Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-06-06

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others. But here on the bridge were
men who showed by little things land
sometimes admitted that they were
afraid Of the black-ribbed monster.
And it seemed to me that these were
men with the best kind of grit in
them, for although they were afraid
Of the bridge, they were not afraid of
their fear, and they stuck to their job
week after week, month after month,
facing the.same old peril until-weli-
l came upon this fear Of the bridge
the very first time l sought leave to
go upon the unfinished structure. 1t
was in little shanty of an Office on
the Brooklyn side, where, after some
talk, | suggested to an assistant en-
gineer, bent over his plans, that !
would like to take picture or two
from the top of the tower. That seem
ed a simple enough thing.
Think you can keep your head up
/ there" said he, with sharp look.
l told him l had climbed to a
steeple-top.
yes. But you were dashed fast
then in a swing, and had a rope to hold
on to. Here you've got to climb up by
yourself without anything to hold on
to, and it's twice as high as the aver
age steeple. The saddles are three
hundred and forty feet above the
river"
"Saddles?" l queried.
That's what we call 'em. They're
beds of steel on top Of the towers for
the cables to rest on-nice little beds
weighing thirty-six tons each"
oh" said l. How do you get
them up?"
Swing 'em up with steam-derricks
and cables. Guess you wouldn't care
for that job, hanging out on one O.
those booms by your eye-lashes." He
smiled.
Perhaps not" I admitted. But I'd
! like to watch it."
He said | must see somebody with
more authority and turned to his
plans, He was busy.
you don't feel in danger yourself,
do YOU" | persisted, when you go
up"
Don't, eh?" he answered. well, |
nearly got cut in two the other day by
plate-washer 1t fell over a hundred
feet, and went two inches slam into a
| piece Of timber | was standing on"
Then he explained what havoc a small
piece of iron-some stray bolt or ham,
mcr can work after a long drop.
"The plate-washcr," said he,
weighed only two pounds and a half
when it began to fall; but it weighed
as much az you do when it STRUCK
and you're a fair size"
rs that true?-I mean, a statement
based on calculation" said |, cor is it
a joker
It's based on the laws of gravita-
ton" he answered, "and it's no joke
for the man who gets hit. Say, why
don't you go down in the yard and
! look around a little?"
told him | would. and presently
went down into the yard, noisy, con-
fusing place, where the wind was
| humming through forest of scaffold-
ing that held the bare black roadway
skeleton a hundred feet overhead. 1t
vas a long street of iron resting on a
long street of wood, with timber and
steel built up in KS on KS, the whole
rising in an easy slant to yonder grim
tower that lOomed heavy and ugly
| against the sky, huge bOw-egged II,
| with the upper half stretched to
great length. and each leg piled up
| with more black KS held by two
enormous ones between. 1t looked
for all the world as if it had come
ready made in a box and had been
| iointed together like children's blocks,
which is about the truth, for this
great bridge was finished on paper,
then in all it's parts, before ever
beam of it saw the East River. AS |
drew near its feet (Which could take
a roT of houses between heel and
toe) had the illusion, due to bigness
and height, that the whole tower was
rocking TOW ards me under the hurry
ing clouds; and at first | did not see
the workmen swarming over it, they
were so tiny.
But they we're making noise enough
these Worhnen. with their striking
and hosting and shouting. There
was the ring of hammers the chunk
chunk of engines, the hiss of steam,
the mellow sound of planks falling on
planks, and the angry clash of metal,
Presently, far up the sides of the
tower, | made out painters dangling
on scaffolding or crawling out on grid
ers busy with scrapers and brushes.
And higher still l saw the glow of red
hot iron, where the riveters were
working. And at the very top watch
ed black dots of men swing out over
the gulf on the monster derrick-booms,
or haul on the guiding-lines. And
from time to time the signalbell
would send its impatient call to the
throttle-man below, six strokes, four
strokes, one stroke, telling him what
to do with his engine and to do it
quick.