The railway company provided the builders with a special railway down the side of the cliff, as the approach was not completed. This was a huge switch-back, where the trains ran from side to side, first forwards and then backwards. The descent of the precipice in this manner treated the bridge-builders to an exciting ride, which somewhat unnerved them at first, as it was far and away too thrilling to be pleasant. A cableway was also stretched across the gulch, and this was used for transporting material from point to point. In fact, two locomotives were dismantled and sent across this rope in pieces to be re-erected on the opposite side. [Illustration: _Photo by permission of Pennsylvania Steel Co._] VIEW OF THE GOKTEIK VIADUCT There are eighteen steel towers--the highest brings the rails 325 feet above the floor of the gorge--supporting 2,260 feet of bridging.] When the bridge-builders arrived they found that Mr. G. Deuchars, the engineer-in-chief to the railway, had completed the whole of the preparations. The concrete pedestals for the steel towers stretched across the floor of the ridge in two unbroken lines over the top of the natural bridge through which the Chungzoune River makes its subterranean way. All that the bridge-builders had to do was to set the steel. The viaduct was built upon the overhanging principle, in accordance with the American practice, by means of a traveller. This was a cumbersome piece of apparatus weighing 100 tons, with a long arm which reached out over the gorge from tower to tower. To the native this appliance was a source of infinite wonder. When it was pushed out to its fullest extent, and the long arm appeared certain to lose its balance and to topple into the ravine, they looked on with awe; and when the Americans flew in the face of Providence, as they thought, by venturing to the outermost point to carry out their work, they shuddered. In fact, they never became accustomed to that traveller. Why it did not capsize exceeded their comprehension. The American workmen were assisted in their operations by 350 natives brought from other parts of the country, and who were accustomed somewhat to bridge-building. Once work was brought into swing, it went forward with a rush, the steel towers springing up from their pedestals to a height of 200 feet or so within two or three days. The men toiled 9¾ hours every day, and there was not a halt except when the monsoon blew and it was well-nigh impossible to secure a foothold in exposed positions, or when the torrential rainfall prevailed. The white men found the heat particularly trying and exhausting. Those perched 200 or 300 feet in the air, and fully exposed to the sun and a temperature of 120 degrees, secured a little welcome shade under an awning that was stretched over the apparatus. They wore the lightest of clothing, while white pith helmets served to offer some protection from sunstroke.