The Savannah morning news., 1902-09-20

More than twenty persons lying on
the steps underneath the heap of
bodies died from suffocation.
Two white men, who were in the
rear of the church when the rush be-
gan, escaped, and realizing the seri-
BUSINESS of the situation, rushed to a
corner near by and turned in a IRE
alarm. The department answered
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 fastened
to the church, and with the firemen
finally succeeded in relieving the ne
groes from their pinioned position in
the entrance.
The dead bodies were quickly moved
and the crowd inside, finding an out
let, came pouring out.
Scores of them lost their footing and
rolled down the long steps to the pave
ment, sustaining broken limbs and in
ternal injuries ---4--.
| In an hour the church had been
greeted those who had come to aid the
injured was sickening. Down the
aisles and along the outside of the
pews the dead bodies of men and wo-
men were strewn and the cries of the
manned and crippled were heartrend-
ing. In few minutes the work of re-
moving the bodies was begun and the
walls of the relatives of the dead who
had waited on the outside could be
heard for several blocks.
Prompt Aid Rendered..
The Shiloh Church is located just in
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
ance of the injured.
AS many of the suffering negroes as
could be moved by the ambulances
were taken to hospitals, and the rest
were laid out on the ground and there
| the physicians attended them. At
| least fifteen of those brought out in
| jured died before they could be moved
| from the ground.
During the stampede Booker Wash
| ington and several other prominent ne
| gro leaders were on the stage, and
were unwilling witnesses to the fright
| full catastrophe.
None of those in the choir or in the
pulpit were injured in the least. For
a few minutes they attempted to re-
store order, but seeing their efforts
We're 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 and died from suffocation. A
| remarkable feature of the calamity Is
| that no blood was seen on any of the
Lett I.arv IA II, Il
| died from suffocation.
Rev. DR.. T. w. Walker, pastor of
| Shiloh Church. said Tonight
| Shiloh Church is a modern brick
| structure and has been completed at
a cost of $4,000. There are four en-
frances to the building and the main
| one is sixteen feet wide. The deaths
were caused by everybody trying to
! rush out of the main entrance at the
| same time. Inside the church not a
| bench was overturned, and all of those
| who were killed died in or about the
| entrance. The people up near the front
| of the church were not injured in the
| least
| Mayor w. NJ. Drennen said:
| Most of those who were killed were
| strangers, but their bodies will be cared
| for until identified and claimed by rel
| atives."
Booker t.. Washington, when seen
after the accident at the residence of
U. G.. Mason. 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. A
member of the choir yelled Quiet
which the gallery understood to be
Fire This was repeated and started
the stampede.
81 found on investigation that
Birmingham man had stepped on the
toes of delegate from Baltimore
named Ballou.
"Ballou resented II and made a mo-
ton as If to draw a gun. This caused
the woman to scream.
"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 on
the heads OF the crowd, At the time OF
the alarm there were probably 5000
people in the church. and fully that
number without. The crowd on the
sidewalk snrged In and IN a measure
accounted for the large loss Of life. The
ma iority Of those killed were sFp0th-
| cred u death very few having bones
| broken.
"When / saw that q stampede was
immtneut / started the choir singing,
ana part of the audience Joined them.
/ i remained until the excitement had
subsiaea fer fully thirty minutes. One
I good sister whose name aia not
| learn, caught noe nrmiy by ths waist
ffs,,,t.,,ed an Fifth PaeeJ