Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-06-23
FRIGHTFUL CALAMITY.
Ninety Men Go Down with a Col
lapsed Bridge.
Forty of Them Instantly Killed or Drowned
and as Many More Terrible In
Jured-The False Work
Not Substantial.

i.
of the new bridge being built over the
| Licking river between Newport and
Covington, KY, fell at 1925 a. H. yes
terday, carrying down with it ninety
men. of whom a large umber-the ex-
act figure being as yet unknown-were
buried under the debris of the bridge
and killed, among them being Andrew
and Albert Baird, two of the contract
OrS.
TIE construction of the bridge was be-
gun early last fall, and was used for
foot passengers and street railway traf-
fc. The piers have been completed
and the work Of fixing the heavy
pieces of iron had begun. track
from the Newport side had been run
out on the first pier TO the heavy iron.
The false work ran up 60 feet from the
water.
Not a stick of the false work from
pier to pier remained. and the river was
filled with timbers and iron work with
scores of men struggling for life. News
of the terrible accident spread rapidly.
and soon a crowd of hundreds had
gathered. and the work of rescuing the
bodies was at once begun. BY -
o'clock twenty-five bodies had been
taken out and the work was being
pushed with vigor.
Cincinnati patrol wagons responded
to a hurried call. and the dead and
wounded We're carried away as fast as
taken out. The accident is supposed
to be due to the heavy weight Of the
iron floor supports. the false work not
being strong enough.
When the crash came it was but
few moments until both banks were
filed with people. A big portion of
the false work wes submerged, and
with it were the unfortunate work
men. The scene was horrible one.
In a minute the air was filled
with the shrieks of the injured
and dying. Those who could free them
selves from the tangled network of
timber. struggled to the surface of the
water and tried to get ashore. One
after another gave mp the desperate
and uneven struggle and sank into the
murlzy water. The banks were
crowded. but not q soul could get to
the rescue of the poor fellows.
As soon as possible volunteers went
to work to get ont the dead and dy-
ing. It was grewG;z2ae task. Among
the first to be taken oat was one of the
Baird brothers. His body was in
horrible condition. his back broken,
and neck crushed and broken.
At g o'clock the steamer Hercules
Carol commenced the work of rernov-
ing the iron and tirnbers from the
river, in the hope of recovering the
bodies pinned under the wreck.
Although the excitement caused by
the accident was intense. there was a
noticeab BILE absence OF the heartrending
scenes usually accompanying such
catastrOphes. Most of the men were
strangers, but few had families. wives
and children. on the scene to add their
tears and cries to the grim spectacle.
As the accident occurred on the di-
viding line between CovingtOn and
Newport. the corOners on both sides
will hold inquests. Bodies landed on
the COvington side were taken IN charge
by Coroner Wilson. while those landed
in Newport We're placed under the care
of Coroner Davis.
The corner of the Newport pier is
badly broken and appears to have been
weak. The story was started that the
pier by breaking. had caused the dis
aster. but there is apparently no foun-
dation for this.
Probably one of the saddest cases
connected with the disaster was the
death Of James Johnson. OF Pittsburgh.
Pa, who was one of the important
subcontractors- who built the can't
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
worlzmen. many of whom were his in
innate acquai ntances. johnson was
on the false work when it gave way.
His body was recovered at 2:3G p. 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 it fell, having
gone to work Monday. For long
time Jack would not go near
the terrible scene, fearing he
would learn the news that would
break the heart of the good mother
lying i'll at her home, unconscious of
the accident. Finally he mustered up
the courage to visit the wreck, the hos
pitfalls and the morgue, but could find
no trace of his missing son, who I'M
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 will probably reach
forty.
Following is list of the dead, in
iured and missing, as far as known up
to midnight:
c. D. Champoix Semple, of Boston;
internal in juries
Thomas Down, Wheeling, w. Va.
left side crushed in.
An unknown. about 40 years old.
j. Il. Roby, Radford City. Va; frac-
tured skull. left arm broken above
elbow and face mashed.
Elmer Barber, Cincinnati; leg and
arm broken and internal injuries.
VIM. Alois, Ohio; three fingers off,
head crushed and both arms broken.
c. S. Pfaffenbach, of Wheeling, W.:
Va: internal injuries.
Dick German, Dolphin, Pa: general
injuries.
John Adams, 6 Walnut street, Cincin-
natl; nose broken and internal injuries.
Frank Adams, Walnut street. Gin
cinnati; neck broken and internal in
juries