The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-06-16

CtxclSSATr, O., June 15.-A casualty
such as threw pail OF sorrow over a
community and sends a thrill through
the civilized world happened on the
Licking river, between Newport and
Coying:on, KY, this forenoon. A
wagon and street railway bridge was in
process OF construction between the
two cities. 1t left Covinston atTweifth
street and entered Newport at Eleventh
street. The Chesapeake & Ohio rail-
way bridge crosses the Licking about
5OOyards above this point. The banks
Of the Licking are very steep ut the
part where this roadway aud street rail-
way bridge is to cross. Their slope is at
least hfty degrees, and they are very
high. The contractors for the iron
work on the bridge were the Baird
Bros, Of Pittsburgh. They were An
drew and Robert Baird.
ARE IN The PAST TENSE.
Ever hereafter they will be spoken Of
in the past tense, for they both went
down to death with their score or more
Of workmen. The bridge was a strong
wrought iron structure. The great
stone piers on each side Of the river
we're finished, as also were the ap:
proaches to them. The iron work OF
The approaches are very massive. The
span between the two piers looks to be
$50 feet. The height OF thetruss which
was 10 form the bridge span between
those two piers was G5 feet above low
water. False work OF piling and tim
bers had been constructed on the river
On the top of this false work the con-
struction Of the iron truss began exactly
midway between the two piers, and the
work was pushed from tho middle both
ways. Five bents, or sections, OF the
ponderous iron work had been c'n-
stru3ted. Each bent, or section, was Sd
feet long, making nearly halt the span.
WAS FULL OF MEN.
On the top OF this was an apparatus
known to bridge men as the traveller,
which is used to extend the structure
from the onds. This traveller rose some
thirty fest above the main structure. It
was full OF men at 1850 this morn ling,
and come of them near the top OF 1t
wore nearly 100 fect above the watsrs Of
the Licking river. The timbers OF the
false work were beams about 16 inches
square. They we're cid and wc.,ther-
bea on and had evidently been used be-
ior,. However, in bnlkiness, and to all
outward appearance they were strong,
ths facts show that they were not strong
O., Ugh fos the immense weight they
were required to bear. The burden Of
tkirty.fIe or thirty.six men, or for that
matter of 'thirty-slx hundred men
would have been as nothing for these
great beams Of yellow pine.
H4RvnsT OF DEATH.
1t was the mass OF iron weighing hun
dreds OF tons that overmatched them,
wrought ruin and gathered m awful
harvest Of dcath.
II was about 1o:So this morning when
thirty-six men were in the traveller,
and no one alive can tel how many
men were working below when the
awful moment came. 1t came, too, like
bolt from heaven. No warning came
from those overtaxed beama Of sturdy
pine, Suddenly, as il broken by some
resstless, invisible force, they buckled,
broke and crashed down into the river
below, a mass OF ruins, under which
sccrc OF human lives wore lost.
OF course there was rush to tho
sLene from both sides OF the river. The
debris filed tho deep stream from hank
to bank. The strenm wEs soon full OF
skiiis and the work Of rescG:ng the liv-
ing began aud went on braVely without
directing hand.
At the hour Of tho accident there were
few other than the workmen IN the
bridge near the scene, which leaves the
few survivors among the victims as the
only ones to tell tho story.
a SURVIVORS, STORY
Bruce Thomas was working on tho
truss. He says:
81 was sitting in a sling working a
rachel. The first thing I knew l was
falling. l heard no crackingof timbers,
no outcry OF human voices. only
knew ! was going down. had hardly
time to think when found my
sell on tho bottom Of tho
river in tea feet OF water
about twenty feet from shore. / arose
70 tho surface I don't know how,
Then | heard cries for help. A young
man near me whose name 1don't know,
shouted Pm killed, Pm killed He
only he'd an arm broken. Ihelped him
out, / helped three others out Ihave
heart disease and / worked till l got
deadly sick, l only got bruised a little
on i7O legs. l saw several others that
escaped, don't know their real namss.
We know each other by nicknSnes,"
IN TIE TwlxSLtSo OF An EYE
There is ono point in which all testi-
mony agrees, and that point is that tho
fall was in tho twinkling Of an eye with
no warning. A point on which there
was no testimony is what caused the
false work to giyo way, There are con.
jeStWtes that The pifing was not driven
deeply enough in tho bottom OF tho
river But tho structure did not sink,
itsnapped. One thing is clear. II was
not strong enough, though it looked so.
The wounded were scattered all over
the thrOe cities OF Cincinnati, CovinIton
and Newport, and surgical attendance
was prompt, efficient and amply sutli-