Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-04-26

Top Vi ever tuins III VIC AhiNNiO'
A large number of men were at work
on the bridge after l left the visducts
and struck that portien truly suspend
ed; vet from below it had looked as If
nobody was there. Some of these
men were keeping charcoal fires alive
to heat bolts red hot; others were
carrying the bolts to blacksmiths, and
the blacksmiths were driving, while
the assistants were supporting the
blows. A multitude of men were
painting the iron portion and all Of
this bridge, except the temporary
banking and the wooden ties for the
railroad, as Of either iron or steel, iron
being used in enormous girders in the
approaches and to span the streets.
There was also little army of carpen.
tiers at work at temporary things. The
bridge has been painted in the mod
ern taste, with olive parsnets, variegst.
ed with red or black.
When l finally came to one ofthe
great towers il seemed even loftier and
grsnder when | was within it than it
looked from the ferry boats on the
river. There are two magnitic. Mt
Gothic arches in each tower, and the
stone shaft between them has TO sup
port two more cables. To stand with
in that huge arch of what seemed to be
solid stone and look up at the lofty
keystone, made me dizzy, yet etfectu-
ally destroyed the last lingering impress
sion that there might be something
unsafe about the support. The towers
looked AZ il they were almost eternal.
70 look at the boats OF all descip-
tons passing underneath, was to feel
at once timid, and To take an exagger-
ated sense OF distinctness. Every OBJ
iect OF their docks, every function of
life, the moving Of cat or dog. the
long side Of a sailor or the width apart
of the feet of the man at the tiller,
seemed very curious, while there was
yet propensity not to look. The big
steam ferry boats, which always SEEM
ed so still before, were now seen to
rock as if they were on high sea.
The movement of a top of mast as
it rolled with the vessel, seemed to de-
scribe an arc of remarkable length.
Large schooners went underneath,
and their masts yet seemed to he no
where near. Another world wa ex
posed from the centre of the bridge.
The prominent objects which | had
been ftmilliar with in the two cities
we're hardly visible on account Of the
distance; while the large sugar re-
fneries, manufactures and initilu-
tons l barely know of, arose prodig-
iously. Yet so broad, solid and sub
stantial was the work that he who
kept his eyes off the water below him
felt as secure there as if ne had been
in the middle of some turnpike.
/ observed with what diligence and
forethought the telegraph people had
stretched their cables of different
kinds and telephone encasements amid
the open iron-work of the floors, where
they seemed to be a portion of the
structure itself. The trains of cars are
all built, am told, which are to be run
on the cable railroad. The Brooklyn
approach, | noticed, as | came near to
New York, was of a different design to
that in the main city. The New York
parapets are more elaborate, but not
Although this briige has cost some
thing ike $14 600 600, it shows very
much of III Il money, particularly when
one considers that in the two cities
something like three quarters of mile
of the most valuable property to the
width of 50 to 100 feet had to be bought
outright for approaches.
After | came out of the western
tower aad entered into New York
proper, | felt somehow that / must
have crossed the Atlantic ocean. so
peculiar were the sensations of hav-
ing arisen out of city ! had visited
hundreds OF times, and gone through
the air like bird and come down in
New York without touching q boat Of
any kind. The magnh ,ent height of
he buildings in New York struck me
at once as compared with the plain
edlfices of Brooklyn. / seemed like
oqe who had come down a ravine and
suddenly found himself surrounded by
tall mountains. As looked up at such
edifces as the Tribune building, the
Morse building, the Kelly building, all
Of which seemed to stand guard around
the bridge, observed that two of the
most conspicuous sentries upon this
royal pathway were the new office of
the Police Gazette and a tremendous
building where they publish the Seaside
L Libraries, that have done so much to
spoil good cooks and housekeepers,
and destroy any native literature.
Although | went over this bridge in
March weather, did not perceive that
the air was at all strol G, and it occur
red to me that it would make one of
the most beautiful promenades in the
world for persons wanting good air,
good sunlight and freshening variega.
ted scenes. From height the river be-
low becomes as blue and soft as Italian
mountains, and every change in its sur
face made by the river craft is some
delicious variation of the tint, while
the forms OF boats, the sails, the flags,
the infinite variety of for ms attending
the river craft here gave the mind d
real holiday.