The evening bulletin. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1887-1905, 1895-11-18
NINETEEN WERE LOST
Horrible Accident on a Cleve-
land Street Railway.
CAR FELL IN THE RIVER

Heartrending Details of a DepIorabIe
Tragedy-The Cuyahoga River Forever
Holds the Secret of the Frightful Tragedy.
Awful Catastrophe on the Cleveland
Misunderstanding the Blame.
CLEVELAND, Nov. 1S.-Nineteen lives
were swallowed up in the cruel waters
OF the Cuyahoga river Saturday night,
and 1T was all due to the unexplainable
carelessness of streetcar conductor.
Thirteen lives were given up, and
some of those who were eye-witnesses
of that plunge into that dark abyss of
10 feet, assert that the motorman and
conductor were responsible.
The accident occurred at 1885 o'clock
at the draw of the Central viaduct, a
long stone and iron structure which
crosses a valley and the Cuyahoga river
and connects Jennings avenue on the
south side and Central a ,enue on the
east. The bridge is l20 feet above the
river, and draw is Immediately above
1t to admit the passage of tall-masted
vessels
The draw was open for tug drawing
a schooner, which was about to pass
beneath the bridge. AS usual the gates
were closed on both sides of the draw
and danger lights of red were displayed
TO guard against just such accidents
An electric car was seen coming along
from the east towards the south Cap
tain Charles Brennan, who has charge
of the bridge, had no thought of dan.
ger.
The car was one of the Cedar and
Jennings avenue branch of the Consoli-
dated line, and had 10 passengers, con-
ductor and motorman aboard. At what
is known as the derailing switch, some
200 feet from the draw, the conductor
mechanically ahghted, as is the wont of
all conductors at this point, to see if all
was right and whether the coast was
clear.
The car, as all cars do, came to sud-
den staudstill and the motorman waited
for orGers. The conductor, for some un-
accountable reason, failed to see the red
signal of danger or closed gates, or per-
haps custom made him careless, and he
signalled to the motOrman, named Ro-
gers, TO come ahead. The motorman
turned on the electric fluid, the conduc-
tor Jumped aboard, and the car, with
considerable speed, went rolling toward
the draw.
Why the motorman did not see the
danger lights or the closed gates sooner
than he did, will perhaps always remain
a mystery, but the fact remains that he
did not. Nearer and nearer came the
car TO that awful abyss, and few feet
from the draw it dawned upon the mo-
tolman that the draw was open. He
made extraordinary efforts to turn off
the current, but it was of no avail. The
bridge CAPTAIN shouted like one possessed
and screamed incoherently, but there
was nothing left for him to do.
Plunged Into the Abyss.
The motorman, realizing his own
danger, forsOok the precious freight of
men, women and children entrusted to
his care, leaped off the front platform
lust as the car was nearing the draw,
ran Gown. the viaduct i'll the direction of
Central avenue and disappeared in the
darkness.
At the same instant two male passen-
gers Jumped off the car platform and
escaped death as if by miracle, for the
car had already crashed into the closed
iron gates. The conductor, too, tried
TO escaDe, but it was useless.
A second after the immense motor
had crashed through the CRATES and
reeled before the awful space OF l2O
feet, steaded for a moment and with
terrific speed was hurled downward.
Those who witnessed the accident say
that they heard one agonizing chorus OF
screams aud III an instant all was as
quiet us death.
Sank Beneath the Water.
The car struck upon projection OF
piles in the aDutInent beneath the draw,
then, turning and breaking into pieces,
il leaped into the dark river DeloW'
breaking the tow line between the tug
and schooner that was passing peneath
the draw.
a moment after the car struck the
river few suppressed groans We're heaTd
by the men who happened TO be on the
docks below and then all was over. Men
from the bridge above and from the
docks yelled to the men on the tug 10
pick up the people, but ID hyes were
sacrificed, only two passengers one nan
and one woman, beng taken Out ai'e'
Their Bodies Recovered
Inside of 20 minutes a tireboat, SIX
ambulances, six dead wagons ana
squad of policemen were ON the scene;
The injured man and woman were az
once taken to a hospital, but 1t TOOK
many hours of hard and patient Toll 10
extricate the 10 bodies from the wreck
age of the car in the river.
One by one the bodies were taken i; 10
undertaking establishments spread III
every part Of the Gig for this city Is
without a morgue), and the work OF
Identification was extremely SLOW plGs
ress. Late at night, when the south i sl Zoe
residents began to realize that then
loved ones had not yet returned nome,
the undertaking establishments Vert
visited, where one after another the
bodies were identified. -, :. .ho
The scenes were heartrendlng III WV
1.o a,,d avan men hardened 90 nor