Connecticut western news. [volume] (Salisbury, Litchfield Co., Conn.) 1871-1970, 1907-12-12
SEVEN DIE IN RIVER,
Twenty Others Hurt In Bridge
Collapse In Pennsylvania.
GREAT DAMAGE TO PROPERTY

FIooos carry Away Bridges and LOCO
motives, Wash Out Railroad Tracks
and Cause Suspension of Work In
Many Mines and Mills.
Bloomsbury, Pa, Dec. 11.-High wa
ter caused the collapse Of a new bridge
in course Of erection over the west
branch of the Susquehanna river at
Miflinville, eight miles north of here.
and resulted in the death of seven men
and the injury of nearly score of 9TH
ers, two perhaps fatally. Forty men
were at work on the traveller on the
middle span of the structure when it
collapsed. They were all thrown into
the swollen river.
The dead are: A. w. Fahs, Selins
Grove; Charles Creitzer, Selins Grove;
Adam Nuss Selins Grove; Adam ,Tritt,
Beaver Valley; Irwin Updegraf,
Georgetown; Willard Bowman, Miffiin-
Vile, and George B. Faux address un-
known.
The most seriously injured are: Will
liam Boyer, New York; Ray Sherwood,
Meshoppen; Percfyal Reighterback,
Howard Reighterback, William Meyer,
Luther Eckerd, Cecil Sharar, Newton
Dalton, Harry G. Goodling, John See
scholtz, John Fisher, William Weiking
and Jacob Johnson.
Retards Rescue Work.
The collapse of the bridge was caus-
ed by the rapid rise in the river. The
water rose during the day at the rate
of almost one foot an hour, and debris
carried down the stream by the floods
struck the false work Of the bridge
and caused it's collapse. This theory
is supported by the testimony of one
Of the workmen, who says that large
tree trunk struck the false work just
before the bridge fell.
s The accident occurred when the men
were preparing to abandon their work.
AS result the work of rescuing those
who were thrown into the water and
caught in the mass of twisted iron and
steel was greatly retarded. The second
span of the bridge was being erected.
and it was this section that fell with
the big traveller. The bodies of four
of those killed were found floating on.
the surface of the water entangled in
the bent and twisted Orders and iron.
work, but the others have not been
found
Many of the men were caught in the
rapid water and carried mile or more
down the river before they were res.
cued. One of the most miraculous es.
capes was that of William Nesbit, who
was caught in the ironwork and held
q prisoner for an hour with his mouth
and chin above water before being res
cued.
Mines Arc Flooded.
The bridge was being built by the
state to replace one carried away in
freshet in 1908 The county authori.
ties refused to rebuild 1t, and it was
only by the passage of the Rose bill
in the legislature Of 1904 that the state
was authorized to put up the struc-
ture. Superintendent Lawton, In charge
of the construction and who was on
the bridge when it fell, says that he
has not been able to ascertain tho
cause Of the collapse.
AT Hudson, mining town, the sur.
face over an abandoned mine of the
Delaware and Pinebrook cOlliery be-
gan to cave in, and water rushed into
the workings in torrents. Operations
in another section Of the mine were
suspended, and nearly 300 men and
boys were hurried out of the mines.
The settling of the ground occurred
along the line of the Delaware and
Hudson and New Jersey Central rail-
roads, and 200 men were put to work
changing the course of the stream in
order to protect the railroads and pre-
vent the flooding of the mines.
The water is reported high in the
mines at Hazleton. At Evansville the
town was partly flooded by the break
ing of a small reservoir. The tracks of
the Lehigh Valley Traction company
were washed away in several places
throughout the territory.
Washouts on Railroad.
The Lackawanna river is overlooked
at Scranton, and much damage has
been wrought in the valley from Car
bondale to Old Forge. Trains on the
Erie and the Delaware and Hudson
railroads north of Carbonate were
abandoned for the day because of
washouts. At Mayfield the river has
broken its banks and is cutting new
channel through the lowlands So
great was the danger of flooding that
the Glenwood mine ceased operations,
and the men were ordered out of the
workings.
In the city of Scranton two new
bridges were badly damaged. The
false work was washed away, permit
ting, the structure to sag. bridge
was washed away at Blakely with a
locomotive on 1t, and a small dam at
Chinchilla gave way.
Bridges Washed Away.
Fishing creek In Columbia county
overfowed it's banks, and fifteen
bridges belonging to the Pennsylvania
Lumber company at Jameson City
were washed away, together with sew
eral hundred thousand feet Of lumber.
The works Of the Union Tanning COM
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