The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1883-06-06
A Terrible Baptism.

lyn Bridge received dreadfnl bap
tism to-day. In the crush that occur
red apparently by accident on the
New York anchorage number OF per-
sons, mostly women and children were
crushed, some to death, some fatally
and many others severely. The scene
Of terror reigned fully Is or 20 minu.
ties that battles description. When It
WINS over cart loads of wounded and
crushed Kumanb beings were taken out
Of the New York entrance Of the
bridge. "a small mountain Of torn
and abandoned clothing was gathered
up by the police.
The accident occurred on the New
York anchorage, where the solid bot.
tom of the middle footway ends, and
two flights of seven steps each, with
an intermediate landing, lead up to
the plank walk ofthe span between
the New York anchorage and the low.
er step. 1t was shortly after four
o'clock. The bridge was crowded from
one end to the other, so that there was
hardly elbow room on the footway.
A woman who was ascending the low.
er flight Of steps stumbled and fell on
the landing. The crowd pressed her
and she shrieked. Bridge officer Fred.
erick Richards, Who was on the plank
walk above seeing her danger, elbow.
ed his way to the spot and lifted her
up. The crowd closed upon them
both and they went down. With a
desperate effort Richards got upon his
feet once more dragging the woman
after him. She screamed again in
despairand fright and the crowd above
and below pressed toward the spot to
discover the cause of the commotion.
The crush Immediately became fearful.
Those on the approach at the lower
steps were carried forward in solid
mass. Many stumbled and unable to
resist the pressure from behind the
crowd passed overthem from brooklyn
was carried to the edge of the steps
and then fell over and down upon the
struggling mass below. A terrible
struggle for life began. Men and wo-
men fought with the strength of lies
pair against each other. EscapeNwas
impossible with the pressure from each
side growing at every shout Of anguish
that went up from the dying and those
who saw death beforeth their eyes. Fear
and despair on one side and curiosity
on the other fought for tie mastery.
The friekzfuf crush was tfefisef fIiHif
ever when, after nearly fifteen minutes,
a score Of militia.men Of the 18th
Regiment. led by Lieut.. Hart and
Sergeants Couldock and Costenio,
marched up the approach towards
Brooklyn, the yells Of the crowd at
tracted their attention. AT the foot
of the steps the wall of human bodies
was piled high. The dense mass surg
ed about it, and the soldiers saw two
policemen vainly struggling against
it. Sergeant Couldoek took in the
situation at a glance. At his word of
command his men scaled tine fence and
railroad track separating them from
the foot walk, and wedging into the
mass of people near the scene of the
disaster, drove back the crowd at the
New York entrance at the muzzle Of
their guns. 1t fell back slightly and
the miiitiamen following up the advan-
tage gained forced it back until the
approach was cleared. Then forming
front across the foot walk they pre-
vented the crowd from passing back,
while as many of their number as
could be spared ran toward the scene
OF the accident to help in extricating
the dead and saving the living.
The alarm had in the meanwhile
been given at the bridge entrance, a
general call for all the hospital ambu.
lances was sent out and policemen
were hurried over upon the bridge
from their station beside the city hall,
The firemen of the Hook and Ladder
Company followed to the scene. The
crowd on the foot walk above the step:
was constantly receiving accessions
and still pressing on and over the heap
on the anchorage.
The bodies OF the dead and dying
lay here so firmly wedgcd together
that TO extricate them was next i'm
possible, to beat back the crowd wa:
equally impossible, relief was possible
only by making room for the crowd
to spread sideways. -
Il was quickly done. Willing hands
tore away the iron railing dividing
the rootway from the railroad track
ON both sides and dragged thosc wlic
were nearest in the crush through tlC
opening. Room was made for the
policemen to reach the frightful heaT
of human flesh and the work of clear
ing it away began.
When the lower portion OF the OBJ
struction was removed from the step,
the crowd was eased and n portion wa
let through to the New York side
The rest was forced back until all th'
bodies had been taken away. Along
the iron fences Oh the foot way, OF
railroad track and on the carriag,
way on the north side Of the bridg,
the dead and wounded were laid
Many we're dead when extricated iron
the heap, Others were more or les
terrible injured. They lay six, eigh
and ten deep. Those in the lowe
tier long dead. The clothes were tori
from the body Of more than one II
the attempt to get them out. All wcr
hatless, many shoeIess aud on other
the clothes hung in rags. Five women
! all dead. and trampled into unshapel.
masses were taken from the bottor
of the heap.