The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-08-01

But there is q romantic side 70 Mrs. Roeb-
line's work. She did not learn bridge
tuildipg when fhe was little girl any moe
than Caroline Herschel did astronomy, but
loD after che was married, and il all came
about through necessity.
One day, in the spring Of 1872. hes hus-
h6nd wac carried almost insensiole out of the
csi.fon on the Brooklyn nde Of the Z st
River. The caisson was q great wooden
box, which was being sunk through the wa
ter and sard, in order that the foundations
of the pier might 10 laid firmly upon the
Eolid rock below.
Those wonderful men, the engineers had
learned not many years bsfore tbs. they
could keep the water from coming through
tie sides of the oaissOn, and the siit aud Wa
ter from coming through the bottom, which,
OF course, had 10 DO open, By forcing heavy
PRESSURE Of air into the caissOn-,0 much alr
that it would be heavier than the wafer
around, and all the air pressing down on its
turttce.
Most boys know nowadays tina. the
air has weight, and that this weight,
which amounts to not quite fifteen pounds
to the squsre inch of surface all over the
globe, is so nicely adjusted on sll sides,
that although grown men walk about
with fourteen tons weight pressing upon
-.
| They know, toO--at least some of the older
boys do-that it ia thought tina. this cir pre-
sure keeps some of the joints of the human
b dy together. ard keeps the blood within
the delicste arteries so long IS the nicely sd-
eted condition. which we fnd on the earsh's
surface arc maintained.
Persons who have gone very high in BAL
looms have found their conditions changed
and hsve had blood come squirting from
their noses. mouths, and even eyes aud ears
Now TO Keep the water and sand from being
! squeezed into the caisson by the tons of ayr
that were pressing down upon the river,
| great extra pressure Of air was forced with
| air pumps into the csisson, com stines as
much IS twentY.three pounds to the square
! inch in addition to the natural weight. The
effect of this was that the men could not
work l0Gg at stretch in the compressed sir
except at great danger. Their esrs wo I'D
ring and buzEIng noises would I'LL their
leads. When tho pressure was very great
they could not whistle, and II they blew their
candles out they would Telight OF their wn
| accord. More serious than this, however,
was the eGecs of the compressed air on the
men if they CHANGED 10 remain too long In IL
A new and terrible disease seized them A~-
tul pains rscsed their j1ints and sometimes
paralysis killed them.
Colonel Roebling was q robus. man who
bSd seen hard service as a soldier, aud he
thought ke was PROOF against the 'csisson
disesse," IS il Is csllei. There had been
| E:e in the osissoD, and in his anxiety about
| Is he stsid in the com pressed air longer than
be ought, and the msIsdy took hold of him.
| Il shattered his nerves and put his body on
| the rack
That was eleven yesrs ago, and be hs.
never recovered. His mind was clear. bat
bis nerves were painfully sensitive, aud he
| could net endure even the noiss of converse.
! ton. But how, in such condition, colld
| he carry on the work which he had under
| tsksn2 His father, who first planned the
bridge, had died from injuries received while
| ST work, and now it seemed that be. too
must die or abandon the task. Ii was 10 be
| the greatest monument TO engineering skill
| in the word, and he did rot wish TO give it
| up. Then his wife came II the rescue.
Shortly after she was married she had seen
the next sreatest bridge 20 this, that at Gin
cinnsti, grow into facg under the direction OF
| her hus band and his father. Then she had
travelled IN E1rops snd seen soma OF the
wonders Of human ingenuity there. Hsr
voice could never be harsh or her hand rude.
and she resolved TO talk and act for the sick
| engineer IN Lis dealings with his assistants.
She studied mathematics, and mastered sill
that was necessary to understand the COM
| putstions that hsd TO be sent 70 the assist
ante. She learned sll the terms and phrases,
and mastered all the plans of the bridge.
The Colonel could think and plan, bat no
could not write She put his plans into words
and figures, and sent them 20 his helpsrs
| All his orders and Instructions came to the
bridge office in her handwriting. All tie
letters and suggestions that were sent by the
ASSISTANTS to their chic. for criticism or up.
proyal were copied by her into big reeor J.
BOOK.
knOtty points she explained either in per
| son or By letter, and then watched the IDEAS
| which she had transmitted grow into things
OF granite, and iron, and steel, until fnsll =,
enc cay, she could walk over tho great
bridge while her husband, denied that pleas.
| uTe, cculd sit in his essy-chsir aud watch
| her through his neld-glssS. Doesn't il sound
almost like fairy tsle2
| Mrs. Roebling is brunette, q little above
| medium height, and hiss dark, hazel Dyes, a
bright, sunshiny cosntenance, AMI spright-
| ly and sfiable manner.
\ She is now forty-six years oil, aud her
maiden name was Emily Warren She is a
sister of the General Warren wac died re-
| Gently in Rhode Island.
Clocks
\ Harper's Young People.
When the dist clocks were SCI up they
| were thought t. BE- the most wcadeiful of in
ventions. The fist public clock was raised
I on q tower a. Padus, IN Italy. A famous
striking clock ws plscsd on i tower a;
Bologna in 1856. From Italy the invention
ives carried to FIR lnce sad Germa any, aad in
| 1864 Paris for the first time possessed 4
| public click. it wss set up ca tower
of the Kings palsce, and was bailt by
| German gOrkmea. No one in F;anc., it il
said, could make a clock.
| Town clocks and CauSch clocks arc mads
TO move by trains OF wheels in much the
same wsy, but the Thssls are very large and
stror &. and the weights and pandulurns very
heavy. It is very hsrd work TO wind up
Church cock, aud it needs strong man X
do it. In winding up TIE clock in tho tower
Of Trinity Church, New York, the crank OF
hsncle has TO be turned round $50 times
Many wonderful clocks have bean made, IL
some Of which the machinery movod fgurei
Of men and animals in very curious way
At Heidelberg. in Germany, was formerly
town clccS which, whenever it struck the
| hour caused tha foura If an old man To mi