Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1894-01-18

Life Amesx the Brok.a Ttms~r.-F Tive
N-s Missing and suppose to be Lost
To the Rescue.
LoNe ISLAND CRY. L. l.. Jan. i3-
About sixty men were thrown in New
ton creek last night by the collapse Of
a section of a temporary drswhridge
over b creek connecting Bardley ave
nue., at Laurel Hin. with Meeker ave
nue., Brooklyn. Just how many men
were drowned cannot as vet be deter
mined.
The following were on the bridge AZ
the time and have not been seen since.
Patrick Briody.
II. Marckey.
George Mills
Michael MeCurky.
James Smith.
They were all employees Of the Lsu-
rel Hill chemical works. Mills being a
foreman there. Timothy Cannon. Of
los Eckford street. Brooklyn. was
brought to ~. Johns hospital. this
city. One of his feet vas badly
crushed, and he was cut about the
head. The section Of the bridge that
fell was a draw. thirty feet long. II
"aN NNAA W NRNNls anu Ef@ttA on tue
center abutment, from which point an
other section continued on the Brook
lyn side. The draw on the BROOKLYN
side was open. IL was low tide. and a
tug was trying TO force n schooner
through the draw. II was a few min
utes before 8 o'clock. when the bridge
was crowded with men from nearby
factories anxious to get to their homes
in BROOKLYN. suddenly there was a
cracking OF thinkers. and the draw
broke in two. The men mad IN ef-
fort to get of. hut the jam on the
shore md Of the bridge prevented
their making their escape.
Tn" fell into the water in a heap.
and then commenced a wild struggle
for life. Some climbed IN to the
wrecked sfaw. Will others sought
safety in swimming for the shore. ,
passing tug picked mp n number and
landed them ON the Brooklyn side.
where they were attended BY
from Brooklyn hospitals
The work of rescue was a difficult
one, as there were no small boats at
hand. Ropes were thrown Quite some
OF the men. and they were hauled
ashore in that manner. During the
work Of rescue there were some lively
scenes in the water. Men struggled
with each other in their frenzy to es-
cape. Some were hauled under water
and nearly drowned by those whom
they were trying To assist
Thomas Dobhins. Of Meeker avenue.
Brooklyn. reached the scene in a row
boat in time to save four men who
were on the point of sinking. The
captain Of the schooner rescued over a
dozen men. He got away before his
name or that Of his vessel could be
learned.
After striking the water the draw
broke into two parts, and in an instant
both were covered with men. some
managed to climb up clear of the wa
ter while others hung on to keep their
heads above water. II took considera-
BILE time to get all the men ashore. As
fast as they were landed they were
taken TO Toner'S Pennybridge hotel
and filled up with %stimulants.
Many of the rescued had close calls,
and for a long time after they were
brought ashore they were unable to
tell how they got there. The wrecked
draw had not been used in three
weeks, owing TO pile drivers working
on il.
Bridgekecper Daniel Hickey was on
the Laurel Hill side when the accident
occurred. He said it was due to the
o~vercrowding Of the bridge. He said
that he had frequently warned the
men not to crowd on the bridge. as IL
was dangerous to do 81. but they
paid no attention "a his repeated
warnings He could not account for
the draw breaking in the center.
as it was made of heavy timber, caleu-
lated to hold almost any weight. Mr..
Hickey does not believe hat anyone
was drowned. lie said that the water
was only nine feet deep at the time.
and as the men fell into the water
within about ten feet of the shore all
must have escaped. Several of the
men said that they saw at least five
men sink. and did not see them come
to the surface again. William Fagin
and Pat Mcnamara. of Meeker avenue,
Brooklyn, both had narrow escapes
They do not know how they got ashore.
and say they came near drowning.
The search for bodies was kept up till
a hate hour but none were recovered