The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-06-16
The Structure Was Overloaded with Iron and
Fell Without Warning, Mangling Those
Who We're on 1t and Others Below.
Forty Are Dead or Dying and a Score
or More Are Seriously Injured.
Eoth of the Contractors in the List of Crushed
and Killed-sOme oftEe False Work Tim.
ters Said to Have Been Old and Weak.
CATAsTROPHE In KENTUCKY.

manity and sends q thrill of horror through
the civilized world, happened on Licking
river. between Newport and Covington,
Ky, this forenoon. A wagon and street
railway bridge WAS In process of construo-
tion between the two citiea Ii left Cow
I'M gton at Twelfth street and entered New
port at Eleventh street. The Chesapeake
e. Ohio railroad bridge CROSSES the Licking
about five hundred yards above this point
The banks of the Licking are very steep at
the point whore this roadway and street.
railroad bridge Is to cross. They slope in
at least fifty degrees and are very high. The
contractors for the irOn-work of the bridge
were tho Baird Bros. Of Pittsburg. They
hereafter they will be spoken of in the past
tense, for both went down to death with
their two score or more of workmen.
The bridge was . strong wrOught.iron
structure. The great stone piers on each
side of the river were finished, as also were
the approaches to them. Tho iron work of
the approaches is very massive. The span
between the two piers looks to be $50 feet.
The height of the truss which was TO form
the bridge span between these two piers
was sixty-fve feet above low water. False
work of pliing and timbers had been con-
structed In the river. On the top of
this false work the construction Of
the iron truss began exactly midway
between the two piers and the work
was pushed from the middle both ways.
Five bents or sections of the ponderous iron
work had been constructed. Each bent or
section was thirty feet long, making nearly
half the span. On the top of this was an
apparatus known to bridRemen as "the
traveller which is used to extend the
structure from the ends. This traveller
rose some thirty feet above tho main
structure. 1t was full of men at 1890 this
morning. and some of them near the top of
it were nearly one hundred feet above the
waters of Lie king river.
OLD AND wEATHER-BEATEN TIMBBRS.
The timbers of the false work were
beams about sixteen inches square. They
were old and weather. bestop. and had evil
IDENTIFY been used before. However, an
bulkiness and to all outward appearances
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 thrty-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
hundreds of tons, that overmatched them.
wrought rum and gathered an awful har-
vest for death.
1t was about 1890 this morning when
thirty-s mon were in the traveller. and
no one alive can tell how many men were
working below when the awful moment
came. 1t came. too like q bolt from heaven.
No warning came from those over-taxed
beams of sturdy pine. Suddenly, as If
broken by some resstless, invisible force,
they broke and crashed down into the river
below, a mass of ruins, under which score
of human lives went out. OF course there
was a rush to the scene from both sides of
the river. The debris filled the deep stream
from bank to bank. People filled both
shores but. from the configuration of the
wreck, aid was most easily rendered from
the Newport side.
The stream was soon full of skiffs, and
the work of rescuing the living began and
went bravely on without directing head.
Indeed. it was done quite as we'll. perhaps
better than 1t would have been done by
any organized life-sav!ng corps. This work
was kept up all day. and it is still going op
tonight. The police of the three sister
cities were soon at the scene, and they
rendered noble service ih caring for the
dead and in removing the wounded TO
homes or hospitals.
A SURVIVORS, STORY.
At the hour of the accident there were
few other than the workmen on the bridge
or near the scene. which leaves the few
survivors among the victims as the only
nes TO tell the story. Brnco Thomas was
working on the truss. He says: Il was
sitting in q sling working q rachet. The
first thing l knew i was falling.
heard no cracking of timbers. no out
cry of human voices. l only knew
l was going down. l had hardly time
to think when found myself on the bot
tom of the river in ten feet of water
about twenty feet tfosn shore l arose to
the surface-I don't know how. Then
heard cries for help. A young man near
me. whose name don't know. shouted
Pm killed, I'm killed He only had an
arm broken. / helped him out. / helped
three others out. / have heart disease and
/ worked till i got deathly sick. / only
got bruised q little on the legs. i saw
several others that escaped. don't know
their real names. We know each other by
nick names"
At q cottage on Thornton street, New.
port, not two hundred yards from the
bridge. lay the dead bodies of John r.
Roby and his brother, William Roby. Mrs.
Catherine Baer. the occupant of the house,
was the mother-in-law of John Roby, a
sturdy man of thirty-two, who leaves
wife and two children. The two brothe rs
were taken there TO die. Never in tn G
house of royalty, riches or greatness was
there moro real mourning than In that
house tonight. John died first. His dy-
ing brother. William, said to tho young
widow: Don't cry. Annie. John will get
well.' When told that John was dend be
said: Then l want TO die, t0o" and the sc
were his last words.
In the same house was G. Fl. Fetters, OF
IrontoD, O. His back was injured and his
left ankle Was crushed. He. talked freely.
Said he: The crash came without warn
ing. | heard no sound. saw no excitement
only knew that we were all going down in
q heap. / scrambled on some timbers and
some ono rescued me in boat. and here
am"
A DIVERS GOOD WORK.
George ii. Wilkerson is hero. His home
10 No. 6Sl East Main street, Louisville. Ht
was brought up on the Maumee river, neal
Toledo, and has lived at Buffalo and Other
places OH Lake Erie. He is at home IL
water. His work is at the engine on th,
Newport spproach and near the pier. II,