The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1873-05-09
FRIGHTFUL CALAMITY.
A Bridge Over the Rock River Gives
Way-Hundreds OF People Hurled into
the Water-A Large Number Drowned.

the Water-A Large Number Drowned.
Wholesale murders caused by criminal care
lessness, Ignorance, or penurousness would
seem to have reached their most atrocious
climax in the frightful accident at Dixon, ILL.,.
on Sunday, the 4th inst. The patent iron
bridge which spans the Rock river at that
point was crowded, shortly after the MONDAY
hour with between three and four hundred
people to witness the solemn rite of baptism
10y immersion. The unsubstantial structure,
too feeble to bear this weight, suddenly gave
way, and the wretched assembage was pre-
cpitated into the deep stream. Once in the
swift current there was but little hope for
| those who were unable to swim, and deaths
| appetite was glutted with an unknown number
of men, women and children. A dispatch to
| the Chicago Times gives the following particu-
lars of the horrible affair."
At 1880 p. m. to-day MAY A, between three
and four hundred people were gathered upon
the city bridge over the Rock river, to witness
the baptismal ceremonies in progress, in the
river, when there was sudden crash and, in
an instant the bridge gave way, carrying into
the river its precious freight of human lives.
The current at the bridge is deep and strong
and swollen by the recent rains to food
height III which the throng, that but an in
slant before was full of life and happiness,
thrown pel-mell with carriages and teams in
| their midst, were literally swallowed up Some
of those near the abutment had the presence
of mind to leap from the falling bridge, at the
| first warning of danger. and, alighting in the
water, succeeded in gaining the shore, and
| few near the shore were saved the rest were
carried under by the wreck of the bridge and
| swept away by the swift current The APP
palling spectacle for moment paralyZed the
| spectators, who i'll u great measure, owing TO
the lack of boats, etc, were compelled to be
1 halnIpRs n ha If tbair
| children, and friends. The horrors of the
| scene were intensified by the plunghhg in
among the drowning human beings of the
| horses attached to two buggies and wagon
| upon the bridge when it fell. The affrighted
| animals struck out wildly, pushing several un-
| fortunates under water and literally swim
ming over others. The horses all reached
shore.
Up to Monday morning forty bodies had
| been recovered. In the prevailing excitement
| there is no means of ascertaining with any,
thing like accuracy the number drowned.
Even the number of residents of this town
who are lost or missing cannot AZ yet be ascer-
tanned, and numbers were in attendance from
neighboring towns, and several il is reported
from Chicago. The loss of life is variously
estimated at from rs to $50, and the proba-
bilities are that the latter figures are nearer
the fact.
The north span of the bridge gave way first.
pulling all the others with it so quickly that no
chance of escape was offered except to few
| at the extreme south end of the bridge among
whom was Edward Patrick, of this city, who
saved himself by jumping from the bridge.
The bridge was an iron structure OF the Trues-
dale patent, and of the same style as that
which broke down at Elgin on 4th of July a
few years since, and was altogether too light
in construction to be safe even with less weight
upon it than at the time of the disaster. It's
very appearance was sufficient to give warn
ing of Its fragile character, and an awful re-
sponsibility must rest upon those who built
such a terrible trap and upon the authorities
who permitted its use.
The escape of John Wadsworth of this
place, was almost miraculous. The little one
Heated down the stream almost to the railroad
bridge before il was rescued. The child will,
it il believed. recover.
Mr.. James l.. Camp, and Mr.. - Fowler
and his wife, To- tremendous exertions escaped
from the falling bridge. They were near the
south end, and young girl daughter of II.
III. Hasenepting, who was standing near them,
and was carried down by the fall, dragged
herself up out of the wreck to the shore end,
clinging all the while to the hand-rail.
John Eustace, who was on the bridge in his
buggy, was saved by the horse, which swan
to the shore, after which Mr.. Eustace did
some good service in aiding others to escape a
watery grave.
William IL. Woodward, unaided, rescued
four persons, two of them ladies.
d.
bridge at the time and made narrow escape
himself, saved at least two human beings from
drowning.
William Shilcock brought to shore five peo-
pie, all of whom, but for his courageous
efforts. must have been lost
Henry L. Noble, whose wife sunk before he
could reach her aud was lost saved the life of
another lady, Miss Smith.
In addition to those recovered, five corpses
were seen to float down the stream, number
must have been caught by the under current
and still more must be fast in the wreck of the
bridge. which carried them to the bottom of
the river. number owe their escape to the
fact that owing TO the crowdng on the bridge
just before it fell, they were unable to obtain
view of the baptismal ceremonies from that
point, left the bridge for the river bank. Hor-
ror stricken crowds thronged TO the scene of
the disaster and watched the river below the
bridge, while hundreds. as though laboring
under horrible fascination, gaZed vacantly at
the distorted corpses thus far brought ashore.
Hundreds too, were searching for wives, sis
ters children or friends, and the frenzied
anxiety of parents, husbands and relatives of
the missing was terrible to behold. Yet the
awful work of fishing up the corpses of the
drowned, and of hunting among the driftwood
III the eddies for the upturned faces of dead
men and women continues.
There were number of remarkable escapes
of children, of whom there were not less than
so on the bridge when it went down. One
little fellow, about 13 years old, was caught by
both feet in the iron rigging of one of the
spans and had one of his legs broken. He
managed by sheer strength to pull one of his
boots off, tearing the sole off in the process,
and then coolly taking out his knife, ripped
the other boot from the foot of the wounded
leg. and then, crippled he was, swan ashore.
Two little girls, sisters, were standing side
by side, and went down together AS they
reached the water the eldest caught the other
by her dress with one hand, with the other
chung to portion of the iron work, and chung
fast to it, up to her neck in the icy water, until
they were both taken off by a boat.
Statement OF an Eye-Nvitness-Thc Scene
Under the Waters.
Jacob Armstrong, a young man who went
down with the bridge, but escaped by being
penned between tho falling lattice rods sepa-
rating the roadway from the sidewalk, thus
relates his experience Il was on the center
of the span between the abutment and the
shore when the bridge went down. AS the
whole thing went under water woman fell on
me- and some one caught hold of me. Just