The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1873-01-04
Terrible Catastrophe.

On Christmas Night, at Williams
port, Lycoming Co, Penn, some $50
men, women, and children, had as
sembled, to hear an address and re-
ceive PRESENTS. The building was
brilliantly illulninated, and the merry
hearts of the young going ont in
gladstone laugh and joyous shout
just as the address was concluded,
and presents were about being dis
tributed, the building gave way and
fourteen persons were killed out
right. and from forty to fly wound
ed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING.
The church was constructed. with
an upper audience room. It was in
this upper room that the congrega-
ton had assembled. The interior
dimensions are twenty-six feet in
width aid forty feet in length
There was center girth, with ioists
thickly placed on each side. Through
the center from above were two
bolts, connecting with this main
girth. Evidently the weight Of those
assembled sprung the truss bearers,
and these supports slipping out of
their plates, precipitated the audi
ence to the floor below. This is evi-
dent from the fact that the timbers
are not broken, only an occasional
splinter or split marking the giving
way of the bearers. The gas pipe,
two inches in diameter, beneath this
center girth, was bent by the inn.
mense weight until it curved nearly
double. It was supposed by many
last evening that the falling of the
chimney was great instrument of
death, but we have been informed
this morning by those who were first
upon the ground, that the chimney
did not fall until the killed and
wounded were being removed, and
that at this point there were no evi-
dences of death from that cause.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SCENE.
When the crash came there went
up wall of mangled humanity that
caused the blood of all to fairly
curdle. Children wildly shrieking
: for their parents, groans of wound
ed and dying filing the air with
lamantat;on and distress, many be-
meath the timbers crying in the name
OF God for deliverance, while oil
lamps of the edifice had kindled q
fire that bid fair to destroy all in q
general confagration. Those ont
side were working with will, and
using every possible effort to rescue
the living from the mangled mass.
Several times the church was on fire,
but providentially the flames could
be reached, and were speedily extin-
guished. And here transpired a
scene that tongue nor pen cannot
portray. Around the ruins was
gathered an excited throng, and as
the living and dead were dragged
from the debris, the piercing groans
of the wounded, the heartrending ex-
clama1ions of relatives and friends,
sent a thrill of horror to the very
souls of those who had gathered a.
round the living sepulcher. Many
within, who were able to reach q
window, burst out the lights, and
leaped to the ground q distance of
fourteen or fifteen feet. Before IL
O'Clock at night the bodies were re-
moved and identified.
In the panic several were wound
ed by being run over. One man,
fastened by q falling tember, had his
boots of, and his stockings were on
fire when rescued. Another lady,
partially buried, cried to a gentle
man "For Gods sake, rescue me
from a horrible fate" whereupon he
tore away the scattering timbers and
saved her, as the fire would soon
have reached the point where she
had been 30 securely held.
NIGHT OF GLOOM.
Between IL and IL o'clock last
night our reporter was among the
bereaved families of Newberry.-
The scene is beyond description
the grief Of friends and the appal
ling sight Of dead and manglet
bodies that but few hours before
entered the church full of life and
happiness, filing the mind witt
startling and fearful thought. Their
stood the church, the silent monu
ment of the horrible event, with it,
q solemn spot, when surrounding i
were desolate homes, full of grie
and sorrow. - Williamsport Pa.
Republican, Dec. rs.