The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1883-06-07
A DREADFUL DISASTER.
An Accident on the Brooklyn
Bridge Spanning East
River.
Caused by lam on the FOOt-Way, Re
suIting in the Death of Many
People
Ana alscsne of Unparalleled Horror and
DIsmay-Fun Details of the
Shocking Affair


gers is the cause of ;he horror The
majority of the dead are so far identified.
At about O'Clock the long line of peo-
pie on foot in the center walk of the
structure going from and coming to the
city thIckened, sWelled and stopped In
its motion just at the stairs leading up
from the concrete roadway to the bridge
proper Strong men aud feebleSHsahen,
manhood and infancy. were wedged to-
gether in that jam by the
FEARFUL PRESSURE OF THE CROWD,
which extended miles, one might say,
on either end of the line. 1t was re
morseless, fearful, stupid force, that held
its victim as immovable as the stone
foundation itself. The stoppage lasted
nearly an hour, during which time
scores of people tainted. To relieve the
Jam the bridge officials removed some
of the iron paling few feet from the
stairway on the New York side, when,
OF course, those unfortunate enough to
be near the opening, weak and fainting
as they were, Immediately fell, heller
skelter, head over heels, down on the
Jagged, gravelly road beneath, a mass of
BRUISED, DIsCoLORED HUMAN FLESH.
Scores were trampled upon instantly
and to stumble was death. Men were
dragged off that heap of helpless hui
mainly with faces blue as indigo and the
life blood trickling out of their nostrils,
and children and women pale, dishev-
eled and dead. The roadway on either
side of the walk was strewn with dead
and dying, pItable sight, and yet it is
said no efforts were made by the bridge
official to stop the people coming on the
bridge. The dead and dying were car
ried off in wagons, carts, etc., lmpro-
vised ON the moment for service, and
it was long before the police arrived
and anything like order was restored or
ambulances appeared. Meanwhile teams
were rushing both ways at full gallop
over the roadways, why, no one could
tell, threatening the limbs and lives of
those ON foot who were attempting to
assist the unfortunate victims.
THE POLICE SHOUTING.
themselves hoarSe, "Ciear the way"
| wagons rafting over the rough stones,
men and women crying in all directions
made it Bedlam, indeed. A party of
| men in uniform did yeoman's service at
| the spot as volunteer police to check
the vulgarity and curses.
AT CHAMBERS STREET HOSPITAL
| there are lying thirteen dead, six un-
known women and George Smith OF NO:
| AZ Watar street. The Office was filled
| with people making frantic inquiries
for missing friends and with hysterical
women. Two more of the dead-One a
boy of Is and the other young woman,
are lying at the city hall police station.
a TERRIBLE SCENE.
The scene in the city hall police sta
| ton was simply terrible, the women
| screaming and wriDging their hands,
men with torn clothing and bleeding ia
ces, and all around the forms OF the
wounded, most of them unconscious, ly-
| ing beside the walls. Every now and
| then frantic mother would rush in,
inquIring for some one lost, but there
| were none to answer her, for the REVIVAL
Of the insensIble occupied all their
| thoughts. Then the jingle OF ambulance
bells added to the confusion as wagon
alter wagon tore up to the door
and surgeons descended. A perfect
| sroeam of unconscious forms was borne
| into the station on stretchers as the am
balances were filed and driven away.
AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT.
81 was walking along the bridge
| towards the New York entrance" said
a man who held u young girl who was
crying bitterly, by the hand, "when
heard shouting and screaming suddenly
arise in front of me. Then l saw hats.
! sticks and hands stretched RlOft, and
| with one scream the whole dense mass
surged and swayed towards the gates.
bridge was coming down. Anyway
they fought, screamed and yelled like
demons. Children and women were
knocked down and trampled upon, and
was forced irresistibly out OF the en-.
trance. Then l found this little girl
! who had lost her friends, and here we
are. safe, thank God.'' The little girl,
between her sobs, said her name was
Flora DAVIS, 30 Lewis street.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
II went on the bridge" said Charlie
Bligh, of SO Third street, Brooklyn, ''ai
about O'Clock and as l was approach.
ing the river span / found myself unable
to move either backward or forward
Women and chTidren commenced scream
ing. Hundreds of men climbed witt
great difficulty on to the beams running
over the railroads and made their way
TO the carriage way. Many let them
selves drop through between the beams
and were caught by those beneath.
number of women also escaped in thii
way. escaped in this way myself Thl
police and others helped to pull out the
diving and they we've laid on the road
way until the ambulances came. TIL,
shrieks of the children on the pathway
were blood curdling. They cried, Help
Help!l Save me for Gods sake.' Blu
here we could do nothing"
THE SUPERINTENDENT INTERVIEWED.
MT Martin, superintendent of tn
, bridge, was seen by reporter few
minutes after the accident. He said
Five minutes before word came to tn
New York Office about the catastrophe
) ] received word, in answer TO my il
= curry, that everything was going o
smoothly at the bridge and that pedes
trians were moving along quietly.
3 certainly have no idea what caused th
8 horrible tragedy, as various account
!. | have reached me from four distinC
sources. hear, however, that the PAM
was brought about by gang of picl
: pockets. The New York policeme
4 had warned US to-day that thieves an
3 burglars were operating on the bridg
! but as none of them were identified
course we could dc nothing. As soon
l heard of the crush ordered the roal
ways to be thrown open, and the poop
are going across that way now.
d THE SUNS ACCOUNT.
q The following is from the Suns extr'
e There was crush at the steps at Il
New York approach of the Brookly
a bridge this afternoon. a panic followe
?. and at least fourteen persons were kille
Q and many were wounded. The crus
began shortly before O'Clock. At tn
. time there were thousands of people {
s the bridge, most of them coming fro
b Brooklyn. The air was clear and bris
Il and the people were walking rapid
/ md cr1Urnanhad q chnrf f3sU
. of steps those in front pushed back f
II fear they would be precipitated over Il
y steps, distance of about six feet II
" people in drawing back from the stel
: made the nucleus of q jam, for q
thousands behind them pushed on u
e needing. Almost instantly the Peep
b. shouted:
n "sTAND BACK AND GIVE Us ROOM"
Meanwhile the crowd from New Yo
y which was at the foot of the steps &
,e, blocked. The men al the head of q
New York crowd fought their way bat
leaving clear space at the foot of q
In steps. The shouting and croWdiBg fro
at the BROOKLYN side Increased. The pt
! pie in the advance guard of the BrOo
lyn throng, were pushed in spite
g themselves toward the steps. They see
o. To have horror of going over the steT
W although the fight is only five or 6
= feet high, they they locked arms n
~ pushed furiously back against thousan
q coming steadily over from Broo
It lyn. In a few minutes az q poi
to Just above the steps, there was sic
!, yielding to the frlghtful pressure fro
y behind and the front of the crowd n
o forced nearer to the edge of the stel
Women and children were screaming
help, and the men were shouting conf
he eddy. Umbrellas, parasoIs and car
- were thrown over the rails st the side
= the people who needed their hands
o. fight their way out of the despefi
al crowd AT last
q WITH SINGLE sHRIEK
tb snatcul .nIongn lne c.amoi q . ne M
p her footing on the periious edge {
headlong. She struck the pathway