The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-06-16
An Iron Bridge Between New.
port and Covington Falls.
THE RIVER FULL OF CORPSES.
Rotten TimberS Used in the False
Work Collapse.
Structure, and All Were Carried
Down Sixty Feet or More-Twenty-
Seven Dead and Others Wounded.

CISCISNATI, June ia casualty such
as throws the pail of sorrow over the COM
munity and sends thrill of horror through
the civilized world, happened on Licking
river, between Newport and Covington,
KY, this morning. A wagon and street
railway bridge was in course of construc-
ton between the two cities. The contract
ors for the iron work were Baird Bros, of
Pittsburg. They were Andrew and Rob-
ert Baird, and they both went down to
death with their two score or more
of workmen. The bridge was a
strong wrought-iron structure, and the
stone piers on each side of the river were
finished. The iron works of the APP
proaches are very massive, and the span
between the two piers is about $50 feet
long. The height of the truss which was
to form the bridge span between the piers
was sixty-fve feet above the water. False
work, of pling 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 work was pushed from the middle
both ways. Five sections of the ponder
Gus iron work had been constructed. On
top OF this was an apparatus known to
bridge men as traveller, which is used
to extend the structure from the ends.
The traveller was full of men at
1880 this morning, and some of them were
near the top, nearly 100 feet above the
waters Of the Licking river. The timbers
of the false work were beams about ten
inches square, old and weather beaten,
and evidently had been used before 1t
was mass of iron weighing hundreds
upon hundreds of tons that overmatched
them and wrought ruin and gathered the
awful harvest for death. Thirty-six men
were in the traveller at 10 80 when the aw-
flu! crash came. and no one can tell how
many were working below.
The crash came like a bolt from heaven
Suddenly the overtaxed beams of pine
broke and crashed into the river below,
mass Of ruins, under which scores of lives
went out. The debris filled the deep
stream from bank to bank. People filled
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 a few other workmen on the
bridge near the scene, which leaves the
few survivors among the victims as the
only ones to tell the story. Bruce Thomas
was working on the bridge. He says:
The first thing knew falling l heard
no cracking Of the timbers, no Outcry, only
knew was going down. / had hardly time to
think when l found myself in the bottom OF the
river, about twenty feet from the shore / only
got bruised on the legs. / saw several others
that escaped, but don't know their names
At a cottage on Thornton street, New
M ordo VIa 4 L.
the dead bodies of John J. Roby and
brother. William Roby. Mrs. Catherine
Baer. the occupant of the house. was the
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 i'll that house tonight John died
first. His dying brother said to the
weeping widow: Don't cry, Annie; ohm
will get we'll" When he was told John
was dead he said: Then | want to die.
too" Those were his last words In the
same house was c. II. Fetters, of Ironton,
O. His back was injured and his ankle
crushed He said: The crash came
without warning. / heard no sound, and
only knew we were going down. / scram-
bled on some timbers, and some one res
cued me in a box.
Charles Wilkerson. whose home is in
Louisville, Ky, was working on an engine
on the Newport approach. and was the
first one TO the rescue He says the tim
bers of the false work buckled down.
stream, and everything went down in a
heap. Wilkerson saved many lives of
wounded and then went diving for the
dead The first dead man he got was
James J. Johnson, of Havre de Grace, Nd.
This man had a brother jured at Canavo.
W. Va. who had become insane from
his injuries received while working
for Baird Brothers. He had sued
Baird Brothers, and was here on the bridge
looking up testimony among the men on
the works. The next man WiIkerson re-
covered by diving was Andrew Baird, one
of the contractors, who arrived here this
morning, and was on the bridge with his
brother inspecting the work. Baird
Brothers were engaged on the great bridge
at Memphis, and have had much expert
ence in bridge building. The wounded
were scattered all over the three cities of
Cincinnati Covington and Newport. and
the surgical attendance was prompt, effici-
ent and amply sufficient. There were
sixty-eight persons on and about the
bridge when it fell.
Following is revised list of the killed
and missing:
c. b. CHAMPoIx.
THOMAS Down.
ONE UNKNOWN, about 40 years Old
K. X. ROXY.
ELNER BARBo
WILLIAM ALOIS.
q. W PFAFENBACH