November 2, 1867 – Mayhem breaks out at the State Street Bridge as two
assistant bridge-tenders, John Gannon and Edward Williams, nearly kill one
another in an early morning battle. The Chicago Tribune describes in detail what
happened on the river that night, “Gannon, it appears, was off duty during the
early part of the night, and returned about midnight somewhat the worse for the
liquor he had imbibed during his vacation.
When he made appearance at the bridge-house, Williams, his
fellow-assistant, who had also imbibed somewhat freely, began to upbraid him in
terms more forcible than elegant, for returning in a condition that would
prevent him from attending to his duties . . . From words they soon resorted to
blows, and a desperate struggle ensued in the little bridge-house about which a
number of person now began to collect. . . . Williams, being evidently the
soberest of the two, had the advantage from the beginning, and during the
struggle succeeded in laying hold of a club, with which he felled his adversary
to the floor. However, he was down only
for a moment, and the struggle was continued with redoubled fury. Williams now sprang for an axe, standing in a
corner of the little hut, and with this he dealt a crushing blow on his
adversary’s skull. This more than
suffered to bring Gannon down. However,
not satisfied with the punishment inflicted, Williams was about to repeat the
blow, and already was the axe descending, when Mr. Lewis [the head
bridge-tender] and a young man sprang into the hut, and, after a desperate
struggle, wrung the weapon out of the hands of the would-be murderer . . . The
little shanty, after the struggle, presented a fearful scene. The walls, the floor, the bed, and everything
about the place was thickly covered with blood, while the prostrate body of
Gannon was covered with gore from his head to his feet . . . Altogether, the
two constitute an exemplary pair of bridge-tenders, who ought to receive
promotion. Their case will receive
proper attention at the Police Court this morning.” The State Street Bridge, the scene of the messy fracas, is seen in the above photo.
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