The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-05
Crossing Brooklyn Bridge.

Broadway Loangcr. in New York Tribune,
 crossed over the Brooklyn bridge. for the first tune. on Tuesday last. IL Is con siderably more than one mile long, from the top of the hill where the station IS be- ing built. in Brooklyn, to Chatham street. The large station in Brooklyn is to b ;; used by the s,eam-drum cars for waiting rooms. etc. and a smaller building of tha, kind is being framed al the New York end. am afraid that too;-passen- gers are not going to have the most per feet vsew of the river. fl they pass through he middle of the bridge. which under stand Ia be their avenue. leaving the sides 10 vehicles. The cars. l under stand. are 10 run on the second floor of the bridge. was admitted at gate. and pu, on an .,sphaltum walk in the middle of the Brooklyn approach, along which went for a thousand fec; or more. and then climbed down a ladder. or crude steps. to the northern flooring. Tn which a crack occurred here and there. showing the frghtfal chasm below. one glimpse of winch was enough 10 make a man finch. The flooring on thls side was oi blanks. but. the paFapets being up. there was no danger
 When reached the eas, tower. the magnificent character of the aIeh. there seemed to show more wonderfully than from the surface of the river below l. IS fac, that on the top of each of the towers, two houses can be built of 70 feet front and i,j feet depth. Any man who owns a house and let of the full depth, in New York. can look ou, of his back win down on his yar and his neighbor's. and consider that both of them do no, cover as much space by another half building lot, as the top of these brdge-towers. The Eas, river assumes beauty of color and extcn, from the bridge. ,ha, one could hardly imagine. Nearly the whole riyer. from Governors Island 10 Black wells Island. lies under the eye. and Il seems to be the principal thing in New York landscape and those buildings which border Il. especially up toward Williamsburg. rise enormously from their great bulk. in general. sugar rehneries New York itself seems. from the Brook lyn end of the bridge. like a town on a hill which rises to a certain profile or parapet, ard beyond that is smoke and vagueness. The four grca, cables, ,ha, droop as modestly from their towers as four whi,ewashed Bologna sausages, do not attract much remark. since the rush. iEg obJeets beneath, the long line Of barges. the white sails of coa stefs, many sorts of s,eamboa,s and lighters, all won derfully exposed to notice. since their decks and upper works are, for the frs, time, fully visible to every spectator, turn the eye to other things. None of Roeb- ling's bridges seems lighter than this, the imposing nature of the towers and the breadth of the bridge making one al- most forget that il is the cables that arc doing the work. The bridge is as solid as turnpike road in the middle of the country if neither ratties nor trembles, and, however nervous one IS stepping over II, at firs., he soon feels secure. and feas,s his eyes on the ever-opening pano- ramas. Though 1 crossed on a Ia.her raw March day. hardly observed the wind. The bridge was full of Carpenters, painters, bol,-drivers and understand tha, the rolling-stock for the cable-rail- road is finished.