Newspaper Page Text
12
BRIDGE A RECORD BREAKER.
SEW EAST RIVER STRITTI'iID
FROM MAMHTTW TO
ISLAM).
Marvflii of Englnerrlnv Whlrli Haf
Been Achieved In 14* Con*trn*4lon.
llo'iv the \n*4 Cnhie* Are Mrnna.
A Toiuiiornry Working Brldiie
Which < out* $200.000— >> or Mnic-
Inre Will Hoc Almost the Sninc
Water Si> it ns the BrooWl>
Bridge, lint AV 111 He 1.200 Keel
Longer nnl Four Times ns Slrnns. j
Anchoring the Vast tables—The
Progress of the ork 'on De
pends I.argelv on the Wentlier, ns
Work on the Snnylng t'nbles tan
Act Be Carried on In lllglt W inds.
BY LEWIS NIXON,
President of the Near Hast liner Bridge
Commission.
New York, April 26.—Unless in the im- ;
mesiiate future some of the magicians of
aelenee spring n surprise upon the world, j
the New East River Bridge, thrown from 1
Manhattan to Brooklyn, will be the first (
great record-breaker of the. twentieth cen
tury. It will, when finished, mark the
climax of achievement in bridge building.
In many respects it will be one of the
moat remarkable structures of its kind
in the world. Asa suspension bridge it
twill stand unrivaled, and as an engineer- ,
Ing feat only one bridge can approach 1
it, its near neighbor, the Brooklyn bridge. (
fronn uma, —-^2=r--
MANHATTAN APPROACH TO THE NEW EAST RIVER BRIDGE. __
Indeed, the latter 13 the only suspension
bridge In the world to be compared with
It, and to give some idea of the magni
tude and ambition of the new bridge some
comparative ligures between it and the
old will form the best illustration.
The greatest contrast between the, two
lien In their relative strength. Roughly,
the New East River bridge will be four
times as strong as the Brooklyn bridge;
each of Its four cables will be about
■twice as stout as those which support the
span of the older structure, and in other
respects Its superiority in strength will
be maintained.
Bach of the four cables will constet
of 37 strainds, and each strand will have
282 single wires, a total of 10,434 wires
in each cable. The normal pull on each
cable will be about 6,000 tons, and as
each will be capable of supporting 200,000
pounds to 4he square inch, and will have
222 square inches, net. the engineers cal
culate that ithe suspension power of the
bridge will be four times greater than the
maximum demand upon it.
The width of the new structure will be
118 feet, as compared with the 86 feet of
the Brooklyn Bridge, and the character
and amount of Its traffic accommodation
— ——i , .- w ~ u_ —-
i m. - mens 4* m
i yl InJl J w Jm
B fc+Kt w m M Jim tkJf:
’■ v :. v 4 ■ ' tjpjpjjv?——JUs. 4
H jmjf f m~. ;i" ■ J : i riW
’f . A-- h'. ■ ' ‘ ; ■
MANHATTAN END.
will b proportionately greater. It will
have *ix railroatt track*., two carriage
way*, each twenty feet wide, two foot
•walk*, and a eonceaalon# to the growing
tattle* of the public, two bicycle path*.
In actual channel rirari the two bridge*
will not present a great diff. renee, mere
ly a matetr of four and a half feet, but In
the total length of tbe apart the new
bridge will claim the retard by I,'JW feet
The Hrooklvn bridge ban a chanturl nan
of i.M't feet and a petal length of <• ***>
fart. The figure# of the new bridge ara
t opaettvaiy l.too ful and J JWt tri I.
Tlie reel tower* of the new bridge are
about fit feet taller than the fnaaonry
epirea of Uiookiyn orloge The cap of tb*
rim#; work from high watei ta Kg. feet;
riffilier maaaurametita on the Brooklyn
bridge give a higbt of 3S feet The min;
twon. ;.tgnt of the bridge for go fet on
k*dijtar aide of the . ranter etrov* inaan ttlgn
■nu. trd opngg fihftat It Jit feet; ue
Brooklyn bridge lias the same hight, but
only at the central point.
The work of building this bridge is a
work of daring and enterprise, compli
cated and full of the most delicate detail.
It has brought forth the display of the
greatest skill in engineering and the per
fection of mechanical appliances. From
the sinking of the stone piers to their
bed of rock, one hundred and fifteen feet
below the water level, to the spinning in
mid-air of the mighty cables, the work
has been performed with unerring preci
sion and fidelity. The sinking of these
piers was done in a depth of sixty feet
of water and presented a difficulty real
and haznrduou*.
