Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-08-03

the depths of the gorge. matted with un-
derbrush and scattered with huge rocks'
lurked the deadly snakes of India. Some
of the coolies were bitten and died. Poison
Gus vegetation also affected the men, ana
vapors arising from the depths OF the
ravine bred low fever in American bones.
There were beasts Of prey, too, but al
though they were seen and heard proving
about the camp at night. the bridge build
ers suffered nothing from their depreda-
tions except 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 nelu
back ten weeks. At last these were com
pleted, and then the traveller" was put IN
position.
This was a mechanical giant, the largest
by far ever used In bridge construction. 1t
lifted and lowered the tons of steel and
held them in its grip while the men fasten-
ed them into place. Although in the pho
tographS of the work the traveller looks
to be only 20 or 80 feet in length and to
weigh perhaps four or five tons, it extended
from its support on the end of the rail-
road track a distance of 165 feet over the
gorge and contained ninety tons of metal
alone. The beams or trusses which formed
its lower portion were 219 feet in length,
and from its top to the railroad track was
40 feet. To keep this immense weight from
topping over, counterweight of seventy
five 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.
Built by Thirty-ffve Men.
The little band Of thirty-five Americans
put the mammoth bridge together from
side to side of the gorge in little over
eight months after the work was COM
menced The bridge is so strongly built
that it will support a train of loaded freight
cars reaching it's entire length, in addition
to four locomotives weighing fifty-four tons
each. Owing to its great height, it must be
strongly braced to withstand the force of
the gales which sweep down the valley at
a velocity of sixty to seventy miles an
hour. The engineers had to calculate
upon these and other delicate points, but
tests made after completion show that they
calculated to 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 rvets, but when
the 500 natives who were employed as la
borers heard the kissing and noted the eff
feet of the unseen force, they believed it to
be something. supernatural and not one OF
them could be induced to touch the COM
pressed air tools. AS a result all Of the
ened in the old-fashioned way by hand
hammers. This delayed the work about
one month.
Highest of Bridges.
The Gokteik viaduct, as it is known in
Asia is located upon the principal railway
between Rangoon and the Chinese frontier.
1t is the highest bridge in the world, with
two exceptions-the Pecos viaduct in Texas
and the Loa bridge in South America. 1t
is 100 feet longer than any other railroad
bridge in the world and contains i 500 tons
of metal more than any other, the next
largest being the new bridge across the
Kinzua valley, in Pennsylvania. The Kin
qua is but 2053 feet in length and is nine
teen feet lower than the Gokteik The nat
ural bridge upon which the Gokteik struc-
ture rests is on Of the wonders of Asia
being an arch 200 feet in thickness and
about 500 feet long. Ages ago the river
which flows beneath worked it's way
through the barrier. Photographs taken
from the bed of the stream when the trav-
eer was completing the last towers show
ed the columns and Orders in the bridge
structure like delicate lace work, so small
did they appear, while the top portion IF
the traveller was actually invisible.
The work was done under the supervision
Of ]. c. Turk Of New York. as engineer
for the Pennsylvania Steel Company, under
the general direction Of Mr. ]. V. w. Reyn-
ders, general superintendent Of the bridge
department, who prepared the drawings
for the structure. The bridge cost s7OO, 900
or $40 foot. OF the little band Of Amer
leans who went half way around the world
to do this work every man came back alive
and hearty. but with the memory Of one
Of the most trying tasks ever completed
by Yankee pluck and ingenuity