The Cadiz Democratic sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1854-1864, 1854-05-24
fraH, he Wheeling Iaisllieenees Of the isth 'nsi.
TERRIFIC STORM
Destruction Of the Wheeling Sns,
pcnsion Bridge!

BRiyaE, hss heen swept irotn itS sirvng hoius
- 4 terrific storm. and now hes mass OF
Tsiss Yesier lay morning thousands he
4,-isstAis stu ,eadOas slracGfe IN uniistur-
Aed repoSe and n uadiminished strength,
s-r,ighty pathway sFasning The orau iui
tatefs q shs .Gbio, link Ia the uhkr"keH
chain af trade AMI travel between IA" L 81
md The West, and looked upun il as one OF
tae proHdest monuments u the enterprise
/. 81 sn citizens. Now, nothiR% rcmaius u il
aat sha dismantled towers hoIhjug ss,ove
tas sesrowtul wreck thas has buried ornrs.h
tHesnl A giant lies pro~irale ia the Cht",
and against llis buge an5 LEokco f.ba. aud
iron aLews, snapped asaEder, the saves
sre dashing sorrewiuil., sehdjsg II? sound
the most doleTul Ihst ever !eli upon 'ae ea:
OF our citizens
During -the forenoon ri yesier3ag. high
storm o. wind prevailed, which towards
neon Increased 10 almost kuracanc a!oug
the valley Of the river, breaking vessels al
their moorings and causing great deY&S'ion,
A6ou. , O'Clock we walked up towards the
suspension Bridge, ana went upon at; inten-
ding TO take " ak across It for pleasure, A.
We have frequently done, enjoy ing the cooi
breeze and the undIltatins motion of the
bridge. We discovered that one oil the guys,
OF small iron cables extending from The
flooring to the wall near Ghe base OF the east
Atatment, WAS broken from its fasIenings,
aud several of the stones Wrentched apaIt.
hout - hundred yards further on, We saw
mat one, and only one oil the suspsnders
70 which the floor is swung, was broken
Yhese were bat slight d4msges, but Ms Se
Aad never. before seen the bridge sttec,ed
even to tais extent by gales. and as ii began
to sway violently, We Thought 1t prudent I"
retrace or steps. Ne had been oft the
flooring Shiy s''o minutes and was Oh Main
street when We sqw persons running to-
warts the river ban&, We followed just in
y time 10 see the whole structure oi cables and
flooring beaYiug aud dasbing with tremen-
dous force.
For few moments we watched it with
breathless anxiety, lunging like a ship in
the storm; at one time IL rose to nearly the
heighth OF the towers, then fell, and twisted
and wrilched, aRd was dashed almost bot.
tom upward. At last there seemed to be a
determined twist along the entire span, a
bout one half of the Aoorng being nearly
reversed, and down went the immense struc-
sgre from its dizzy hei ,hth to the stream be-
low, with an appalling crash and roar
Nearly the entire structure struck the wa
ter at the same instant, dashing up an un-
broken column of foam across the river, to
the haighth of at least forty feet
4llnld the confusion Of the wreck, ws can
not accurately estimate the extent Of the
damage. All the cables, except twa on the
North side, are torn from the overs. On
the South side, vii the cables except one,
small oAe, are torn from their anchorage in
the heavy masonry on Main street, and
with such violence were they jerked from
this piece OF masonry, that one stone weigh
ing about ! 500 pounds, was thrown dis
toTlce of some feet. The large iron gate, at
this end Of the bridge, wRs shivered TO at
onas, and the toll house completely demo-
Ished, Mr.. James Bell, the toll keeper, ma
hing narrow escape with his lite. On
the Island, at the west end OF the bridge,
we learn that but one cable broke from the
anchorage. The entire wood work lies in
The river and on the shores. The cables
also stretched across the river, sunk
10 the bottom. So far as we can discover,
only two ofthe cables snapped asunder, and
tha! on tile outside of the towers, the rest
Of the breaksge being at their connections
with the anchors.
For mechanical solution Of the unexpec-
ted fall of his stupendous structure. We
must await future Developments. We wit
messed the terrific scene and saw that it was
brought about by the tremendous violence
u the gale. The great body Of the flooring
and the s'spenders, forming something like
d basket swung between the towers, was
swayed to and fro, like the motion of a pen
dilem The cables on the south side were
finally thrown of the apex Of the eastern
tower. retaining their position on the tower
on The opposite side OF tie river. This de-
stroyed tie equilibrium Of the swinging
body; and eaeh vibration giving it in.
creased momentum, the cables, which sus
tanned the whole structure, were unable to
resist force operating on them in so many
different directions, and were literally twist
ed and yrenched from their fastenings.
The SUBMITS of the towers on each side
are several feet above the arch which unites
them. Upon the SUBMITS the cables rest
ed on iron rollers, and it is supposed by
some that the jar produced by the sudden
falling Of the cables on the one side from the
roller to the connecting arch below, was the
cause Of the disaster. Whether this is a
philosophical conclusion, or whether the re-
suit would have been different If the towers
hat no, been seperated, is question which
we leave to future Investigations.
Ehe dooring Is it struck the water was
broken into three sections, and extended a.
cross the liver. entirely blockading the chan.
mel for while. Last evening that portion
across the cLanneI was cut away, and reno
yed by the steamer Thos. Sgann, SO that
the channel is now free for the passage OF
boats.
iTe caEpot estimate the Inconvenience
which will be caused 10 trade and travel,
and the maii transit by the loss Of the
bridge II is one fthe heaviest caamities
which sss ever faller on eur city, but we
believe the enterprise and public spirit OF
our citizsns will repair the loss as speedily
AZ my community could possibly do, TEN
yoraFy ieFry boats have been provided and
Sheir places viii soon be supplied BY the
best Boats whioh can beprocured For fur
tller arrangements. we look hopefully to the
future.
Ills source Of graduation that no lives
vera last by this disaster We we're among
III i4g H. us. !