The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1892-06-23
DEATH WITHOUT WARNING.
Workmen Killed by the Collapse Of
a Bridge.

COVlllStOI anu NeWpOTt, Ky. Niiioii W
Cured on the 18th inst. About seventy
workmen were on the structure SO far
as is now known, only two escaped un>
hurt. The others were either killed by
in the river, or injured. The high river
had washed out the earth about the
supports of the wooden false wark, and
it is stated that one OF the contractors
said a day or two ago that he was afraid
the struture would not stand under the
weight of the heavy material. But still
they kept-at work.
A force of workmen, under Robert
and Andrew Baird, the contractors, was
engaged in putting in place the heavy
iron work on the main span. Suddenly.
without warning, there was cracking
sound of breaking timbers, sudden
swaying of the structure, and head
long plunge of the whole mass OF tim
bers, iron, and helpless workmen into
the muddy waters of the Licking river,
fifty feet below 1t was almost like the
laundering of a ship.
A few men were seen struggling on the
surface. the Others were drowned or
crushed by the material.
The only men who escaped without
injury so far as known, are Murray Rair-
den and james Caldwell.
Tho bridge was being built by Cleve-
land (Ohio) syndicate, which has in view
the building and operation of a belt elec-
tric line of street cars III Covington and
Newport in connection with a Cincin-
natl line. The bridge crossed the river
at Twelfth Street, Covington, and was
to be used for vehicles and foot travel.
1t was a strong wrought iron structure.
The great stone piers on each side of the
river were finished as were the ap
proaches to them. The iron work of
the approaches is very massive The
height OF the truss which was to form
the bridge span between these two piers
was sixty five feet above low water.
False work of piling and timbers had
been constructed in the river. On the
top of this false work the construction
between the two piers ard the work was
pushed from the middle both ways. The
five sections of the ponderous iron work
had been constructed. Each bent OF
section was thirty feet long, making
nearly half the span. On the top of this
was an apparatus known to bridge men
as the traveller, which is used to extend
this structure from the ends.
The traveller rose some thirty feet
above the main structure. 1t was full
Of men this morning, and some of them
near the top of it were nearly one hun
bred feet above the waters of the Lick
ing River The timbers of the false
work were beams about sixteen inches
square. They were old and weather
beaten, and had evidently been used
before. However, in bulkiness and to
all outward appearance they were strong.
The facts show they were not strong
enough for the immense weight they
were required to bear. The burden of
| thirty-five or thirtY-six men, or for that
matter of thirty-six hundred men, would
have been as nothing for these great
beams of yellow pine. 1t was the mass
of iron weighing hundreds upon hun
dreds Of tons that overnatched them.
1t was about 1890 when thirty six men
were in the traveller and no one can tell
how may men working below, when the
awful moment came. Suddenly as if
broken by some resistless, invisible force,
the beams buckled broke and crashed
down into the river, a mass of ruins. The
debris filled the deep stream from bank
to bank.
The work of rescuing the injured and
of recovering the dead was attended to
with humane promptness by the organ
lied forces of the three cities of Cincine
natl, Covington, and Newport. The
patrol wagons of Cincinnati sent over
an efficient corps, while the police forces
of both Covington and Newport were
on hand to do all that could be done.
In addition to this. all the volunteer
, boatmen along the river did valuable
service in getting the living from the
ruins and in recovering the bodies of
| the dead. fearful faces of women were
to be seen eagerly peering into the coun,
tenances of the recovered bodies as they
were borne to the shorne, and every
now and then a pitifui wall of anguish
told that some friend or relative had
been recognized.
1t was slow work to get the bodies
1,n R1,n t,if a1
to have fallen directly down into the
river, and the confusion of timbers and
twisted bars of iron made the wreck look
as if tornado had twisted it into q
Shapeless mass.
Some of the men were held by the
wreckage below the surface and drown
ed, although their injuries were but
slight and not sufficient to disable, il
only the wafer had not covered their
heads. Everywhere were evidences of
the suddeness of the accident and of
the utter helplessness of the workmen.
Ii anguish was at the hearts of the
bereaved women, SO was also thoughtful
ness for others. AT one house in News
port, where dead man was brought in,
the bereaved women of the house called
in the men bearing the wounded, and
made a temporary hospital for them.
Closets and wardrobes were flung open,
and such supplies as could be found
were brought to their relief.
The two contractors, the Baird Broth
ers, were on the bridge with their men,
experimenting the work at the fatal
moment. Thoughts it is said that one of
them had spoken of fear concerning the
safety of the supports, it appeared by
their act in going with their men that
they had no such fear as would keep
them from sharing the danger. The body
of one was among the first recovered
the other lies buried in the river beneath
the ruins.
At the hour of the accident there were
few other than the workmen on the
bridge near the scene, which leaves the
few survivors among the victims as the
only ones to tell the story