The Express.
London, England, 1867-01-16 00:00:00

GREAT LOSS OF LIFE.

One of the most fatal ice accidents that has taken
place in this country for many years happened on
the ornamental water in Regent's Park yesterday
afternoon, causing the immersion of between 100
and 200 persons, and the death of many.
___ . . _ . . . _

The ice in the park, although not so sound as to
remove anxiety from the minds of the Humane
Society's officers and the park-keepers, was not
reckoned decidedly dangerous yesterday morning.
Thousands had been upon it during Monday, but
repeated breakages and immersions did not deter
those who had come for the purpose from indulging
in skating or sliding. Emboldened by the apparently
hard frost of Monday night increased numbers
came to the park yesterday, and the more timid,
who had previously kept to the bank, felt no hesi-
tation in venturing upon the ice. The scene during
the morning was unusually exciting and pretty.
The grettest numbers had congregated at the wide
portion (of the water, although the narrower
strips around the island and at the Camden Town
end had their fair strinkling of pleasure-
seekers. Towards the afternoon, when the sun
was taking the keenness from the cold air, ladies
and children began to arrive in scores to watch the
evolutions of the skaters, and witness the perfor-
mances, may be of a relative or friend. The
immense weight had by this time cracked and
weakened the ice, which contained all the elements
of weakness common to snow ice. The excitement
and fun were at their highest between 3 and 4
o'clock, and few of the throngs on land or water
probably dreamt of immediate danger. Select cir-
cles were surrounding the more skilled skaters,
men of all ages and classes were darting across in
each direction, the park was resounding with
sounds of merriment and life, when without warn-
ing the scene was terribly changed. The entire
expanse of ice, covering nearly an acre of water,
gave way according to some, exploded according
• to others, and was agitated as if by an earthquake
according to others. The fatal cracks are de-,
scribed as shooting with sharp reports in every
conceivable direction, and with such rapidity
that it seemed as if the giving way was simultane-
ous in each direction. ho one can say with preci-
sion how many were upon the treacherous ice at
the time. The highest numbers we heard men-
tioned would make them 250, but the estimate of
a gentleman who has long been in the habit of
reckoning numbers at sight was that about 100
were precipitated into the water. So sudden and
uniform was the occurrence that hardly a dozen of
the entire number on the ice wholly escaped. The
theory of one of the park-keepers, who wit-
nessed a lesser but somewhat similar accident
near the bridge three or four years ago, was, that
the holes caused by several minor immersions
during the afternoon had admitted air, which had
been rendered dangerous by the undulations of the
ice.

The most frantic cries arose when the accident
was observed. The ice in other parts was cleared
in an instant, and the crowds that pressed to the
edge of the water were in imminent danger of being
themselves trampled under foot. Several ladies
and gentlemen who were standing at different
points have endeavoured to convey to us the scene
that was photographed upon their minds when it
first burst upon them. As may be expected, words
neither written nor spoken can adequately pourtray
the horror of the moment. In some directions splashes
only indicated where a human being had disap-
peared : here and there a hatless head would
emerge, revealing the agonised features of one who
clutched at the broken slippery ice and again
sunk: men were seen leaping from block to block,
falling at length upon a piece large enough to sus-
tain them for a moment, but small enough to tilt
over before they had secured a place of refuge.
Nearer the banks, in the shallow water, men and
women floundered about with terror-stricken chil-
dren in their arms ; a few by their own exertions
reached safety after being immersed in the centre
of the space for a long time ; and disturbing the
already troubled waters on every hand could be seen
the up-thrown arms of men and boys struggling
face to face with death. These were the promi-
nent features of the picture the eye took in at one
. .

hurried sweep. No' wonder tliat the spectators
who gave us the benefit of their impressions con-
cluded their narrative, one and all, with—" And I
shall never forget it while I live !" That so many
were saved from drowning is little short of miracu-
lous. The majority of those who escaped were
shivering on the brink before the appliances at hand
could be brought into requisition. Well-dressed
and lowly-dressed men vied with each other in
acts of heroism. While many men shouted and
wept, and women wrung their hands as they joined
in the general bewailing, dozens of silent persons
were plunging into the water and bringing the
helpless to the shore. The sledge, grappling irons,
hooks, and ropes belonging to the Humane Society
were sed, wherever they could be ,• but need it be
said the appliances necessarily fell short of the
requirements I The Humane Society's men, the
park-keepers, and police in several instances, dis-
tinguished themselves by something more than
the bare performance of their duty. Those of the
spectators who did not venture into the water tried
hard in the main to encourage those who did,
offering, in one or two cases, large rewards for the
safety of relative or friend. At the same time the
efforts of some, that, without payment or encou-

ragement, would have been given to succour the
immersed, were often impeded by the terror-stricken
and unmanageable spectators. Some of the
rescued will perhaps never know to whom
they owe their preservation. We can fur-
nish an example. A man, apparently a me-
chanic, was shrieking for help about fifty yards
out,when his cries attracted the attention of a gen-
tleman in the crowd. Without a moment's hesita-
tion he sprang into the water, battered a passage
through the ice with his naked fist, and made for
the now sinking man, who immediately threw his
arms round his neck and locked him in a perilous
embrace. To the horror of those who were watch-
ing the incident both disappeared for the instant,
but they ultimately returned safe amidst the actual
plaudits of the bystanders. The gentleman, giving
his companion into the charge of several willing
persons, disappeared before any one could speak to
him. Other acts like this will no doubt remain
untold.
Equally praiseworthy were the measures taken
to resuscitate the insensible, revive the faint, and
help the weak. The inhabitants of the neighbour-
ing terraces—Sussex-terrace especially—sent out
an abundant supply of stimulants and clothing.
The Humane Society's tent, opposite Sussex-ter-
race, was much too small to accommodate those
who required the attention of the three surgeons
present. Amongst the crowd, by a most fortunate
circumstance, were Mr. and Mrs. Douglas, the
master and matron of Marylebone workhouse, and
their presence of mind and energy cannot be too
highly appreciated. The former immediately sent
for police, blankets, and brandy, and the latter
hastened to the workhouse, to prepare for the re-
ception of the injured. The result of this praise-
worthy promptitude was that surgeons and their
remedies were ready before the first patient arrived.
Indeed the whole resources of the establishment
were at the disposal of those who needed them.
Fifteen men and boys, in various stages of ex
' haustion, soon came in cabs, and were sub-
jected to proper treatment. While some of the
patients were apparently lifeless others were in a
state of delirium, crying out for help,tand suffering
over again the agonies of immersipn. One of the

fifteen, a young man of 25, soon died, andup to a
late hour hat night he was not identified. A clue
to his identification may be found in the statement
that a purse with 18e., a puzzle of braes and steel

rings, and a Geneva watch, were taken from his
pockets. Four or five young men recovered quickly
and were sent home, amongst them an iceman
named Sheridan, who had been nearly drowned.
The others were going on well when we saw them
muffled up in piles of blankets, and receiving the
kindest attention from Mrs. Douglas and her sr
Blatant'.

The Humane Society's men had not been at
work long before they found seven bodies, that
were taken to the dead-house of the Marylebone
workhouse, and laid down for identification. A
crowd of 2,000 persons were not long in assembling I
outside the gates. Due precautions having been
taken to prevent crushing, all who wished were
permitted to pass slowly through in single file, and
look down upon the inanimate figures as they
passed. The first three were young men of evident '
means ; the fourth a hapless boy of lb ; the fifth,
a singularly handsome, curly-headed young man, '
still unidentified ; the sixth, a young medical
student ; the seventh, an elderly man, and pro-
bably poor. They rested upon mattresses, four of
them still wearing their skates. The expression
upon each white face was so placid, that it re-
quired a very slight effort of the imagination to
fancy that when the shadows of the flaring gas
lights passed across the features, they wore a
pleasant smile. Before ten o'clock, six of the bodies
had been identified by distracted friends. An
elderly gentleman, who had found his son, refused
to believe he was dead, but grasped Mr. Douglas
tightly, and said, " Oh, but he can't be dead ; he
only left me two hours ago, strong and cheerful."
The sad truth at length became too evident for
disbelief, and the father went his way, convulsed
with grief. In similar fashion the other bodies were
recognised, and then removed from public gaze.
The ill tidings of the accident spread with pro-
verbial rapidity, and in the neighbourhood of
Regent's-park many households were kept in alarm
if any member of the family happened to be ab-
sent. If the park gates had not been closed at dusk
tens of thousands would have entered them. The
public were, however, rigidly excluded. Soon
after dusk the search for bodies was discontinued,
and the water was left to the care of a few watch-
men. A few hats and sticks on the surface, toge-
ther with the broken pieces of ice, were the only
traces of what had been.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
After the accident the scene was painful to a de-
gree. The afternoon was beautifully fine; a clear,
blue sky, and a healthy, bracing wind gave zest to
the enjoyment of the skaters. Their fun was at
its height, when suddenly a cracking, rumbling
sound came upon them, and a cry was raised,
" Come off, come off, off, off, the ice is breaking
up." But the warning came too late—the ice had
already broken into huge masses from end to end
of the lake, and the middle of the water at once
became dotted with hundreds of submerged human
beings clinging for very life to the broken ice.
Those who were nearest the shore scrambled out or
were dragged out without difficulty, but the strug-
gling crowd in the deep water had to wait a
long time before help could reach them.
The people on the banks moved frantically
to and fro, or rushed about in search of ropes,
ladders, spars, oars, or any ready piece of timber
11 that could be made use of in the emergency. At
length the boat-house at the western extremity of
the lake was got open, and two or three small ves-
sels were launched, but it required some time and
much labour to get them through the ice. The
!men who took charge of them, however, pushed
vigorously on, and by degrees succeeded in reach-
ing and rescuing many of the poor creatures. I
Then ropes stretched from side to side of the
water were dragged along its surface, but unhappily
these snapped, and proved of no use. All this
time groups of men seemed to be acting as their
hurried, excited judgments directed, but there was
no guiding spirit equal to the emergency, and their
well-intentioned efforts were all fruitless. No
police were visible, and the only public authority
that could be called into action rested with a few
helpless park-keepers. In this painful state of mat-
ters the agony of the surging spectators became
most intense. They were powerless to render
assistance beyond trying to rally their drowning
fellow-creatures with cheering shouts to take heart,
as help would soon be at hand. Some, indeed,
there were who could hardly be restrained from
rushing across the treasherous ice, crying out " Tie
a rope round us, and we'll go, there'll be no danger
then ;" and it was only by the aid of sheer force
that they could be prevented putting their gallant
design into execution. The sun was now setting
fast, and it was too manifest that at every moment
many in the water were getting beyond all human
aid. Mournful cries were constantly heard of
" There goes another poor fellow !" " See, see,
there's another sinking—he's gone." One gentle.
man succeeded in raising himself out of the water
on to the ice, and was making his way to shore,
until cries of "Stop where you are" arrested his
progress, and, obeying, he remained until a boat
could be got near enough to take him off. Soon
afterwards darkness came on, and the search
for the living was over. The apparatus of
the Humane Society is lamentably deficient
for such an occasion. The ropes were rotten, there
was but one ice ladder, and that proved useless,and
but one sledge boat, which was never called into
requisition. It seemed a long, long time before
any police force came upon the ground, and when
they did, a gentleman who saw them coming ex-
claimed, " You were sent for an hour ago. Why
did you not come before 1" The inspector replied,
" The men are Sunday duty men, and were at
church when the message came. They were brought
here as soon as possible." As the sun sank below
the horizon, the significant black spots on the sur-
face of the lake had all disappeared, while the
weeping of women and children who lingered on
the margin of the water heightened the gloom
which this sad event had thrown over the close of a
fine winter day.