Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-01-15
AwFUL CALAMITY.
Eight Lives Lest Fifty Persons
FrightCuIIy Wounded.
Falling OF the FIoCr Of a school,
Is8Om in Rochester, y. Y.
from Tho Rochester Democrat ]

school of st. Peter and st. Paul, on East
Maple street, where the school children
had met for the Epiphany festival. The
party was on the second floor Of the new
school building attached to the church.
The attendance was very large, and the
! schOOlr0Om, large hall quite as large
out not so wide ss Corinthisn, is divided
into three compartments by two glass
folding doors, was densely packed by lit
tie people enjoying the music. AT about
o'clock 8 greater number crowded to
the front compartment, where the sale
tables were, as is customary in festivals
and fairs. There was no unusual move
neRt to cause excitement, and the crowd
eagerly listening to melodeon, was in
ous instant, without breath of warn
ing, compressed into one struggling,
sariekiDg mass of humanity. AS the
/ Il Dor sank, binding cloud OF dust arose,
Obscuring the view OF those in the ad-
joining Compartments, who were expect
ing the whole building TO sink, 50 fearful
was the noise and confusion. The front
/ compartment, let II be understood, was
| the only one that fell, the floor falling
/ cOuyexly, or as funnel, a. the center OF
which a slender iron column served as a
/ support to the fi1or above, the Il DOT which
! fell belng supported by similar column;
and the lower floor also by one which
! rested on brick sbutmsDt. Here see ms
| ID have been the cause Of the disaster, as
the column which supported the first
q Ior, on which were but a few people,
crushed out the mason work, aud the
/ second & Oor losing its central support,
fell with the weight Of several hundred
people upon 1t, A scene OF appalling
/ agony followed the catastrophe, those
! VINO were in the upper part Of the
/ schCol where the floor remained
I inSacs made a frantic plunge for the
! stairway, women shTleking and sobbing
I for little ones, and distracted fathers
/ searching wildly for missing children.
Many were crushed Ia the Iumultuous
pass gs, aud Others rendered desperate
by the sgOBiziag suppiiCai0ns of friends
and relatives, threw themselves from
tie windows ia q mad endeavOr to get at
Z The shrleking, and msngled forms In the
vortex, 50 20 speak, Of tbe crushed ii 1or.
At this tine the bell rang the alarm, and
Mr. George q. Cooper, Of the Uaioa,
coming TO his door on Kent street, nearly
quarter OF a mile off, heard quite dis.
tinotiy the hOarse murmur of alright
AMI terror.
With his all ard that Of The police, the
work Of Tes5ue bsGan, ana 8 series Of
sights that fTOEs the very manhood in the
veins OF the strongest followed. Those
who were Of the party we're so paTaly I'd
with terror, th&t they were unit 10 rem
der the slightest assistance, and these
attracted 10 the scene of woe, were the
only ones capable OF Ridl8g, systemati- /
caliy, the unf0Ttunates By the aid Of
the doofkeeper jacob Frank, the gToap, !
crushed by the iron column in the center, |
were slowly extricated and identified. !
And then was seen q woeful and dis |
tressiug sight. Barnard DJnneT, 3 young /
German, lay With his wife c!asping him, |
both IL th8 EiEi GgOny 0: death, crushed |
and msugisd, but recognizable. Ia this /
spot lsy IN 3 huddl,d mass under tie |
melodeon and HGPpGfLing oolgmn, tWen- /!
ty-tiye crushed bodice, eight slsrk and |
jesd. Toe hands OF the strongest trem- |
bled, and the gr0ans Of strong nsn rent |
the sir, while women on the outside /
elamored and walled for their little ones. I
Slowly the dead and wounded were TAX |
en- TO the priests house and TO the |
church, but 9 stop from the fatal spot. !
As each body was carried fTOE+ tG5 spot, /
terrified inquirers would rush and tear
their way 10 see II kindred or friends |
were the sufferers.
