Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1883-07-19
Bridge Builders Who Died Before the
End.

/ Bridge Builders Who Died Before tn
) End.
, IN. Y. Correspondence of San Francisco Bulletin
In all the many accounts of the buildin
OF the great bridge across East River whicl
have seen, little has been said of the live
sacrificed with an exception, of course, il
the elder Roebling's case. l have takel
: more or less interest in this matter, becaus,
the caisson disease was the special study O
an acquaintance of mine who was physician
to the bridge company, at the time the Gals
} sons were building, and it fell to him to ex
anime all men who applied for positions
Only man of sound constitution, goot
lungs and no sign of heart disease could b.
employed in the caisson, where the air pres
sure was so great as to be painful to tn,
ears, and candle would light up again upo1
being blown out. After some hours wOrl
below the river bed, blood would sometime!
force out of the ears and noses of the mer
when they came up. The first man to di,
in the work was the Chief Engineer anG
planner of the whole work, whose crushed
foot led to lockjaw There is a legend among
the workmen on the bridge that one mar
lies at the bottom of one of the caissons
having been buried there by mistake. One
day in June, 1872, so runs the tale, eighty.
six went down to prepare the caisson fol
filling up with cement. At noon, owing tc
some mistake in the count. steam was turn
ed on, and thousands of tons of cement were
poured in before it was discovered that only
eighty-five had come up. 1t would have
cost hundred thousand dollars and years
time to have pumped the caisson out, and so
he was charged to profit and loss," and his
dinner pail, which was found on the dock,
was preserved in the bridge cabinet of curl
osities but as the name of this unfortunate
man who was left" is never given, and the
story is generally followed by wink, it is
more than doubtful, although certainly there
have been enough real and fatal acci-
dents connected with the building of the
bridge to make invention superfuous. Be-
ginning with Mr.. Roebling, and ending with
painter who fell forty-fve feet only a few
months ago. the total number of deaths has
been, [ believe, twenty-eight. Of persons
injured in limb or health the number is
very large, probably more than one hundred.
HAIRBREADTH ESCAPES.
Some time ago l asked Engineer Martin
for some information about the men whose
lives had been sacrificed, and found that no
regular list had been kept; but the engineers
remember almost every case. AS the work
was with tremendous weights and at hun
dred of feet from the ground, most of the
deaths were of horrible description, the
bodies being cut in pieces or crushed past
recognition. The chapter of miraculous
escapes is pleasanter one to dwell upon. In
recalling such escapes Mr.. Martin said:
Showing the strange results of falls, we
had the fall of Frank Harris, who fell 1Oc
feet and escaped almost unharmed He
was standing beside derrick, pulling a
rope which ran over a grooved wheel. The
rope slipped out of the groove. He supposed
it was broken. He let 60 of the rope as he |
fell, and was precipitated to the bottom of
the well in the tower, a distance of 1O3 feet |
He went down head ever heels, striking
with his back and shoulders on an empty |
cement barrel which was floating upon the |
water, which was about three feet deep.
This broke his fall. His fellow workmen
he was killed, and when they look
ed into the well were surprised to hear him
shouting for help. They lowered one. He
tied it to himself and was hauled up. He
wanted to 60 down from the tower alone,
but | insisted he should be carried down.
He was taken to the hospital in coach, but
it was ascertained that no bones were broken
and only very few bruises were sustained
Eight days afterwards he was at work again.
and has worked up to month ago."
One of the extraordinary escapes was that |
Of a master stone mason, who was setting
one of the big coping stones at the top of
5he Brooklyn tower, at the very edge For
he was standing upon an outer
corner with his back to the other workmen
when he heard shout of warning, and turn.
I'd in time to see one of the enormous stones
used, six feet wide by eighty feet long, and
weighing several tones, slowly swinging tow
lrds him, the derrick having been started
oO soon. The stone was coming towards
him slowly but surely, and would knock
him into the river, 278 feet below; there
vas no escape, for he was on an angle of the
over. His only chance was to wait until
he stone reached him and then seat him
elf upon its edge and be carried out over
he edge of the tower; he was not able to
,rasp at the chains which held the stone,
,ut if his weight was not sufficient to cause
he stone to tilt he would beall right other
wise he would 60 into the river. Not
vOrd was said as he took his seat on the
'lock, and the huge mass went slowly out
'eyOnd the tower. The workmen held their
'reath, and the unfortunate mason fancied
e could feel the block begin to tilt. But it
vas swung back to the tower before his
enses gave away, and he fell into the arms
f the men. That was the longest minute ,
f his life.
Fruits and Vegetables as Medicines.
A persistent use of honey will cure the S
aundice. I
Celery is highly recommended as cure S
DR. nervous diseases.
Carrots are used by the peasants of Savoy, s
! the shape of an infusion, as specific for
.undice. a
Lettuce has a slight narcotic action, and e
hen properly cooked it is salad really t
cry easy of digestion. s
Asparagus is strong diuretic, and forms g
art OF the cure for rheumatic patients at
,me of the leading health resorts. b
Lemons eaten raw are excellent for rheu- t,
atism, and are recommended for this trou- u
esome ailment by many of our best physi- e.
ans "
Figs are an excellent food for invalids. Il
hey are best if boiled about five minutes Il
Id eaten hot about fifteen minutes before IL
eakfast. IL
Sorrel is COOLING and forms the staple of 81
at soupe auG herbes which French lady 81
I'LL order for herself after long and tiring IL
urney. t .4E2 fte t0
Onions. if SLOWLY stewed in weak broth