South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1883-07-27
appalling Calamity !

1NOii, ioiihctty HOLY 1rCNe, Oh TIC
Patapsco river, Is miles below Balti.
more, which occurred shortly after 9
o'clock Monday night, swell The cata
strophe into the proportions OF great
calamity. The total number of lives
lost. 30 tar as ascertaincd by the re-
cOvery anu Identification of the bodies
Of the victims, is 63, of whom 81 were
women, % children and 6 men.-
While the excursion was given uudcr
theauspices of Mt. Royal Beneficial So
ciety, the participants included many
members oil the Catholic congregation
of the Church OF Corpus Christi. near
Mt Royal, in the Northwestern part of
the city, and friends from other par.
isles. In this way the calamity car
RIGS mourning into nearly every part
OF the community. The disaster hap.
pened before the hour for the rising
of the moon, when the surrounding
waters were dark and terrifying to the
timid. The details, gathered from all
available so1rces. are appalling in the
extreme, and we'll calculated to touch
deeply the sympathies OF the entire
community for the victims and their
bereaved families. All the evidence
obtained on the subject ascribes the
cause OF the disaster 10 rotten pier
which was broken down by the weight
of the crowd and the movement OF
people naturally anxious, after a day
OF pleasure, to get on board The vessel
at hand ready 10 return them 10 their
homes.
The excursion was talked over and
looked forward to by the members OF
Corpus Christi Church for two weeks.
1t was to be for the benefit Of the
mount Royal Beneficial Association,
which was q brotherhood i'm the
church. Other associations were invit.
ed, and a committee was busy for days
making arrangements and selling
tickets Over two thousand tickets
were disposed of, tie sum Of 500
having been melted. There were in
dnstrious mechanics, with their wives
and children, aud we'll to do mer.
chants on the boat. There were ma.
ny lost whose loss will be kceuly fell
by vide circles. Corpus Christ
Church has only been built within tho
last three years. 1t is in charge oi
Rev. w. T.. Starr, and has 4 large
congregation.
The excursion also attracted friend.
OF its progen:tors from everywhere
through the city. About 200 person:
embarked at Henderson 5 wharf which
is at the lower end OF Fcll's Point, il
Southeast Baltimore. According tC
the closest calculations the barge
Cockade City took down on its morn.
ing, = o'clock aud afternoon trips !,
500 sou!s.
it was with light hearts that they
embarked OH Monday morning Mos
OF the women We're dressed in white
There wele II great r.any family par
ties, carrying their lunch baskets anu
leading their little ones by the hand
Sturdy yOnng men with their sweet
hearts and roIlicklug young rcople
composed the body of exculsionjsts
| The morning boat carried down / sc
People, the two o'clock oat 200
and the afternoon boat about 70.
The last trip OF tie barge was from
Light street ut 6 o'clock. 1t was
known that 1000 would only be 9
moderate Load COR T. .hcll that was no
weighted with machinery or freight
She was lowed by the tug Amanda
Powell, and was to bring the excur
sionists MP 10 Baltimore By 10 o'cloc;
at the test AT this hour anxion.
friends waited III the wharf, growing
more and more uneasy. AT ten o.
clock there were over sixty of tie par
ty lying dead i'll seven ioct of water
around the rotting timbers OF the Ii.
vol pier.
So far as can be CLEANED there i:
only one consistent version of the
affair. The barge was drawing up &c
the pier, which runs ont over the slnl!
low beach FOR $50 yards. aud The third
excur5ionists were cTowding upon the
pier, each anxious TO get on board
first so as TO secure the seats. The
gate 0t the shore end of the pier was
| IOSNNh Wy cdlIlGS Dtllltl, lsic kttticI.
who begged the people not to rush. -
AS is usually the case with crowds
this one was deaf 10 everything. Wo
mon actually climbed over the gate b,
getting upon the hand-raiI. One OF
them nearly fell, ard WAS caught by
Barnet. n nnmbar OF The younger
men were in high spirits nd even
boisteroua. They broke the lock of
the gate, and the mass of people strug.
| gled through the op ming, which i.
scarcely large enough to admit two
abreast. There was a rush up the
wharf that made it trcmble. Those
even who did not care to hurry wer,
swept along by the resistlcss force o
the numbers of those who did. BE
tore the pier btoadens into the wharf
where the barge was moorcl another
gate stopped the progress Of the mul
titudo which collected behind il and
shouted impatiently for it to- be opened
John Conner, the keeper OF the boat
gate, would not let the crowd through
thinking that as the pier was bounded