The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1873-05-16

uG Va a IllhLiD ~ 4 Ill
n WArER-A LARGE NUMBER DROWNED.
or Wholesale murders caused by criminal care
iesshess, ignorance, or righteousness woul
seem to have reached their most atrociou
Of climax in the ~frightful accident at Dixon. III.
N on sunday, the 4th inst. The patent iro,
Is pridge which spans the Rock river at tina
Is roint was crowded, shortly after the noonda,
hour, with between three and -four huudret
people to witness the solemn rite Of baptism
by immersion. The unsubstantial structure,
too feeble to bear this weight, suddenly gave
4 way, and the wretched assemblage was pre-.
cipitated 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 glntted with al unknown number
: OF men, women and children. A dispatch to
Inc Chicago Times gives the following particu-
lars Of the horrible affair:
At l;SO 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 in progress, in the
river, when there was a sudden crash, and. in
an instant, the bridge gave way, carrying into
the river its precious freight Of human lives.
II current at the bridge is deep and strong,
and swollen by the recent rains to flood
height, in which the throng, that but an in
slant before was full Of life and happiness. |
thrown pell-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
hrst warning Of danger, and, alighting in the
water, succeeded in gaining the shore, and A
Few near tho shore were saved: the rest were
carried under by the wreck of the bridge and
swept away by the swift current. The ap-
pailing spectacle for a moment paralyzed the
spectators, who in a great measure. owing to
the lack OK boats. ETC.. were compelled to be
helpless witnesses of the Ieath of their wives
children. and friends. The horrors of the
scene were intensified by the ~plungine in
among the drowning human beings Of the
horses attached to two buggies and a wagon
upon the bridge when it fell. The affrighted :
animals struck out wildly. pushing several un-
under water and literally SWIM ,
ming over Others. The horses all reached :
q
Up to Monday morning forty bodies had n
oeen recovered. In the prevailing excitement v
there is no means of ascertaining with any, -
thing like accuracy the number drowped.
Even the number Of residents of this town I,
are lost or missing cannot as yet be ascer- b
aihed, and numbers were in attendance from Il
leighborlng towns, and several it is reported h
rom Chicago. The loss Of life is variously OF
at from IS to $50, and the proba. 81
iiities are that the latter figures are nearer W
he fact. -
Inc north span Of the bridge gave way first. ri
uiiing all the others with it SO quickly that no he
nance OF escape was offered except to a few ne
the extreme south end Of the bridge, among WI
nom was Edward Patrick, Of this CITY. who
wed himself by jumping from the bridge.
he bridge was an iron structure of the Trues-
lie patent, and Of the same style as that RI
lich broke down at Elgin on a 4th of July n J
7" years since, and was altogether too light :
construction to be safe even with less weight !
ION 1t than at the time OF the disaster. Its ins
~ appearance was sufficient to give warning :
us fragile character. and an awful respon- thr
'lllty must rest upon those who built ucb n wit
rible trap and upon the authorities who per- VIII
tied its use. Cit
The escape of a little child of john Wa1.. Att
nth. OF this place, was almost miraculous. Oct
G little one foated Town the stream almost aH
the railroad bridge before it was rescued. s-,
e child will, it is b believed. recover. A'
lr. James l.. Camp. and Mr.. - fowler -
l his wife. by tremendous exertions. ga H"'
ed from the falling bridge. These we're %.
the south end. and a young girl. daughter ~
H.. H.. Hasenepting, who was standing near 10y
and was carried down by the fall. .p'
gged herself up out of the wreck to the m,
re end, clinging all the while to the hand -
~ City
ohn Eustace, who was on the bridge in his 80
was saved by the horse, which swan penn
shore. after which Mr.. Eustace did some WIN
q service in aiding Others to escape from n -
erv grave. guar
II. Woodward, unaided. rescned ne
persons, two of them ladies'. iolo
G. j. Reynolds, who happened To be q, Th
oldge at the time, and made a narrow es- city
himself, saved at least two human beings that
4 drowning. untrl
lillian Shilcock brought to the shore five near
ne, all OF whom, but for his cours peons III
'ts, must have been lost. road
enry I. Noble, whose wife sunk before be morn
4 reach her and was lost, saved the I;fe =, and /
lady, q Miss Smith. Conn
addition to those recovered, five corpses ing q
seen to float down the stream. A number charg
have been caught by the under current. EXPIRE
till more must be fast in the wreck of the At Ia
e, which carried them to the bottom 81 Office,
1ver. A number owe their escape to the street
nat, owing to the crowding on the bridge his ca
before 1t fell, they were unable to obtain round
" OF the baptismal ceremonies from that mence
left the bridge for the river bank. Hor- kellogg
,ricken crowds throng to the scene Of the one il