The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-06-02
VIEWING THE SCENE.
Throngs of People at the Web
ster.Street Bridge.
All Traces Of Fridays Disaster Removed AR.
rangements for the Funerals of Mrs.
0'Connor and Martin Kelly.

All day long yesterday thousands Of
people visited the scene of Fridays disaster
at the Webster-street drawbridge, Oak
land, and crowded in upon the police lines
in their eagerness to see where the thirteen
victims of an engineers carelessness we're
drowned.
Several people went searching for some
relic of the broken car and pre-empted
seats on the shore to gaze Idly for hours at
nothing. There was only the creek with
its fleet of small boats. the harbor and
bridge as they appeared many Sunday
before, and the spectators found themselves
mostly enjoying vacant stare across the
water while thinking of what terrible
fate had befallen the luckless train passen-
gers on Decoration day.
"What am looking at? Nothing" was
the reply made by one of these spectators
TO CALL reporters inquiry on arriving at
the bridge.
The question startled the man addressed,
but he resumed the occupation of harrow
ing the sand with his cane and gazing un-
consciously at a barge where a party of
workmen were engaged in making prepare
tiOns for hosting the submerged locomo-
tive and tender.
THE GREAT THRoNGS.
All classes of curious people were pres.
ent, and young and old had visited the
place in whole families. The ubiquitous
small boy made himself quite at home. He
found seat on the strngers of the bridge,
on fences and the girders of the piles, and
made the police officers lives miserable for
one Sunday.
Every train from San Francisco carried
large party of sight-seers, and so great was
the interest In the catastrophe that special
street-cars were running down Broadway
to the wharves every few minutes to ac-
commodate the throng, and private buses
were also pressed into service.
In the early paIt of the day it required
seven policemen to keep order at the bridge
and stop spectators from crowding on the
line.
The trains moved slowly over the draw
bridge and approached it with great
caution. 1t was not, however for fear of
running down any of the crowd, because
the officers were quite strict In keeping the
track clear, and would not allow any one to
stand upon the line.
The reporter noted the engineers method
of handling his train when coming near the
bridge from San Francisco, and it seemed
an almost utter impossibliity to have such
a sad accident under present regulations.
A STRIKING CONTRAST.
Were the draw open yesterday while the
train was drawing near, it did not appear a
feient control of his engine to come to a
dead stop at least twenty feet from the
bridge.
The draw bridge is used by Alameda
County as a road to Alameda from Oak
land, and the only division between the
railway portion and the road is partition
of boards about seven feet high. The bridge
is all one for both; the tall iron frame
work, the tower and moving machinery
and the Orders are equal in strength on
hoth eli aa of ha dan arti n,,lr,
some Orders are added TO strengthen the
railroad tracks for heavy travel.
Yet in the face of all there is a remark
able distinction between the cautious man
agement of the county authorities and how
the railway people acted. Over each end
of the bridge is the following conspicuous
notice, placed there by the county officials:
One Hundred Dollars Fine for Driving
or Riding Faster That Walk Over This
Bridge"
PROPER PRECAUTIONS.
Even light buggy may not be driven
quickly across the bridge, for Waterman
would have the driver in custody before
leaving the place. A street-car line crosses
the bridge, and invariably the horses walk
over.
Save for a slight twisting out of place of
the first and second giTders, against which
the sunken engine struck when plunging
OFF the rails, there was nothing left yester-
day TO denote the awful accident of Friday
last.
The railroad company had removed all
traces of the sad affair, first to clear the
line and next to remove from public sight
the car in which so many people had died
a horrible death. Were the barges, from
which diver was operating. away Webster
street bridge would be as embarrassing
and commonplace in appearance as ever.
The brdgeman was at his post as II moth
ing had happened. with his usual assistant.
WATCHING THE DIVER.
The chief point of attraction yesterday
for the idle spectators was opposite the
barges, and crowds made selfish efforts to
gain place of vantage on the bridge rail-
ing to catch glimpse OF the diver as he
arose from the water and sat on deck for a
few minutes, preparing for another plunge.
So great was the curiosity Of many OF the.
throng that the police could net keeTIiTr,r
planklng w.tns~a crash, rails ana SUPPORTS
havln -0foken down under their weight.
fhe diver confined his actions to lashing
the engine and tender with ropes during
the day, as he had already made a thorough
search Of the bottom near where the dis
astrous wreck occurred and could find no
bodies
He remained down for about an hour Mt
time and would come up only for rest and
further instructions, &s well as to see how
the ropes were atnve. He is robust
hardy Swede, injured to his hazardous ex-
periences beneath the surface, and did some
singularly quick work upon the locomotive
yesterday.
DARK AS PITCH"
ut is all as dark as pitch down there"
said he. while cutting pieces of cord into
required lengths for lashiBg ropes below.
Il have to grope about to find everything,
and so my work is necessarily slow, al
though the bottom is hard and firm. ex-
pect, however, to finish with it before
night"
II was then almost o'clock in the after
noon, and he had three strong hawsers
underneath the engine, with one end made
Fl I'm to the dolphins and another end to the
barges. When the required number of
ropes would be under the engine and prop
erly secured to two immense beams pro-
truding over the barge's side an effort
would be made to lift the locomotive and
drag it from beneath the bridge to point
near the eastern shore Of the estuary, and
then draw it out by traction of another
locomotive to dry ground.
THE ENGINE REMOVED.
Before night, as the diver had predicted.
the supken engine was raised from the bot
tom almost to the surface, and by bringing
the joined barges together was drawn to
shallow water, where it will remain until
drawn out by locomotive. The tender
will be rescued similarly.
THEY ALL LOVED HER.
Fitting Tribute to the Memory of the
Lnte Mrs. O'Connor.
A meeting of the employees of OConnor.
Q ~ L 4 i