The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1880-12-16

The cry Of ''let 20 that stern line and hold
fast the capstan spike !" rang out cheerily on
air ~ the commanding voice OF Captain L.
g. Wood rose above the tumult Of the multi
tude upon the shore. The Government snag
boat, which had been built and successfully
launched, was casting loose for her long and
arduous trip upon the dark and treacherous
waters that wind from the aurifer0us
regions OF the Occident, by our proud
city, to the jctty bound tide which COM
mingles with the restless Gulf stream en-
circling . world. In an attitude Of deep
thought stood Lieut.. J. II. Curtis, OF the Uni
ted States Engineer Corps, upon the PROV Of
the vessel; the light wind coyly rippled the
waters against the gunwales Of the boat.
which. rebounding. kissed each alternate on
ward wavelet, finally tapping with a chuck
and splash the dragged edge Of the ice upon
the western shore. Slowly the huge levia-
than bent to the influences Of the resistless
current Of the old Rackensack, swinging her
head msjesticsIly around yet - noiselcssly Is
flows the electric current along the tiny wire.
simultaneously shout from the expectant
and excited crowd which lined the eastern
bank, rent the air. Capt. Wood responded
with . graceful wave Of the hand, and an.
swered back thst when next they beheld him |
be would be standing beside the helm OF
some proud steamer laden with thousand |
tons Of rich merchandise from the land of the |
orange grove, the throbs of whose mighty |
engines aud the whirl of whose revolving |
wheels would throw an ordinary sand-bar |
higher than yon church steeple Visions Of
the coming future Of our great commercial
artery were thicker than huckleberries. The
heated crowd upon the bridge below swayed
to and fro in expectancy, and as the snag
with its snOw-white canvass cover.
ing obeyed the impulse Of the downward
current, huzzas again drowned every other
noise, handkerchief were waved and beau.
tiful bouquets in the hands OF lovely women
bcckoned on the band of heroes. Lee Nixon
had sought the highest tressle, declaring that
> failure with the moon In the then present
'ign an impossibility. But
"what shadows we are,
And what shadows we pursue. +"
Alas for mOonOlogy, and alas for the CON-
nittce on Rivers and Harbors, that boat had
rot got half way to the bridge. she had made
tut one hundred and forty feet of her one
thousand forty miles when she suddenly. un.
and all unexpectedly came TO ,
dead stop. Flat stuck she was on a sand
'ar. The irst mate, with the rubber thigh
Ugh boots and lead in hand. leaped overheard
nd-lit in water just y inche. deep. He
raded clear across and found that naviga- :
ion had closed for the season. The entire
rev stepped CALAMITY overheard hoping u
elicve the stress OF the situation, but-weli
he girls chueked their bouquets beneath
heir aprons and the boys struck back for
own up side alleys leaving Nixon looking :,
ltcrnatcly for the rising moon and at an arti-
lie he had written for the EAGLE demon
rating the feasibility Of rendering the nayi-
ability Of the Arkansas possibility.
IL anybody suppOses that this winds up our >,
Nc they are badly fooled. That's mere Sc ;.
nel to the first chapter-a first resultant OF :,
he EAGLE's-Tom -navi gation !,
Twenty.six expert :,
need navigators are snatching thunder out =
the snags and sand-bars four miles below
'e city. A report has gone to the depart
ent and rcd-taped and my sterious looking
will find its way to the room Of the
on Internal Improvements recon-
ending that, in accordance with the cngi- !"
'er's scientific reports, estimates aud pro-
es now ON file. there be and is hereby ap-
Opriated the further sum Of one hundred
ousand dollars for the Improvement Of the
aging RackeBsack.