, 1882-11-11
Ascending Washington Monument.


'ihs 10 De a big thing. As the Superin-
tendent said, it is not open for exhibition.
OUT good many people are visiting it
uaily, ana such as are bold enough to
mount the elevator with its load of gran
lie and marble are permitted to 90 ND.
SO that 1t does not interfere with the
workmen. Looking up from the foot of
the monument, those workmen. over
three hundred feet above, appear ike so
many flies on the ceiling of room-not
bigger nor more distinct. Threading
passage among the piles of finished stone,
mounted to the elevated railway that
runs into the door Of the monument. The
door fronts up the wall eastward toward
the Capitol, and looks ike an embrasure
IN the fifteen feet of solid masonry. The
little railway truck runs directly on the
elevator. On 1t is granite block seven
feet four inches long, three feet six and
half inches wide, and two feet thick. By
the side Of this truck of stone take nv
stand on the elevator, the man pulls the
small cable and up We CO. There is moth
ing behind to prevent stepping off and
falling from this open platform, and 1
freeze on to the side of that granite block
and wonder how | would look at the bot
tom of 300-foot shaft with such rock on
top of me. The elevator nan calmly reads
a yellow-backed novel by the single ray
Of yellow light which strikes his corner of
the elevator from above. This is re-as-
suring. ! know | shouldn't want TO be
found dead with yellow backed novel in
my hand, and | feel that the elevator
man must be very confident. There is no
light save that which comes in at the top,
and looking upward the orIfice appears
Ike the top of 4 huge chimney The
four walls Of this chimney look damp and
gloomy, and they give back the trembling
motion Of the elevator playing between
It's four iron stems with a painful dis
tInctness. There are four other iron
stems several feet away, Just outside of
the elevator grooves, and to the furthest
from us the staircases of iron are at
tached The broad stairs rise in ten-foot
flights on the north and south sides of the
shaft, the east and west sides being con-
Meeting platforms. The stairs are seven
{. ct wide aboye the old work and only
five below. For the thickness of the
walls was lessened from where the new
work began, the size of the wall being in
creased thereby from % feet square to
81 feet 81 inches. This WAS because 1t
was found that the walls was unneces-
sarily thick. From the new work to the
'op these walls rise with sharp perpendic-
rIarIty. The space between the elevator
ar.l the iron staircase is about three feet,
illt. llit ubhOlC SCI w 4ioh tuoiii5
stroIgIy girded together. The inner fac
ms otthe wall is of alternate blocks Of
marble and granite IL this facing on
the eastaud west sides, above the plat
forms or andings, will be placed the vari-
ous desigis and rare stones presented
! by foreign governments Those now set
in the older PORTIONS of the masonry were
built with the walls. As We approach
the top | have yhe curiosity to peep over
the edge just ,nce. After that am
triie nervous, and wonder if We will ever
get up. The elevator man is still alb
sorbed IN his yell,w- backed literature.
Perhaps he is reading OF the duel or the
abduction, and sill forget to stop when
We get to the top. Frtm that moment it
seems long time 10 mn. The elevator
man, after being asked twice, says it is
but a seven minutes TIM. To me 1t
seems twenty, and step ott on the plat
form To the masonry with ceiling Of in
tense relief