The stretching of the cables from totver
to lower will bo an affair of the greatest
labor and nieeness. It would' be hard to
present the delicacy of this operation to
the lay mind, hut a conception of it may
be given when it is said that these enor
mous cables will have to he twisted, two
tiny wires at a time, high in mid-air. The
preparations for spinning those cables are
now under way; the four solid steel sad
dles, each weighing thirty-five tons, over
which the cables will iiss, are 1n place
at the top of the towers, and all is be
ing made ready to sling the first wire.
But before that cart he. done a sort of
minor bridge—but one. which, by the way,
will cost JIW.OOO-wIU have to be erected,
and from this the work of constructing
the cables will go oil.
This foot bridge will consist of a sus
pended structure of three spans, one of
1,000 feet between the two towers, and
two of nearly 600 feet each between the
towers and granite anchorage. The mid
dle span will virtually consist of tw'o nar
row parallel double-deck bridges, sixty
seven feet apart on centers, and connect
ed by cross bridges, 160 feet apart.
Making the connection between the
towers for this foot bridge is an in-
teresting operation In Itself. Con
trary to precedent in such cases, the
first bond of union is a heavy cable,
weighing over twelve tons, and not a
thread or tight line as was used in the
Brooklyn and other suspension bridges.
Here is how the connection was made.
The end of the wire rope, two and a quar
ter inches in diameter, and three thous
and feet in length was attached firmly
to the anchorage on the Manhattan side.
The other end was then passed over the
tower on the Manhattan side and down to
a flat boat at the edge of the water.
On this flatt. boat the free end of the cable
was ttxed, and a tugboat started slowly
on the trip across the river, the cable
being carefully reeled off, so as to sink
toward the bottom of the stream, be
tween the flait, boat and the side of the
river on which it was attached, that it
might not impede navigation during the
time that the cable was being pulled
across the stream. When the cable had
been stretched across the river the un
attached end was passed up over the
Brooklyn tower, and the line hauled- from
tlie bed of the river and drawn taut till
the loose end reached the anchorage on
the Brooklyn side.
With the- completion of the temporary
bridge will begin the at retching of tt*e
cable proper. The ne< esmtry wire for th
multi cable* 1* now in the cotiree of man
ufacture at Trenton, N. J , and will be
2-16 of ail inch' in diameter, and. n 1
have already atd, will be capable of u.
talnlng a gtrain of iMi.trib |>ound U Ihe
tMfuaie Itc h Ka<'h wire will to made t.<*W
feet In length, and will t.e rbipped to the
bridge rite ot, drum* In ea< it cabin itiera
will tie V, wir<* laid atiaigbt and pat-
Mild to each other, which will b. Inal
{trooped into r'r*!>o* ref d*i to . e 0 t able
fladi *trand will ■ obtain VW wl>**, and
Will Ire temporarily w lapped When fha
mad*, than the teinpuiary wieppn.# i# i*
tuu.ed and th# lO.uun wire* an grouped
together In a cyiti art. al • *bl# Ra<T. eabi*
wiH be i.e.d ti* form by heavy - lamp* of
•ieel weighing about *O. pound* **di
apart arm gdU gw-urg iu gwgpauigt# ta
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY. APRIL2B. 1901.
the cables. These suspenders are to con
sist of four strands of l\-lnrh twisted
steel wire tope, and to each of these sus
penders the end of the floor beams will
be attached. The floor beams and the
entire structure will be thus suspend
ed from the cables proper by the suspend
ers. When completed, the cables will be
sheeted with a casing of sheet steel
about one-sixteenth of an inch An thick
ness. overlapping, in order to shed the
water.
The operation of cable making will con
sist of an endless rope, moved in both di
rections by a steam engine placed in the
construction plane of each cable. This
rope passing around sheaves at the an
chorage will carry a bight of the cable
wire across the river. The loops at both
ends will be received on shoes, which will
rest on legs several feet from the anchor
pins. This arrangement will cause the
strand during construction to hang from
twelve to sixteen feet above its final po
sition and afford an opportunity to adjust
caeh wire separately to exact parallelism
with a standard wire. As the end of one
coil is reached, it will be spliced to the
end of another ceil, and the wire made
continuous throughout the strand. The
wires in each strand will bo lashed o
gether in an approximately cylindrical
shape, lowered several feet, and united to
form the cable, which will 'be built in a
vertical plane and afterward moved trans
versely, to give It the required cradling.
