08/17/07 Bridges

In 1908 a two-line bridge was over ¼ mile long was built over the Columbia River that also supported a four-foot irrigation pipeline. A lot of ranchers in the area used that bridge to get cattle and horses to railroad shipping pens on the Westside. Trucks weren't used very much in those days to haul large livestock loads. Grandad's cattle about a ten mile drive upriver to get to the bridge and usually acted pretty good until the bridge crossing. After the livestock crossed the bridge a few town streets had to be negotiated to the corral. This was usually the tough part as the cattle were usually a little skittish coming off the bridge and seeing building and streets that looked nothing like the bluffs and trails they were used too. So one group must have known a little about town because they want to do a little window shopping. So they split into tour groups and with no predetermined reassembly point headed for the sights. The city police were not informed of the tour schedule and were more than happy to escort the four-legged shoppers out of town. The worst scare on the bridge came when the family took 80 head of horses across. The horses were trotting along fine until the waterline I mentioned broke right in front of them and shot water about 20 feet stopping the horses in their tracks. Dad and mom said that bridge shook back and forth like an earthquake hit. Yeah, the police helped escort that bunch through town too. That was the last bridge drive the family made. Thank goodness we use trucks now. Jeff Keane