The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-07-04
THE GREAT MASSACRE
or Little Children at the Victoria Hall,
Sunderland, England.
Details Of the Frightful Affair IA Brought
by Ihs Latest Steamships.
London Times. Editorial. jane Isl

A COZ Juror named Fay gave an entertain
ment On Saturday in the Victoria Hall, Sun
derland, building capable of holding $500
adults. According TO a practice not uncom-
mon in the lower ranks of caterers for public
amusement, he had gone 10 the various
schools in Sunderland offering admission TO
the children at the rate OF one penny each,
and promising in addition to the perform
snce distribution Of prizes on so liberal
scale that each child might reasonably hope
to get something. These inducements brought
together something like 1900 children.
Detailed Account
When the children in the gallery saw that
the distribution of prizes was about to begin,
q report spread among them that they were
not going to get their share OF the good
things. Some children, under this belief,
rose from their seats and hurried to the door.
They were followed by others, and in few
seconds a stream of children had rushed
through the folding doors at the head OF the
gallery stairs and were in full burst down to
the bottom door, which leads 10 the body OF
the hall, where the distribution of toys had
commenced. They passed down flight of
twenty-five steps, turned to the left gained
the corridor at the entrance to the dress cir.
Gle, and kept steadily on, finally rushing
down the flight of fourteen steps leading 10
the door which separates the gallery stairs
from the lobby. This door, for the convent
ence of the money-takers, was only open to
the extent of eighteen inches, being fastened
by means of bolt so as 10 pass only one
person at a time.
Whether any children got through the
i II. =
not tell, and we can only surmise how the
first block occurred. Ii is probable, then,
| that two children attempted 10 pass through
! the eighteen-inoh outlet at once, that they
stuck IN the narrow way, that others pressed
| upon them from behind, and that perhaps a
third child was blocked in the opening.
| The place was then impass able, and while it
was so the children. 800 or 800 strong
come bearing down from the gallery be-
| hind them. Nothing stopped their course.
| There was no panic, no alarm, no shout
OF fire or thieves; il was simply
rush down to gain the desired presents,
without any controlling force to regl-
late /, end without any thought as to the
| consequence of the proceeding. The d0oc
prevented the egress of any of the childrsn
| from below, and the hundreds coming fast
| from tho corridors above set up a block on
the small landing between the door and the
! small fight OF fourteen steps X was here the
| think of the small compass within which 1t
| occurred. Within four yards of this spot
| there was absolute safety for the children.
and hundreds OF children stood there in COM
fort, but at the bottom of the flight OF stairs
| the small open space intervening between it
and the walls and the door was vertiable
| sbambles. Children were tumbled head-over-
! heels, one on top OF the other. Shrieks
and screams vibrated through
| tie st4ir-cases. More still pressed
| &C gn from above. The children at the bot
! l0m OF the stairs got packed, as it were, in
well. The heap OF writhing and rolling hui
mainly became higher aud higher, until it
| rose above the heads of those who were first
| ismmed in the doorway, and became mass
| of struggling and dying children over six
feet in height. The fearful struggle in which
! the children pulled and tore for bare life was
| all within space of about twelve feet square.
/ The densely packed mass OF humanity only
rose TO the fourth of the fourteen steps lead
! ing to the next landing, and these four steps,
! with the square landing-place below. were
! the shambles on which these victims met
| their death.
In the meantime the audience in other
| parts of the house were entirely ignorant of
| what was passing. The noise OF the scream
! iBg and the horrible fight for life going on
among hundreds of children in the confined
| space of the gallery stairs did not reach the
| street. nor did il even reach the body of the
| hall. A confused murmur. or what some
! called a roaring noise, was all that was audi
/ bic, and this gave no token OF what was go
ing on within score OF yards OF hundreds of
| people. who would have been only too happy
| TO have rushed to the rescue. We believe
| that the occupants of the gallery were entire
| ly children. with the exception of about
| twenty mothers who had come with their
| youngsters. None of this little band of adults
! had Joined in the rush down the stairs and
/ VINO N N Or
any operations for the clearance of the fatal
/ block of the lower door.
! The first TO learn what had happened was
| Mr. Frederick Graham, the manager OF the
! hall. Mr.. Graham makes the following
/ statement:
1T is my custom to give an eye to the gal
| leYy stairs and TO all the outlets when an
| audience is leaving the house. and as |
| thought the entertainment was about to
close went toward the gallery stairs. When
| | approached the lower door | heard fearful
screams groans, and noises of struggling. l
rushed to the door and attempted to open it,
and found l could not do so; the bolt was in
| the socket, about two feet from the door
| fame. and the opening was jammed up
rtsTly ss high as my head with the bodies of
| children. l was Mortified. After doing my
| Utmost TO push in l was compelled to rush
round by the dress circle, which | lost
10 time In doing, spreading the alarm
| as | went Two or three gentlemen
| Joined me, and we came out of the dress cir
Gle door which opens upon the gallery stairs.
| We found the door open and the window
Open. The corridor between the dress circle
door snd the stairs was filled with children.
| We had no difficulty in getting through
| them, but when we turned to the steps lead
ing down TO the lower gallery door the chill
| dren were msssed in a body the whole of the
way down the steps, and at the bottom
siokening spectacle ives presented, the poor
things being crowded together five and SIX
| feet high in struggling heap. We pushed
| our way through the steps, getting the chill
| dren pushed back and driven on to the CORR
dor leading TO the dress circle, and then
through the dress circle lobby down to the
open porch. We lost no time in
pushing through the children on to
| the steps, and reaching as near
| the bottom as we could get When
we reached the fourth step from the bottom
we found the children packed in mass from
that place over the whole of the landing be-
low. There seemed to be hundreds of them.
AT first did not think that they were dead,
but when we came TO attempt releasing them
| / discovered my mistake. Police Constable
No. 81 (Bewick) rendered me the greatest as
sistance. / tried at first to take out children
from the thickest of the mass, but they were
so tightly wedged in that 1 could scarcely
Il