lock with a
wheel or sheave 4 inches in diameter was mounted to travel on the rope.
Suspended from this block by means of fall and tackle was a swing seat.
This, as shown in Fig. 94, was merely a board fastened with four rope
strands to the ring of the tackle block. A single rope was used, with
the ends tied firmly together. The loop thus formed was passed through
the ring of the tackle block and the opposite ends were twisted over the
ends of the seat board in the manner illustrated in Fig. 95. The tackle
blocks were quite small, having 2-inch sheaves, and they, together with
the large pulley or "traveling block," as we called it, cost us about
$2.50. Two light ropes were fastened to the large traveling block, each
rope long enough to reach across the stream. The ropes extended to
opposite anchorages, where each was passed over a branch of the tree and
belayed on a cleat within easy reach. A fellow could draw himself up
clear of the ground by pulling on the free end of the fall, as a painter
does; then tying the swing fast in this position, he would pull himself
across the stream by means of the rope stretched to the opposite
anchorage. The swing could be drawn back by the next one who wanted to
cross. We also used this aerial line for transporting loads from one
island to the other.

[Illustration: Fig. 96. The Rope Railway.]

SUSPENSION BRIDGE.

[Illustration: Fig 97. Barrel-stave Flooring.]

[Illustration: Fig. 98. The Suspension Bridge.]

Our aerial railway didn't last long. We soon tired of it, and instead
utilized the materials for a rope suspension bridge. We procured from
Lumberville half a dozen old barrels and used the staves as a flooring
for the bridge. The staves were linked together by a pair of ropes at
each end woven over and under, as indicated in the drawing Fig. 97.
Notches were cut in the staves to hold the ropes from slipping off. The
flexible flooring thus constructed was stretched across the river and
secured to stakes driven firmly in the ground. A pair of parallel ropes
were extended across the stream about three feet above the flooring,
with which they were connected at intervals of five feet. The bridge was
25 feet long, and while rather shaky, owing to the fact that there were
no braces to prevent it from swaying sidewise, still it was very strong
and did excellent service.

PONTOON BRIDGE.

[Illustration: Fig. 99. The Pontoon Bridge.]

At the head of the mill-race, where the c