Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-07-03
A Second CanitoI Calamit,.

a Second Capitol Calamity.
TheSyracuse(N IN. Y } papers give heartren-
dering details of the disaster at the Central
Baptist church there, which was MENTION
ed last week, almost Identical except
in the mortality, with the well remember
ed calamity at the Richmond capitol IN
1871. The death list in Syracuse shows
twelve instantly killed, twenty fatally
wounded, and hundred wounded. we
copy u portion of the description:
The occasion OF tbs gathering last night
was a festival given by the ladies OF the
church and concert by 1.-The Little Old
Folks" At the rear Of the church are the
Sunday school rooms, occupying the nrst
floor, and the church parlors,, occupying
the second floor. This part OF the edlflce
was in use for the festival and concert. AT
the time of the accident supper was Delng
served in the central parlor, when mad
been prepared for the occasion with tables,
&c. This room. which was forty feet
square, was filed with people, the session
room below being deserted save by a few
persons. The number in the supper-room
is variously estimated at from $50 to 500,
mostly grown persons. At the time the
floor gave way the children of the congre-
cation were in one Of the ante-roomS be-
ing prepared for the s.Anclent Concert. !"
But for this fact alone. the list OF the dead
must have been very much larger, as many,
of the helpless little ones would nave been
crushed to death in the mass OF humanity
crowded into the V shaped vortex formed
by the falling floor. At the moment OF
the falling of the floor
THE SCENE WITHIN THE rARLoR
was one Of happy enjoyment. While all
were pleasantly engaged without single
sign of warming, the floor suddenly sunk
beneath them, and in an instant the happy
throng found themselves buried in mass
of struggling humanity, intermixed with
falling timbers, furniture, &C., and in ut
ter darkness, the gas having been extin-
guished by the breaking Of the gas pipes.
The descent Of the floor was accompanied
with Il terrible crushing Of timbers, and
from the endangered human beings went
up
HORRIBLE CRIES FOR AID.
An instant after the fearful descent had
been made all was silent as the grave, but
Immediately after heartrending appeals for
help were to be heard from hundreds of
those who were in agony. Soon afterwards
persons were seen issuing from the doors
and windows, which were smashed out by
the frightened people and an alarm was
sounded. The uninjured In the church
who were able to free themselves from the
mass began at once to assist In resculng
others.
THE SCENE WITHIN THE BUILDING
was terrible in it's details, and that with
out the edifice was heartrending, fathers
and mothers searching for their children,
husbands looking for their wives, wives
inquiring for husbands, brothers for sis
tiers, and children for their parents, OF
whose fate all were uncertain and in
dread.
Quietly but rapidly the work of extri-
eating the people was carried on by the
aid Of lanterns. While some busted them
selves with showing up slanting sections of
the floor many others were aiding men,
women and children to ,frees themselves,
and as fast as the living and dead were
rescued they were passed out through win
dows and doors, where ready hands assist
ed to convey the dangerously injured and
dead to physicians offices and neighboring
houses.
The work was vigorously but slowly
prosecuted, and before midnight the last
of the living and dead had been taken
out
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 the form of the letter V. Most OF
the deaths were caused by the falling tim
bers of the truss. Some of the victims
however, were smothered by the plaster
ing.
The floors of the church were supplied
originally with iron pillars. A short time
ago the church building committee. with
the consent, as they say, of the architect,
removed the iron pillars.
The result was the calamity Of Tuesday
night. The truss was not only imperfect
ly constructed, but the most prominent
builders in the city declare that it was rot
ten. 1t was put in green and has the dry
got.