Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1883-06-23
A Slaughter of the Innoccnts.


LONDON, June IA dreadful calam.
ity, involving the death OF over 200
children, occurred in the town of Sun
derland, England, last Saturday even
ing. 1t seems that an entertainment
had been given in Victoria Hall by
conjuror, which was attended almost al
together by children, to the number of
several Thousand. The accident occur
red at the close of the performance.
After the body of the hall had been en-
tirely cleared of its occupants some
twelve hundred of the little ones came
rushing down stairs from the gallery.
At the top of the first flight Of stairs
there was door which opened only
twenty inches, and one child only was
permitted to pass through at time.
AT thispoiDt, while the mass Of children
were pushing forward, some of them
fell and were unable TO rise, owing to
the others orowding on. The result
was that great number were pushed
down, trampled on, aud either suffocated
or crushed to death. The scene was
terrible, and no effort could stop the
mad rush of the affrighted children.
They came on pell-mell, though strange
ly without much shouting, and soon 1877
of them were knocked down aud killed
by others trampling upon them. The
greater number Of the bodies, which
were badly mangled from the trampling.
laid seven or eight deep. Many of the
victims and others who were not killed
had their clothing torn from their bod
les in the struggle. The ages of the
children known to have been killed
ranged from to IA years.
When the news of the disaster had
spread through the town great crowds
of people FASTENED to the scene, until at
least %, 900 persons surrounded the hall.
The feeling was so intense that the au.
thorities ordered out the sixty-eighth
infantry to preserve order.
One of the persons who responded
Immediately to the call for help says
that many who volunteered to assist i'll
rescuing the children sickened at the
spectacle, and fled Mortified from the
distressing scene. The rescuers' first
efforts were directed toward reaching
children who were apparently alive, but
50 tightly were the victims jammed to-
gether that it was regarded as danger
Gus to drag them out OF the helples mass
lest the effort should result In pulling
off the limbs of the living children as
we'll as mutilaIing the dead. They
therefore proceeded steadily and sys-
tematically to lift off the topmost. A
few OF those who were beneath had sur
vived, and their meanings and low cries
of pain could be distinctly heard amid
the excitement and cries of bereaved
parents and friends who were throng-
ing the adjacent streets.
One man and his wife pushed their
way into the hall in which lay the bod
les of the victims, and without betray-
ing any emotion began to scan the faces
of the dead. Recognizing the face of
one of bis children, the father, pointing
with his finger, exclaimed, "That's one. ="
Passing or again, he recognized another,
and then third. Staggering in fit
of agony he cried, "My God, all my
family gone!" and overwhelmed with
grief sank to the floor. In some homes
there are FIVE children dead.
One Sunday school loses thirty schol-
ars by the catastrophe. Many of the
survivors had their arms broken in the
crush. Others are suffering from broken
ribs or rupture of internal organs. Ora
ham the hall-keeper, says that children
who were not twenty yards from the
door came pressing forward, unaware
of the tragedy, thus making matters ten
time worse than they really were. The
faces of the dead children were almost
in every case black and swollen from
suffocation, from which many died. The
lips were cracked and parched,
Many poor mothers swooned away
at the first sight of the dead, while 9th
ers were wild and almost violent in
their hysterical grief. The act of re-
moving the dead from the hall to-day
was an occasion for renewed lamenta-
ton and confusion. Many parents
rushed through the police Gordon ap
pointed for the preservation OF order,
and there was scene of great confu
sion.
The latest reports figure up 197 dead,
and the gravest fears are felt ihat'the
number will yet be shown to have
reached over 200.