Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1901-01-30
AN AERIAL JOURNEY
BY T. w. Birney.

HTF / am not gray-headed, ought
to be- said my friend Cary, as we
sat at the table, after supper, and dis
cussed our coffee; ''for I've been in
enough tight places in my life to
make a man not only gray-headed, but
bald-headed;" and he fingered affec-
tionately his blonde locks, which, to
say truth, were none too thick.
Eyes, SIR" he continued, meditative-
ly; II was in one last fall that scared
me more than ever want to be scared
again. When / hear the wind outside
there, and think of that experience, ]
fairly SILVER. But, of course, that's all
nonsense now" and he applied himself
again to his coffee.
| Cary was a civil engineer. We had
been college mates, but l had not seen
him for years, and at this, our first
meeting since graduation, we had been
| giving each other accounts of our re-
| spectiye doings.
| A Jest of mine, to the effect that it
was getting to be time for him to show
| gray hairs, called forth the above
| speech, and being fond of stories of
adventure, insisted on his explaining
himself at length.
| WELL" he began, sit was in the val
/ ley of the New river, in West Vir-
| ginia. / was up there looking after the
interests of the H Bridge company,
which was going to bid on some tres
| tle-work for the c. & o. railroad.
| Il had been told of a method they
had of sending lumber down from the
| mountain by a cable car, and one day,
in company with railroad man whose
acquaintance l had made, l walked
down to see it in operation. l saw it
saw it in detail-and before / got
back I wished 1 had never heard of it.
THE mountain was very steep and
quite high should say 1900 feet
and the river ran at its very base. On
| the opposite side of the river was the
railroad, where the lumber was load
ed on the fiat cars.
The lumber camp was near the top
of the mountain, about 1000 feet above
the road. and they had 2k inch cable
stretching down from it to point over
| the track. 1t was a steel cable, and
| was fastened to iron posts set in the
rock.
'Of course it hung in an enormous
curve, being almost level where it
! crossed the river, but becoming more
and more steep as it went up the noun
tain-side. l suppose it was all of 1000
feet long, and to see it hanging there
over the valley was sight in itself
ION this large cable ran suspension
car-that is, they called it a car; it was
only a heavy platform hung by iron
rods at the corners from four grooved
wheels which fitted the cable The rods
were hinged, SO that no matter at what
point on the incline the car was. they
always hung vertical.
ITO the car was attached three
quarterback iron rope, which was
coiled up and let out by stationary en-
CINE at the lumber camp.
They used to load the car with lum-
Der at the top, let it down to be un-
loaded, and then haul it up empty.
when we reached the foot of the
cable that day, the car had just beer
unloaded, and they were preparing il
for the return trip. But it seems they
| were going to send up by it some
kitchen furniture and also a pile OF
planned and grooved boards, for use in
the camp.
"They had already put the boards on
at the further end of the platform
laying them crosswise, and were ar.
ranging a good-sized stove, two OF
three chairs and table, which formed
the remainder of the consignment
These they packed as closely as pos.
sible, but took no other means to Sc.
cure them in place.
"As we watched the proceedings. a
grizzled old chap, who seemed in charge
said:
Wal, we're about ready, now DOM
you fellers want to go up? Nice ride.
The idea appealed to my love of nov
city and adventure, and without mo
ment's thought or question, I an
swered: OF course we do. Come on
Burrilli'
"My companion hesitated moment
but being reckless felolw, like my.
self, merely said: All right and fol
lowed me upon the platform.
'.The old man grinned, and, walking
to pole near by, ran up a white flag
which looked much like cast-off gar
ment of civilization, as a signal to the
engineer at the top to haul up.
his assistants looked ON without. 3
word, but / fancied their faces were
more serious than they had been.
Il almost at once we began to move
i and "a a few moments were suspended
over the swift waters of the river. A.
we continued our way upward, real
lied for the first time that our posi-
ton was the reverse of agreeable.