The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-04

bered to indicate its part and position
in the structure.
But it was borne in upon the COM
pany that it would have to depend tor
its labor upon the East Indian coolies,
who knew nothing of American letters
and thunderstorm probably, of any
other kind. But even a coolie can tell
colors, so the trusses, girders and col
umns were painted in one color, and
the pieces used to join them were
striped, while the metal work for the
bridge construction machinery was
painted dead black. Subsequently some
trouble developed because two of the
native firemen were color-blind but in
general the scheme worked we'll. To
move the mass of material required
three different steamships.
When the construction gang reached
the spot, the first thing they had to
encounter was the rainy season. The
locality is in the mountains 1000 feet
above sea level. where it is so cold at
night that a man shivers under heavy
blankets and so hot at midday that
no man with a white skin can live in
the sun-glare. During the rainy season
the clouds seem to literally open in
this part of the country and the water
comes down in torrents from sunrise
until Afternoon, drenching and soaking
everything, so that it is impossible to
do anything but remain indoors and
wait until the rain stops.
The work, particularly in its initial
stages, was performed amidst various
perils. In the depths of the gorge,
matted with underbrush and scattered
with huge rocks, lurked the deadly
snakes of India. Some of the coolies
were bitten and died. Poisonous vege-
tation also affected the men, and va
porS arising from the depths of the
ravine bred low fever in American
bones. There were beasts of prey, too,
but although they were seen and
heard prowling about the camp at
night, the bridge builders suffered
nothing from their depredations ex-
cept the loss of some live stock. The
incessant rains turned the ground into
liquid mud, and the maSons laying the
stone foundations for the towers were
held back ten weeks. At last these
were completed, and then the tray
eler" was put in position.
This was a mechanical giant, the
largest by far ever used in bridge con-
structions. 1t lifted and lowered the
tons of steel and held them in its grip
while the men fastened them into
place. Although in the photographs of
the work the traveller looks to be only
90 or 80 feet in length and to weigh
perhaps four or five tons, it extended
from its support on the end of the
railroad track a distance of 165 feet
over the gorge and contained 80 tons
of metal alone. The beams or trusses
which formed its lower portion were
219 feet in length, and from it's top to
the railroad track was 40 feet. To
keep this immense weight from top
ping over, a counter weight of rs tons
was loaded upon the rear portion,
which was mounted on wheeled trucks
so that it could be rolled along as the
bridge was erected.
The little band of thirty-five Ameri-
cans put the mammoth bridge together
from side to side of the gorge in lit
tie over eight months after the work
was commenced. The bridge is so
strongly built that 1t will support a
train of loaded freight cars reaching
its entire length, in addition to four
locomotives weighing 81 tons each.
Owing to It's great hight, it must be
strongly braced to withstand the force
of the gales which sweep down the
valley at a velocity of 60 to 20 miles
an hour. The engineers had to cal
culate upon these and other delicate
points. but tests made after compile
ton show that they calculated to a
nicely. 1t was expected in building
the bridge to have the aid of COM
pressed air in boring holes through the
steel and fastening the rivets, but
when the 500 natives who were en-
ployed as laborers heard the kissing
and noted the effect OF the unseen
force, they believed It to be something