Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1902-09-27
SEVENTY EIGHT
KILLED IN PANIC
Terrible Disaster at Convention
Of Colored Baptists in
Birmingham.
AS MANY MORE INJURED
Booker Washington Had Just Com
pieted an decentralization
Over a Seat Started the Row
Fearful Scenes.

Birmingham, Ala, Sept. 22.-In an
awful crush Of humanity caused by O
stampede in the Shiloh Baptist church.
at Avenue G. and Eighteenth Street
Friday night, seventy-eight persons
were killed and as many more seriously
injured.
The catastrophe occurred at 8 o'clock,
Just as Booker T. Washington had con-
cluded his address to the national con-
vention of colored Baptists, and for
three hours the scenes around the
church were indescribable.
Dead bodies were strewn In every
direction, and the ambulance service of
the city was utterly incapable of nov
ing them until midnight.
Dozens of dead bodies We're al
ranged in rows on the ground outside
Of the house of worship Awaiting re-
moval to the various undertaking es-
adjustments, while more than n score
lay on the benGoes inside.
The church is the largest house OF
worship for negroes In birmingham,
and the pastor says there were at
least 1000 persons In the ediflce when
the stampede began, Even the en-
trance to the church was literally
packed.
Just as Booker T.. Washington con-
Guided his address, Judge Ballou, q
negro lawyer from Washington. en-
gagged In an alteration with the choir
leader concerning an unoccupied seat,
and 1t Is said a blow was struck.
Some one In the choir cried, They're
Thought Flight" Was Fire"
Mistaking the word lighting" for
'hre," the congregation rose en- masse
and started for the door.
One of the ministers quickly mount
ed the rostrum and admonished the
people to keep quiet. He repeated the
word quiet several times, and mo-
toned to his hearers to be seated.
Again the excited congregation mis-
took the word quiet" for fire" and
renewed the struggle 10 reach the
door. Men and women .crawled over
benches, fought their way into the
aisles, and those who had fallen were
trampled upon. The ministers tried
again and again to stop the stampede,
but no power on earth could stay the
struggling, fighting mass Of humanity.
The screams OF the women and chill
dren added to the horror of the scene,
and through mere fright many per-
sons tainted, and as they fell TO the
floor were crushed to death.
The level Of the floor 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, n
this proved a veritaDle death trap.
Negroes who had reached the top Of
the steps were pushed violently for
ward, and many fell. Before they
could move others fell upon them,
and in fifteen mute persons were
piled up on each other to q height of
ten feet. This wall Of struggling hui
mainly blocked the entrance, and the
weight Of 1900 persons was pushed
against it. More than twenty persons
lying on the steps underneath the heap
Of bodies died Of suffocation.
Fire Alarm Turned In.
Two white moh VINO were IN the rear
Of the church escaped and turned in a
fire alarm. The department came
quickly, and the arrival Of the wagons
served TO scatter the crowd in front.
A squad of policemen was also hast
ened to the church, and with the fire
men finally succeeded in releasing the
negroes from their pinioned positions
in the entrance.
The dead bodies were quickly re-
moved, and the crowd inside, finding
an outlet, came pouring out. Scores
Of them lost their footing n rolled
down the long steps to the pavement,
sustaining broken limbs and internal
injuries.
II an hour the church had been prac-
tically cleared, and the sight which
greeted the yes OF those who had come
to aid the injured was sickening.
Down the aisles and along the out
side Of the pews the dead bodies Of
men and ONE were strewn, and the
cries Of the manned and crippled were
h~eartrending.
In "A few moments the work Of re-
moving the bodies was begun.
4 EI41-I I,-,al l. A,at-l .,a-A L.
the edge OF South Highlands, the fash
ionable residence section Of this city,
and all the physicians living In that
part of town went to the assistance Of
the injured.
AS many OF the suffering negroes as
could be o by the ambulances
were taken to hospitals and the rest
were laid out on the ground, and there
The physicians attended them. At least
ifteen of those brought out injured
died before they could be moved from
the ground.
During the stampede Booker T.
Washington and several other prom
nent negroes were on the stage, and
we're unwilling witnesses to the fright
ful catastrophe.
Most Of the dead are and the
physicians say in many cases they
tainted and died Of suffocation.
Booker Washington's Account.
Principal Booker r. Washington,
when seen after the accident, said:
II had just finished delivering my
lecture on Industry and the singing
had commenced, when some woman
back Of me was heard to scream. Some
members of the choir yelled quiet
which the gallery understood to be
fire" This was repeated, and started
the stampede.
II found on investigation that a Bir-
mingham man had stepped on the toes
Of q delegate from Baltimore named
Ballou.
"Ballou resented II and made q mo-
lion as If to draw q gun. h caused
the woman to scream. 70
There was little excitement in the
center and front of the church. The
rear of the church was congested. and
some Of the men tried to walk out or
the heads of the crowd. At the time
Of the alarm there were probably 5000
people In the church, and a great crowd
without. The crowd on the sidewalk
surged In and this in a measure &C
counted for the large loss of life.
The majority of those killed were
smothered to death, very few having
bones broken.
Work Of a Good Sister.
"Nhen l saw that a stampede was i'm
mfnent, / started the choir singing,
AID part of the audience Joined them. l
remained until the excitement had sub