The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-01-11

w ne tolu ,Wnat happened AZ tle bottom
OF the river. lsi} Il s4iS
"a SURVIVORS, sToRy.
1As near as ] can remember,phe said,
..tthere were eighteen Of US who went
down. Some 5of yus had candles in our
hands, and fothers carried the tools We
worked, with. Tie engine was pumping
air into ! the caisson. We were not
thinking OF danger and had'no idea that
there was "a : weak point in the casing.
We were talking and running on with
each other Just US W., always do. a Some
body said we would be relieved in about
two hours. I'll replied that Iwished it
was now. i looked to sec how near the
caisson was to, the sand bottom. l was
standingS9 close & to BS the little II door
when 5ifI a heard somebody cay:
Great G Gody men she is breaking.
Just then, S the water commenced
TO- rush Through the shell doors, .and
it seemed as III everything gave way at
once. Il broke for the door. X hardly
know, howl did it, but 1 managed to get
through. The men behind me were
rushing and tumbling over, each other,
and i Jcould hearithems crying 5.we're'
lost, help, help Smy, God save u.s. Badly
frightened, as was,i ! couldn't help but
pity them. a I could do nothing for, them,
SOIL helped myself. Il could hear the
water rushing in on thepoor fellows as
climbed up through the ,nanhole,5 but
their cries sounded louder thun the roar
ofsthe water. ~ I got : out safely and
thanked God \ for my &deliverance. I
never will forget this sight as long as 7
live. i: & z! 4: 4fl 59;s.5s.
T. Taylor was asked III The thought that
by:anyFpossible y means; the tmen3 could
live until help reached them.i Il a
is3!""No, sir they could not live. The
water is running in faster than all the
engines can pump itiout. There is no
way for them to escape.n ii,;S n
Mr.. 1ngle, tue resident engineer Of the
bridge company was .seen.sis He 8ex-
pressed the opinion that some one was
evidentlysto blame for$ not having the
trap door in proper condition, l. and also
for the weakness OF the 5caisson, }, which
resulted:in the leak..ss55. .He declined to ex-
press himself without reserve MS he was
not in possession Iof Gall $they facts, but
said that such accidents were rare, not
withstanding the great apparent danger,
and that there was eyidentlyFgr GROSS neg.
ligence somewhere. 4 Sse} t.1S
The time keeper on duty said W.Therc
was nothing to- be seen from the out.
side that would indicate what had taken
place. 4 There was no noise torfS commo-
ton, and the first intimation We had that
an accident had I occurred was when
the four men appeared at the top Of the
lock and shouted to tho engineer to turn
in more air, to keep back the water The
engine was set going at great speed aud
great quantity Of air was forced into
the caisson,, andWe couldTsee the mil.
lions 5of bubles on Z the surface tof 4 the
water which indicated that the mir as
not being conflned'to the box: EE don't
know who @was Z tos sblame, nor what
caused the accident
KNox. .DLAMED. - s. s5;, II
IAN employeS SwhoS had been sick fol
several days, but who is one Of thelocs
keepers and who declined 10 give hit
name, said that :heaknews Knox was L
blnme; that Knox was Wreckless AMI
often under the influence of liquor.iThc
most plausible theorylas to the cause Of
the accident:is thus given by,6ne of the
surveyors, Louis Crouch; and ahis story
receives mot 4 $little credence from the
superintendent of the work. Knox, the
foreman had been seen near the key
which controls the iii! supply and it l.
believed that; hetcut of the air moro
than he really intended to. causing. the
caisson to- sink into sthe sand. .ibs Should
the remains Of the first whiteman found
prove to bG Knox, the theoryis strength,
ened as the key which controls the ait
isionly.a short distance from the lowe,
orSlast trap, tand$ TX noxS was sthe only
white man near it. Es 5fs 3 "a! ssjil
n Robert. Baldwin, reported last night as
being among the dead and Lewis Cox
reported / this morning as dead, have
made; their appearance. II Only one body
has been recovered up to this time-n noon
The other bodies in sight are twedge lin
the man hole SO that they cannoti be re
moved.
WORK ABANDONED. .,s sss:ii 4
The efforts 10 recover the bodies in liz
bridge Scaisson byGpnmping sin ali have
been given up, and inthe morningwork
men will ,be'aent in by the excavation
shalt. y It lis hoped then ithatf the thir
teen remaining bodies Will bte taken ou
and the inquest fwilltbea held lat once
The body OF Hamilton Morris was re-
covered In, the pipe at3theS StopEof the
sand before the machinery broke to-day
Us Savy, Smith 4 Co. i the contractors
claim through General. Superintendent
Willard, that the 5accideht was mot due
to- negligence, that Knox twas ! an les
peciallys competent man as shown b.
previous work here, and that Ihe IVA,
not drinking, as they employ no drink
ing men. h 4
! The story Of Louis Cox, one one of tht
men who escaped lis. that Knox $disob
beyed Superintendent Alitchells sbySlet
ting the :caisson; down eighteen inches a
q time instead Of three, inches, as direct
ed. u; He says, too, that Knox turned Of
the air completely alter the caissontWa
/ lowered instead OF partially and the rusl