The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-01
HOW NIAGARA WAS SCANNED.
The First Bridge Was Started 6y
Means of a Boys Kite.
From the San Francisco Chronicle.

From the San Francisco Chronicle.
The second steel arch bridge across the
Niagara gorge is in course of construction,
to replace the upper suspension bridge
close to the falls. The signing of the con-
tracts for the new arch was practically
an order for the destruction of the last of
the famous great suspension bridges al
Niagara, so far as their original location Is
concerned, and the last of the structures
traversed by thousands of tourists in an
admiring mood will live in memory only
All arrangements for the building of the
first bridge over the gorge were compile
ted, writes Orrin E. Dunlap, in Leslie's
Weekly, early in 1913, and the contractors
set about finding a means of establishing
communication between the cliffs of the
narroWest point near the whirlpool rapids.
The idea of overcoming the difficulty by a
powerful rocket was conceived. But this
did not work. ana some School boys flying
their kites on the river bank gave the sug-
gestion that the desired connection might
be made by allowing a kite to settle on
the opposite bank.
The most adept of the boys in flying their
kites was little Holman Walsh, and the
contractors invited him to try his kite. The
prevailing wind al the falls is from the
southwest, and after waiting some days
for a favorable wind. young Walsh walked
up stream two miles to the ferry and
which he proceeded down stream TO tho
site of the bridge. The wind was blowing
strong and he soon had his kite, named
the Union, flying heavenward. The cord
went out rapidly, but the gale was too
strong to allow the kite to settle. Night
came on, and Walsh and the boys who
had gathered built fire on the bank 10
keep warm, awaiting a lull in the wind
toward midnight. The anxious watchers
on the opposite shore also built a fire.
Walsh knew then that his programme was
understood ana that there would be close
watch kept for the kite.
The wind went down as expected, and
about u o'clock Increased tension and
jerked on the kite string told him that his
kite had landed and that the cord was
safely across the gorge The distance and
roar of the rapids prevented verbal COM
munication, therefore they were uncertain
as to each others movements. Suddenly
there came a heavy JERK on the cord, and
then it fell loose in Walsh's hands. So
much sag had been given 1t that it had
reached the river below, in which vast
amount of ice was flowing, and the cord
was broken in two. Disappointed, Walsh
wound up his end of the cord and started
for the ferry. Reaching there he was told
that the river was so full of ice that the
boats dared not venture out. For eight
days he was icebOund on the Canadian
shore.
When finally he arrived home he found
his kite uninjured, and after waiting again
for a favorable wind to fly it from the
New York State Bank he again crossed to
the Canadian side. The wind was favora-
BILE and in thirty minutes he had landed
his kite and the desired connection be-
tween the cliffs was established. The
cord was used to draw a heavier cord
across the river, and this was followed
by a rope and a wire cable. Other cables
followed, and cable way, on which an
iron basket ram now IN possession of the
Buffalo Historical Society, was operated
in building the bridge. Walsh received $50
for his work He Us still alive, and resides
at Lincoln, Neb