The Portland daily press., 1899-08-29


being killed outright. The skulls of the
shapeless masses; their limbs were cut
on and they were maneled beyond rscog-
milton. The Immense structure began
falling slowly, each arch being Sustained
By the cross beams supporting the entire
str uoture.. As the mass gained impetus.
bars Of iron, inches thick, snapped with
loud report and the great mass moved
faster and faster In Its descent. With
crash that was heard blocks distant,
the structure fell. leaving tho walls
practically uninjured. An immense
crowd gathered around this place and
despite the sfforts OF the police they
swarmed over the mass Of wreokage
making desperate but ill-directed efforts
to drag out the dead and TO save the
wounded. 1t was only. with the greatest
difficulty that the police were finally able
to drive back the crowd. and give the
firemen and uninJured workmen chance
to rescue the injured. That more men
wore not killed and injured was almost
| miracle. Fully fifty men were at work
In the space covered by the arches as they
fell A number Of the men jumped into
small excavations OF which there are
many In the gronud beneath the steel
works aud were saved from the great
muses. OF steel that crashed down over
them. Several Of them were standing
under the arches when they commenced
to fall, and running to the. side walls.
happened to stand In the space left vrcant
by the curve Of the arch away from the
side walls. Had the arches fnlisn TO
either side, the loss Of life must have BEEN
much heavier, but they fell true to the
south on parellel TO the side Of the
building and none Of them save the two
southern arches, fell at all outside OF the
space occupied by the building.
Edward Bindon, eng ineer, who was
tending an engine at the south end Of
the structure, heard shouts from above
and the noise of twisting girders. Teu
feet away, on the ground floor, was pile
of iron work, which had not yet been
used on the building. Bindon threw
himself against the pile Of girders on the
floor and under its protecting sides. he
lay while the massive beams from above
fell on all sides about him. One OF the
largest arches fell directly across the pile,
but Blndon was not hurt.
Thomas Rabishaw, bridge puildsr,
was at work on the second ar Oh next to
the south end Of structure. When he
heard the cry of warning ami felt the
building shake, he took tighthoId of
the beam on whioh he mad been working.
When he realized. that the whole super
structure was going, he slid down the
beam about forty feet and then plunged
Into the mud in the excavation at cor
ner of the building.
Michael Bloemer was working on the
south end of the building on the west
side Of the roof With him was his part-
ner, Cornelius Tcuniey. When they fell
the building shaklng both grasped the
iron arch upon which they had been
working and came down with the falling
structure. Toomey was seriously. If not
fatally injured. while Bloemer~ received
a few bruises.
The direct cause Of the accident is not
known and 1t will prof ably be several
days before 1t Is determined.
One theory is that shifting of sand
beneath the foundation caused the col
lapse of the first arch, which brought all
the others TO the ground. A story which
cannot be substantiated Is that num-
Der of workmen we're using pulley on
the north arch while they were taking
down some scaffolding that had been
erected around it. They caused the arch
to sway and finally 1t swayed too far and
fell over.
j. j. johnson. superintendent of the
Pittsburg Bridge company. when inter-
viewed said; IT cannot say what caused
the accident I am utterly at loss to
account for it. left the building only
a few minutes bsfors the whole thing
fell. We had finished putting up the last
arch and had begun taking down the
traveller upon which the arches were
raised to be set into place. This work
was almost complete when lsft the
building. There remained but one or
two more beams to- be removsd. Tten
heard the nrash and could hardly believe
my eyes when / saw the result OF our
oh Cf L va1