The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1885-01-09

ed it. At first it appeared great
white shaft rising above sheds anu
buildings, and looking to be solid
monument of perhaps three feet square.
The massive scafolding which still
HANGS about its head looked like net
work of straw. and with the naked eye
the men working upon it could not be
seen. AsIwen nearer the monument
grew with every step, and wnen
/ / came within a quarter Of mile OF 1t,
its immensely began to be appreciate.
! I sat down on the steps OF the bureau
of printing and engraving and looked
at its massive shaft rising out of big
square mound of earth over the vel
vety lawn about five blocks away. At
chat point each side of its base looked
to be about fifteen feet long, and where
the pyramidal point began they had
shrunken to four. The scatfolding
there looked like the whiting OF a
boys playhouse, and the men on top
appeared so many dolls at play. The
frame of the net was visible, but its
meshes [ could not see. The first
third of the monument, which was
built away back in the tifties. was OF
different color from the new work.
The weather has so varied it that 1t
looks like a mosaic of yellow fossllized
rock. l could here see that the monu-
ment was made up of a thousand of
little squares, and they seemed like
myrlads of marble paper weights piled
one upon another.
| moved two blocks nearer and sat
down to write on the railroad which
was used to carry the great marble
blocks from the depot to the masons,
1t was not over five hundred feet from
the base of the monument, and had it
fallen in my direction its pyramidal
cap would have crushed me to pow
der. The monument has now jumped
to many times its former size. The
symmetry of its sides as it stands away
up there running into the blue sky, is
beauty and symmetry combined,
and this sublimity increases as one |
goes nearer and nearer. At the base |
of the mound it overpowers you, and
if you will, as l did, climb up close to
one of those big walls and putting
your chin against the marble, gaze
up for five hundred feet, it will take
your breath away. Here it seems the
Chinese wall running up into heaven,
the tower of Babel approaching COM
pletion, or Jacobs ladder nodded into
marble. Look at the marble in front
Of you, now! 1t is beautiful stone, as
polished as Michael Angeles statue of
David, and speckled with scales or
spots of frosted silver. A close OBJ
server will note that these old stones
Ire all cracking at the corners where
hey are joined together, and that the
thousands of tons which press down
Upon them have cracked the weaker
stones so that long, ugly marks appear
lere and there to blot the symmetry
# the whole.
Step around to the front and there
5 door eight feet wide and sixteen
eet high leading into the interior.
his door faces the capitol, and there
) one opposite it looking out upon the I
'otomac. Go inside. The walls are s
fteen feet thick, and the interior t
lakes room at the bottom of twenty {
We feet square. In this an immense s
on framework, with steel wire ropes $
wo inches thick, supports the machin {
ry of the elevator, and at one side I
egin the stairs which, by easy flights, I
un round and round for nearly nine
undred steps until they reach the
op. There are fifty flights, and {
ighteen steps to each flight. AT the /
nd of every flight there is a platform,
nd in the wall opposite this the me- l
lorial stones are to be placed and t
GIFTED with electric lights. Go to the
enter of the interior at the base, /
lrow your head back and look up I
ard. For five hundred feet there is
othing but darkness, and at the top t
GU see few rays of light creeping in b
the windows. There is noise made
y one of the workmen. 1t comes t
own through the monument like the q
coming of cannon, and l jumped t
uickly aside, looking at the big hole f,
the boards at my feet The hole s,
as made by crowbar which slipped ii
ON mans hands at the top, the D
her day, and fell clear to the bot Il
IN, going through these boards like RI
shot. So far no one has been killed rt
connection with this monument, and o.
is probable that it will be completed c,
ithout loss of life. When done it IL
i'll makea splendid place for suicides, ia
Id if the windows are not grated it OF
ay become as famous as the Column W
endome. tt
Poor Relations. d,