, 1888-05-23

down?
All these possibilities existed, it was ad
mitted, and they added to the interest of the
first trial of the experiment. There was
another element of danger, about which no
one talked, but which was thought of by
several good engineers. 1t was this. Would
the hotel, if started, gather any momentum?
This was a most serious probability, for there
were no brakes on the cars and nothing at
hand to block their wheels. What would
become Of the crowd, the locomotives, and
where would an 100000 pound hotel stop
if it began to roll along on its own account?
All this was fearful to think of; but Engineer
Farquar was certain that the tracks We're
perfectly level and that the hotel if moved
would be held by its weight on the spot
where it stopped. Still, superintendent
Morrow, Contractor Miller, the engineers
and assistants were not q little nervous
when they got to the hotel in the morning
and began to make the twelve "leads' or
ropes from the cars fast to the locomotives,
The advertised hour for the moving was three
o'clock in the afternoon, but the superin-
tendent and contractor could not stand the
strain of waiting. They must have one pull
at the ropes as soon as possible. That was
not long, for everything had been prepared
for a trial the night before when darkness
put an end to work. In a jiffy the "leads'
were attached, the space cleared and all
ready.
\ shrilI whistle from Mr.. Miller was heard
and the six locomotives began to puff. They
started at the rate of a mile in two weeks,
but even that speed caused the ropes to
tighten up, the blocks grOaned, and to the
delight of all, there was q cry from o work
man on the south end of "She moves
She moves Hurrah r.
Seven feet of bare rails could be seen
sticking out over the water Mr.. Morrow's
hat went up III the air, Mr.. Miller tried a
hand spring and the locomotives stopped.
Not a rope had parted, nor the slightest &C
cident happened. Somebody frightened Mr..
Miller by stating that tire southern end of
the hotel had been drawn four feet ahead of
the other end. He measured it ~brea4hlessty
and found a difference of less than one-half
inch. This was such good luck that the
advertisement Of the show was forgotten.
Two more pulls, one of eighteen and q half
feet and one of twenty-four were made with
the same result. The locomotives were per-
fectly able to draw the building safely and
easily.
The foreign gentleman will be able to get
photographs enough of the scene to prove
his veracity at home. The artists, amateur
dlitl pIOIcSSIOIttlI uIlCQ Ul6 UOpS Vi GIlG Sil6lS,
studded the beach and could be seen at every
point where a good view was o~btainablo.
About three o'clock, after the tackle
had been readjusted, there was another
pull. BY this time the three sides of the
ground back of the hotel was black with peo-
pie. They were driven out of the way Of
danger, but kept c~rowding around until ifa
rope had snapped a serious accident might
have happened.
Many seemed wild to get a memohto of
the occasion, and put coins under the NOV
ing wheels, risking their fingers to snatch
them out again when crushed. One youth
put a silver dollar on the track for his girl.
1t looked like a big tin plate a~fterward, and
she would not take,it He tried a quarter
with better luck.
This last pull was the longest Of all-673
feet, making III feet which the hotel had
been moved.
The crowd applauded and turned to the
sausage man, the banana man and the old
woman with cakes, whose stocks were soon
gone.
The four o'clock train brought many away,
and the avenue to Brooklyn was crowded
with returning sightseers, who had driven
down to the beach. All the officers of the
company expressed themselves as highly de-
lighted with the result of the experiment..
They say they will have no trouble" now in
moving the hotel back the required 595 feet