Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1871-11-28

The Fatal Church Panic at Louisville, Ky.

The Louisville papers have come to hand
with details of the terrible and fatal acci-
dent which occurred in that city Sunday
evening, by which eleven women and
children were crushed and trampled to
death, an imperfect report of which has
| appeared in our telegraphic columns.
From the reports in the Courier-J journal
and the Ledger the following narrowing
particulars are compiled:
The scene of Me accident was in the
African Baptist Church, at the corner of
Fifth and York streets. where revival of
religion has been in progress for sometime
past. The church building was erected
many years ago by an eccentric old man
| named Stainsberry, who was very wealthy,
but was noted for his parsimony in the or
dinary affairs oflife, but he gave the ground
and erected this house of Worship at con-
siderable expense, and decided it in perpe-
tuity to the congregation. 1t is two-sto-
ry frame building, arranged for worship in
either story, but the upper room is hand
somely fitted up, and was occupied at the
time of the accident by a large congrega-
ton. The pulpit is in the rear part of the
room, and there is small gallery in front
for the choir. Two narrow stairways, each
|
main door of the building, and lead up to
the room. The floor is supported by
row of pillars, extending from front to rear
pillars stand over the space between the
lower .joists, and rest only on the thin plank
of the floor. These explanations are nee
essary to a proper understanding of the
dreadful affair.
On the night in question the church was
unusually crowded, every seat being oc-
cupied, and the gallery filled, between six
and seven hundred persons being present.
Rev. Willis Taylor, the pastor ;had preach
ed powerful and exciting exhortation
sermon from Ecclesiastes, 18th chapter. 9th
and 9TH verses;
cor ever the silver cord be loosed or the golden
bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the
fonntaln or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it,"
The preacher had Just concluded his SER
mon and opened the doors of the church,
and was eXhorting sinners to come Jesus.
He had nearly concluded his exhortation,
and the congregation were filled with the
religious fervor peculiar to the African
race, and he requested that the congrega-
ton sing that familiar hymn:
'Jesus, Saviour of my soul,
Let me 10 my BOSOM n.y."
during which those who desired the
prayers of the church were invited to come
forward. Just then u sound as of body
falling to the floor was heard, followed by
crashing, cracking sound. The pillar
supporting the floor just in front of the
pulpit gave way-broke through the thin
plank on which it rested below-and the
weight of the audience caused the upper
A,N.N c;,,l- ,ttl
congregation was startled, but all might
have been well if some one, frightened
out of prudence and without thought of
the consequence. had not cried out that the
church was falling down. The panic that
instantly ensued was absolutely fearful
The narrow stairways were crowded in
twinkling with a struggling, shrieking,
pushing mass, fighting to get out, the
strong trampling the weak, and the weak
going down beneath the rush of the surg
ing throng like so many reeds in hurri-
cane. The stairways were soon blocked,
and the narrow, fatal doorway was filled
by the frenzied and struggling crowd.
Men, eager to escape from they knew not
what, began to jostle and pull at each
other, and some in their eagerness to es-
cape, became angry at what seemed the
snake like efforts of the fleeing ones, and
a fight sprang up just in the door, and this
for an instant checked the crowd and
proved the death-knell of eleven persons
and the wounding of seventy-fve or one
hundred others. The gorge caused by the
fight at the doorway rendered the crowd
behind more frantic, and these tumbled
and jammed oveIthe partitions at the head
of the stairway, falling upon the heads
below, and the weaker were tramped
and torn and mangled beneath the heels
and bodies of the stronger. Women and
children, and even strong men, shouted
and screamed with agony. and a scene of
terror and confusion and death utterly in
describable ensued.
The stairways were soon a struggling
mass OF human beings The benches
were broken to fragments, and the strong
doors and wooden partitions at the bottom
were broken as though they had been
glass.
Finding the stairways blocked, the
crowd rushed to the windows and broke
the glass with their naked hands and tore
out the sashes. On the south side of the
church the laboratory of DIR. j. p. Barnum
adjoins the windows, which are about iif-
teen or twenty feet from the ground. and
fully one hundred persons saved them
selves by jumping upon the roof. Many
jumped the entire distance to the ground,
but, strange to say, none of them were
seriously injured.
A messenger was dispatched to the en-
gine house for assistance, but the mes
sage was misunderstood, and an alarm of
fire was turned in, and soon the engines
came rush.lg to the scene, followed by
the eager crowd which usually attends
fires OF course, this but added confusion,
and a scene of terrible excitement ensued
The firemen soon threw their ladders up
to the front windows, and the frantic peo-
pie were passed down the ladders. The
pile of disabled bodies was removed from
the front of the door, and the dead and
dying We're disentangled from the fatal
vestibule.
Three or four dead and wounded were
found outside the door. They had es-
capped from the building only to be tramp
led and smothered to death outside.
Those who had escaped unhurt were fren-
Lne, ~.