The pontoon was then released from its moorings and was hauled out into the stream by means of the endless cable, until it came centrally between the two piers on which the span was to be placed. From each pier a hawser was passed to stanchions on either end of the pontoon. The endless cable was slackened, and the pontoon, with its novel cargo, was permitted to drift slowly down-stream towards the space between the two piers, being guided in its course by manipulation of one or the other of the two hawsers. In this manner the craft was steered delicately into position and was made fast. The actual transference of the span from the pontoon to the masonry bed was carried out by hydraulic jacks, which lifted the whole mass of steel. When the jacks were released, the ends of the span rested firmly on the two piers. By hauling on to the endless cable the pontoon now was drawn clear of the bridge to return for another load. This novel method proved so completely successful that the 13 spans were transferred from the bank and set in position within the short space of 8 days!--half the time the engineer had computed as being requisite for the operation. The whole undertaking was accomplished in record time, bearing in mind the peculiar conditions prevailing in the heart of Africa, and the use of native labour; for, from the time the first move towards the erection of the piers was made, to the setting of the last span, only five months elapsed. The total cost of this mass of steel, weighing 728 tons and stretching in an unbroken line for 1,300 feet across the river, was £50,000, or $250,000. When Broken Hill was gained, 2,013 miles from Cape Town, construction was brought to a stop. The mastermind had passed away some time before, and the colleague who had assisted Rhodes when other financial magnates turned a deaf ear to the project, had also joined the great majority. By the time Broken Hill was gained, £8,000,000 (or $40,000,000) had been sunk in the enterprise. For months the stack of 2000 tons of steel for the resumption northwards remained untouched, through lack of funds, though Mr. Alfred Beit had left £1,500,000 (or $7,500,000) towards the continuation of the work. Then the mineral wealth around Katanga in the Congo Free State, which was under exploitation, demanded transportation to the coast. Accordingly, the line was pushed on to the border of the adjacent country. Rhodes’ objective was Kituta, at the southern end of Lake Tanganyika, 450 miles north of Broken Hill, which point marks the limit of British sway in South Africa, a distance of about 2,700 miles by rail from Cape Town.