The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 118, August, 1867: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and PoliticsVarious
General
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 118, August, 1867: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics
Various
American periodicals
Before the traveller loitering along the levee has done wondering at the
smoke, his eye is caught by the new wire suspension bridge, which
springs out from the summit of the broad, steep levee to a lofty tower
(two hundred feet high) near the water's edge, and then, at one leap,
clears the whole river, and lands upon another tower upon the Covington
side. From tower to tower the distance is one thousand and fifty-seven
feet; the entire length of the bridge is two thousand two hundred and
fifty-two feet; and it is hung one hundred feet above low-water mark by
two cables of wire. Seen from below and at a little distance, it looks
like gossamer work, and as though the wind could blow it away, and waft
its filmy fragments out of sight. But the tread of a drove of elephants
would not bend nor jar it. The Rock of Gibraltar does not feel firmer
under foot than this spider's web of a bridge, over which trains of cars
pass one another, as well as ceaseless tides of vehicles and
pedestrians. It is estimated that, besides its own weight of six hundred
tons, it will sustain a burden of sixteen thousand tons. In other words,
the whole population of Cincinnati might get upon it without danger of
being let down into the river. This remarkable work, constructed at a
cost of one million and three quarters, was begun nine years ago, and
has tasked the patience and the faith of the two cities severely; but
now that it is finished, Cincinnati looks forward with confidence to the
time when it will be a connecting link between Lake Erie and the Gulf of
Mexico, and when Cincinnati will be only thirty hours from Mobile.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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