The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-06-21

removing the heap of bruised and
crushed and suffocated bodies no easy
TASK. Two hundred children were
rescued from the pile who were prac-
tlcally uninjurued. Many others
were found in an unconscious condi-
ton, but of these a number were
restored and Immediately taken to
their homes
Nearly all those who were dead. with
the number whose wounds were re-
garded as fatal, were laid out in the
main hall, where the local doctors in
attendance used every effort to restore
those in whom a spark of life could be
detected. One eyewitness states he
saw lying on the flags Of the steps, IA
short distance from the bottom OF the
stairs, the dead bodies of seven chill
dren. Many of those who came to as
sist in removing the dead and rescue
the living, were utterly overcome by
the distressing sight of so many dead
and dying children.
A number of deaths have occurred
since the first report, and the
fatal list is now placed at 1S6.
One of the persons who responded
Immediately to the call for help says,
many who volunteered to assist in
reSculng the children Sickened at the
spectacle and fled, Mortified at the dis
treSSlng scene. The rescuerS' first eff
forts were directed to reaching chill
dren who were apparently alive, but
so tightly were the victims iammed
together that it was regarded dan
gerouS to drag them out of the help
less mass, lest the effort would result
in pulling off the limbs of the
living children as well as mutilating
the dead. They therefore proceeded
steadily and Systematically to lift off
the topmoSt. Those who were be-
meath had survived and their means
and low cries of pain could be dis
tinctly heard amid the excitement
friends, who were thronging the ada
cent streets. The disaster was re-
ferred to in all the churches in Sun
derland to-day, and by many preach
ers in London, and prayers were Of
ferred for parents, frinds and vic
Tins.
Officials who were in the hall at the
time, were unaware for considerable
period of the terrible tragedy being
enacted at the door. They were not
informed until Graham, the hall
keeper, who, strolling by near the
scene Of the calamity, was attracted
by groans and gave the alarm. Mr..
Fay, who gave the entertainment,
was busy packing IN his apparatus to
depart, when man rushed UP to him
and informed him of the disaster, and
Immediately fell down in fit.
Some of the families whose homes
were so suddenly darkened, lost over
three children. One man and wife
pushed their way into the hall in
which lay the bodies of victims, and
without betraying any emotion be-
gan scanning the faces of the dead.
Recognizing the face of one of his
children, the father, pointing with
his finger, exclaimed: That's one"
Passing on he again recognized an
other, and then a third. Staggering
in agony, he cried, my Godl all my
family gone!" and overwhelmed
with grief, sank to the floor.
In some homes there are five
children dead. The Queen sent tele-
gram to the mayor of Sunderland, ex-
l.
Children of various Sunday schools
also sent kilograms of sympathy.
Flags are at half mast on all the Sun
day schools. Many survivors had
their arms broken or crushed others
are suffering from broken ribs or rup-
ture of the internal organs. Graham,
the hall keeper, says Children not
twenty yards from the door
came pressing forward, unaware
of the tragedy, thus making
matters ten times worse
then they really were. The scene in
side during Identification beggars dis
cription and was painful in the eX-
treme. The faces of the dead children
were almost in every case black and
swollen from suffocation. Lips were
cracked and parched and noses bleed
ing. Parents rushing wildly about
would fall upon the bodies of their
dead children and with loud wailings
and weeping clasp the unconscious
forms in their arms, vainly endeavor-
ing to note any signs of life. Many
poor mothers swoOned away at the
first sight of their dead,
while others were wild and
even violent in their hysterical
grief. The removal of the dead from
the hall to-day was the occasion for
the renewal of lamentations and con-
fusion, and many parents were crush
ed. A police Gordon was appointed
for the preservation of order, and
there was scene of great confusion.
One Of the witnesses of the calamity
stated to-day that for the first five
minutes there was great lack of as
sistance, and from this cause alone
there were certainly one hundred
lives lost. The weather was warm
and the passage way very close, so
that in a short time after the catas-
trophe horrible sickenlng stencil
came from the pile of corpseS at the
main outlet.
The latest report to might figures up
1873 dead, and the gravest fears are
felt that the number will yet be
shown to have reached 200. The ca
gerness of the children to depart
from the hall was caused by their de-
sire to receive prizes promised them.
Graham says the labme rests on the
performers assistant who, it seems,
fastened the door half open in order
that the prizes might be given to
the children one at a time
while they were leaving the hall.
A sad incident of the tragedy is
thus described: A lad was sitting on
the railing near the corner of Murton
street crying. A passer by inquired
the cause of his grief.
"Why, sir, ssaid he, 81 was in the
place there, and when ! was coming
out a boy that was dying bit my
hand, and that's him." added he, point
ing to the corpse of child lying near
by.
AN EXCITING DAY.
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