~ ths earliest moman pTae .ioable, |
ths crushed forms were placed tenderly |
in tus cham Der OF the priest, and In the |
contiguous houses, where the kindest at |
tention aud soliCitude were shown by the |
oceupgntG. the report by this time had |
spresd rapidly, aud eager crowds, with |
psilid faces Rnd blOOdles3 lipa, pressed |
hurriedly TO the couehes Of the sufferers, |
dTeading lest near one and dear one |
might lie stretched 10 death, or in the |
agony of crushed and mAngied helplt So
ness. SO unnerviDg was the scane that |
the police we're ont Of very kindliDess
forced to refuse Gdn9lttsnce to the dis |
trRc.ed throng. Shrieks and wailing /
were heard on Gll sides az little ones |
sought for missing parents, and parents |
sought ds3sdiy for the children known /
90 be in the fatal building. In the priests |
house the Scenes were cruelty touching. |
On Ons table, gagAtiy aud rigid, lay the |
forms Of two dead women, Mrs Hinck |
and Katie Lawrence, the one nearly I
three score, the other bus fifteen, With
heads crushed and bloody, and faces clOt-
ted with their own gore, awful visions of /
sudden ard instantaneous death. These /
two bodies were perfectly limp, and not |
a bone IL tbs body remains unorushed. |
10 the next FoOI isy ttF. David Q. Way,
who can hardly recover, cared for kindly !
by a couple of the city doctors. Ga tbs
Il p0r little creature lay groaning and
sobbing with a broken arm. Every
attention possible was being psid
these .Gnbsppy sufferers. In still /
another room, and old man; Geo R1pss,
lay on the & )0r, no relatives 10 mourn
or care for hinl, but over him sat . sad |
fearful woman rocking mOurh!uily over /
the stranger who was her lOdger. His
face was peaceful, and save the Oandage |
which upheld his JAZZ one would have
Imagined aiEa sleeping. Beyond him Oh
the floor WsH the AoSt p9thptic OF all The
nights bloody WORK. 4 little SiEi, with l
bloody, swollen features. lay In the pain
ful attitude OF one who had struggled for
life, Black purple stTeaks distiZuGed the
face, and the mouth was compressed In
unutterable agony. Her head, covered 4
with faxsn curls. was dabbled with her
own life blood, and her hsnd5 still re-
tanned a clotted mat Of hair, pulled from
the poor head In the awful struggle with |
death. This was the girl, Maggie Wiess.
She lay des0lately ia the corner, un-
mOurnei aud unnoticed save by the Gu
riou-. Suddenly girli5h cure gained /
admittauce, and rushing frsDziedly to
The little desd f0rm, gave 8 piercing
shrek OF wOeful recognition, threw her
self beside the dead form, kissing the
cold, bloody lips, and wailiog out, On |
Maggie Oh my God, Maggie, what will |
our father sayY What will he say9 at the
cRtu6 titic BdtceniHE lEb Hills J4uOuJ
form. At last, exhausted by her intense
grief, the frenzied little one sunk into
z sort Of collapse, and rocked and sobbed /
convuisIvsiy I'LL even this state wss sue
ceeded by q sort OF stup6f. IN the cham
Der ABOVE lay Mrs. Fuchs, q lady vener. |
able with years, and ouaded nigh unto
death, both limbs being broken, and an
arm either broken or psFalyEeG, There
were, it will be seen, four dead hodies in
the priests house, and three either NOR
tally or seriously wounded. In the |
church, which was thrown open, on agi-
teted mass swayed, some to see with |
awful foreboGings, others TO see with
melancholy curiosity. Laying In one
seat, still closely beside each other, as iu
the crash OF destruction, lay the shat
tered ioriaia o! Barnard Donner and wife.
The tender thoughtfuiness OF Kindly spec-
tators had covered the ghasily naked. |
ness, the bodies having besn entirely de- |
nuded Of olothing. The bodies were |
mangled frightlnliy, deep gashes were |
plowed ia bloody furTOGs across the /
faces, rendering recognition next 10 i'm
possible. The saddest Of this scene is that |
which opens st the afflicted home. |
There four little children lay In their
beds, awaiting the dear ones who |
a