The Quebec Bridge Collapses

August 27, 1907, the workers on the suspension bridge across the St. Lawrence notice that Beam Chord A-L has been slowly bending. One engineer is so alarmed that he goes to the construction company's headquarters in New York to ask for help. While he is away, the beam gives way and plunges 50 meters into the water. Many are killed on impact, but those who are trapped in the twisted steel are slowly drowned by the rising tide. Of the 75 casualties, 35 are Mohawks from the nearby Caughnawaga Reserve, leaving no family on the reservation untouched by death. A second attempt to complete the bridge in 1916 also fails as the centre span falls during the opening ceremonies. The world's longest cantilever bridge claims a total of 89 lives before reaching shore to shore.