The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-08-09
The Tivoli Disaster.

We mentioned last week the terrible dis
aster caused by the giving away of a pier
| at Tivoli, near Baltimore. on Monday of
| last week.
From the Baltimore american we con-
| dense the following account of the appal-
ling calamity:
Only siXty-five bodies have been recOv.
cred so far at Tivoi, the pleasure resort
on the PatapSco river, near Baltimore
where, Monday night. through the break
| ing of the wharf, about two hundred and
| fifty persons, mostly women and children.
were precipitated into the water. OF the
bodies recovered only eight were those of
men, Of the others thirty-four were those
| OF women, and twenty-three of children.
The suhioined extracts from the Anleri-
| can account will give an idea of the terri
bic scenes that were enacted at TivOli on
the night in question.
The story of the terrible disaster at
Tivoli has been told. 1t was told yester-
day morning in the papers; it was told by
the bulletins in all parts of the city; it was
told in the sObs and tears of women and of
strong men at Henderson, wharf as they
g,lzed on the faces of those they loved, now
asleep in death; it was told in nearly a hun
bred homes of mourning, where there was
Grape on the door and /; coffin in the par
lor; it was told all over the city from ton
que to tongue, but none could make the
story more tragic OF more truly heartrend-
ing than it was. The picture could be
painted in darker colors than it called for.
and no eXaggeration could have made the
story worse. 1t cast gloom over the
whole city, and III every household there
was sympathy for those who mourned.
Baltimore has been peculiarly free from
such terrible things, and the disaster thus
fell with all the greater force. The whole
city incurred its dead, and, though most
of them were in the humber walks of life,
yet the sorrow was as universal as if the
victims had been the wives and children Of
the rich, Sorrow knows no ranks, and
sympathy sees no castles. They went into
the alleys and narrow streets yesterday, to
the homes of the poor, and while they
| made the loss none the heavier to bear,
| they proved the common brotherhood of
| man-that fellowfeeling, the best trait of
all our natures.
81 wish l could forget them,' said one
of the eye-Witnesses yesterday. THAT
terrible picture has been before my eyes
all day. 1t seems impossible to hide it
from me. | hear the groans and shrieks
of women, the cries OF children and the
shouts of men constantly ringing i'll my
ears. | see that horrible picture of two
struggling i'll the water. Would to God |
had never witnessed it,
Il was standing near the outer gate
when the barge came down on its last trip.
/ was in u hurry to go home, as it was
getting very late, and made up my mind to
| get on the Cockade City as soon us could.
When she touched the wharf | started for
| her, having not more than twenty feet to
walk. Looking behind, saw that a large
40 Nxrha
on a run, others walking very rapidly.
mothers leading children along by the hand
OF carrying their babes on their breasts. |
was just stepping on the gang plank when
| heard a woman S scream, then q hundred
more, and then came the crash In an in
slant two hundred people were struggling
in the water. There was a rush from the
barge, a rush from up the wharf, and cry
of terror from every side. They were daZ-
ed for moment, and seemed not to know
what to do. Off went my coat, and into
the water went determined to domy best
to save at least one life. Very soon chairs.
stools and few life preservers were thrown
in among the struggling people, but the
r chairs and stools were careleSsly thrown.
and many were hurt by them. 1t was
! pretty dark, although there were some Ian
terms on the wharf and lights on the barge.
Many OF the women and girls were in
white, and their bodies III the water SEEM
ed like specteIs. How long the struggle
lasted cannot tell you. 1t seemed to me
like an age. Itprobahly was not more than
| five minutes.
| AS soon as possible the bodies taken from
the water were placed upon the barge, and
on it's first trip to the city, twenty-eight of
them, with six hundred people, were
brought up to the city. AS soon as the
barge was unlOaded at IIenderson's wharf,
| it returned to Tivoli. There upon the
wharf lay thirty-two bodies, which had been
recovered after the departure of the barge.
Handsome young ladies, young men, boys,
and girls were huddled together, some hav-
| ing the expression of having died in great
agony. Their hands We're clinched and
their faces contracted. At least three
hundred women and children positively re-
fused to come up to the city on the barge,
but remained over until Tuesday morning
| to look after the missing ones and to COM
fort those rescued. A large bonfire was built
OF benches, clothing, tables, chairs, ETC.,
Concluded on fourth page)