several indian crews were trained. they in turn taught others from the reservation. when the st. lawrence bridge was finished, the indians moved on to other work. they have been on the move ever since. these men know the chances they take in their world high above the ground. their footing may be a shaky, swaying beam. it dangles hundreds of feet in the air. there are other dangers. some come from the weather. rain, snow, ice, and sleet make the painted steel slipery worst of all is the whip of the wind. even a mohawk cannot work when the wind blows hard.
there is a legenf that reminds each mohawk of the danger. the story is known wherever steel does up. "this great chief had amazing eyesight and muscular reflexes,a veteran beam-and-girder man said. "he never used a rivet can. he caught flying rivets with tongs. i have ever heard he once caught a brid flying pass.
"then one day it happened. he reached for a cable, and he'd had it,"the storyteller went on. "we all know now - if you have to reach for it, let is go"
"never look up," another veteran warns. "a good steelworker doesn't look up for an instant. he's already there. but sometime there is a temptation: a bird wings past.or a plane