Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1883-06-19
HEART-RENDINc sHRIEKS OF
AcoNIzED PARENTS.
All England in Mourning Over the
Melancholy Event.
ESPECIAL TO THE sENrINEL.l

ESPECIAL TO THE sENrINEL.l
LONDON, June 17.-A terrible calamity,
involving the death Of 178 children,
occurred in Sunderland, County Durham.
last evening. From the details received it
appears that an entertainment was being
given at Victoria Hall by a c~onjuror, and
was attended almost altogether by children,
several thousand being in attendance. The
accident occurred ct the close Of the per-
Torrance. The body Of the hall being
entirely closed by the occupants, some 100
Of the little ones came rushing down stairs
from the gallery from the top of the first
fight Of stairs and were confronted by a
door which opened only 20 inches, and this
but one child at a time could pass. At
this point. while the mass Of children wer Q
pushing forward, one Of them fell and was
unable to rise, owing to others crowding,
and the result was great numbers were
pushed down and trampled upon and suffo-
Gated. The scene was terrific. No effort
could stop the mad rush OF the a~ffrighted
children. They came on pell NELL,
though, strangely, without much shout
ing, and soon 17S were knocked down and
sutfocated to death by others t%rampling on
them. The greater number of bodies, which
were greatly mangled from trampling, were
laid seven or eight deep. Many children
not killed had the clothing torn from
their bodies, and this, together with the
bleeding bodies OF the unfortunates, show
q terrible struggle. The ages of the 178
children known to have been killed ranged
from 4 to IA years. The excitement in
town, when the news was spread, was
terrific. A great crowd rushed to the
rounding the hall. The feeling was in
tense. The authorities ordered out the
Sixty-eighth Infantry to preserve order.
The work Of getting out the bodies began
Immediately. They were laid out in the
hall, and the parents of those killed were
admitted to identify their children. A
heartrending scene transpired while the
Identification was in progress. The mothers
Of the dead children we're constantly utter
ing piercing shrieks, and many tainted on
discovering the bodies of their little ones.
The terrible calamity of Saturday even
ing is the subject Of universal unhappy
comment. The hall has been surrounded
to-day by distressed and excited crowds.
The stairway from the gallery at the top of
| the landing which occasioped the pressure
which led to the accident is from five to
six feet wide, and the gallery and the door
through which the children were allowed
to pass, one at q time, which circumstance
is regarded as the direct cause of the
calamity, was filed with a bolt,
which lodged in the bole in
the floor, thus narrowing the passage
way for the purpose Of facilitating
ticket taking. When the audience entered
the hall the ~jsnitor says the scene behind
the gallery door was fearful. Some chill
dren were fixed upright in a heap, and
actually grasping for breath, 30 great was
the pressure Of the crowd behind them.
The majority Of the children in the hall
were under IL years of age. When the
disaster happened the ~janitor and his wife
and several others we're hastily summoned.
| All went to work Immediately to give the
sufferers relief. They we're first sent out
Of the building by other exits. The little
ones still in the hall by this means averted
fears of . further crash. Those who went
to the rescue Of the sufferers found the
work Of removing the heap Of bruised,
| crushed and sutfocated no easy task. Two
| hundred children were rescued from the
| pile who were partially uninjured. Many
others were found in an unconscious con-
| dition, but OF these Q number were restored
at once to their homes. Those who were
| dead, with o number whose wounds were
| regarded as fatal, were laid out in the
| main hall, when the local doctors In at
| tendance used every effort to restore those
| in whom Q spark OF life could be detected.
| One eyewitness stated he saw lying on the
| lsgstones q short distance from the bot
| tom Of the stairs the dead bodies OF seven
| children. Many Of those who came to
assist In removing the dead and rescuing
| the living we're utterly overcome by the
| distressing sight OF so many dead and
dying children.
LONDON, June IA number Of deaths
| have occurred since the frat report, and
the total list Is now placed ct 1855. One
OF the persons who responded quickly to
the call for help says that many who volnn'
teered to assist In rescuing the children
sickened at the spectacle, and fed Mortified
from the distressing scene. The rescuers'
efforts we're directed towards reaching the
children who were apparently alive. Sc
tightly were the victims wedged together
that il was regarded a. dangerous to drag
them out Of the helpless mass, lest thu
effort would result in the pulling of Of thu
limbs from the living children, a. well 81
from the mutilated dead. They therefore
proceeded steadily and systematically Il
lift off the topmost first. A few Of thost
beneath had survived, and their moaning
and low cries Of pain could be distinctly
heard amid the excitement and cries OF thu
bereaved parents and friends, who wert
thronging the adjacent streets. The disas
ter was referred to in all the churches ir
Sunderland to-day. and by many preachers
in London. Prayers were offered for thu
parents and friends Of the victims.
LONDON, June 18.-The staircase from
the gallery was . winding one. Neithel
the audience nor officials in the hall at tn
time Of the disaster were aware for SOM
time Of the terrible tragedy being enacted
at the door. They were not informed un
til Graham the doorkeeper, who was stroll
ing near the scene Of the calamity and wa
attracted by the groans, gave the alarm
Mr.. Fay, who gave the entertainment. wa
busy packing up his apparatus to depart
when : man rushed up to him and informe'
him Of the disaster, and he immediately
fell speechless in Q fit. Some of the fami
lies whose homes were so suddenly darh
ened lost over three children. One ma
and his wife pushed their way into the hal
in which lay the bodies Of the victims, an,
without ~betraying any emotion, began t
scan the faces Of the dead. Recognizin
the face Of one Of his children the father
pointing with his finger, exclaimed
'That's one" Passing ON, again he recot
nized another, and then q third. Staggel
ing in q fit OF agony. he cried: my Goo
all my family gone" and overwhelme
with grief. sank to the floor. In some hom'
there are Ave children dead. One Sunda
School loses so children by the calamit,
Many Of the survivors had their arm
broken in the crush. Others are sufferir
from broken ribs or q rupture Of intern