Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1890-11-01
ANCIENT ENGINEERS.
rne,r Feats Of SIKH Which Moderns
Cannot Equal.

engineer gives little otlense, because
Il i honest and guileless.
II is a waste of time to ask him
how the powders Of Stonehenge were
conveyed to their resting place, how
the walls Of Fiesole or Mycene were
built; these marvels represent the
mower which lies in the brute force OF
multitudes, aud there's an end OF the
question. Engineering now Is an
art and a science, with which the
rude work Of the savages has no sort
of connection. One must not IN
1uiro why he takes it for granted
that Stonehenge, for example, was
built by sayages, where tho brute
multitude came from how they sub
sisted on Salisbury Plain, or why 1t
il is necessary Ito ASSUME that they
were unacquainted with mechanics.
All that Is chose ugee-beyohd us
pute. Ii YOU cite records OF ANTIGUA
IL which tell OF works he cannot ri
val that met alone IS proof that the
record j. Il lie. tor how can 10 posi-
| ble be that mere Greeks aud Romans
should have been able TO do what
The builders Of the EiIel tower and
the Forth bridge cannot accomplish
Ne had an amusing instance OF thts
feeling lately. The ingenious vi
Eifel and the artistic VI. Blrtholdt
bay, been grayely pOndertug the
Colossus OF Notwithstanding IL
and weighing il a. per description
AMI they conclude that the thing
was simply impossible.
THE COLOSSEUM.
il could not have been set up TO
begin with, and when sst up IL cunld
not have stood the pressure Of the
wind. This is moustrAtsl by all
the rules Of modern ssien and he
who does not admit tho lemou,trA-
ton must b. prepared 10 show that
two and two do not mAae four.
Those autique ~prrs0nugrs who pro-
iessed [ o have seen the Colossus Nrre
victims Of an uculur lelu4lou or hat
story t%ellers, aud that greater mum
Der who mention ID incidentally IA
we might mention rho ruins OF the
COLOSSEUM, we're crrduiIus gOssgpa.
The fact il that Mr0,r- ltdyi and
Bartholdi argue in the fashion usual
with engineers. Not nll 81 them
would pretend that they knew nny
Law OF nature which applies Ia -ueh u
ease. But very few would listen pa.
tiently fit were urged that the ~.
GENTS knew some laws with whtrh
they were unncquaiute,l
So IL appears, however, % tha dis.
Interested student, and W. ruu bring
forward evidence enough ~ " be-
true that the Colossus ~ Rhodes I,
really proved "impO.sibIe. accord.
ing To- the b"S; modern authorities
this IS good illustration to begin
with, for Us existence = a. we'll nl
theuticated Us the tcmpla at Delphi
aud the stain" nt O!ympiun Lrus. or
tho Tower of London, for tll, mat.
ter, to onr who has newer s.-,a Ii. IS
some means II was art M, and bF
adaptation ~ some natural ltNa ID
"a made to stHul until mn rarth.
quake overthrow II One 4 rmbur.
rassed by the number and variety III
Illustrations to the snmo effect which
crowd upon the mind
since the COLOSSEUM has been men.
toned we may choose examples 81
tho class Il NJ Eifrl prepared 10
put an awning over Trafalgar square
/, when tho sun shines, and remove II
promptly without tho nil 81 Il rrn.
trail support ol stonm engines or
even Chains? The area Of the Colna.
scum iscertninly notices This may
secmatritiing mnttcrto the thought.
less because they hayc never con4td,
cred t.. Roman engineers covered
m TINT vast eNfnuse with some wool.
cn material, and they worked tho
ponticrnus sheet 40 enatly and
, smoothly TINT II was drawn md
/, withdrawn ~ thesby changed ri,
bulk oft must have weighed hum
, drrds OF tons, all depending hy ROM.
rom the circumference hut Nh,
a%ncicnts thought solittle of this ieni
that they hive loft ia only one triy
ial detail Of the method.
A~LExASpER's GIGANTIC TENT.
! So Julius Cesar stretched m avn
0 ing above the Forum Romnnun nm,
great part Of the Via Sacra in m,
spaceof single night. Have any .
+; our modern engineers pondered In,
contemporary descriptions of Alloy
/ nnder's durbar tent before Bnbylon.
8 mat, again, appears to have had n,
+ central support. II was upheld sny,
= rhy'a -, bJ eight pillars Of soli,
9 gold, OF the glorious plcni.bin,
within we have not 10 sneak s;nc,
ourthemo is mechanics. Around IN,
throne and the great courtiors stoo,
300 Macedonian guards n 4 rirct
n beyond them 500 Persian pnnrds
, beyond these again 1000 nrrhors
: lohXatent which held 1000 snldisr
9 on duty with arms and re-
ments, surrounding, in aucecssir'
% circles, the most gorgeous Orient
tOlfL TINT nvpt, t,..,. ,.sAI