New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-11-18
NINETEEN DEAD ALL TOLD.
FIFTEEN BODIES RECOVERED FROM THE
CUYAHOGA RIVER.

MoroRMAN OF TIE CAR THAT WENT THROUGH
CENTRAL vIADUCr DRAW IN CLEVELAND AR
REsTEp-THE CAUSE OF THE DISASTER.
Cleveland. Nov. l7-Up to o'clock this even
/ ing the bodies of fifteen victims OF last nish'
catastrophe had been recovered. This accounts
for all but cour OF the passengers known to
have been on the car at the time it made It's
dreadful plunge from the open Central Viaduct
draw into the Cuyahoga River. The verified list
Of the dead and missing is as follows
DEAD.
/ BROWN Mrs Minnie G.. No. 10 Thurman-st
! lived at No. lO7 Noyes-st.
/ FOSTER Harry W. clerk No 81 Mentor-ave
HOFFMAN. Mrs. A. A. thirty years DID, NO. l'oo'
HOFFMAN. Gertie. three years old No i'oS Peari-''
HOFFMAN, Harvey. years old. No looS Feari-s''
HOFFMAN, Edward conductor iil-fated car, NO. III
ft1Erz. Louis F.. mail-carrier hirtyeight years OF
MLAUGHlIN. James baseball player. No. ~ rrow-
bridge-aye
IoPEHNE or CLEMENS. Curt pianist. No $50 Jen-
MEcKLENBtrG Henry W. tailor, No IS Mary-''.
METTGEN Marie. twen,y-one years OF age domestic
No 10 Joseph-st.
PALMER Mrs Martha. No. a Grant-st
! sARINsKL Augusta. No. 2o7 Central-ave.
/ sAUERNHEIMER. Mrs John A., No. 20 ProfessoT-s'.
MISSING.
GALLAGHER. Matthew. Hamilton-s,.
PAGE g. g.. res. lence unknown
/ sArERNHErMsR Miss Martha. No. 15i Merchantsave
VOTH. Lotie. Bmnch-ave
At an early hour ttis morning Augustus
Rodgers the motorman in charge OF the car
was arrested at his home and brought 10 the
Central Station, where he was questioned by
the Coroner and police officials. He stated that
Conductor Hoffman gave him the signal to go
ahead Asked as to how the conductor could
have given the "all right" signal in the face OF
the fact that the red-light signal, showing tnat
the draw was open. was hung on the closed
bridge gates, Rodgers replied that Hoffman
probably thought the draw was just closing IN
stead Of opening Rodgers was released after
giving bond for $1,000
A crowd of fully 5000 spectators gathered at
the scene of the accident this morning when
the search for the missing bodies was resumed
A diver Joseph Eberhart. employed by
the streetcar company to assist in the search
and after he had been at work two hours on
the river bottom he gave the pull-up signal for
the graphing hooks. and the body Of the mail
carrier, Louis HuletZ was brought TO the sur
face Huletz's brother had stood on the dock
all night peering anxously through the dark
ness and inquiring again and again II his
brother had been found. When the mutilated
body of Louis was brought up the brother
became wild with grief
About 10 o'clock the diver came TO the sur
face with a handful of womans hair. he sald
that a body was held down by the trucks, ana
that I'm trying to pull ii out he pulled the halr
out The body is thought to be that or MISS
Martha Sauernheimer. The friends ana reia
tiyes Of Miss Sauernheimer walked up ana
down the dock, Wringing their hands ana cry
ing most Of the morning. The unfortunate
girls father became so desperate that II De
came necessary to take him away. IL was
feared at one time that he contemplated jump
ing into the river. 1t may take a day or TWO
to raise the trucks, but until they are prousH'
up nothing can be done.
About 1880 o'clock river man reported to the
police that the body of little girl was hcatlhS
under the Big Four Bridge at South waters
Investigation developed the tact that the DouS
was lodged against the piles and was badly
mangled. 1t identified as the body OF Gerte
Hoffman The work Of searching for the four
undiscovered bodies will be resumed tomorrow
Patrick Looney. the only passenger OF the Ill
fated car who was taken from the water alive
il still at the hospital In a critical condiuon.
He has not regained consciousness since DelHS
taken there.
The most plausible theory regarding the cause
OF the disaster is the removal or the circuit
breaker. which replaced by derdlllng
switch about two weeks ago. Formerly the CIR
cult was broken several hundred feet from th'
swinging portion Of the vaduct whenever the
draw was open According TO the new c0ntrlF-
ance which was constantly set 10 derail a car
it was necessary for the ear to stop. The con
ductOr would set the "derailer' and signal the
motOrman t. go ahead. This procedure was en-
acted last night. and the misty rain had go
covered the glass in the vestibue thdt the
motorman says he was unable 10 see the danger
lights depending soloy upJn the conductors
signals As the conductor went down to death
with his car it will never be known what
caused him to fail t. the lights or know that
the bridge swung.
The motorman said II stopped at the de-
railing switch. as | always do. | saw the con-
ductor go ahead. | watched him. and he gave
me the signal 10 come | did as directed,
gave the motor one notch | saw no red
lights and naturally thought that everything
was ali right As | struck the gates | heard
some one yell. Jump. | turned off the power
as much as possible and jumped. After the
car plunged into the river. | ran down the
bridge L. the boy market. In order 10 inform
the police and then went to the docks ana
helped | was arrested at my home late last
night. and did not know the police were atter
me"
G. r. Brenner the captain OF the bridge. was
standing at the guard gates at the time the
car approached He says he saw the conductor
run ahead TO the switch and signal the motor
man to proceed and that the car was gong
at a speed of six miles hour when II struck
the gates He made a futile attempt 10 hoid
the gates and would have been carried down
had Il not been for a friend who was win nun
and dragged him aside. Just as the llgh's
went out he saw the people rush 10 the tront
of the car and heard girl scream. on, my
God" He SAYS the did not turn much IN
falling