The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1899-04-27
MOST NOVEL OF BRIDGES.
The Marvellous Tale CT solemn =
Faced Man About "a Risky
Western journey.


Speaking of bridges" said the sol
embraced man. Il think The most
novel and original. and. for that matter,
the most quickly-construct bridge /
ever heard of was one designed on the
spur Of the occasion by friend with
whom / was travelling. to connect the
sides Of chasm which we desired to
cross.
when we came to the place where
the bridge should have been we found
the bridge that had spanned this chasm
had been carried away by some Of the
terrible gusts that swept down tie tree
less adjacent mountains. 1t seemed to
me that there was nothing TO do but to
go back and go around another way.
about II miles further, but my friend
was quite equal TO the emergency We
were packing with as piece Of brown
cotton cloth. 441a yards. The chasm
was 80 feet wide.
1--WE took that piece of cotton cloth
and doubled it into four folds, which.
you see, folded il up TO the length Of
"a feet ~ inches. When we arrived
there the wind was blowing a gale
square across the chasm. The weather
was the coolest | ever knew.
My friend took that piece of cotton
cloth, doubled it as ! have told you.
and then loosely folded it over on itself
for convenience in carrying to a warm
spring near by, with the situation OF
which it seems he was acquainted. and
dipped il in the water. He keptit there
until it was thoroughly saturated,
meanwhile explaining to me his plan
of operations.
when ii was all soaked we took the
cloth to the edge of the chasm and
stood facing each other. he with his
right arm extended toward me and |
with my left arm extended toward him
our hands meeting and the two arms
bowed slightly, with the bowed >Sle
upward, like fiattened arch. Their
we took that soaking wet bundle of
cloth and drew one end of it across
that alch, each of us holding a cor
her down with his free hand. and then
we east the rest of the cloth loose. The
gale blew the cloth out straight across
the chasm and il froze stiff as board as
it went. The other end fell on the OPP
posite edge of the chasm and we set
our end down on this. II had shrunk
a little, of course in freezing, ana was
row "a feet scant, thus giving trifle
less than two feet over at each end.
a pretty narrow margin; but my
friend hadn't dared fold the cotton into
three lengths for fear that it would
not make the bridge stout enough TO
bear our weight.
so there we had over this 30-foOt
chasm bridge that was in shape like
an enlarged telescope coal chute. sucn
as they use on coal wagons in the city,
turned with the cuIying side upward;
bridge planned, constructed and put
up in about 30 minutes. IT was slip
perry, but we put the wrong side up
for safety; but we each had new arc
tics with very much corrugated soles,
and by using great care we managed
to get across all right.
Then we pulled the bridge over and
carried il along with us on our Shout
ders the way you would canoe, to the
house of the man where we were 60
irg. We stood it up on end against
the side of that mans house, and left
ii there We didn't need the cloth
right away, and we left it there TO
thaw. out and got our friend to fold it
up then and send it along by man
that was coming our way."-N. Y. Sun.