St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-01-12
rFrom a Letter in New York Sun.


PAY FOR 1T.
From Letter in New York SUM-
If one feels desire to sup full on
horrors in Washington, there is no
way in which success is so certain and
so speedy as an ascent of the 3I5 feet
of the unfinished Washington monu-
ment. Although no accident of any
kind whatever has happened since the
work was begun, owing to the admira-
BILE precautions that have been OBJ
served, the mere contemplation of the
dangers to be avoided would give Gen.
Washington himself, if he were alive,
the cold creeps. 1t must be remem-
bered that the monument Is already
among the highest structures i'll the
world, while the transportation of the
gigantic blocks of stone to the top is
something which has no parallel in this
country, and has seldom been equaled
anywhere. Whether the ascent is cal
culated to inspire fear or not may be
imagined from the reply made by one
of the highest officials in Washington
to the inquiry, ''Were yOu-were yOI
not just little frightened going up -
enlightened | was perfectly terri
fed ~ was the hearty response, given
with all the force of emphasis.
The ascent is made by the elevator,
which runs through the middle of the
great obelisk. This elevator is a mere
open platform, which does not deserve
the name of the alleviatOr, as Mrs. Gen.
Gilhory puts it it is rather the terri
fer. Every time it goes up it carries
from five to ten tons of stone, and the
only way for visitors to get to the top
is to huddle around the immense mass
of stone on the iabo!ical-loOking ma
chine. The platform begins to move
slowly and labOriously upward, grind
ing and crealing at every inch from
the enormous weight it lifts. In half
Il minute the light of day totally disap-
pears, and at that moment the horrors
of the position suddenly swoOp down
upon me. To be dangling hundreds of
feet above Il chasm with only rope
between IL fall to the bottom with TO-
600 pounds of stone is enough to appal
any Imagination. Although the dark
ness is blackness incOnceivable, and
the intense silence broken only by the
groaning of the great mass feeling its
way painfully upward, yet the fright
ful abyss appears to become of itself
both audible and visible. The last
$50 feet of balancing between life and
death. Even the elevator man gives
up his heroic efforts to keep up the
courage of the party.
At length light from the top begins
to appear, and in minute or two Il
pallid party of pleasure seekers step
out on the platform ut the top, nearly
100 feet in the air. There is an enOr-
nous iron structure running through
the middle of the obelisk and around
this the stone is blocked. Six feet are
added every week i'll three tiers of two
foot blocks. The structure is then six
| feet above the temporary platform
which is thereupon raised, and the
work of bringing it six feet above the
| level is recommended. A net work Oi
rope is securely fixed around the tOl
of the shaft, extending several feet off,
to catch any unfortunate man who
might drop Over-the wOrkmen are
compelled to he on the very edge in
order to complete the outer layer Ot
stone. A young lady not long since
in spirit of bravadO, threw herself
into this life-saving net. A weak spot
in the rope would have sent her nearly
400 feet to the earth. A cOntrivanct
like the rigging of a ship is on top Ot
the shaft, and the wind hOwls through
it with enormous force. When tiel
or two of stone is laid the workmel
are protected in measure from the
violence of the wind, but they acknowl-
edge that when they are working on {
/ L. 1 IL.
If anything could repay one for the
horrors of the ascent it would be the
view after reaching the top. Even til,
most hardened sight-seer must be en-
thusiastic at the great panorama spreaC
out before him. The vast treasury
building looks like Il Liliputian house
The plan of Washington becomes IL
well defined as n checker-bOard. The
full grandeur of the capitol is then 10
the first time realized. When it il
remembered that the capitol is of nj
most the identical dimensions of TIN
great pyramid and of st. Peters, be
ing perhaps a few feet longer than ei
ther, it may seem that it has nOthin;
to lose by looking at it from any pOin
of elevation. Everything else grow
minute from the top of the mOnumen
except the white splendor of the capi
tol. 1t seems to he on mountain in
stead of a hill, and amid the diminish
ing of every other object the grea
white dome stands grandly out, 5
high that it looks as though poised i
air.
A look at the elevator and propo
sition to descend is enough to kill an
enthusiasm, however. But il is b
comparison with the ascent simpl
delightful. There is no mountain {
stone to make one fancy how it woul
feel to 90 to the bottom of the hideou
. hole with it. To the simultaneous an
I earnest assurances made to the eleva
p tor man that nobody in the part
I would ever do so any more, he sardon
I cally replied, ''All of 'em SAYS that !"
n The Lumber Industry of VeI
e mont.