The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1914-09-18
BALKED THE RIVER
The Dam That Forced the CoI0ra-
do Back Into Its Bed.
WAS BUILT IN RECORD TIME.
Every Minute Counted In Rushing to
Completion This Engineering Marvel
In Order to Save Some 100000 Acres
Of New Farms From Destruction.


Word came to Tucson In the still Of
the winter OF 1907 that the Colorado
river was keeping an old threat and
was sweeping into the dry Salton
sink of Lower California at the rate Of
$4,000 cubic feet to the second. Al
ready there was lake fifty miles In
length, fifteen miles wide, 100 feet
deep In the center.
Washington was alarmed. 1t looked
as II the entire Imperial valley-a Hol-
land I'm America, below the level Of the
sea and one Of the richest farming
spots In all the west-was to be inun-
dated.
Theodore Roosevelt buried his pride
and asked Il. II. Hartman for help.
Hartman did not have to bury any
pride when he turned to Randolph and
ordered him to do the job.
Randolph was having one Of his
bad turns" at that time. But he Is
enough OF a soldier to obey orders, and
he went to the Salton sink fiat on his
back in his private car.
From that bed Epes Randolph built
one Of the worlds great dams. In
this day, when there are many huge
impoundings, that may seem broad
statement. Men may think Of the
dams across the Nile or the Mississip-
pi, the mighty structures OF Panama
and Of the New York city waterworks,
but not one Of these was built under
pressure.
Epes Randolph's dam was built un-
der stop watch and In fourteen days
and twenty-one hours. In fourteen
days and twenty-one hours he had
placed 100000 cubic feet OF rock and
gravel In the gap, all at cost of
something like S1,60OO00. But the
Colorado had been stopped and, like
naughty child. forced back into Its old
bed.
Once during the work Roosevelt by
wire had asked Hartman how the Job
was getting on. The railroader re-
piled that If the dam was not COM
pleted within five more days 1t never
would be and 100000 acres OF fine,
new farms would be forever lost. And
when the president Of the United
States asked the then president Of the
Southern Pacific II the work would be
done within five days Hartman re-
piled that he had Epes Randolph on
the Job and that Epes Randolph had
not yet known failure.
Epes Randolph was indeed on the
Job. He lay on his bed at the edge OF
the muddy flood and gave orders-thou'
sands and thousands Of orders In
single day. In the first place, the rock
and gravel had to be brought long
way. and 1t was Epes Randolph who
gave the directions under which the
hundreds Of gravel trains moved.
They closed the main line OF the
Southern Pacific and all Its branches
to travellers; they took the engines off
freight trains up and down the lines
wherever they could find them. They
sent north to San Francisco and east
to Houston and New Orleans for more
engines and for fat cars by the mile.
This flood tide Of gravel traffic a mas
ter mind operated with his left hand;
with his right he built the dam.
Before his car moved back to Tucson
again he got out Of bed and went out
upon the work. Out toward the end OF
the embankment. steadily advancing
across the path of the truant river.
group OF men were struggling with a
fine new steel car that had become
derailed at the end Of the temporary
track.
"How long have you been trying to
save that carr asked Randolph.
Twelve minutes" replied the fore
man.
"Let It CO." came the order from the
chief. Twelve minutes time on this
lob is worth more than a hundred
cars"
And SO the car went down under
some thousands OF tons OF rock and
gravel that went to hold back the
mighty Colorado from the haven that
It coveted.-Metropolitan Magazine.