The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1875-03-07

\ .
by the Indictment which they receNeu
from the moaning and groaning OF the PEG
pie in the gallery who were hnrt. nts'uo
these indictments the few courageous men,
who saw that all danger was over, aud
who wished to still the tumult, added
others with their cries for order.
Roupdsman Patrick T. Muldoon, OF the
Twenty sixth precinct, who was at tne
sci vice, was one of the few courageous
people in the church. He called out, asE
they were heard by the people, were taken
only as cries of alarm. Fathers Currln
and Carroll also retained their coolness'
aud mplored the people to be still, as thers
was no more danger. But the maddeneo
people would not step nor stay. II tuele
had been barrier of brass shutting them
in from the street they would have thrown
themselves against it, and have beaten ana
berated it, as they were being crusheo W
death against it. Inferno can nave no
scenes more appalling than those that were
seen in St. Andrews Church last n'gnt.
The occupants of the galleries, who saw
the staircases blockaded, in frenzy sought
| to reach the main floor of the church. lbey
either threw themselves in desperate reck
lessness over the balustrades OF the gar
leries or let Themselves down until thei,
hands only clutched those pailngs, ana
then fell into the pews. For some mo-
ments tue sides of the galleries were strung
with men, women and children, suspended
by their hands. The few men who knew
what they were about caught some OF these
reckless people and kept them coa,pasa at
lively free from injury. Yet not tltne OF
them could be thus rescued. Still. 1t Is
stranpe fact that very few of those VINO
got into the body of the church from the
galleries in the way described were serious
~ hurt, 80 far as can be ascerta'neo' AS
eagerly to join the struggling masses or moos
that clogged all the outlets. Many OF
, them ran toward the vestry, to escape oy
, the stairway that winds from that room In
l to a small basement hall, which has door
opening into an area below the sraoe vi
I, CITY Hall place. But this staircase was
) choked, and the crowd filed the vessry
3 and the approaches to it. In their de-
b speration many people raised the windo"
1 sasbes, and jumped into the area that mas
been described, the pavement OF "hleh 10
# about ten feet below the window leoges'
= It ia not known that any persons who thus
Q made their exit from the church were
a hurt dangerously. The example of jump,
y ing out of the window was set oy ae o'o
y man, who, though almost crazed with rear,
y yet had method in his madness. "hen ne
10 entered the vestry, the stairway running
70 from it was crowded with men, women ana
d children, who struggled Intellectually
d who could not extricate themselves from
t, the tangle into which their hands, feet and
lie bodies had got. This desperate, fearful
n,
p force to the attempt at dislodging the moi
ID from the staircase. He was inspired as
soon d he had entered the vestry and seen
the dilemma of his predecesso A heavy
wooden moHey box was standing beneatf
Is the window. The old man picked it up
as and hurled it through the vestry window
Se 1t carried away every pane of glass excep
u four, which ran down one'side OF the SASH
AZ The glass taken out very Clearly, an.
OF an Aperture of about two feet and hal
70 q do hrNFV NO
lie which the old man bounded. He went gu
a with force, and struck on the stone stair
US that ran no from the area to the grade @
In CITY Hall place. He alighted on one kne
or and one foot, but arose quickly and ra
I'd down City Hall place. The passage frol
re the vestry into the street was speedil
he made clear and there was nobody hurt bad
ly in the crush therein.
The story that is told above is not exx
aggerated for effect upon the minds of read
,e ers about the awful close of last nights re
on ligious ceremonies in St. Andrews Church
for 1t lie faithful to the statements made to tn
% writer by men who saw all that pasas
er during that short series of struggles IL
ng escape from unknown OF misconceived dai
1ot ger. Short indeed, was the series of struI
the giles, but they comprehended and gave pla
m to the most devastating passion of mai
40 kiud-the passion that is produced by Il
'ly desire to retain life oneself, though mar
hat others perish.
e'A ID0IOiIOWlnR 10 Tue STORY Jolu 10 VIC :" ~
m by the Rev. Father Curran about the b
of ginning, continuance and close of the no
ain rifying accidents, or series Of accidents,
be- the church Of which he ia pastor. 1t b
eW been said before that Father Curran d
mt all he could do to stem the tide of flight
'rs, the frenzied people. He understood fro
uid the moment of the fret crash what hi
Wn occurred, but was not appalled, by it.
and the time of the accident he was sitting
led the right hand side of the altar-that
ore to the left of Father Carroll, who W
COS speaking to, and, of course, facing the co
ush prepation. That part of the right gale
Ime into which the debris fell after the fir
on crash was Immediately behind Father Gu
'eo rams chair, and some of the plaster, lathi
;ase or bDicks, bounding from the ledge of t
gallery balustrade, struck his chair a
the broke. it's mahogany back from it. T
leid escape of the reverend gentleman from
ess' slant death ia marvellous He did L
1t seem to think of himself, of the dang
'eo- through which he had passed, during
TO after the occurrences among the people