The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-12-05
THE TRESTLE COLLAPSED
Nine Men Precipitated to the
Ground Below.
ONLY TWO BADLY HURT
The Report That Men Were Killed In
founded-Rumors of a Startling
Nature-Cause of the Acct
dent Is Unknown.

Rumors of the most sensational nature
startled the citizens of Anaconda yester-
day afternoon. The reports were TO the
effect that there had been collapse of
trestle at the dam that is being construct
ed by the water company west of the city
and that 10 or II men had been killed out
right and that there were as many more
buried beneath the wreck. The report
created great excitement about the city
until the facts began to be learned Even
then all sorts of stories could be heard
and the number of killed fell slowly
from ten to eight. then TO five, and nnaliy
to enc.
When last evening. authentic informa-
ton in regard to the affair could be OBJ
tanned it was found that only two men
are i'm any degree badly injured and their
injuries are not of dangerous character.
Five or six other men are also more or
less hurt, but none of the latter so Sc
riously as TO be confined TO their beds.
But the fact that there is not half
dozen men dead is due TO nothing less
than q miracle.
The place where the accident occurred
is about two and n half miles from the
city in westerly direction. At this point
the water company is constructing big
dam across the mouth of one of the gulch-
es for the purpose of building n reservoir
TO be used in connection with the new
water system which is soon to be put in
in this city. For embankment purposes a
trestle some $50 or 800 feet in length has
been built across the mouth Of the guich.
On this trestle cars loaded with dirt and
rock are run TO where it is desirable that
the dirt should be placed, and there the
cars are dumped over the side of the
trestle Originally the trestle WAS Il very
high one but by the continuous unload
ing of dirt over the sides the distance be-
tween the top of the dam and the surface
of the bridge is now only . or 30 feet.
Yesterday afternoon nj 3:l5 or 500
o'clock two cars of dirt coupled together
were being run along the trestle. b sides
the two cars there were nine men at work
on the bridge. Suddenly the timbers be-
gan to creak and strain and in an instant
the men. cars, dirt and about 100 feet of
the trestle were precipitated to the
ground below.
Besides the nine men on the trestle
there were a number of others working
upon the embankment below. At first II
was thought by those who saw the col
lapse that many lives must surely have
been lost. Telephone messages were sent
to the city for physicians and convey
ances and the work of extricating the
men began. When the rescuers began
their work ii was found that nearly all
of the men were able to make their own
way out of the mass of wreckage of their
own accord, and that only two men We're
at all seriously injured. All of the work
men who had received hurts of any kind
were brought at once to St. AIMS hospi-
tai where their injuries were attended TO.
Edward Mertney the foreman Of the
gang is probably the most seriously i'm
jured. He has a dislocated shoulder and
is suffering from pains in the chest and
back. lit is probable that one or two of
his ribs are also fractured. Theodore
Heisson has a couple of broken ribs and
is suffering considerable pain, These two
men are at the hospital and appear to
be as cheerful as most men could we'll be
after an experience such as they had.
The names of all the other men who
were in the collapse could not be learned,
but among them is All Reese. Tom Jew
ell and Pat Duffy the latter having
broken thumb and being slightly injured
in the region of the hips.
The cause Of the collapse of the tres
lie is not known to certainty. There
are two theories. either of which may be
correct, assigned for il ny those who
have charge Of the work. one is that a
large stone from one of the cars fell upon
the timbers Of the trestle and broke il.
thus weakening the structure and caus-
ing ii to fall. The other is that one of
the teams working on the dam below ran
against one of the supports of the bridge
and knocked if from under the treste
The pecuniary damage IS very slight
and operations will be resumed on Mem
day. All of those concerned in the acct
dent consider that ii was one of the most
miraculous escapes from death that a
company of men ever had.