The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-05-01

stream. never heard of such a thing,
 but there's no time to do anything
 else" He cast a worried look at the
 smiling sky. T wonder what will
 happen next This Is getting on my
 nerves.''
 Out on the river swift work was go-
 ing on. Steam from every available
 boiler was carried across the ice in
 feed pipes. the night shift had been
 reused from sleep. and every available
 man was busted in relieving the rres-
 sure. Pile drivers hammered long tim
 bers into the river bed above the threatened point, hydraulic jacks were
 put in place, and steel cables were run ito drum and pulley. The men worked
 sometimes knee deep in ice water, but they did not walk; they ran. Tn an incredibly short time the preparations were completed, strain was put upon the tackle, and when night came the
 massive false work had been pulled back into line and the traveller was once more swinging steel into place. It was q magnificent feat, yet not one of those concerned in it could feel con ddent that the work had not been done
 in vain. for the time was growing ter ribly short, and, although the ice seem ed solid, it was rotting fast.
 After the southern half of the span had been completed the warmth in- creased rapidly. Therefore the steel crew heightened it's hours. The men worked from z o'clock in the morning until Ii o'clock at night.
 On the 18th, without warming of any sort, Garfield glacier began moving for ward. It had lain inactive even during the midwinter thaw which had started fe spell had evidently had its effect upon the giant. for now he shook off his 1ethargy and awoke. He stirred, grad uA41y at first and without sound, as if bent upon surprising the interloperss then his speed increased. As the gla- cier advanced it thrust the nine foot blanket of lake ice ahead of it, and this in turn crowded the river ice down upon the bridge The movement at the camp site on the first day was only two inches. but that was suffi- ciently serious.
 The onset of Garfield at this time was, of course, unexpected, for no for ward motion had ever been reported prior to the spring breakup. The ac- tion of the ice heretofore had been alarming but now consternation spread. A panic swept the ranks of the builders, for this was no short lived phenomenon. This was the an nual march of the glacier itself, which promised to continue indefinitely. A I tremendous cutting edge, nine feet in thickness, like the blade of a carpen- ter's plane. was being driven against the bridge by an irresistible force.
 Once again the endless thawing and chopping and gouging of ice began, but the more rapidly the encroaching edge was cut away the more swiftly did it bear down. The huge mass began to rumble; it "calved,'' it split, it detonat- ed. and. having finally loosened itself from it's bed, it acquired increased mo- mentum. As the men with chise1s and steampoints became exhausted others took their places. but the structural gang cIung to its perch above, aug menting the din of riveters and the grooming of blocks and tackle. Among the abIebodied men sleep now was out of the question, for the ice gained in spite of every effort. It was too late to remove the steel in the uncomplet- ed span to a place of safety, for that would have required more time than to bridge the remaining gap.
 Filing began to buckle and bend be- fore that irresistible push The whole l nicely balanced mass of metal was in danger of being unseated Mellen cursed the heavens in a black fury; Parker smiled through white lips; | O'Nen ground his teeth and spCrred his men on.
 This feverish haste brought its pen atty. On the evening of the 14th, when the span was more than three quarters finished, lower chord section fouled as it was lifted, and two load ing beams at the top of the traveller snapped.
 On that day victory had been in sight The driving of the last bolt had l been but question of hours, a race with the sliding ice. But with the | apparatus out of use work halted. Swiftly, desperately, without loss of moments time, repairs began. No regrets were voiced, no effort was made to place the blame, for that | would have caused delay, and every minute counted. Eleven hours later l the broken beams were replaced and | erection had recommended.
 But now for those above there was danger to life and limb. During the | pause the ice had gained, and no effort | could relieve the false work of its