As explained, during tho process of cable
making in previous suspension bridges,
including tlie Brooklyn bridge, the strand
wires have all been pulled across from
one side of the river, and the cable mak
ing has been performed by a limited num
ler of men in traveling cars suspended
alongside of the cables. This, however,
has been vastly improved upon in the
case of the new bridge, w'hero the wires
will be pulled across from both sides of
the river. a
It has been so arranged that two
strands of each cable or eight strands in
all can be simultaneously made, and a
practically unlimited number of men can
work on them simultaneously by means
of the foot bridges which form the work
ing platform under each cable for its full
length. For this operation four sets of
machinery will be required, and these will
so expedite the work on the four cables
that they will be built more rapidly than
ever before thought practicable.
The weather will play an important
part in the making of these eables. In
calm weather the work can be carried
on without Interruption, but it will al
most entirely cease during high winds.
The cables at each anchorage will be
attached to the forty steel eye bars, four
teen feet long, which are built in solid
masonry. These will be walled in with
granite blocks of the same size as those
used in building the anchorage, after the
cables have been attached.
This new bridge will, indeed, be in
every way a remarkable structure, and a
striking monument to American engin
eering genius. There is no space here to
speak of Its commercial value as an in
vestment by the city of New York, but
it will be worth many times the eighteen
millions to be spent upon It.
MARK TWAINS CAPTAIN.
First Boat the Humorist Ever Served
on Ws the Swallow Motive
Power Was a Mule on n Treail
.Mill.
From the Kansas City Journal.
Steamboating on the Mississippi Is not
what it used to be and there still remain
a few old rivermen al>ove the sod wlto
look hack over the years with an inde
finable feeling, seldom expressed, but
which, put into words, would be a regret
regret, because a phase of life distinctly
American has passed away, and more and
more, as the years go by, is fading from
the memories of men.
A strange craft to these waters was
embodied in a famous old riverman, who
sat in the lobby of the Coates House yes
terday, and let his mind drift back to the
old days before the war, when he was
captain of many an old craft plying be
tween St. Louis and New Orleans before
the whistle of a locomotive was heard In
Missouri.
He was Capt. Thomas Bixby of New
Orleans, and he still appears the tpyical
old riverman that he once was, notwith
standing his three score years and ten.
Capt. Bixby had not been aboard an
upper Mississippi steamboat for ten years
prior to making his present trip, partly
to go over the old scenes and partly to
visit a daughter in lowa.
Six weeks ago he left New Orleans on
board an up-to-date boat bound fry St.
lajuls. In 1866, when Capt. Bixby was
captain of the Swallow, he had a remark
able pilot, who was no other than "Mark
Twain," or Samuel 1,. Clemens, the now
world famous humorist and author of
books that are read from Cape to Cairo.
R U
In need of a cure for that annoying and
eVer-preaent fever, then read what we
have to *av:
Dr. W S. Van Hrwle rode’a Malaria
Kever, Ague and t'hlll t'ure will pneltlv#.
iy are! permanently cure you of Malaria
p>Vri, Arc. * 'hill, iliiiigrriitMi. Kidney
r u Diver Trouble* and ah ill* grilling
floor malarial affection*. Thll remedy,
w* would have you know, I* not a cqra
all, nor i* if in arty way. I. Manful, aa It
l mad* entirely from gut* herb* ami
rout*, and under the careful auger virion
and by egjoul . beuiuta, Ihu* IflcUfing to
tba {mi lent a rlaan wnonaom* and
health giving t mi. ady fuf the * or# uf Ik*
above ri*ta4 abaaant*. Try M an# tar
aunvuvead Aab your 4fug,*ri*' for I*
|‘H. e *u re,.l • pet la* * * Ma. uf*‘ lof 14
la iio laborrrinrteg u tw Pi W M Van
MltAaiwg* t o, tataigun, ft. and
FOYE & ECKSTEIN.
Corded Wash Silks,
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10 yards Cotton Diaper,
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12 yards English Long Cloth
at 95 cts.
Alpine Rose Shirtings
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Pride of the West Bleach
at 10 cts.
Silk Stripe Wool Challies
at 29 cts.
Flannel Wash Taffeta Silks
at 75 cts.
Guaranteed Black Taffetas
at 73 cts.
Silk Finish- Gloria Umbrellas
at 98 cts.
Fine lot Fancy Taffetas
at 49 cts.
Mercerized Table Damasks
at 69 cts.
Printed India Linon, were 1214 c,
at 7 cts.
All shades 38-inch Albatross
at 50 cts.
Fine lot Infants’ Hull Caps
at 25 cts.
Screven’s Patent Drawers
at 49 cts.
Ladies’ Lace Striped Hose
at \2 1-2 cts.
