The Dillon tribune., 1883-09-01
n,eruoIDI'> GREAT STATUE.
. rr-n, Imam. Description "f IT, ana the
Pr.ce.. Of Construction.

Tn. immense scatiulding that can
n, seen in the direction oil the N"e
de Chas,lles. reaching over the highest
lous. in the n,i.hborhood, on close exam
nation displays the lines of human forh
and the gigantic folds ofth- robe that grapes
II. II /, in truth a statue, the greatest that
| wa, ever constructed up to the present
,irnr-the statue OF libert!y, which the
sculpture Bartholdi concc ived, and when
/ il is destined to serve as beacon AT the
| entrance to y. Y.l,arbor. From SO to 90 ar
tisans are kept constantly upon the work.
| The statue is alread, compltted,up to the
chest Perhaps in its present condition II
can b. seen to the best advantage. Its en-
,raordinary proportions can be viewed, and
as it is not completed, it is possible to take
in all the details Of the construction of this
gigantic work, which will pre- badly remain
| uneq,,aled among the " orks Of bronze. The
plaster molds of the enormous limbs thrown
across the yard, and the busy workmen
covering them with innumcrable pieces of
wood that reproduce al, the contoures and
lines remind one of the well.known scene
OF G, liver at Liliput. The men, who look
like tiny dwarfs endeavoring to bind a 81
ant And if BY a miracle that great hand
could become alive and simply open and
close its fingers, all that solid woodwork
would fly in splinters, and the immense
scaifolding itself would come down like a
castle of cards.
The first model was nlarged four times
Then 1t was cut in slices and taken one
after the other and again enlarged to four
times their original size, and thus the di.
mentions OF the collosal statue are obtained.
At present the wcrkmen are engaged upon
the portion that for,us the chest. The mod.
el may be seen in the shed. 1t looks like
a little hill, over which the men are con.
tinually crossing. When the draft or mod
el of portion is made, impressions are
taken OF it. In order to do this It is neccs.
sary to gather hundreds of little planks cut
precisely upon the outline Of the model and
in this way 70 de n model /, obtain q and
Is divided in as mi ny fragments as are
necessary. Upon these fragments the cop.
per Is cut and hammered until it copies the
precise forms. Ten Chinese gongs would
not make greater noise than is made all
day long in the corner OF the she'd where
the copper Is hammered and this contin.
uoas noise contributes not a little to the
strange impression that one gets from the
visit.
When the shaping Of piece of the cop.
per is completed it becomes part of the
statue, and there is nothing farther to do
with it except to put it in its place. Just
now they are engaged in finishing the left
hand. The nail of the first finger would
make good sized shield. The top of the
finger would make helmet tor the largest
h 'atl, and, In default Of a better cuirass,
William the conquerer, who passed for the
biggest man Of his time, might easily get
into one ofthe philanges.
In six months the whole work will be
completed. There remains only the chest
and left arm to complete. The head, which
is large enough to contain 90 people, has
already been executed, in 1876, and the
right hand has just come back from
America, where II was sent to give some
idea of the statue. After the Parisians have
had ample time to admire the work it will
be taken down and sent to- New York in
more than 900 pieces.--I'MIs Zrmts.
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