Year: 1878

The Brooklyn Bridge Accident
A Grand Sight-Our Young He-
rOine-SOme Rapid Track-Lay-
ing.


New YORK, June q, 1873.
To the Editor of the Observer
The stupendous engineering


operations incident to the build


ing of the Brooklyn bridge


have been carried on with won-


derful success and safety, the
first serious accident for two


years or more occurring last


week, when one Of the strands


belonging to the four great ca


bles was being put in place.
This strand was something like


half mile long, reaching from


the Brooklyn to the New York


anchorage, and weighed about


forty tons. 1t had been made


fast at the Brooklyn end, drawn


up in safety over the Brooklyn


pier, across the river over to the


New York pier, and was just
about to be finally attached at
the New York anchorage, when
one Of the wire ropes of the
hosting appartus parted. Then,
in the words of an eye witness,
"with a roar like that of au i'm
mense cannon the strand sprang
like a great snake away back
into the air, up towards the
pier-tower on the edge Of the
river, with a cloud of dust. For
a moment the whole platform
OF granite quiyered under the
terrible recoil and then the
strand sagged between the tow
ers, its middle bErying itself in
the river with a long white
splash, throwing the water up
like a submarine explosion in
all directions all the way across.


Fortunately, the river was clear,
and the only damage done was
the wetting of a ferry-boat


which was passing at the time.
The spring of the wire carried
it clear over the houses in the
500 feet interval up to the pier,
except that it knocked down
one chimney and cut off tcle-


graph poles, Two men who


were engaged in the work were
struck by the flying monster
and hurled into eternity. It
seemed almost a miracle that
such an accident could occur
without a greater loss Of life,
especially as upon the end of
the strand dangled mass of
iron weighing nearly ton; but
the very immensity of the force
rendered the occurrence so
slightly destructive by jerking
! his his resistless missile clear over
the houses and streets between
the anchorage and the river.
Had the impetus been less and |
the ponderous mass been allowed |
to drop TO the earth instead of |
taking this gigantic leap, the
destruction which it might have
wrought is terrible to imagine.
y In the Brooklyn Police Court
was witnessed last week the
closing scene of a brief but spir-
tied drama combining romance,
comedy and pathos. On the
day previous young lady of
twenty was walking along one
of the avenues Of that city when
she suddenly felt her pocket
book taken from her hand ard
turning about saw a man making
off with it. Being a girl Of
spirit, she incontinently gave
chase; but after running sever
al blocks she found that the OBJ


ject of her pursuit was WIDEN
ing the distance between them.
Seeing a butchers cart stand
ing by the sidewalk she jumped
in, whipped up, and after brief
but exciting race ovcrhauled the
culprit. He was quite inofen-
sive-looking man Of middle age
with nothing Of the thief in his
appearance, and when interro-
gated by the girl as to the cause
Of his crime broke completely |,
down saying that he had gone
almost crazy, at watching his
wife and two little children
starve,a ,and that he had taken the
pocketbook in a fit of momenta-
ry desperation. Said the young
lady in court next day, "When
he told me how his family were
suffering, l went with him to
his house, and found it just as
he stated. He took his little
child on his knee and cried, and /
his wife could not imagine what
it was all about. He did not
want me to tell her, but he fin
ally told her himself that he had |
taken my pocketbook. / then
gave her part Of my money.
Then the officers came and / |
told them l did not wish to
make any complaint against
him, and would not have come
here if l had not been compelled
to-" There were applause and
tears a plenty from the court


room audience that mopning.
The preposSessing appearance