Children’s Fast Black Hose
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Ladies’ Lace Lisle Stockings
at 35 cts.
Ladies’ Ingrain Lisle Hose
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Men’s Fine Drawers and Vdsta
at 25 cts.
Men’s Fancy Negligee Shirt*
at 48 cts.
Men’s Fine Silk Neckwear
at 25 cts.
"Yes, those were toi’a’ble good times,"
mused Capt. Bixby, "and being here In
Kansas City makes me think sometimes
I am drifting a leetle from my proper
moorings. But steamboating on the old
river is about played out,” he continued
in a tone of disguest.
“If you have any idea of taking a
steamboat down the Mississippi, don't tell
any of your friends."
“When was it you ran the Swallow with
Mark Twain?"
"Bet me see. Sam wasn't much more
than a youngster then. He came down to
St. Louis from Florida, Mo., where he had
been in a printing office, and wanted to
be a pilot. I reckon he was about the
quaintest looking specimen I ever saw.
He was about 24 then and I hired him.
We had another pilot on board, who took
WORKINGMEN SLIDING DOWN THE CABLE.
the wheel in strange water*, for the river
lied wait an uncertain a* the hind leg of
a mule.
..gpeaklna of n Mole.”
"HpeakinK of a mule ”
Here the narrator look a few vigorous
puff* ai hi* pli‘ and emitted m chuckle
that resembled the *uppre*cd rumbling*
of an earthquake.
"Hpeaking of a imile,’* h eontinued,
"the Hwallow ii.el the i|Ueeret *ort of
er.gin ttiat wa* ever tieen. 1 reckon.
The Ciaft It well wu* a little shaky—lt
only piled tret ween ft* Iu 1* aivt Halro -
bring about tlifrty feet lung, with a stern
Wheel, a place tor freight and paanen
get*, a pitot tiouae and a place on what
may i,, .a; •*t the idiot u*- k for th# ** -
fUt* Tht viiflgr went Sbeaid wfirri H
wa* ra*dd and only Hum It bum*4 no
wood out - vat! fvt atir a powayful eight of
a#a** H wa* a i*<f* gray wtui* i nari
jerry whi'd l worked a trradariil that
p.ugei #4 th# hua* ham .‘,#nuM.a *•**
know Id* tunmm of M#rk Twain earwa iatbrr
W# vdiut gngm##f a<w4 pttac Ma nag a
A Real Silk Bargain.
A late shipment of Foulard Silks has once more given us an assortment as
choice and elaborate as is usual only early in a season. If anything the selection
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at concessions—our patrons always reap the benefits of the advantages we corp
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Ladies’ Night Robes
50c, 75c, Sl.oo and up to $lO Each.
Ladies’ Muslin Skirts
50c, 75c, sl, and up to $8,50 Each.
Ladies’ Muslin Chemise
25c- 50c 75c and up to $8.50 Each.
Ladies’ Muslin Drawers
I9c, 25c, 35c and up to $4.00 Each.
Ladies’ Curse) Covers
7c, 15c, 25c and up to $4.00 Each.
Kimonas 98c up to SIO.OO.
system of signals and they were ingeni
ous. By pulling a cord he could raise a
head of cabbage just out of reach of the
mule. The engine would start for it and
begin to walk after it and the boat float
ed majestically on down the river or up,
as the case might be. When Sam wanted
to stop he would pull a rope attached to
the feedbox of the engine.
"Without intending to be personal, I
will say that Jerry was one of the most
intelligent animals I ever met. His voice
was more on the order of a fog-horn than
a whistle—it was too much of a baritone
for the latter.
“When Sam wanted to whistle for a
landing he hit Jerry with a stick. If he
wanted, in the profane language of the
liver pilot, to go ahead like h—, he gave
Jerry a touch of the whip.
"Rut piloting on the Ml*st*s!ppl was not
a Job that a man would take for amuse
ment unless he had a queer Idea, of amuae
ment.
"The pilot house was a mighty lone
some place at night, especially so when
th folk* below were In tied, Kvery other
living creature on the boat I* down be
ta* the pilot, and he has to trtand there
In the dark and everlastingly twist (hat
wheel to keep the boat from jabbing her
mar into th# hank or from cilmldng over
sandbank*. Itoat* didn't carry any head
light That would bother a print, In tho#
day*, (oming Hum ih# opposite direc
tion
"Our engine wa* a terrlbl* kh*k#r and on
or,# trip w# had an iron ngur# of an In
dian an board a cigar #lgt> i human*
wag an wa-c h tttw night and things must
hit* baan pretty *krw in th* pilot houa#
auggaat th# Idas of dr*a#lng up th# In
dian stag planing him near in# mui# I
•aa ari##p an dark a* th# waainar •*
warm ang wa# awah##g by m*r*t
tern pis i# k# soar lot#** tg|g oMa el a*
explosion.
