The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-06-01
PANIC STRICKEN.
Teri On the Great Brook
a Bridge.
A Frenzied Crowd T,rainplea Twelve
Unfortunates TO Death.
Graphic Account OF the Awful Disas-
Twenfy-Six Maimed---
Heartrending Details.

BILE accident at the New York applodeh OF
the Brooklyn bridge yesterday afternoon
about O'Clock Thousands of person.
had been on the bridge all day, fnd Eneinecl
Martin had ordered that foot passengers be
allowed to use the road-ways on either side OF
the promenade At the hour named the foot
path was filled with throngs pouring slowly
and steadily in either direction, and many
persons were also using the roadways.
The two throngs passing, one toward
New York and the other toward Brooklyn
came into dense collision near the stairway
at the end of the New York approach. To
relieve the jam the bridge officials removed
some of the iron paling a few feet from the
stairway, or at least this statement is posi-
lively made. Strong men and feeble women,
manhood and infancy were wedged together
in the fearful pressure which extended on
either end of the line. The crowd was just
getting disentangled, when a middle-aged
woman, coming down the steps toward New
York lost her footing and fell.
There are thirteen steps in these stairs,
broken into two flights by landing seven
feet wide, and the steps are too narrow when
the width of the bridge pathway is con
sidered Bridge Policeman Frederick Rich
ards, standing near the head of the stairs, saw
the woman fall and sprang to her assistance.
She fell on her knees on the center landing of
the stairway just as Richards caught her He
took hold of her arm and pulled her down the
remainder of the stairs and to one side, At
the same moment, a woman at the head of
the stairs, seeing Richards dragging somebody
through the crowd, began to scream at the
top of her voice Those behind made rush for
ward to see what the trouble was Those on
the stairway could not hold back the throng,
carried of their feet and fell on the stairs
Those on the promenade, knowing nothing of
the fearful crush, surged ahead with irresist-
ible force and in a moment the whole stair
way was packed with dead and dying men
women and children, piled one upon another
in a wTithmg, struggling mass. Cries, shrieks,
wells and groans filled the air at the stairway,
while those on the promenade above yelled
and shouted as they were pushed forward and
tumbled over the poor unfoTtunates who
were being crushed and trampled to
death beneath them. Women and chill
dren were crushed together, CRYING
shrieling, and begging to be released Chill
dren were torn from the arms of their parents
and men sprang on the backs of those in front
of them, and fought their way over the mass
of heads scrambling off as best they could A
stout woman, pressed against the iron railing
at one side appealed piteously to be taken out
A gang of ten young rowdies from New York
elboWed their way about, picking pockets
and grabbing everything they could snatch
Shawls were torn from women'S shoulders
wells from their faces, and tramped under
foot jewelry being frequently pulled from its
faStenings and ground to pieces under the
heels Of the struggling masses A young man
climbing up the framework to gain the road
way above had his leg badly wrenched by
the CEswd pressing against him,
Their attention attracted by hatless man
passing them on the run, Detective SergeantS
Wangin, Slawson, and O'Connor of the New
York central office, began the work of stop
ping the stampede, and began to pull the
mass apart elhowing into the crowd near the
stairway. The toll keepers were ordered to
close the gates and information of the mat
ter given the police, who sent squads of men
to the bridge A bridge employe, Selling a
cold -chisel and hammer he found managed
to tear off a section of the main fenca be
tween the promenade and the railroad bed,
and through the opening many of the dead
and wounded and uninjured were passed
The dead and wounded were also re
moved by men from company A. Twelfth
regiment, who were passing in a pleasure
boat and climbed over the stone railing into
the railway track. Drivers of wagons left
their vehicles to assist in the work. The IRON
giriers incloSing the railway on either side
served as footholds for many rescueIs. Chill
dren held above their parents heads, by per
SONS cltnging TO the girdefs We're passed to
men who carried them out of harms way.
Women seemed helpless, while men stood
yelling and shouting, too bewildered to climb
the girderS when they had a chance Many
were rescued from the promenade, At the
stairway the dead and dying were
found wedged together as if fastened
in a wise, and SO tightly packed and squeezed
| that blood was oozing from the ears and
noses of dozens of the oVeIpressed victims.
Many less severely injured made their
way down pianks which workngmen
had leaned against the railways into the
roadway, and the names of these have not
been ascertained Wagons were pressed into
| service, and drove the injured to the hospital,
| many of the victims dying on the way. In
! less than three-quarters of an hour no injured
| persons were left on the bridge, and in an
hour traffic was resumed.
STORIES OF EYE WITNESSES.
A gentleman who was in the throng at the
time of the disaster tells the following:
| AT O'Clock was in the middle of the
bridge strolling along toward New York.
stopped a short distance east of the New Yorl;
| tower and watched several men climb over
the railing of the platform at that point.
| They walked a short distance along the outer
string pieces of the railroad track work and
then descended an iron ladder to the roadway.
| | wondered that there were no police to stop
| them passed through the tower and de
scended some distance toward the New York
| anchorage When over the roofs of Cherry
street | found myself in a crowd 1t ad
vanced very slowly, and men who became
| impatient climbed ao&n the trestle- work and
| gained the roadway. 1t went all in one di
rection, toward New York, as those coming
| from Brooklyn extended quite across the foot
| path Men and officers ran along the string
| pieces and tried to turn the people on the
| south side of the path back toward Brooklyn
! Two or three times they got started but
| each time they turned back. Several rough
looking young men chung together and forced
themselves into the crowd ahead saying they
| could go through anything. They were on the
| people there ahead On the north side WHERE
| ] stood there was very little crowding.
boy ran along the north roadway and, wav
| ing his arms, shouted, Go back go back
! Then he called to another boy, A babyt
| killed A man on the string piece cried out
| -Four people are killed Go back to Brook
| lypr This frightened many, and they
| tufaed back. As approached the steps
frrnd many people sitting on the string
pieces. Two women were very i'll, and otheri
seemed quite faint The crowd moved quite
quickly at the steps 1t receiled at the sight
u nHt below on the asphalt. had not be
ieyed the report of the people heing dead
and was not prepared to see anything. a
number OF New York police were there, ant
they tlade Us move on in the center Of thi
| path. On both sides were rows of bodies
| Their clothing was torn and disheveled
and hats were placed over their faces. Al
around on the walk were broken canes, hats
| fans parasoIs, articles of clothing. ieNely
shoes aud hand-satchels l lifted the hat trou
the face of what seemed to he boy. II wa
Chinaman Beside him was a young lrisl
girl in brown dress with gray sacque. Botl
were quite dead On the opposite side was {