Oxford eagle., 1892-06-23
FRIGHTFUL CALAMITY.
Ninety Men Go Down with q Col
lapscd Bridge
Forty 81 rhem Ta.s>.siy Killed OF D~ewn<A
aad ss May More Tervtsae In
lar~d-rh~ Fai.e werh wHs
Not Substantial

CtSrfSysrr. June ts.-The fai.~ work
~ IN. new bridge being built over the
Licking river between Newport and
tovtn<ton. Nv. fell st io.e5 a. m v~s-
ter'ssy. carrying down with IL ninety
men. ~ " horn a large numb~r-the -x-
act figure being A. vet unknown-wer-
buried under the debris Of the bridge
and killed. among them b-ing Andrew
and Albert Baird. two of the contract
| orS
The construction Of the bridT- w,. he-
gun early last fall. and was us~d for
frnt passengers and street railway traf-
&c The pi~r~ have hs~n completed
and the work Of axing the heavy
pieces of iron had b~gun- A track
from the Newport side had b-~n run
out cu the first pier 10 the heavy iron.
The fslS- work ran mp 20 feet from the
/ water
| Not y stick of the fal<e work from
| pier to pier remained. and the river was
filed with thinkers and iron work with
scores 81 men struggling for life. News
OF the terrible acci,ient spread rapidly.
and s>on a crowd Of hundred. had
gathered. AMI the work of rw>cuing the
bodies was at once b-gun- Bv ~
o'clock twenty-five bodies had been
taken out and the work was being
pushed with vigor.
| Cincinnati patrol wagons responded
To hurried call. and the dead and
wounded were carried away n fast a.
II n .ar =.
tn be due tn the heavy weight Of the
iron f'oor supports. the false work not
being strong enough
/ When the crash came II was hut a
few moments until both banks were
filed with people A big portion Of
the false work was submerged. and
| with IL were the unfortunate work.
men The scene was a horrible one
In n minute the air was hllesi
| with the shriel<s of the injured
and dying. Those who could free them
timber. struggled To the surface of the
water and tried to get ashore. One
after another gave up the desperate
and uneven struggle and sank into the
murty water. The banks were
crowded. but not soul could get tn
the rescue Of the pocr fellows.
As >e~au ss possible volunteers went
to work tn get out the dead and dy-
| ing. IL was n grrw>om- task Among
the first tn h- taken out was one of the
Baird brothers His body was in =
horrible condition. his back broken.
and neck crushed and broken
n
Carrot commenced the work ot rernov-
ing the iron and timhers from the
river. in the hop~ Of recovering the
h.p.lie> pinned under the wreck
Although the excitement caused bv
the seriaent vss intense. there wa. \
| noticeable ah~rnce of the heartrending
se~nes usually accompanying such
csfa>truphes. Most Of the men were
| xsrangvrs. but few had families. wives
and children. on the scene tn add their
tears and cries IN the grim spectacle.
A the accident occurred on the ii-
vsdinx line between Covington and
Newport. the eproners on both sides
will hold inquest> Boiies landed on
| the Gawinwtpn side w~r,. taken in charge
hv Coroner Wilson. while .ho<- landed
in N~wport were placed under the care
Of Coruurr Davis
The corner Of the Newport pier is
badly broken and spp~ar> En- have b~~n
weak- The story was started that the
pier. bv breaking. had caused the dis
aster. bu, there Is apparently no foun-
dztion for this.
Probably one of the >adde<s cases
counectesi with the disaster was the
| death Of James johnson. Of Pittsburgh,
Pa. who was one of the important
sub~ontractor>- who built the canti-
lever bridge between Cincinnati and
Newport Mr. johnson reached New
port early yesterday morning, and after
eating breakfast at his old boarding
house on Fifth street. went To the new
Licking bridge To talk with some Of the
| workmen. many of whom were his in
innate acquai ntances> johnson was
on the false work when il gave wav.
His body was recovered at $50 .. m
Much sympathy is felt for poor Jack
Pierce. the veteran newspaper man
When the news of the accident reached
him the mans anguish was pitiful:
His eldest son. Fred. formerly secretary
of the Builders exchange. was on the
Inflated bridge when il fell, having
gone to work Monday. For a long
time Jack would not go near
the terrible scene. fearing he
break the heart of the good mother
lying i'll Mt her home. unconscious of
the accident Finally he mustered up
the courage to visit the wreck. the hos
pitfalls and the morgue. but could End
NO trace of his missing son. who un-
doubtedly went down in the awful
crash
The old man spent all the afternoon
walking the streets and eagerly seek
ing tidings Of his son
The list of killed viii probably reach
forty.
Following Is list of the dead. in
tured and missing. rs far - known up
10 midnight;
c. d. Champoix semple, Of Boston;
Internal injuries
Thomas Down, Wheeling, W. Va
left side crnahed in
An u9l1uo~n. sboct 20 ysars old
J. T. Roey. Radtord City, Va; tr.c-
tursd skull. left arm broken above
elbow and face mashed
Elmer Barber. Cincinnati; leg and
arm broken and internal injuries.
VIM Alois, Ohio; three fingers on,
head crushed and both arms broken
C. 5. Pfafsnbaeh, of Wheeling, W:
Va: internal injuries
Dick German, Dolphin. Pa; general