“The mule kicked till he was piumb
played out, then he laid down, with us
in tlie middle of the river.
“Well, the next boat I had was the old
Golden Eagle and I ran it for twelve
years in and out. It was a model river
craft and carried an enormous quantity
of freight and passengers. It required
peculiar qualities ill a man to be a success
on -the river in those day's. In the first
place, he must be able to swear artis
tically' and with a vim.”
Here Capt. Bixby took a few more
puffs and the words came wading througn
a stream of smoke;
"Once we were taking on flour at Mem
phis and Joe Wheeler, our first mate,
who was quite a character on the river,
gave the best exhibition of handling steve
dores I ever witnessed. Nothing that
breathes was tougher than a nigger roust
about on the Mississippi in those days,
and some mates selected them for tills
quality, as the more toughness they had
the more hard work they would stand.
The Water and the Barrels,
The water at Memphis was low on this
occasion, and the warehouse away up
above the boat’s smokestacks. The flour
was sent down on greased skids. The
mate was standing at a window in the
warehouse, directing matters. The bar
rels were coming down like a procession
of toboggans when all at once the upper
end of the top skid became displaced.
The next barrel* that slid onto
it turned half round, rolled down into the
boat and plunged through the herd of
rousters. The mate opened ills mouth to
swear, when a second barrel shot out.
Jumped off the skid, kicked up its heels
and went tearing down the steep levee
toward the river. There were two ne
groes in the path.
a hr/iUor*i or ftoa&cobofuc t> cnirror ani> yu/>w lacb-
SI.OO Wash Shirt Waist*
at 59 cts.
$1.50 Wash Shirt Waists
at 98 cts.
$6.00 Taffeta Silk Waist*
at $3.49.
$1.50 Washable Summer Skirt*
at 98 cts.
Fine Black Brilllantlne Skirt*
at $2.49.
Tailor-made Serge Skirt*
at $3.49.
$1.19 Ladies’ Percale Wrapper*
at 75 cts.
$1.50 Lawn or Percale Wrapp*r*
at 98 cts.
Tybee Breeze Summer Corset*
at 39 cts.
Men’s French Balbrlggan Shirt*
at 49 cts.
18 cents Sheer White India Linon
at I I cts.
10 cents White Good, assorted lot
at 6 cts.
25c very nice Persian Lawn*
at J 5 cts.
40 cents Extra Wide Wash, Chiffon
at 25 cts.
S6 cents Cord and Fancy Pique
at 19 cts.
Black Serge, Albatross and Batiste
at 39 cts.
All Silk Chiffon or Mousseline
at 45 cts.
All colors Peau <se Sole
at 85 cts.
Striped Furniture Covering
at 25 cts.
15 cents Fast Black PercaHn*
at 10 cts.
Black Silk Sergo Ujnbroll**
at $1.98.
25 cents Fancy Striped Silk Ribbon
at 15 cts.
“ ‘Stop that bar'l,” yelled the mate. The
negroes moved out of the way. If thev
hadn’t moved they would have been
mashed.
“ ‘Stop that bar’l, I tell you; what are
you here for?’ Then the barrel struck a
rock, jumed into the air about ton feet
and dived into the river. By this time
the mate was in an active stale of erup
tion, and started with a club to investi
gate matters, but the rousters had that
barrel on the boat before he could get to
-them.
“A good man never loses his temper;
but a man with a backbone like a banana
peeling was out of place on the river in
those days,
"One night Joe heard that some of his
rousters had pistols. He didn’t collect the
entire crew and go on a search. He col
lected a club, went back into the deck
room' where the rousters were, took everv
revolver and threw most of them in the
river. If he hadn't done that he prob
ably would have been shot before he left
Cairo.
"Down at a little landing In Lower Mis
souri a roaster was going ashore with a
box of soap on his shoulder. About haif
way up the stage his foot slipped and he
and the box went into the river.
I “ ‘ , pick up that box,' yelled the
; mate from the bank. ‘Get a hook and pull
; that box out, .'
| “Three or four men got hooks and start
ed to fish the negro out. ‘Let that nigger
alone, , and git the box. The nigger
can get himself out and the box can’t-'
They got the box and then pulled the
man out.”
Capt. Bixby will remain in Kansas City
with friends a few days and will then
“drift back to his old moorings” in New
Orleans. But he will go by rail and not
by boat.