The Sumter watchman. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1855-1881, 1870-05-04
54S6sG cif<N-rSS~S~,~>>~SN~~
s ~ n Dispassh.}
3 ! { -. .s CALAMIrx.

JI<| 49,
SS6ssssd the greatest cal
lSxer smistsd this city save
c! SlS of tho Theatre in 1911
stehsd By the falling In o:
~ ~ : Sf lhe; Old Senate chamber, in
yhish Il now Used for the
I lHA7 A ssrssss Court Of Appeals
s. o&6N o'clock was the hour for the
6 ths eourt, and it being
soed tbst there would be an
~ ;ths decision upon the question
E stilutionality Of the "enabling
a f. otherwise known a. tho Chahoon
g. 0N u cssc--whioh has excited so
4 %1Sh interest 10 this conmunity-a
gFgs pumber Of citizcps assembled in
IhS allesy and space in front Of the
itS6Aeh before the. hour appointed. The
Z SSya;Sktof such packed mass Was too
SSatS for the imperfectly. constructed
ffpDsipg and yet more faulty gallery
81 hioh wss suspended from the upper
ssApists In Q most detective manner. The
q allsIy first fell forward, the floor yield
;ssA1x Instantly aud going down with it
Ssersying the packed body of men to the
sssdor Of the House Of Delegates, fully
ts4gAaty feet below. As fearful aud fa
as this was, the heavy ceiling and
ihs timbera which supported It descend.
sssa along with the mass, greatly iucreas-
Ing tho mortality. Fifty.six were killed
8 aairIyht, add others may die from in
s3nties received.
,Sg Hai the catastrophe occurred ten
& ssiainutes earlier possibly half the mem
'sbers Of the House oil Delegates would
I have been killed by the falling Of the
( mass upon them, for caucus Of the
great minority Of the body had adjourn
-sed probably not ten minutes before the
occurrence or had tho hour for the
mecting Of tho court been IL instead Of
Sl1 o'clock, a like obstruction of life
would have taken place, for the Legis-
lature would then have been in scs>
@Son
!; The scene cannot be described, nor
can 1t>be appreciated by those who did
.uot witness it. The mass Of human
beings that fell ware so mixed up with
!;tbe heavy timbcrs and rubbish that they
.Fbad TO be disengayed with great labor.
The sight Of tho dead aud wounded as
they wero slowly let down from the
wiudows Of the House Of Delegates (the
door Of which was blocked up by tho
: rains) was heart rending. So covered
! with dust aud blood were they that it
was difficult to recognize them. The
sgreat body of people outside swayed
with anxiety and grief Many hundreds
watched eargerly for friends and and
relatives who were known to have been
I'm the court>rooni, and each body that
appeared in the hands of the indefati-
gable nen who worked for the relief Of
= those buried with tho ruins was scanned
with closest scrutiny by thousand
eyes.
This calamity has filed tho city with
gloom, aud bowed the public spirit to
that providoutial dispcusation which it
10 not for us to criticize, but which it is
our duty to turn to onr own good by the
practioe,of tho public and private vir-
tues which affliotion teaches all intel
ligent and wise communities.
n This disaster has swept through all
.classos Of the community. None escape.
Some Of our best aud most distinguished
have perisl'ed in it. Legislators, law
yers, citizens, State and municipal Off
ccrs, journalist, and private citizens,
nre all numbered in the list of dead, as
also in the larger list of wounded.
Richmond is the chief mourncr; but
nearly every section of the State shares
in tho immediate results Of the calamity
while VIC know that the people Of the
entire Commonwealth will feel the afflic.
tion rs their own.