St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-06-28
Our New York Letter.

l.
The stupendous engineering opera
tions incident to the building of the
Brooklyn bridge have been carried on
with wonderful success and safety, the
first serious accident for two years OF
more occurring last week, when one of
the strands belonging to the four great
cables was being put in place. This
strand was something like half a mile
long, reaching from the Brooklyn to
the New York anchorage, and weighed
about forty tons. 1t had been made
fast at the Brooklyn end, drawn up in
safety over the Brooklyn pier, across
the river over the New York pier, and
was just about to be finally attached at
the New York anchorage, when one of
the wire ropes of the hosting apparatus
parted. Then, in the words of an eye
witness, "with roar like that of an
immense cannon" the strand sprang like
a great snake away back into the air,
up towards the pier-tower on the edge
of the river, with cloud of dust. For
a moment the whole platform of granite
quivered under the terrible recoil and
then the strand sagged between the
towers, its middle burying itself in the
river with long white splash, throwing
the water up like submarine explosion
in all directions all the way across.
Fortunately, the river was clear, and
the only damage done was the wetting
of ferry-boat which was passing at
the time. The spring of the wire car
ried 1T clear over the houses in the 900
feet interval up to the pier, except that
ii knocked down one chimney and cut
off telegraph poles. Two men who
were engaged in the work were struck
by the flying monster and hurled into
eternity. 1t seemed almost IA miracle
that such an accident could occur with
out greater loss of life, especially us
upon the end of the strand dangled a
mass of iron weighing nearly a ton
but the very immensely of the force
rendered the occurrence so slightly de-
structive by jerking this resistless mis-
sile clean over the houses and streets
between the anchorage and the river.
Had the impetus been less and the pom
derous mass been allowed to drop to the
earth instead of taking this gigantic
leap, the destruction which it might
have wrought is terrible to imagine.
In the Brooklyn Police Court was
witnessed last week the closing scene
of brief but spirited drama combining
romance, comedy and pathos. On the
day previous young lady of twenty
was walking along one of the avenues
OF that city when she suddenly felt her
pocket-boOk taken from her hand and
turning about saw a man making off
with 1t. Being a girl of spirit, she in
continently gave chase but after run
ming several blocks she found that the
object of her pursuit was widening the
distance between them. Seeing a butch
er's cart standing by the sidewalk she
jumped in, whipped up, and after a
brief but exciting race Overhauled the
culprit. He was quite inoffensive look
ing man of middle age with nothing of
the thief in his appearance, and when
lnterrogated by the girl as to the cause
of his crime broke completely down.
saying that he had gone almost crazy
at watching his wife and two little chill
dren starve and that he had taken the
pocketbook in fit of momentary des-
peration. Said the young lady in court
next day, "When he told me how his
family were suffering, | went with him
to his house, and found it Just as he
stated. He took his little child on his
knee and cried, and his wife could not
Imagine what it was all about He did
not want me to tell her, but he finally
told her himself that he had taken nv
pocketbOOk. | then gave her part of
my money. Then the officers came and
L told them did not wish to make any
complaint against him, and would not
have come here if | had not been COM
PEELED to-" There were applause and
tears a plenty from the courtroom
audience that morning. The prepos-
sessing appearance of the soreIy tempted
prisoner and the heart breaking story
OF his sufferIngs from sickness and alb
solute penury which was told by his
falr advocate with earnest simplicity,
worked strongly even upon the Judge,
whose daily experiences are such as to
render him proof against any ordinary
displays of emotion.
The charge upon which the man had
been committed was a grave one. that
of highway robbery and had it not
been for the girls effective PLEADING
long imprisonment must have followed.
SISfn
sultatiOn was had with the district at
t0rney and his consent obtained to a
change of the record, which enabled the
Judge to discharge the grateful prisoner.
VINO, am happy to say, found friends
at once, and is in no further danger of
want. The heroine of the affair has
since received complimentary letters
from all quarters for her humane and
spirited conduct.
There was piece of quick railroad
building done in Brooklyn the other
night. A company had a charter to
build rapid-transit road from Fulton
ferry right through the heart of the
city, the only condition being that a
mile of the road should be built within
certain time. This time, after having
been several times extended by tbe
Legislature, was about to expire. and a
very valuable franchise to become lost.
80 the company collected some four
hundred workmen and sufficient ma
terIal, conveyed them quietly to the
spot after nightfall, and commenced
work. When the astonished residents
along the route awoke the next morn |
ing there lay a mile of track, ties, rails.
and joints all complete, and the new
rapid transit line had thus, in the night.
become fixed fact.