The record-union., 1892-06-16
Special to the RECORD UNION.

as LnrOWS pail OF sorrow over the COM
munity, and sends a thrill of horror
through the civilized world, happened on
Licking River, between Newport and
Covington, KY, this afternoon. A wagon
and street-railway bridge was in course
of construction between the two cities.
The contractors for the iron work were
the Baird Brothers of Pittsburg. They
were Andrew and Robert Baird, and they
both went down to death with their two
score or more workmen.
The bridge was strong, wrought-iron
structure. The stone piers on each side
of the river We're finished. The iron
works of the approaches are very massive.
The span between the two piers is about
$50 feet. The hight of the truss which
was to form the bridge span between the
piers was sixty-five feet above the water
False work in piling and timbers had
been constructed in the river. On top of
this false work the construction of the
iron truss began, midway between the
two piers, and the work was pushed from
the middle both ways.
Five sections of the ponderous iron
work had been constructed. On top of
this was an apparatus known to bridge
men as a traveller, which is used to ex-
tend the structure from the ends. The
traveller was full of men at 10:30 this
morning, and some of them were near
the top, nearly hundred feet above the
waters of Licking River. The timbers of
the false work were beams about ten
inches square, old and weather. beaten,
and had evidently been used before. 1t
was a mass of iron weighing hundreds
upon hundreds of tons that over matched
them, wrought ruin and gathered an
awful harvest for death.
Thirty-six men were in the traveller at
1880 o'clock, when the awful crash came,
and no one can tell how many were
working below. The crash came like
bolt from heaven. The suddenly over
taxed beams of pine broke and crashed
into the river below mass OF ruins.
under which a score of lives went out.
The debris filled the deep stream from
bank to bank. People filed both shores.
and the stream was soon full of skiffs
and the work OF rescuing lives began
without directing head. This work was
kept up all day, and is still going on
tonight.
At the hour of the accident there were
few other workmen on the bridge near
the scene, which leaves a few survivors
among the victims as the only ones to
tell the story.
Bruce Thomes was working on the
bridge. He says: 'The first thing 1
knew 1 was falling. heard no cracking
of timbers, no outcry, only 1 knew 1 was
going down. 1 had hardly time to think
when I found myself on the bottom of
the river about twenty feet from shore.
/ only got bruised on the legs. 1 saw
several others that escaped. but don't
know their names."
At a cottage on Thornton street, New
port, not 200 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
mother-in-law of John Roby, who leaves
a widow and two children. The two
brothers were taken there to die Never
in houses of royalty was there more real
mourning than in that house tonight.
John died first. His dying brother said
to his weeping widow, "Don't cry,
Annie, John will get we'll" When told
that John was dead, he said: "Then I
want to die, too" Those were his last
words.
In the same house was G. III. Fetters of
Ironton, O. He said: 1.-The crash came
without warning. / heard no sound, I
only knew we were going down. I
scrambled on some timbers, and some
one rescued me in boat.'
Charles Wilkerson, whose home is at
Louisville, Ky, was working on the
engine of the Newport approach, and
was the first one to the rescue. He SAYS
the timbers of the false-work buckled
down stream, and everything went down
in heap. Wilkerson saved many lives
of the wounded, and then went diving for
the dead. The first dead man he got was
James j. johnson of Havre de Grace,
Md This man had brother injured at
Canova, w. Va, who has become insane
from his injuries received while work
ing for Baird Bros. He sued Baird Bros,
and was here on the bridge looking up
testimony among the men on the works.
The next man Wilkerson recovered by
diving was Andrew Baird. one of the
contractors, who arrived here this morn
ing, and was on the bridge with his
brother inspecting the work. The Baird
Brothers were engaged on the great
bridge at Memphis, and have had much
experience in bridge building. The
wounded were scattered all over the three
cities of Cincinnati, Covington and New
port, and the surgical attendance prompt,
efficient and amply sufficient.
The work of recovering the dead and
rescuing the living was promptly under
taken by oganized forces from Cincin-
natl, Covington and Newport, together
with volunteer boatmen along the river.
While most of the worlxmen lived else
where, there was enough from this vi
einity to lend personal pathos to the
scene, as the relatives recognized the
bodies now and again as recovered.
The recovery of the bodies is slow work
from among the riven tirnbers and
twisted iron, which sometimes crushed
ont the lives of the victims and again held
them. comparatively unhurt, below the
waters and drowned them.
The houses near by, some with their
dead owners in them, were thrown open
10 tho care of the wounded.
Among the dead were the Baird Bros,