The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-06-06
Fourteen Lives Lost on the East
River Structure.
TIE Crowd Too Great to Pass Through
the FOOtway, Panic Ensues.
Those on the Steps Thrown Head
long Below-Scenes at the Hos
pital-The Dead and
Wounded.
a FEARFFL OATAsTRoPHE.


The Brooklyn Bridge the Cause of Large
Loss of Life-The crowd, Too Great to
Pass Through, Forced over the Side
Many Killed aud Wounded.
NEW York, May 3O.-A fearful catastrophe
occurred on East River bridge this afternoon,
by which large number Of people lost their
lives. The narrowness of the footwsy for
passengers is the cause OF the horror. The
majority of the dead are so far unidentified.
At about o'clock the long line of people on
foot in the centre walk of the structure going
from and coming to this city thickened,
swelled and stopped in its motion Just at the
stairs leading up from the concrete roadway
to the bridge proper. Strong men and feeble
women, manhood and infancy were wedged
together in that jam by the fearful pressure
of the crowd, which extended for miles, one
might say, on either end of the line. 1t was
remorseless, fearful, stupid force that heldits
victimsesimmovable as the stone foundations
of the bridge itself. The stoppsge lasted
nearly an hour, during which time scores Of
people tainted. To relieve the jam the bridge
officials removed some of the iron pailing,
few feet from the stairway on the New York
side, when, of course, those unfortunate
enough to be near the opening, weak and
fainting almost to death, as they were, i'm
mediately fell heller skelter, heels oyer head,
down on the jagged, gravelly road beneath
q mass of bruised, discolored human flesh.
Scores were trampied upon instantly, and to
stumble was death. Men were dragged out
of that heap of helpless humanity with
faces blue as indigo and life's blood trickling
out of their nostrils; children and women,
PALE, DIsHEyELLED AED DEAD.
The roadway on either side of the walk
was strewed with dead and dying, pitiable
sight, and yet, tits said, no efforts were made
by the bridge officials to stop the people
coming on the bridge.
The dead and dying were carried off in
wagons, carts, ETC., improvised in q moment
for service, and it was long time before the
police arrived and anything like order re-
stored or an ambulance appeared. Mean
while teams were rushin both ways at a full
gallop over the roadways, threatening the
limbs and lives of those on foot who were at
tempting to assist the unfortunate victims
The police shouting themselves hOarse
"Clear the way" wagons rattling over the
rough stones, men and women CRYING in all
directions made it bedlam indeed. party
OF men IN uniform did yeomen service at
the spot as volunteer police TO check the Yul-
gar and curious.
THE DEAD.
At Chamboys Street Hospital there are
lying thirteen dead-six unknown men and
six unknown women, and George Smith, OF
No. AZ Water street. The Office was filled
with people making frantic inquiries for
missing friends and with hystericel women.
Two more Of the dead - one q boy
Of fifteen, and the other a young woman
are lying at the City Hall Police Sta
ton unidentified. Others identified are: T.
L. Dale, 70 Henry street; Wilhemina Loeio,
$50 Monroe street; two unknown women
Mrs. c. VOgle. 30 West Twenty-sixth street;
Minnie Smith, 215 Houston street; Ellel
Reagan, 90 HoratiO street; an unknown boy,
unknown giI, Matte Aslyles, 257 Grove
street, Jersey City.
The following is partial
LIST OF TEE WOUNDED:
Frank Barrett, 10 Mott street. leg and left
arm broken, he is a little hoy aud his mother
was with him: Otto Beschoff 619 Fast 81 ixtb
street, leg broken ana body injured intern
ally; Andrew DOugherty, six years old, 152
Pearl street; Charles EberHien, 334 Fast
Fifty-fOurth street, leg crushed; L. N. Ebert
mulstto, Z Msnhasset Place, Brooklyn;
Carbary Ottinger, young lady chest iniur d
and right eve radly crushed 443 East Sixtl,
street; Thomas Reerdol, thirteen years old,
36 Montgomery street, injured about the
head; Bernhard Reichers, cigar maker, 335
Delaney street, severely; Nina Schmidt, 25s
Houston strest; Mrs. ZeOring 2S3 st. Marks
Place, slightly injured on the chest; Lizzie
Tierney, aged eighteen, st. Marks
the body; Lester Reque, severely
injured; John Keller Westfarms, missing;
Ifnacio Antepara. 282 Seventh avenue
bruised; Anre Goldsteen, SO East Broadway,
head badly injured Sarah Gaertoner, 6
young girl, % Suffolk street bruised on mead
arms ana legs. Albertine Bohnet, 139 Divi
sion street. was last seen to fall with her baby
IN her arms, and when the crowd rushed ovsl
her the baby was found out the mother wa:
missing.
SCENE AT THE STATION HOUSE.
The scene in the City Hall Police Station
wa simply terrible. Women were scream
ing and wringing their hands, men with torr
clothing and bleeding faces, and all around
ferns of wounded, most of them uncOn
scious lying beside the walls. Every noH
and sgain frantic mother would rush in in
quiring for some one lost, but there were mons
to answer her, for revival of the insensible
occupied the thoughts Then the iangle OF
the ambulance bells added to the confusion
as sgon after wagon tore up 10 the dOOl
and surgeons descended A perfect stream
OF unconscious forms was borne into the sta.
ton on stTetchers, es the ambulances WerS
filed and driven away.
II was zelking along the bridge toward
the New York entrance" said a msn who
5eld q young girl who was crying bitterly by
The Land, ''Ehen I heard shouting auo
screoming suddenly arise in front of ne
Tneu 7 saw hats, sticks and hands stretched
ai0ft, and with one scream the whole dense
mess surged aud sWayed toward the
gates. I suppose the people thought
The bridge was coming DOM.