The Grange advance., 1874-07-01

IS TerrlAle Dtsaster st s FesfivaI.
Syracuse. dispatches bring
the folio wing aetails g the terrible
accident which occurred Tuesday eve.
ing Il the Central Baptist Church Of
that city S's.5'
The occ ccasion Of the gathering was
FESTIVAL given by the ladies of the
church, including; concert by the lit
tie old folks. AT the rear Of the church
are Sunday School rooms, occupying
the first floor, the church parlors occu.
pying the second floor. This part Of
the edifice was in use for the festival
and concert. At the tima of the acci-
dent supper. was being served in the
central parlor, which had been prepar,
"a for the occasion with tables, sc.
This room, which was 40 feet square,
was filed with people, the session room
below being deserted save by few.
persons. The number in the eupper
room is va.iously estimated at from
$50 to 500, mostly growL persons.
At the time the floor gave way, the
children of the congregation were in
one of the ante.roems being prepared
for the ancient concert. But for this
fact the list of dead must have been
very much larger, a. many Of the help.
less little ones would have been
crushed 70 death in the
mass i Of humanity crowded
into the v shaped vortex 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 .
single sign Of warning, the floor sud-
denly sank beneath them, and in an
instant all were buried in mass Of
struggling humanity, intermingled with
the falling timbere, furniture. &C., and
in utter darkness, the gas having been
extinguished BY the breaking of the
pipes. An instant after the fearful de.
cent was made oil was as silent as the
grave, but Immediately after the heart.
rending appeals for help were to be
heard from hundreds of those who
were in agony. Then, persons
were seen issuing from the
doors and windows> which were
smashed out by the frightened people,
and an alarm was sounded. The un-
injured within the church who were
able to free themselves from the mass,
began at once to assist in rescuing
others. The firemen and police were
quickly at hand and labored nobly in.
the work Of rescue. ...
The scene within the building was
terrible in it's details, and that without
the edifice heart rending indeed.
Fathers aud mothers searching for
their children, husbands looking for
wives, wives enquiring for husbande,
brothers for sisters, and children for
parents, of whose fate all were uncer~
tain and in dread. Quietly, but rapidly
the work of extricating the people was
carried on BY aid Of lanterns. As
fast as the living and the dead were
rescued they were passed out through
the windows and doors, where ready
hands assisted to convey the. danger
ously injured and dead to the physi.
clans offices and neighboring houses.
The excitement without the church
was terrible, and as each body was be.
ing carried to adjoining houses, the
mass surged back and forth, all terri
bly, anxious to ascertain who it was
and whether dead or alive, At the
height of the excitement not less than
10000 people were crowded in Mont.
gomery, Jefferson and adjoining
streets. -.
Divers theories of the cause Of the
fall Of the floor are advanced. 1t was
suspended by iron rods from 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 at that
polp3 was the first to. give away. The
floot 21aving: no props below it sunk in
the form Of letter "V." The most of
;be deaths were caused by the falling
simbers of the truss; some, however,
! we're s1iothered by the plsstering. The
1oors of the chuch were supported or.
;ginally by iron pillars. A short time
lgo the church building committee,
with consent, they say, of the archi-
tect, removed the iron pill.
lars. The truss was very
imperfectly constructed, besides
being spliced., The most prominent
builders declare that it was rotten. It
was put in green and has the dry rot.
A few minutes before the floor gave
way it trembled. 80 that many persons
left the room fearing an accident.
which had been predicted.
The number of dead is fourteen, and
of the wounded about one hundred.
All Of the latter are doing well. IL
Hon. Joscph a. Sl0ss of Alabama
Shoots the Slanderer OF His Daugh.
ter. sss s,