Answer.—The enormous but ill-constructed bridge across the Tay at Dundee, Scotland, was authorized by an act passed in 1870. Work was begun in June, 1871. It was much injured by a gale Feb. 4, 1877, but was pushed forward and declared to be completed Aug. 30, 1877. It was tried on the 25th of the following month, and opened for business on May 31, 1878. Twenty lives were lost in its construction, and it cost £350,000, or about $1,750,000. It was 10,612 feet long, and rested on 85 spans, some of which were 90 feet above low tide. At about 7:15 p. m. on Dec. 28, 1879, less than seventeen months after it was first opened to traffic—while a North British mail train was crossing in the midst of a fierce gale—the structure gave way, leaving a gap of 3,000 feet. The train plunged into the surging sea, and not one of the ill-fated passengers escaped. There were between 75 and 90 persons on board; exactly how many was never ascertained. Forty-six bodies were recovered up to April 27, 1880. After the official inquiry Mr. H. C. Rothery declared that “the bridge had been badly planned, badly constructed, and badly maintained.” A new bridge, of a much more substantial character, is now in process of construction.
CAN A SOLDIER ENTER A HOMESTEAD.
Fort Pembina, D. T.
Can a soldier in the regular army take up a homestead or pre-emption claim, and get some other person to make the improvements required by law on either of said claims? By answering this question you will settle a dispute and greatly oblige,
Henry Brown, Serg’t Co. B, Fifteenth Inf.
Answer.—Soldiers now in the regular army may perform certain preliminary acts relating to homestead entries, but they cannot perfect title to such land until their terms of service have expired. See instructions in “Copp’s Land Owner,” vol. 2, p. 133, and case of Charles Harris, “Land Owner,” vol. 6, p. 190. The soldier or his family must reside on the land at least one year, under any circumstances, before he can acquire title.
POPULATION OF PEKING.
Chicago, Ill.