Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-06-06
A TERRIBLE DISASTER.
Twelve Persons Tramped tC
Death on the Brooklyn
Bridge.

New and Brooklyn, and which has
been the source of just pride as well as
the object of natural curiosity to the
people thereof since its completion. re-
ceived a dreadful babtism last Wednes-
day afternoon, Decoration Day, Dur
ing crush, the result of an accident
and the immense crowd of people GO
ing each way on the bridge, a panic
occurred on the New York anchorage,
and before order was restored many
persons, mostly women and children,
were crushed, some to death, some
fatally and still others severely A
scene of terror reigned for fully fifteen
or twenty minutes that battles descrip-
tion. When it was over, cart loads of
wounded and crushed human beings
were taken out of the New York en-
trance of the bride. A small noun
tain of torn and abandoned clothing
was gathered up by the police.
HOW THE DISASTER OCCURRED.
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 of the span between the
New York anchorage and tower. 1t
was shortly after four O'Clock. The
bridge was crowded from one end to
the other so that there was hardly ell
bow room on the footway. A woman
who was ascending the lower fight of
steps, stumbled and fell on the landing.
The crowd pressed upon her and she
shreked. Bridge Officer Frederick
Richards, who was on the plank walk
above, seeing her danger, elbowed his
way to the spot and lifted her up.
The crowd closed upon them both, and
they went down. With a desperate
effort Officer Richards got upon bis
feet once more, dragging the woman
after him. She screamed again in de-
spair and 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 below the steps
were carried forward in q solid mass.
Many stumbled and, unable to resist
the pressure from behind, the crowd
passed oyer them From above the
crowd coming from Rrooklyn was car
ried to the edge of the steps and then
fell over upon the struggling mass be-
low. A terrible struggle for life be-
gan. Men and women fought with
the strength of despair against each
other Escape was impossible with
the pressure from both sides growing
at every shout Of anguish that went
up from the dying and those who saw
death before their eyes. Fear and de-
spair on the one side, curiosity on the
other, fought for the mastery.
A FRIaHTEUL SCENE.
The frightful crush was denser than
ever, when, after nearly fifteen min
utes, q score of miltamen of the
Twelfth regiment, led by Lieutenant
Hart and Sergeants Couldock and Cos
tello, marched up the approach toward
Brooklyn. The yelis Of the crowd at
tracted their attention. AT the foot of
steps wall of human bodies was piled
high. The dense mass surged about,
ana in It the soldiers saw two police
men yailiy struggling against it. Ser
geant Couldock took in the situation at
a glance. At the word of command
his men scaled the fence and railroad
track separating them from the foot
walk, and wedging into the mass of
people near the scene of the disaster,
drove Oac1 .he crowd at the New
York entrance at the muzzle of their
guns. 1t fell back slightly and the
militiameD, following up the advantage
gained, forced it back until the ap-
proach YaG cleared. Then forming
front across the footwalk they prevent
ed the crowd from passing, while as
many of their number as could be spar
ed ran toward the scene of the accident
to help In extricating the dead and saw
ing the living.
EXTRICATING THE DEAD AND INJURED.
The alarm had meanwhile been
given at the bridge entrance. A gen.
erai call fcr all hospital ambulances
was sent cut and policemen we're hur-
ried over upon the bridge. From
their station beside the city hall fire.
nen of hook and ladder company fol-
lowed to assist. They found the sit4-
alton still unaltered on tine bridge.
The crowd on the foot-walk above the
steps was constantly receiving access
sions and still pressing on and over the
heap on the anchorage. The bodies of
the dead and dying lay here so firmly
wedged together that to extricate them
was next to impossible. To beat back
the crowd wps equally impossible.
Relief was possible only by making
room for the crowd to spread sideways.
1t was quickly done. Willing hands
tore away the iron railing dividing the
foot way from the railroad track on
both sides, and dragged those who
were nearest in the crush through the
opening. 1t helped Room was made
for the policemen to reach the fright
full heap of human beings, and the
zogt of clearing it away began. AS
soon as portion of the obstruction
was removed from the steps the crowd
was eased, and a portion was let
through the New York station. The
rest was forced back until all the
bodies had been taken away: Then it
was let through, and body of police
men at the point of danger kept it
from pressing there.
Along the iron fences on the foot
way, on the railroad and on the car
riage way on both sides of the bridge
the dead and wounded were laid
More than half score were dead when
estricated from the throbbing heap
Others weFe mofe or less terribly in
jured There lay six or eight or ten
deep, those in the lower tier long dead.
The clothes were torn from the body of
more than one in the attempt to get