Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-07-15
IT BA WONDER
Or a Miracle That Even Any
body Escaped
ATTHEREDP0ND ACCIDENT
Two Men Dead Last Night, But the
Others Recovering.
WHAT ENGINEER BROWNE SAYS.
BE Does Not Think the City Can Be Held
Liable for the Men.
ATTHEREDPOND ACCIDENT
WHAT ENGINEER BROWNE SAYS.
he Does Not Think the City Can Be Held
Liable for the Men.
RED POND MAY YET BE MADE A PARK

That ugly accident at the Red Pond,
which resulted in several fatalities at an
early hour yesterday morning, was very mi
raculously affected in some of Its results, in
asmuch as the five men, all at work in the
sewer at the same time, were not all killed
outright.
Since the little dam was built on Center
avenue, above the pond, a few weeks ago,
and the water was carried off through pipe
the pond itself has been practically empty,
and on that account the men were enabled
to work in the sewer. The latter, connect
ing with the 80 or 40-foot drop" at the
pond, is about 100 feet long, and
is laid parallel with Soho street.
This sewer, as most of the readers know,
had been clogged up, and on that account
the water, which could find no outlet. gath
cred in the pond. but was kept pumped out
until Saturday nights sudden and violent
shower. During the last week the men in
the sewer had been using several explosive
charges, and had blown open the front of
the sewer, and after the mouth had been
laid bare the work Of cleaning it out was
Comparatively easy.
On Saturday night there were the follow
ing named men employed in the sewer: Joe
Mccarthy, Andrew McGregor, Robert Nc
Mum, William McCloy and Robert Daily.
THE HEAVY RAIN,
about o'clock, had loosened great deal
of the abutment above the pond, and large
pool of water had formed Immediately over
the still partly closed pond entrance of the
sewer. At this point was the deep drop,
and about o'clock this drop caved in, and
the water rushed wildly through it and
the sewer. The men were all in
there at the time, using a strong
stream of water to clean the outlet from the
opposite side. When the water came upon
them they were all knocked down and car
ried along with the stream. Billy McCloy
and Robert McMunn were carried about 300
feet, and then they got ashore in the ravine.
which runs from Center to Fifth aven,.e.
Both men were badly injured. Their bodies
were bruised, and, from the amount of dirt,
water and gravel which they had swallowed,
they were nearly drowned.
McMunn was taken to the Homeopathic
Hospital, and, according to the physicians
account yesterday afternoon, the patient will
recover.
McCloy was taken to his home, 21 Logan
street, and DR.. Shaw was called to attend
him. He was resting comparatively easy
yesterday a!ternoon, and, it is thought, will
get over his INJURIES. His daughter stated
TO a DISPATCH reporter that her father had
a presentiment on Saturday night that
something would happen to him, and ex-
pressed the sense of fear before he went to
work.
SEEMINGLY MIRACULOUS.
The other three men were carried down
by the stream in the ravine as far as Fifth
avenue, distance of half a mile. They
were all three found at the culvert there
Robert DAILY was then dead; but Mccarthy
and McGregor, although they were uncon-
scious, still breathed.
McGregor was taken to the Homeopathic
Hospital, and died at 10 o'clock yesterday
morning. Mccarthy was taken to the
Mercy Hospital, and, from the last ac-
counts heard from there, he was "doing
very well.'' That this man, after having
been knocked against stones and thrown |
over rocks for a distance of about half
mile, and was not killed outright, simply |
affords pretty good evidence of the very
nearest possible thing to a miraculous |
escape.
The inquest will be held on July q, |
when the injured have sufficiently recov- |
cred to testify
1.-The Red Pond sewer is open at last, but |
the achievement was too dearly bought"
was the remark made by Mr.. William r. |
Browne, of the Bureau of Engineering and |
Surveys when a DISPATCH reporter called |
to see him last night at his residence, the |
East End Hotel Then he said:
'It was 9 o'clock last night when 1 |
was at the pond to see how the men |
were getting along with their work. and |
] had not the slightest idea that there was |
any danger of such an accident or 1 would |
certainly have prohibited the men from pro-
ceeding with their work. There were GER |
tainly not more than about
A HUNDRED CUBIC FEET
of water in the pond, and that quantity |
could not harm anybody working in the |
sewer. In fact, have all along observed |
the greatest care and caution with the men.
OF course that rain last night was an un-
usually heavy shower, and all the water
from the surrounding hills must have ac-
cumulated within very short time
Twill the city be liable for the lives
lost?"
Il do not know anything about that. 1
do not see why, because negligence cannot
be charged against u.s."
"What will be done with the pond now,
after the sewer is opened?'
'Ihe hrst Gnlng we shall do is to make
wooden sewer under the street, and then a
more substantial one. That sewer will be
right through the pond, and the latter will
be filled up"
PERHAPS A PARK.
"Will you make a park out of the
place?'
81 don't know, that is a matter which
rests entirely with Mr.. Bigelow; but, in my
opinion, better use could not be made out
of the place. The location is excellent.
and the whole pond could be bought very
cheap.
81 was told of the accident about O'Clock
this morning, and the news gave me such a
strange shock as have never experienced
in NV life. When the man came to nv
door and said what had happened, the blood
circulation stopped in both my arms from
the elbow to the wrist for about three or
four minutes, and when 1 felt the blood
rush back into my veins, the sensation was
very peculiar"
His Costly Sleep.
William NJ. Hinton, an Italian in the
u holasale fruit husinaSs of No Y n;ar,ond