FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35  
36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   >>   >|  
that they are not blown away. It was made to serve man, and it works without a grumble. Thus the higher force in nature always prevails over the lower, and the greater amount over the less amount of the same force. What is the highest force? THE FAIRY PULLS GREAT LOADS Far back in the hills west of Mauch Chunk, Pa., lie great beds of coal. They were made under the sea long ages ago, raised up, roofed over by the Allegheny Mountains, and kept waiting as great reservoirs of power for the use of man. But how can these mountains be gotten to the distant cities by the sea? Faith in what power can say to these mountains, "Be thou removed far hence, and cast into the sea?" It is easy. Along the winding sides of the mountains have been laid two rails like steel ribbons for a dozen miles, from the coal beds to water and railroad transportation. Put a half dozen loaded cars on the track, and with one man at the brake, lest gravitation should prove too willing a helper, away they go, through the springtime freshness or the autumn glory, spinning and singing down to the point of universal distribution. [Illustration: Incline at Mauch Chunk.] On one occasion the brake for some reason would not work. The cars just flew like an arrow. The man's hair stood up from fright and the wind. Coming to a curve the cars kept straight on, ran down a bank, dashed right into the end of a house and spilled their whole load in the cellar. Probably no man ever laid in a winter's supply of coal so quickly or so undesirably. But how do we get the cars back? It is pleasant sliding down hill on a rail, but who pulls the sled back? Gravitation. It is just as willing to work both ways as one way. Think of a great letter X a dozen miles long. Lay it down on the side against three or four rough hills. Bend the X till it will fit the curves and precipices of these hills. That is the double track. Now when loaded cars have come down one bar of the X by gravity, draw them up by a sharp incline to the upper end of the other bar, and away they go by gravity to the other end. Draw them up one more incline, and they are ready to take a new load and buzz down to the bottom again. I have been riding round the glorious mountain sides in a horseless, steamless, electricityless carriage, and been delighted to find hundreds of tons of coal shooting over my head at the crossings of the X, and both cars were drawn in opposite
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35  
36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

mountains

 

incline

 
gravity
 

amount

 

loaded

 

sliding

 

crossings

 

pleasant

 

winter

 

opposite


spilled
 
dashed
 
Coming
 

straight

 

quickly

 

undesirably

 
supply
 

Gravitation

 

cellar

 

Probably


letter
 

carriage

 

electricityless

 

steamless

 

delighted

 

riding

 

mountain

 

bottom

 

horseless

 

hundreds


shooting
 

glorious

 

double

 

precipices

 

curves

 

raised

 

roofed

 

Allegheny

 

Mountains

 

cities


distant
 

waiting

 

reservoirs

 

grumble

 

higher

 
nature
 

prevails

 

highest

 

greater

 

singing