The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-01-03
IA Bio RIDGE C0LLAPSES
A SPA FALLS WITH FATAL
EFsCT AILOUISVILLE.

The Fa, Work md Iron superstruct-
ure.ive Wy-Many Workmen
P;n.d to theBottom Of the River
by hse Irol Girders-Hunt for
the cad andnjufed.
4 disnch from luisville, Ky., says: The
bridge uch is bel, built across the Ohio
River be,een this ty and Jacksonville has
added aether lontiss of victims to the ia
talatiesl lhich havn marked every step OF its
progress ,.z ., ,u thu
giying.v,y of theecond channel span at
10. 20 oocka. m: That night at 8 O'Clock
anothsrspanSfelbeing blown down oy q
sharp wad stormThe night watchman and
severalIorkmen re on the span.
Ofthemanson bridge when it fell seven
bodies vsbeen covered. Fourteen men
wars,nnte6 81 leseriously injured, fourteen
W. msss s,5nst Tsrt at known to be in the water
and taryh6 arenaccounted for may be
dead ormay hacscsped.
5sThe sarse ole disaster cannot be def
hifaIysxafed, there seems little doubt
that ths bridge lders were guilty OF tax
ing terrible ri Workmen say the faise
work under thean had baen setting !or
three d.ys, and t the company was strain
ing eye.y nerve complete the span before
it should fall.
weak structure give way. The bridge
people say the i'd alone was to blame, ana
that the breakiof the span was caused oy
the toppling sr OF the great platform,
called the 'steler." The traveller ls
great mass of nework. seventy feet hlgn
by twenty widnd forty long.
It is moved track on tho bridge, ana
has NIB otheupports. When the Wlno
sprana up thceat timbers began rocking,
each Misunderstanding the frame 1aise
work Until 1t 9 way at last.
Thelarst CT when the centre bent gave
waysEkas at l., and then 1t was tnat the
cfe8f numbt fatalities occurred. A lew
nainyfI Iss Iatepent, on which there was but
liftieg l5fthe lge proper, gave way on the
IndiatnS siden TINS II Is oeheVeo 'nas ou'
onenbsn walled.
,sasf 4he W. The crash attracted the at
tsnfiGa of ftj on the shore, and many
Inn dswa)6eir eyes as they saw the men
sfI1 cSlinr fnid-air in their mad efforts to
camf0,t danger.
IyMn IN duge mass OF material struck the
vatasall .ts.concealed for an instant by
the Tay tRfswas thrown high Into the air.
As tbwatt subsided, here and there could
he s(nm sfruggling desperately to climb
nnoItl1e fnnbers that thrust their ends above
Asw scceeded in clinging to places OF
safe, ard we're quickly rescued by boats
tbaSut tut from the shore. Others strug.
glslesp,rately. and were carried off by the
curnt to sink almost as rescue was at hand.
ThSyou nded were soon removed to places
Of sety, and as quickly as possible tug
bogas chartered and put to work remov-
inae debris.
Yen the end slipped the whole work
+re,led, and the men, realizing their
doer, started for the piers. The central
he was the first to give way, and the
m, on this bent went down to be covered
hvhe mass of iron and timber Of the
OF bents, which fell almost tmmedi-
at.. CARRYING with them the other worSmen
wi failed to reach places Of safety on
thpiers. The north bent, or the one
aehSd to the Indiana pier. did not fall for
fhni minutes after the other parts went
din. There were forty-eight men on the
hlge when the alarm was given by the en-
ger in charge Of the work. OF those tha!
vit down, some were covered by a mass o!
tbet, from beneath which 1t will be days
Ibrs their bodies are recovered.
lhe bridge was q cantilever OF five spans.
70 shore spans, one on each side. were 200
f each in length, and are completed.
9ere are three channel spans, two OF 5a
n each and one of 553 feet. One OF the
a-fdot spans has not been begun. and il
g 6ne Of the 55s-toot which fell during tht
oraing. The other fell at night.
fhe first one which fell would have beer
mpleted that day. A great deal has beer
admbout the false work being poorly con
The false work Of the bridge was braced b!
Is fimbers six by ten resting on piling slxt!
ktlong, Of which torty feet was wi1nou
kaeing.
EThe piling has been in the water q lons
irn and was doubtless faulty. Only lev
onnecting links remained to be fixed to com
lets the span when the supporting structur