Part 3, Chapter 17 Summary and Analysis

"A Perfect Pandemonium" is how the New York Times describes the welcome given the first man to cross the East River by cable. The chapter describes both colorful events and the engineering behind them. On Monday, Aug. 14, 1876, 6,000 spectators await the first rope to cross the river. Scheduled for Sunday or overnight, when water traffic is light, it somehow becomes a public event. Working ropes have been hauled up the Brooklyn tower, attached to 3,000 feet of the ?-in. twisted steel strands, and the tower and anchorage are connected. At 9 AM, a scow sets off trailing wire rope that sinks as it is played out. The trip takes under 10 minutes, and the arrival is loudly applauded. The rope is hauled up and over the tower, and when a break occurs in river traffic, the submerged wire is lifted to 200 feet over...