Rocky Ford enterprise., 1902-09-26
AWFUL CHURCH ACCIDENT.
Cry Of Fire Causes a Stampede That
Costs Scores Of Lives.

birmingham, Ala, sept lD.-in nn
awful crush OF humanity caused ~
stamped. In the shiloh Negro hap
list Church at Aycnu. q and Eight
tecnth street tonight. between seven
~ and eighty persons w"r. Killed hni
ns many more seriously Injured. The
cutnsIroph. occurred at % O'Clock. Just
AZ Booker 4. Washington had conclni-
ei his address To III. national eonyen-
tlon OF Iiapllsts. nni for three hours
the scenes around III. church We're In.
tiescrIbable. Dead bodies wcr" strewn
ia every direction nnd TIA. nmbulane.
service OF III. city was utterly unable
To remove them until after I o'clock.
Dozens OF dead bodies were arranged
In rows on III" ground outsld. OF the
hous. OF worship awaiting removal To
til. various Undertaking establish
ments. while mOrr than a score were
laid out on the benches inside.
The church Is III. largest on" for
Negroes in birmingham. nnd til. pas
tor says the" were nt least ..uOp per-
sons Ia the c,iliier when the stampede
began. Instructions had been issued
to allow no morn To- enter. hut the me-
grocs forced their way inside the build
Ing and wcr- standing la every aisle.
Even the entrance to the church was
literally packed.
Just ms iiooEcr 4. Washington con-
ciuici his address, Iu.l-. BIliou, ne
gro leader from baltimore. engaged In
an alteration with the choir leader
concerning an unoccupIcd seat. and. u
Is said. blow WAS struck. Some one
In the choir cried. They're fishiing"
MIsinElns the word "nEhtins" for
''firc." the congregation rose cn massc
q. Al ..N s1t..
MINISTERS quickly mountc,; the ros-
trum nnd niInonislici the peopl. to
keep quiet. lie repeated the word
"lulct' several times. and motloncd to
his hearers tn bc seated. Again the
excited congregation miS'ook the word
"auIct' for ''iir-' nnd renewed the
struggle to reach the door. Men ani
women crawicd over benches AMI
fought their way through the aislcs.
nni those who had fallen were tramp
led upon like cattle. The ministers
tried again and again To stop the STAN.
pc,ic. but no power on earth could stay
that struggling. lighting mass OF bu.
mnnlty. The screams OF women nnd
children added To the horror OF the
scene. and through mere fright many
persons tainted. and ns they fell To
the floor wcn- trnmplcd to death.
The level OF the iioor Is about fifteen
feet from the ground. and long steps
lead TO the sidewalk from the lobby
Just outside the main auditorium.
Brick walls extend ON each side OF
these steps for six or seven feet. and
these proved vcriinbic death trap.
Negroes who had reached the top OF
the steps Were pushc-i violently for.
ward. and many fell. Before they
S.lI a
In fifteen minutes persons were piled
upon each other To a height OF ten feet.
The wall OF struggling humanity
blocked the entrance. and the weight
OF !. 800 persons was pushed against IL.
More than twenty persons lying on
the steps underneath the heap OF bouics
died from sufrocation.
Two white men who were In the rear
OF the church when the rush began cs.
capcd, and realizing the seriousness OF
the situation. rushed To n corner near
by and turned In a fire alarm. The de.
partmcnt came quickly. and the arrival
OF the wagons served to scatter the
crowd which had gathered around the
front Of the church. a squad OF police
was also hastcncd to the church. and
with the fircmcn finally succeeded In
releasing the negroes from their posi-
tions in the entrance. The dead bodies
were quickly removed and the crowd
inside. finding nm outlet. came pouring
out. Scores OF them lost their footing
and rolled down the long steps to the
pavement, sustaining broken limbs
and internal injuries.
The Shiloh church is located just on
the edge OF the South Highlands, the
fashionable residence section of this
city, and all the physicians living In
that part OF town went to the assist
nncc Of the injured. As many of the
suffering negroes as could be moved
by the ambulances were taken to the
hospitals and the rest were laid out on
the ground. and there the physicians
attended them. At least fifteen died
before they could be moved from the
ground.
During the stampede Booker II.
Washington and several other promi-
nent negroes were on the stage and
were unwilling witnesses to the fright
full catastrophe. None of those in the
choir or in the pulpit was injured in
the least. For few minutes they at
tempted to restore order, but, seeing
their efforts were futile, waited until
the struggling crowd had advanced far
enough for them to pick up the dead
and injured.
Most Of the dead are women. and the
physicians say In many cases they
tainted ard died from suffocation. A
remarkable feature of the calamity Is
that no blood was seen on any of the
victims. They We're either crushed or
died from suffocatlon.