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A Terrible Accident

A Terrible Accident image
Parent Issue
Day
9
Month
May
Year
1873
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Dixoy, i]!., lTüv 4. - A terrible uncí dent; iiivolviir a fearïul loss oí' Ufe, oo ounvd lire this aftornoon. The rite o fcrtfism wís being administered to Bmuber offeoettt ccnverts to ono of tli ist Churohi ihere, at a point in Ebt Kivir, ju8t bolow the Trucsdell iron :. Ábout tvro hundred persons idilig many ]adiesÉnd n mimbor o: thildran, had gathcrg,íP')n tho bridgo to Vitnoaü thü ceromony. SiuMunly, wifl.tfut wafl'ning;, tho bridge gave way and praoipitated its living fi-eígüt iuto tho rtivam below. The seone whioh ensiied was indesoríbnbly torriblfl as the stiuggling victinis v.'tiiily ondeavored to freo tnmaelvea from the ruins of tho bridge aiid frOm eaoh other. Largo crowds of people on th.. bankarushed Wildlyto and fro, íhnny ot them so distracted with terror nat to be nnal)lo to ronder any assistanoe. Othors, mors snlf-possessed, speedily broiif-ht ropeá, planks and boats, and wení nobly to work to rescuo the living a id recover the dead, Somo of tHoss who were on tho bridge wheh it feil wore so near its ends that ihey wero able to roach the bank without, assistance, while others were fortunately within reach of those on hore, but up to six P. ir. thirty-two dead bodi es had been taken from the river, and it is almost certnin that thore aro others still undor the wruök of the bridgo. Twent.yfour wero iesoued Rlive, but more or less itojured, some fatally. SECOXD DISPATOH. t)ixo, May 4. - Midnight. - up to this hour no other bodies of tho victima of the bridge disaster had been recovored at tfcis point, but sevornl are reported to have been picked üp at Sterliriir, six miles feëla#i and doubtless the swift current ïms bofiie othors even farther down the f iver. TUe aronoral estímate of the number lost, is f rom ninaty to one hundred. As st-tted in the previous dispatch, thirtytwD bodies wero recovered from thü wi 'ck but'oru dark. Five otlior bodies floated down past thoso engaged at the wreek and have not yet been roeovored. There ave, tlicrefore, sitpposed to be at least fifty bodiea still Uufound' ; ïuost of thera, it is thought, are under tho wreek of the bridge. The bridgo was of iron, of the Truesdoll pat'tfirn, and had fivo spans, elevated about twenty feetabovo tho water, which at thia point is from fifteon to twenty feet dcep. Only two spans, those at either end, feJl ; the three iniddle snans ftre still standing, though they will fall when the wreek of tho end spans is cleared away. Woi-kmon aro busy to-night putting in placo danieks with whioh to raise the lallen spuns and making arrangements to secure tho bo.lies beneath. "it is now stuted that thora were nearly three hundred people on the bridge it the time of the accident, and more succeeded in escaping than was at flrst supposed. At the time of the accident, the most of the people wore gathored at either end of the stvucture, though a large nuniber wero near the center. Some of the latter rem lined whero they were when the crash came, and were afterwards taken offbyboats. Several men jumpod from their procarious resting glacé into tbu river and swam to the shore. Two horses and buggies were standing on the middle span, and are still there, thre boing no way to take them off. Tiiere were a number remarkable escapes of children, of whom there were probably not loss than fifty on the bridge when it went down. Oae little fellow aboiit 13 years old was caught by both feot in the iron rigging of cme of tlia falliin spana, and had one of his legs brokon. Ho managed by sheer strength to pull one of his boots off, tearing the solo off in the procesa; then coolly taking his kuU'e ripped the other boot from the foot of the wounded leg, and then, crippled as he was, sivam ashore. Two little trilla, sisters, wore Ktimdincr side by aide and went down togethr. As thoy reaehed the water the eldest cauglit the other by herdress with one hand, and ■with the other clung to a portion of the iron Work, and clung fast to it, up to her tjck in iey water, until they were both taken off by a boat. A CLEAR ACCOUXT OF THE ACCIDENT AUD IiS CAUSE. Chicago, May 5 -The following cxt.racts from au extra publisued this morning by the Sterling Mills Oasette wiii ijive u, claarer idea of the manner and direct cause of tho Dixoi: htidn-e disaster than anythirrg bof'ore reeeivod : ïli e people were oloselv crowded on tho fi;;)t-va,y, and the immense wsight all on ons sido was too much for the Bridge, ono of the cap stringers snapping astmder and allowing the north sectiou %o sns i'rom the abutmont and plunge into tlie river with its living burden. Botwoen tto &ot and wagon wayg wíis a n-etwort of bracea about seven feet hla:h, aud this toppleil ovor on tho mass ■ hnraanity who had boon thrown into tho river, and by it tho men, vv-omcn and children werc pinioned beneath tho water without power to help thcmselves, and too tirrnly b'ourrd by the weight oi' iron to gided by their frionds. It appears tjfat tue bridge waa construcretl in such a mauner as to make each secticm depenrk-nt on the other for support, and when the north section gave way the balance sagg4 between the piers, making a complete wreek of the ontire structure. So far m known, no fatal casualties occurrcd fn i-.rty sectio but the iirst, though several were seriously injnred by being orushed between the iron work. BEVENTY-riTE KILLED AND THIRTY-TWO WOUNWiS. Specials received here to night aro filled with ÏBoidenta attendant on the fearfol calamity, but add littlo to the main facts already telégrapbed. The number Rtill known to bo uiiaaiug, added to thoso whose bodifcs hnve aheady been recoverrd, malees tlie list of killed seventy-five. The wounded, two of whoin, Tlrs. Alexndria and RTra, Vann, have since died, aurnber tliirty-two.

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Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus