The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-11-27
HORRIBLE CATASTROPHE IN NEW YORK.

The newspapers are filled with the details OF
a horrible catastrophe which took place III
New York last Thursday afternoon. The
scene of the tragedy was Ward School num-
Der 26, in Greenwich avenue. The Mtelit-
gencer publishes the following account from a
teacher:
THURSDAY EVENING, November 20, 1851.
MEssRs. EDIroRs: | take an opportunity to
rve You II few facts in regard TO the sad and
fatal calamity which occurred this afternoon
at Ward School %, situated in Greenwich
avenue at the head of Charles street. The
accident happened at about two o'clock, and
the circumstances are IA follows:
There were Mt the time about eighteen hun
dred children in the three departments. The
PRINCIPAL Of the female department, while
engaged in teaching suddenly fell PROSTATE
in a iaintng it, The young ladies were much
excited and alarmed, and gave utteranco to
their fears in shricks and cries, and many of
them rushed into the adjoining apartments.
The children of the three departments, hear
ing these screams, and surprising the building
was on fire. became so much excited that the
teachers lost all control over them, and then
general rush was made for the door. The
children of the primary department filled the
first flight of stairs and tho entry below so
closely that the doors which opened 'nWdrd
could not be opened The children of the
female department, rushing out were soon
checked by the Jam below, and the stairs were
no crowded that the railing gave way for two
flights. and the children upon them were pre-
cipitatcd upon the heads of those below, some
of them falling fifteen feet The scene which
4 IL oil 4
were piled mdiscriminatcly, in an area of
about ten feet, to the height of nearly as many
feet more, where many were sufocated or
otherwise killed The boys from the male
department rushed down the back stairs, and
were stopped by II door, which, like those in
front opened inward and tho back stairs pre-
scntcd II scene similar to that in the front
entry, and one or two were fatally injured
here Many boys lcaped from the windows
some of them from the second story. The
bells were rung and the streets in front were
soon filled with distracted parents, and the
excitement in and around the building was
immense The whole and sole cause of this
melancholy casualty was simply the faintlng
of the teacher and the cries and shrieks of the
members of her class, which were mistaken by
the other scholars in the building rs an alarm
of fire and which so suddenly filled them with
fear that tho teachers lost all control over
them, and could not prevent the rush to the
doors A TEACHER IN THE BUILDING.
The number killed is ascertainod to be abou
fifty, the number wounded nearly the same
The case naturally exctes the profpundes
grief in New York, and is the subject of yariou
comment in the papers,
Tho building is said TO DO q cOmmOdiou
one of four stories, and at the time of the &C
cdent there were eighteen hundred and fit
children in its several departments tn
staircascs were so constructed, that should tn
banisters break, or u child fall, fatal injur
was almost inevitable. The doors, too, openc
inwards, 50 ~ to prevent egress in suddc
rush
1t il easy enough to preach to children upol
the absurdty and danger ola panic, and the dut
of having faith in God in the hour of peril, bu
it il madness to expect more from them thai
from grown persons. An assemblage ofnear tw
thousand men and women, under similar cir
cunstances, might have been seized with panic
and the consequences might have been still
more dreadful The duty of all builders @
odifces designed TO contain large numbers @
human beings is to make them safe, under al
crcumstances-to construct them 40 that cye
in case of II panic, and an instant rush, iata
consequences may be prevented.
No school-house should contain more thai
three stories, and the stairways should be nu
merous enough, their banisters strong enough
doors of width and arrangement adapted b
allow all the rooms TO be evacuated rapidly
easily and safely. We should have been yer.
unwilling TO have a child of ours shut up in tn
fourth story Of II building, with such staircas'
as that of this Greenwich street sohool-house
and with nearly two thousand children within
its walls The whole structure it is said, occu