RC Pierce_1915

RC Pierce drew the short straw and was assigned to the San Juan River gage near Bluff, Utah in 1915. This Utah station had the distinction of being the most isolated station in the country. It was 180 miles from the nearest railroad station. This picture highlights his ingenuity to get a job done. He is making a measurement from a hand-hewn cable car using a 60-pound lead weight he cast in Salt Lake City. The weight was attached to an improvised wooden reel [similar to a yacht steering wheel] 4 feet in diameter.