Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-08-20

vemuer when we will see whether !
should have written sis" instead of
"hm been.n
The colossal statue of Liberty for
the port of New York IL being built up |
after the model of Bartholdi ut the
Mai son Gaget-Gauthief, % Rue de
Chaselles. 1T Is to be two nitrcs
higher than the Vendome
column, and as some eighty
workmen are employed In put
ting it together. The operation |
affords the visitor n very fantastic
sight, suggestive OF "Gullivcr at Liill- |
put" rs II letter writer in II paper here
puts it. The interior of the head will
1t Will be forwarded To New York In
500 sections, each weighing about
100, 600 kiles, the whole statue being
about 40 mitres in height.
The suicidal attempt of Captain
Webb TO swim the rapids below
Niagara Falls and his death created IL
profound sensation here. The news
papers all published the particulars as
far ~ received, with long winded edi-
torial notices In which the unfortu-
nate man is "lauded to the skies
If future generations happen on one OF
these notices, they will conclude that
! Captain Webb was one of the greatest
of the great men of the world in the
nineteenth century. Such superlative
terms us "unparalled daring,n "unap-
proachube courage" wonderful
nerve,n and dozens of the same kind
! are scattered thickly through them,
and are only explai'table on the n.y.
pothesis that the gallant captain
! was nm Englshman. Most OF THESE
| notices were rs venomous in their nj
lusious TO certain "cod-biooded
| American railroad companies and
"catluus hearted gaping sightseeing
] Americans rs they were fulsonie in
! their laudatiols oi me victim of stu
! pendous piece OF folly, and now tlat
u sis authorltively denied that said
raiiro2d companies made any such
offer ~ was reported, and that there
was scarcely a corporals guard of
gaping AmeNcan y 10 witness said
folly ticy are not at alistaien aback,
seem to think no apology to either
the railroad companies or the other
crowd Is demanded. OF course it
isn't quite polite TO say so here, but
nevertheless it is quite the truth that
the act Of Captain Webb was the act
of a fool, who put his life in the scale
against the chances ola success which
; would give him n noteriety having a
positive value. One naturally feels
sorry for his widow and chill
drer, hut their sorrow is unmiXed
with any such tender feel
ing for the victim Of his own folly.
Another death, that of Zulu King.
Cetewayo, has also been announced
and discussed extensively, but since
he was notan Euglshman, the papers
lnra luN-a "A IA.
of special COMMUNICATION either in his
life or death. Tories laugh at the Lib
eral ministry on account OF this tragic
al RndfG Of ridiculous policy which
sent the beastv old king bacl. to stir
up further trouble in Zulu land, and
ministers put on the "simple-glinsu
and submit with but n poor grace To
the jeers which greet them every day
in the house Of commons, from the op-
position benches.
Yesterday was published The nara
; tive of not only a remarkable but most
commemorate net of heroisn per
formed at sea. The steamer Aurania,
belonging to the Cunard line, was on
her way across the Atlantic when
some serious injury befeli her crank
shalt. a consequence Of this disaster
was to convert Il portion Of the shaft
into a gigantic flaii of steel weighing
many tons. This frightful whip OF
metal, welded by the engines, re-
volved at n tremendous speed ana the
scene presented in the engine-room
battles description. Iron and steel, -
we read, were Knocked 10 pieces. A
supporting pillar of wrought iron, n
foot in thickness, was broken in two.
Z anu one piece, weighing ton, WAS Bit
ten out, go to speak, II was very
soon understood that il the fearful
thrashing movement was not arrested
by the stopDage OF the engines the
ships plates in the ncighborhood of
the whiring body of steel would he
beaten out, and that she would sink
like lead. II so happened, however,
that the brake which controlled the
vast piece OF mechanism was situated
within two feet of the revolving mass.
: Clouds OF scalding steam hid II from
view, and the storm Of sparks which
were thrown up threatened death To
amy map who approached the spot.
Inc second engineer, a Scotchuan
uamed Andrew Lambert, described as
u tall, bmwny man, OF some three or
four and thirty was ON duty in the
! engine-room. He was standing at
distance OF about thirty feet from the
brake when the crank broke, aud in
stantly perceived that If the ship was
To be saved the engines must be
stopped. The brake was invisible;
the rush of steam was suiiocating, and
the thunderous commution OF the
racing engines and the violent crash
ing SOUNDS of the rotating mass of
metal Produced a olamor sufficient 10
daunt the bravest heart. Neverthe-