The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1906-09-23

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tho county line must be crossed. On
this he wns laying temporary track
as fast MS II was extended In order
that his earth cars might be pushed
over Il with their loads Of filling ma
terial.
Duncan's first look at the progress
OF the work convinced him that II
could not be completed within the time
allowed unless much larger working
force could be secured.
He instantly telegruphed to Hallam
Must have more men Immediately, II
you can send 200 at once. there is a bare
possibility OF success. provided weather
conditions do not grow worse. but with
out that many men failure is inevitable.
Why not send nil your miners here?
Hallam In his habitual way acted
promptly and with vigor. Leaving
Stafford TO hire oil the men who could
DO secured In Cairo. he himself hur.
ricd TO the mines and by promising
double wages induced most Of the men
there TO so for the time being into the
work of railroad construction. Within
two or three days the total force ut
Duncan's command numbered some
what more than 200 men,
1--WE ought TO have ilfty or hundred
more" he said, particularly as the
miners are new to this sort Of work,
but as we can't get them we must do
our best with the force we have"
After consultation with Temple he
divided the force into three shifts and
kept tho work going night and day
without cessation. For time the
rapid progress made gave Duncan con-
hdence In his ultimate success, In
that confidence Temple shared, but
with reservation.
I'm afraid we're In for freshet."
he said. "The rivers are all rising,
and the rain Is almost continuous now.
All this region except a hill here and
there lies lower than the food levels
Of the Ohio river on one side and the
Mississippi on the other. II the rise
continues we shall have both rivers on
us within few days"
is there any way In which to meet
that dlflicultyY asked Duncan anx-
iously.
"Yes, possibly" Temple responded
slowly and hes!tat!ns!y. 1--WE might
build crib across the space still to be
filed In and make 1t serve the purpose
OF a cofferdam In some degree. BY
doing that we can keep the work going
even II the overflow from the rivers
comes upon us. But the building Of
the crib will take time, and we've no
time to waste, you know"
Yes, | know that. Stlll, II 1t be-
comes necessary we must build 1t. III
tell you this evening what Is to be
done"
For convenience and quickness of
communication Duncan had strung
telegraph wire from tree to tree
through the woods to the point where
the work was In progress. He Instant
ly telegraphed Hallam, saying:
Find out and telegraph flood prospect.
How long before the rise In rivers will
drown us out here7 Everything depends
on early and accurate information as to
that
The answer came back within half
an hour. Hallam telegraphed:
Have already made telegraphic inquiries
Mt all points on all the rivers Reports
very discouraging, Probability Is you'll
be flooded within three days. I'll be with
you tomorrow.
The space to be cribbed, so that the
work Of filling might 90 on In spite of
foods, was comparatively small, but
The task of cribblng It, even In the rud-
ast fashion, occupied nearly the whole
force during three precious
iays and nights. Worse still, In order !