Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1902-09-25
4 Shocking DISASTER.
Stampede In the Shiloh Negro Bap-
fist Church at Birming-
ham, Ala.
The DEATH LIST SIMPLY APPALLING.
Seventy-Eight Persons. Attending the Ma
tionat Convention of Negro Baptists.
Dead and as Many More Injured-In-
descifbable scenes Around the Church
Dead Everywhere.


Birmingham, Ala, Sept. 20.-In an
awful crush of humanity caused by q
stampede in the Shiloh Negro Baptist
church at Avenue G and Eighteenth
street, Friday night, between rs and
so person were killed and as many
jured.
The catastrophe occurred at nine
o'clock, just as Booker I. Washington
had concluded his address to the ma
tional convention of Baptists, and for
three hours the scenes around the
church were indescribable
The church is the largest house of
worship for negroes il Birmingham,
and the pastor says there were at
least two thousand persons in the edi-
fee when the stampede began
"They Are Fighting"
just as Booker T. Washington con.
Guided his address Judge Billou, a ne
gro lawyer from Baltimore, engaged
in an alteration with the choir lead.
er concerning an unoccupied seat, and
it is said a blow was struck. Some
one in the choir cried They're fight.
ing"
Mistaking the word fighting" for
fire" the congregation rose en- masse
and started for the door. One of the
ministers quickly mounted the ros'
trum and admonished the people to
keep quiet. He repeated the wore
quiet" several times and motioneC
to his hearers to be seated. Agar
the excited congregation mistook the
word "quiet" for fire." and renewed
the struggle to the door. The men
and women crawled over benches
fought their way into the ~aisles, anc
those who had fallen were trampleG
upon like cattle.
A Struggling Mass of Humanity.
The ministers tried again and agair
to stop the stampede, but no power
on earth could stay the struggling
fighting mass of humanity. The
screams of women and children add
ed to the horror of the scene, anc
through mere fright many person!
tainted and as they fell to the fool
were crushed to death.
Blocked the Entrance.
Negroes who had reached the tol
of the steps were pushed violently
forward and many fell. Before they
could move others fell upon them
and in Is minutes persons were piled
upon each other to a height of ter
feet. This wall of struggling human
ity blocked the entrance and thu
weight of 1900 persons was pushed
against it,. More than twenty person.
lying on the steps underneath TIT
heap of bodies died from s~uffocation
Two white men, who were in the real
of the church when the rush began
escaped, and realizing the seriousness!
of the situation, rushed to a corner
nearby and turned in a fire alarm
The department came quickly, anc
the arrival of the wagons served te
scatter the crowd which had gathered
around the front of the church. A
squad of police was also fastened tc
the church and with the fremen final
ly succeeded in releasing the negroes
from their pinioned positions in the
entrance.
The Sight Was Sickening.
The dead bodies were quickly re
moved and the crowd inside, finding
an outlet, came pouring out. Score!
of them lost their footing and rolled
down the long steps to the pavement
sustaining broken limbs and interna,
injuries.
In an hour the church had beer
practically cleared, and sights which
greeted the eyes of these who had
come to aid the injured was sicken'
ing. Down the ali les and along the
outside of the pews the dead bodies
of men and women were strewn and
the cries of the MANNED and crippled
were heartrending. In a few minutes
the work of removing the bodies was
begun.
Most of h Dead Are Women.
Most of the dead are women and
the physicians say in many cases
they tainted and died from suffoca.
ton A remarkable feature of the
calamity is that no blood was seen
on any of the victims. They were
either crushed or died from suffoca'
ton.
Mayor w. M. Drennen said: "Most
of those killed are strangers, but
their bodies will be cared for unit
identified and claimed by relatives"
Heard Mr.. Bryan Speak.