The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-07-09
Incidents OF the Syracuse Disaster.

came apparent, hundreds OF brave men
rushed vigorously to the rescue. Chief OF
Police Davis was quickly ut the rescue, and
| the fire department were summoned by the
sounding OF general alarm. The streets
were quickly filled with thousands of people,
who gathered with despair on their counte-
nances anxious to aid in the work OF rescue.
The work was slowly performed at first.
Darkness brOOded over the scene, adding to
/ the gloom and horror of the calamity. Soon
the police were Mt work with will, aided by
Hundreds of volunteers. Axes, saws, and jack
screws were obtained from the Binghamp-
ton railroad shops, and with the aid of these
the work OF rescue progressed. great
many women and children who were in the
parlOrs, and who were not buried in the deb
ris were rescued with comparatively slight
injuries. Some were able to crawl out how
ever without aid while others were so in
jured and prostrated by fear and excitement
as to be utterly helpless. All the while the
streets were filed with the lamentations and
wailings of those whose friends were buried
in the ruins. Mothers and fathers ran fran
tically about, calling for their children
shouting for some one to save them.
Husbands, whose wives were i'm the doomed
room, rushed into the building at the peril of
their lives, intent on rescuing loved ones.
The herculean efforts of the brave rescuers
at last overcame the huge obstacles of the
then the awful fact was disclosed that the
scene of desolation was accompanied by
death.
The first dead body removed was that of
little child whose head was cruelty crushed
bv falling timber. The work proceeded un-
til fourteen bodies were removed from the
building, and fifteen or twenty whose inju-
ries may prove fatal. All the houses in the
vicinity were thrown open, and the seriously
injured were conveyed inside of them until
they should be removed by friends. The
office of DIR. A. j. Dallas was converted into
hospital in which the dead and wounded
were carried, as were the offices of Drs.
Pease, Mercer and Sheldon. All the physi.
clans of the city were quickly on hand to
offer their services.
The scenes which met the eye beggars de-
seriptiOn. The ruins within the church bore
terrible evidence to the destruction and
death which had been brought upon those
within, while the excited thousands outside
could only stand and gaze at the building.
Mothers ran to and fro, moaning and crying,
"Oh, my poor children! They are dead!
They are deadW "Where's my little girl?"
"Have you seen my darling bOy?" Men
were inquiring in broken accents for their
wives, and wives were beseechingly asking
for information of their husbands. One man
gazed upon the dead body of an idolized
GIRL and cursed God with terrible bitter
ness. "This," he says, is what comes from
wOrshipping GOd!" OF course ut such
time ii was idle to demonstrate, and yet some
attempted to reason with him.
Most of the children were in room adj
joining the main room, dressing for an old
folks concert, or the list of injured would
have been materially increased.
The firemen and police worked till a late
hourwh it became evident that the bodies
were all out. A guard of six policemen was
then placed around the building by Chief
Davis, and kept there all night.
Those who went down with the wreck have
different stories to report. Some say they
went down suddenly, and others report
gradual sinking. The middle of the floor
dropped first, the joist seeming to give way
at that point. Many of the ends of the joist
are still in their original plane from both
sides, down which the people slipped.
AS fast as the dead were taken out they were
conveyed into one of the houses i'm the
vicinity, and there the most heartrending
scenes took place. Fathers and mothers
would come rushing in exclaiming:
"Oh my child! Is my chHd dead ?"
And when they looked on the cOrpses OF
the little ones, and the terrible truth dawned
upon them, their grief made eyes unused to
tears pour out rivers of water.
The little Burdick boy, when being borne
to neighboring residence, insisted he was
not hurt, bnt-"where is my mother? Get
her OUT get her out, won't you?"
The little Horton girl was dead when taken
out. As she was taken through the crowd,
her beautiful auburn hair falling in ringlets
over the arm of the one who bore her, her
elegant white clothing, all attracted atten-
ton and created the profoundest sympathy.
One of the ladies lay prone on her back
beneath the double timber supporting the
floor, fastened incxtricably for long time.
In vain strong men tried to lift the timbers
and release her, but they failed. For full
three quarters of an hour they labored, and
at last the timbers were sawed eft and the
woman released, not dangerously injured.
Her name was Josie Smith.
The physicians of the city lent every as
sistance possible to the wounded, accom-
panying them to their homes and giving
them the best of attention. The trustees
and officers of the church seemed to be
everywhere present, striving by both labor
and counsel to relieve the sufferers. Cit-
zens also, as many as could get into the
room, gave all the aid in their power. The
joy of those who went to the church and
found their friends safe knew no bounds.
Husbands and wives wept and kissed one
another, children were clasped again and
again to their parents arms, and many fam
lilies went home rejoicing, every link yet un-
broken.
The dark spots in nature are almost al
WAYS portrayed on occasions, even such as
this, when the solmnity of the hour would
seem to command decent honesty. Before
the dead body of Mrs. Barnes was identified,
Williams were discovered in the act of pill
fering the gold watch and chain from her
person. They were driven from their pur-
pose by women. We hear of similar at
tempts in other cases, but not sufficiently
definite to specify. Curse the vagabonds
who would rob the dead