Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-06-25
Additional Particulars and COntinH.
atiOn Of Details of the Catastrophe
in Syracuse Church.
The Number Of Bead and Injured, and
Names Of the Victims-The City
in Gloom.
The Work Of ResSuiHg and identifying
the BOdies-Latest from the Scene
Of the Disaster, Etc.

dead codes nave been recovered rom
the ruins Of the Central Baptist church,
the floors Of which fell in last night dur
ing the festival. or the injured two
died to-day, and others are not expected
to live, while several will be crippled for
life. The number of minor casualties is
nearly or quite one hundred. Among
them are about q dozen persons with
broken limbsa ribs. The cause of the
disaster was the defective construction
of the building. The supporting truss
was composed of planks spiked together.
Excitement in the community contin-
ues great.
LATER.
SYRACUSE, n. Y, June 24-Further
search this morning in the ruins Of the
Central Baptist church failed to find any
more bodies. The list of dead mum bers
thirteen. Last nights list is correct,
except in the case of the reported death
of the boy Ostrander. The num-
Der of wounded fo0ts up one hun
dred, Of whom twenty are seriously in
jured. There have been no deaths to-
day. A squad of police have possession
Of the building, pending the corOner's
ilouest.
Tne occasion of the gathering last
night was a festival given by ladies of
tie church, and concert by the Little
Old Folks. At the rear Of the church
are SUnday-schOol rooms occupying the
frat floor, and church Darlors occupying
the second floor. This part of the edi-
flee was in use for the festival and con-
cert. At the time of the accident sup
per wss being served in the central par
Tor, which had been prepared for the &C.
casiOn with tables, etc. The room,
which was forty feet square, was filed
with people, the sessiOn-rOom be-
low being deserted, save by
few persons. The number in the
supper-room is vaTiously estimated
aJ from two hundred and dfty to three
hundred, mostly grown persons. At
the time the floor gave way, the chill
dTen of the congregation were in one of
the ante-rOoms, being prepared for the
"ancient concert" But for this fact,
the list of dead must have been very
much larger, as many Of the helpless
little ones must have been crushed to
death in the mass of humanity crowded
into the "v"-shaped vertex formed by
the falling timbers. AT the moment of
the falling Of the floor, the scene within
The parlOr was one of happy enjoyment.
While all were pleasantly engaged,
without a single sign of warn
ing, the floor suddenly sank be-
meath them, and in an instant,
All were buried in mass of struggling
humanity intermixed with falling tim
bers, furniture, etc, and in utter dark
ness, the gas having been -nxtinsaisASd
by the breaking of the gas pipes. An
instant after the fearful descent had
been made all was silent as the grave,
l.rrk liaf fnlv hoo
peals for help were to be heard from
hundreds Of those who were in agony.
Immediately after peIsOns were seen is
suing from the doors and windows
which were smashed out by the fright
ened people, and an alarm was sound
ed. The uniDiGred from within the
church who were able to free themselves
from the mass began at once to assist in
Tescuing others.
The firemen and police were quickly
at hand and labored nobly in the rescue.
The scene within the building was terri
bic in its details and that without the
edifice hearIending indeed. Fathers
and mothers searching for their chill
dTen, husbands looking for wives, wives
inquiring for husbands, brothers for sis
ters and children for their parents, of
whose fate all were uncertain and in
dread. Quietly but rapidly the work of
extricating the people was carried on by
the aid of lanterns. As fast a. the living
and dead we're rescued, they were passed
out through windows and doors, where
ready hands assisted to convey the dan
gerously injured and dead to physicians
offices and neighboring houses. The ex-
citsment without the church was terri
ble, and as each body was being carried
to adjoining houses, the mass surged
back and forth, all terribly anxious to
ascertain who it was, or whether dead
or alive. At the hight of the excite
ment not less than ten thousand people
were crowded into Montgomery and
Jefferson streets and in adjoining prem
ises.
Various theories Of the cause of the
accident are advanced. The floor which
fell was suspended by iron rods from a
wooden truss under the roof. These rods
went through the lower but not through
the upper chord of the truss. The lower
chord had been spliced wrong side up,
and that point was the first to give way.
The floor, having no props beneath it,
sunk in form of the letter "V."
Most OF the deaths we're caused by the
falhng timbers Of the truss; some, how !
ever, were smothered by the plastering.
The floors of the church were supported |
by iron pillars. A short
time ago the church building-commit-
tee, with the consent, as they say, OF the
removed the iron pillars.
The truss was very imperfect !
" constructed, besides being spliced. |
The most prominent builders in the city |
declared that it was rotten; that it was !
put in green and has the dry rot.
The wounded are doing well. A cor
oner's inquest will be held tomorrow.