~ible to span q large river with a
floating railroad bridge. At Prairie
du Chen, part of the stationary por-
ton of the bridge runs over small
island in the middle of the river,
which is thus divided into two chan.
nels. Belonging to each channel is
q separate draw bridge 400 feet 10
length. The pontoons, or floating
portions, are fashioned like ordinary
fatboats or scows, but are of great
length, strength, and buoyancy
The bridge and aprons are suitably
braced to bear heavy weights.
1t is claimed that, besides its much
greater cheapness, this form of bridge
has many advantages over any here
tofore 10 use over navigable streams
1t does not interfere with the course
of the river. 1t permits deposits t
be made naturally, thus preventing
change OF channel 1t is absolute
ly safe. Any usual weight upon i
would continue on it, although i
should break away from fits fasten-
ings. 1t permits wider channel L
boats than would be practicable il
the case of stationary bridge
Captains navigating the Mississippi
all testify to It's relatively very grea
safety viewed from their standpoint
Its history is not entirely devoi'
of interest. Years ago, its oringina
tor, constructor, sole proprietor, an'
patentee. Mr.. John Lawler, OF thi
place, entered into a contract wit
the Milwaukee K st. Paul Rallwa,
Company to transfer their treigh
across the Mississippi to the low
side. This be accomplished b.
means of boats. When the st. Pau
l. Nebraska line was completed q
the way to St. Paul, it became ueces
sary to transfer the cars of the roat
as well as the freight, from one sid
to the other of the river. This els
was done by means of steamboats, G
h,tboats When the winter cam
Mr.. L4wler constructed every yea
a temporary pile>bridge over tn
river, and the cars, with their freigh
were passed over it. In spring tt
| nil 8 were torn down. and the frelgt