k. First, it seemed advisable to use
gunpowder and blow away the face of the cliff until sufficient space was
made to carry the railway. But the gorge is so narrow, and the rock is
so hard that the plan did not seem a good one. Finally it was decided to
build the railway along a hanging bridge. And this bridge is surely one
of the most curious ever erected. From the cliff-face on either side,
iron girders spring at an upward slant, like an inverted V, and from the
point at which they meet, steel rods descend. These are securely
fastened to the river-side of the bridge. The other side of the bridge
is built into the cliff-face. Thus it is neither a suspension bridge nor
an arch bridge, but is sustained by the strength of the overhead
girders. To make this structure, the workmen, with their tools, had to
be swung in cages against the cliffs, and it was no easy task, in such
a confined space, to manoeuvre the girders into their proper positions.

One of the principal desires of those who were laying this railway, was
to get it done quickly. There were wealthy mining regions to be reached
by it over the high mountains, and to reach them quickly meant
prosperity. Improvements could come afterwards. Consequently it would
never do to make tunnels if they could be avoided, even if great
distances had to be travelled. In England, tunnels do not count for very
much because our mountains are not large, but in Colorado a tunnel would
be a serious thing, particularly for a 'baby road.' When the walls of
the deep and gloomy canon at last widened out into the broad valley, the
engineers found themselves faced by the still vaster wall of snow-capped
mountains. As it was impossible to go through them they would have to be
climbed. The only way to do this was to go up them in a
zig-zag--backwards and forwards. Miles and miles are often traversed to
make only a little progress, and if after looking out of one window you
cross the carriage to look out at the other, you must not be surprised
to find yourself quite close to some place you remember passing half an
hour ago. But you are higher up the mountain, and by-and-by a point is
reached at which the trees have ceased to grow. The patient engine has
dragged its train into the snowy region, too high and cold for spruce or
fir to live in, and a little later the line begins to descend on the
other side. The laying of this zig-zag railway was far more difficult
than it looks, for great skill h