Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1873-05-07
Teyrlble Accident.
A bridge Crowded with People Wit
Messing q Baptism Gives Way.

LAW 1lSAst NAol IA lCfIIUI
accident, involving a fearful loss o.
life, occurred here this afternoon.
The rite of baptism was being admin
istercd to number of rccent converts
to Ii of the Baptist churches here,
ct a point in Rock River just below
the Truesdell iron bridge. About
two hundred persons, including ms ny
Indies and a aumber of children, had
gathered ON the bridge to witness the
ceremony. Suddenly, without warn
ing, the bridge gave way and precip-
itated its living freight into the
stream below. The scene which Gil
suei was indcscribably terrible, as
the struggling victims vainly endeav-
ored to free themselves from tho
runs of the bridge and from each
other. Large crowds OF people on
the banks rushed wildly to and fro,
many Of them so distracted with ter
rOr as to be unable to render ANY
assistance Others, lRore seif-pus-
sessed, speedily brought ropes, plaAks
aud boats, and went molly to work
to rescue the living aud recover the
dead. Some Of those who were on
the bridge when it fell were so near
the ends that they were able to reach
the bank without assistance, while
others were fortunately within reach
Of those Oh shore, but up to 6 =. ri.
thirty-tWO dead bodies ha.i been taken
from the river, and it is almost certain.
that there are others stili under the
wreck Of the bridge. Twcnty-four
were rescued alive, but more or less
injured, some fatally.
The bridge was OF iron, of the Rus
sell pattern, and had five spans, clevat-
ell about twenty feet above the
water, which at this point is FROM
fifteen - twenty feet deep. Only
two spans, the end spans. fell. The
three middle spans are stiil standing,
but in such q condition that it is
thought that they will fall when the
wreck of the end spans Is cleared
away. Workmen are busy tonight
putting in place derricks with which
to raise the fallen spans and max
ing arrangements to secure the
bodies beneath them. 1t is now
stated that there were nearly three
hundred people on the bridge at the
time of the accident, and more sue
ceedcd in escaping than was at first
thought. At the time of the accident
the most Of the people were gathered
at either end Of the structure, though
a large number were near the centre.
Some of them remained where they
we're when the crash came, aud were
afterwards taken off by boats. Sew
eral men jumped from their precari-
GUS resting place into the river, and
swan to the shore. Two horses and
buggics yer standing on the middle
spans, and nre still there, there being
no way to takcthem OFT. There were
numbers of remarkable escapes of
children, of -whom there were prob
ably not less than fifty OH the bridge
when it went down. One little fell
low, about thirteen years old, was
caught by both feet in the iron rig
ging of one of the fallen spans, and
had one of his legs broken lie man
aged, by'shcer strength, to pull que
of his boots of, tearing the sole of
in the process; then cooily taking
ont his knife, ripped the other boot
from the foot of the wounded leg.
and, crippled though he was, SWAN
ashore. Two little girs-sistcrs-
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, and
with the other chung to a portion of
the iron-work, and chung fast to it up
to her neck in icy water, until they
were both taken of by q boat.
There is so much excitement and
confusion that it is impossible to-
night to procure more definite infor-
nation in regard to the number lost,
but the estimate given above is be-
lieved to be nearly correct. No at
tempt will be made to Gov any
more bodies until morning, aud the
completion of the derricks and other
apparatus.