The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-09-02

LIVES LOST
Section of the New Bridge Across
the St. Lawrence River
COllapses.
WORKMEN GO DOWN TO DEATH
The Bridge Was to Have Been 1000
Feet Longer Than the
Firth Bridge.

QUEBEC, Sept. IA section of
the new bridge across the st. Law
renee river, five miles below this city.
collapsed late Thursday afternoon,
carrying scores of bridge workmen
and mechanics into the water 1t is
estimated that the loss of life is at
least sixty and may exceed that num-
Der by twenty.
The bridge was about mile and
IA half in length, and hall. OF it, from
the south shore to midstream. crum-
pied up and dropped into the water.
Ninety men were at work in this
section of the structure and the
whistle had blown at $50 for the
men to quit work for the day, when
there came a grinding sound from
the bridge midstream. The men
turned to see what had happened and
an instant later the cry went up, THE
bridge is falling!' The men made
a rush shoreward. but the distance
was too great for them to escape.
The fallen section of the bridge
dragged others after IL, the swapping
girders and cables booming like the
crash of artillery. Terror lent fleet
ness to the feet of the frightened
workmen as thep sped shoreward. but
only a few of them reached safety
before the last piece of iron work
on the south shore was dragged in
to the river. Near the shore the
wreckage of the bridge did not go
below the surface of the water and
eight workmen who remained above
water were rescued and taken to the
hospital at Lewis.
The steamer Glenmont had Just
cleared the bridge when the first see
ton fell. The water thrown up by
the debris came clear over the bridge
of the steamer. The captain at once
lowered boats. The small boats piled
backward and forward over the sunk
en- wreckage for half an hour, but
there was no sign of life
The twisted iron and steel had its
victims in a terrible death grip. \
few floating timbers and the broken
strands of the bridge toward the
north shore were the only signs that
anything unusual had happened.
There was not a ripple ON the smooth
surface of the st. Lawrence as it
swept along to the Gulf
All the men drowned were em-
ployes of the Phoenixville Bridge
company and sub-contractors of Que
bee and Montreal. At 10 O'Clock to-
night sixteen bodies had been picked
up, and of the eight men at the Lewis
hospital, two were not expected u
live through the night.
The Quebec bridge was begun
about seven years ago and it was To
be finished in 1909. Subsidies had
been granted by the federal and pro-
vincial governments and the city of
Quebec, and the estimated cost of
the work was $4,000, 900. The
PhoeniXville Bridge company Of
Pennsylvania had the contract for the
construction OF the bridge. and crews
were working from both sides Of the
river,
With the first break of dawn tie
following mo: o:Nirg half a dozen tugs
began "A sea- ch OF the st. Lawrence
river for the victims OF the cafas-
trcphe. The total number Of deaths
caused by The collapse of the ginat
cantileyer bridge numbers at least
seventy-fve, and may reach eighty
five. Up to an early hour Friday less
than twenty bodies had beer lecov-
cred. The terrific drop of the great
steel structure from 50 feet above
the surface of the river crushed the
bodies If many of the workmnn in
fflgnt1ul manner, and 1t is feared
many will never be found Many of
the dead were Americans brought
here by the Phoenixyille Bridge com
pany of Phoenixville. Pa.
Among the known dead are.
b. A. Gansel, general foreman for
the PhoeniXville Bridge company.
Chief Engineer Birks.
Fireman Davis, of Tho bridge
switch engine.
John w. HALEY, fireman
Jim Idah, Indian foreman.
About thirty Caughnawa2a Indiars
employed as laborers.
Victor, James and Henry Hardy OF
New Liverpool. Que, brothers
Wilfred ProuleX of New Liveinool
Que.
Zephrian La France, Quebec
The bridge was remark ole in that
it was TO he the longest caltileyel.
bridge in the world, the length Of tic
span in the center being 1900 or
1000 feet longer than that Of the
Firth bridge, at present TIL. worlds
| longest single-span bridge.