Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1902-09-24
HORROR IN slRMlNaRAm.
Stampede In Colored Baptist Convention 10
Killed and 80 Seriously Injured.

birmingham, Ala, September I9.-In
an awful crush of humanity, caused by a
stampede in the Shiloh negro Baptist
church, at Avenue q and Nineteenth
street tonight, ITO persons were killed
and 80 seriously injured. The calamity
occurred at 8 O'clock, just as Booker Il.
Washington had concluded his address
to the National Convention of 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 incapacitated to move them
until after / O'Clock a. m.
The injured were first looked after and
| dozens of dead bodies were arranged in
rows on the ground outside the house of
worship awaiting removal to the vari-
GUS undertaking establishments, while
more than score were laid out on the
benches 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 edifice when the stampede
began. Instructions had heen issued to
allow no one else to enter, but the ne
groes forced their way inside the build
ing, and were standing in every aisle
The entrance was literally packed.
just as Booker Washington concluded
his address, Judge Billou, a negro law
cation with the choir leader concerning
an unoccupied seat, and it is said blow
was struck. Some one in the choir cried,
"They are lghting.'
Mistaking the word "fghting' for
fire" the congregation rose en- masse
and started for the door. One of the
ministers quickly mounted the rostrum
quiet He repeated the word "quiet"
several times and motioned to his hearers
to be seated. Again the excited congre-
CATION mistook the word "quiet" for fire,
and rushed pell NELL for the door. Men
and women crawled over benches, fought
their way into the aisles and those who
had fallen were trampled upon like cat
tie The minister's tried again to stop
the stampede, but no power on earth
could stay the struggling, fighting mass
of humanity. The screams of women
and children added to the horror of the
scene, and through mere fright many
persons tainted, and as they fell to the
floor were crushed to death.
The level of the floor is about Is feet
from the ground and long steps lead to
the sidewalk from the lobby, Just outside
the main auditorium. Brick walls ex-
tend on each side of these steps for six
or seven feet and this proved q veritable
death trap. Negroes who had reached
the top, of the steps were pushed violently
III "oiu anu Iudhy lcli. b6lOT0 GuSY
could move others fell upon them, and in
10 minutes persons were piled upon each
other to a height of 10 feet. This wall
of struggling humanity blocked the
entrance and the weight of fifteen hun
dred persons was pushed against it.
More than twenty persons lying on the
steps underneath the heap of bodies died
from suffocation.
f. p. O'Brien, formerly sheriff of JEFF
ferson county and one of the most promi-
nent citizens of Birmingham, was a wit
ness to the catastrophe. He lives within
half block of the church, and, hearing
the commotion, went to ascertain the
trouble. AS he reached the front of the
church the crowd had begun blocking
the entrance, and in describing it he said !:
II have witnessed many appalling
sights, but the wild scene at the head
of the steps is beyond description
Wildly excited negroes reached the top
of the steps and began falling headlong
down the incline. Others were pushed
upon them, and notwithstanding warn
ings from the outside, the crowd con-
tinued to push. In few minutes men
and women were piled upon each other
| to height of 10 feet.
Booker Washington, when seen after
the accident at the residence of U. g.
Mason, said: 81 had just finished deliv-
| ering my lecture on Industry and the
singing had commenced, when some
woman back of mo was heard to scream.
Some member of the choir yelled quiet
which the gallery understood to be fire.
This was repeated and started the
| stampede. / found on investigation that
Birmingham man had stepped on the
toes of delegate from Baltimore named
Ballou. Ballou resented it and made a
motion as if to draw gun. This caused
the woman to scream. There was little
aXnitampnf in tho copfar anl Df I,
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 proba-
bly, 1000 people in the church and fully
that number without. The crowd on the
sidewalk surged in, and this, in mea-
sure, accounted for the large loss of life.
The majority of those killed were smoth-
cred to death, very few having broken
bones. When l saw that stampede
was imm nent / started the choir singing
and part of the audience joined them. /
remained until the excitement had sub
sided for fully thirty minutes. One good
sister, whose name l did not learn,
| caught mo firmly by the waist, and held
me throughout the excitement, saying,
Keep still.'''
Among the victims of the disaster
Friday night was Kassaugo, an African
boy brought from the Congo Free State
two years ago by Rev. S. Phillips Werner,
| of Tuscaloosa. Mr.. Werner was mis-
sionary to the Congo country and had
the misfortune to fall into game pit,
and was severely wounded by the point
of poisoned stake. Kassougo sucked
the poison from the wound and saved
Mr.. Verner's life. The latter brought
him with him on his return to this coun-
try and was educating him at Stillman
Institute with view to his returning to
Africa as a teacher of his people. Dur
ing the summer vacation he was working
at the Hardie Tynes machine shops. His
father is a chief of one of the Congo
tribes. He heard there were delegates
from africa at the convention and he at
tended, hoping to see or hear them, and
was caught in the awful crash.
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