Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-04-10
PANIC IN A CHURCH.
False Alarm nt u prien's Funcral-
Several l'cs SONS Fatally Injured.


About 24 o'clock yesterday afternoon
a rumor spread through the streets of
Trenton that the gallery of st. Johns
Roman Catholic Church had fallen, and
that u large number of persons had
been killed. Excited crowds hurried
toward the scene, and messengers were
sent in all directions for PHYSICIANS
It was currently reported that nearly
100 persons had been killed: that the
building was on fire, and many persons
were Enried in the ruins. The fire
Dep,, tmcnt turned out, and the excite
ment was greater than was ever before
known in Trenton. The reports, how
ever, had been grossly exaggerated.
No one has been killed, though a
large number are badly and some fatal
;ly injured. The church, which holds
about 1000 persons, was densely crowd
ed by members of st. Johns parish
attending the funeral obsequies of
Rev. Father Maclin, the senior priest.
While the services were in progress a
woman in the gallery tainted from the
heat. As she WIN being borne out,
created considerable comnotion BY the
effort to push through the crowded
aisles. a wooden bench, on which q
number, Of the worshipers were kneel-
ing, gave way with loud cracking
noise, which was heard throughout the
church. A cry was raied--" gal
lery is falling" and fearful panic
instantly ensued. The whole audience
seemed to catch the infection of fear
with the suddenness and completeness
of an electric shock. The priests and
others at the inner extremity of the
building shouted tn the s:rging crowd
that there wes no danger, but without
effect. Impelled by the desperation of
unreasoning and selfish fear, the crowd
rushed with terror to the windows,
and struggled madly for exit at the
front doors, and then ensued u terrible
scene.
The foremost of the panic.stricken
throng were hurried off their feet and
fell upon the sidewalk, while those
who followed were crowded on top of
them by others who came behind, and
who, in their struggles to escape, more
resembled madmen than human beings.
Old women and children, mothers with
infants in their arms, were mixed in
one almost inextricable mass. For a
time it was utteraly impossible for
those gathered on the outside of the
building, and who had been attracted
by the report of the disaster, to render
any assistance to its unfortunate vic
Tins. In the meantime the. e..fear-crazed
crowd in the church, finding their
egress blocked by the mass of people
wedged in the doorway, fell to pray ing
and calling upon the saints to protect
them. The thirty priests who oticia'
ted at the funeral escaped from the
rear of the building by means of lad.
ders, and, rushing to the front of the
edifice implored the crowd struggling
ing in the doorway to 60 back, at least
a portion of them, and permit the
others to make their exit, by which
means all might be saved. But thei,
exhortations were unheeded, and it waa
found necessary to form the people
outside in body, and drive them
back, which was done, and those who
were lying upon the floor were rescued
Some of those who were thus saved
were found to be insensible; but, for
tunately none we're dead.
Some were wedged in so tightly that
it required the united exertions OF sew.
eral strong men to extricate them from
their perilous position. Some of these,
it is feared, will die. Several of the
children are known to be fatally injur
ed, though none of them had died up
to q late hour last night. All the
physicians of the city, with scarcely an
exception, hastened to the scene, and
used their utmost exertions to relieve
the sufferers, while citizens of all class
es seconded their efforts by every
means in their power. After the tu-
multi had subsided, the funeral services
were concluded with a solemnity greatly
increased by the calamity that had
interrupted and shadowed them.