The Lancaster ledger. (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, September 24, 1902, Image 1
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>i\ I vvEkKLY. L a N C A S I K ii S. O. s K 1? T E M 11 E K 2-1 , 1902 hrTaKLmhiki. . >
Fatal Stampede In Shiloh
Church
110 Negroes Killed; Many Injured
' ho Big Gathering of
Colored Baptists at Birmingham
lias a Tragic
Termination.
Birmingham, Ala , Sept. 19.?
Seventy o:ght known to lie dead
and eighty injured, the majority
perhaps fatally is the result of a
panic which occnred in the Shiloh
negro Baptist church here tonight
during the evening sossit n of the
uegro national Baptist coovontion.
?
The disaster occnred at 9
o'clock just as Booker T. Washington
had concluded his address
to the national convention of Baptists,
and for three hours the
scenes around the church wero
indescribable. Dead bodies were
strewn in every direction and the
ambulance service of the city was
utterly incapacitated to move them
until after 1 o'clock a. m.
The church is the largest house
f worship for negroes in Birmingham
and the pastor says there
were at least 2,000 persbns in the
edifice when the stampede began.
Instructions had been issued to
allow no one else to enter after
the building had been tilled, but
the negroes forced their way in?u~
-i -u 1 ?
otwc luci uuuicu auu weru sianuiDg
m overy aisle, the entrance was
literally packed.
Just as Booker Washington
concluded his address Judge Hillou,
a negro lawyer from Baltimore
engaged in altercation with
the choir leader concerning an
unoccupied seat and it is said a
blow wttff^iclr ^ Some- *ofie in
tbechoir, cried 4 They're fighting.'
Mistaking the word "fighting"
for "are," the congregation rose
en masse ar.d started for the
door. Cne of the ministers
quickly mounted the rostrum aud
admonished the people to keep
quiet. He repeated the word
"quiet," several times and mo*
tioued to his hearers to ba seated.
WORSE AND WORSE.
Again the excited congrega
tioo mistook the word 44quiet"
for a second alarm of fire and
rushed for the door. Men and
women crawled over benches,
fought their way into the aisles
and those who bad fallen were
trampled upon like cattle.
The ministers tried again to
slop ido stampede, but no power
smcom
Like the running brook, the
red blood that flows through
the veins has to come from
somewhere.
The springs of red blood are
found in the soft core of the
bones called the marrow and
some say red blood also comes
from the spleen. Healthy bone
marrow and healthy spleen
are full of fat.
'Scott's Emulsion makes new
blood ?by feeding the bone
marrow and the spleen with
the richest of all fats, the pure
cod liver oil.
-~1 1 ? ? *
a ot ptue &C11001 gins ana
invalids and for all whose
blood is thin and pale, Scott's
Emulsion is a pleasant and rich
blood food. It not only feeds
the blood-making organs but
gives them strength to do
their proper work.
Send for free sample.
SCOTT & IIOWNU, Chemist*.
409-415 Penrl Street. New York.
50c. a:i i#r 00, nit '1 moists.
*
on earth con hi stay the strug
filing, fighting mass of humanity.
The screams of women ami
children added to the horror of
thetscene and from mere fright
tuauy persons fainted and as they
fell to the floor were crushed to
death. The level of the floor is
about 100 feet from the ground
and long steps lead to the side
walk to the lobby just outside the
main auditorium. Brick walls
extend on euoh side of these steps
for six or seven feet and this
proved.
A VERITABLE DEATH TRAP.
Negroes who bad reached the top
of the steps were pushed violently
forward and many fell. Before
they eon Id move others fell upon
them and in a few moments persons
were piled upon each other
to a height of ten feet.
This wall of struggling humanity
blocked the entrance and the
weight of 1,500 persons were
pushed against it.
More than 20 persons lying on
1 ' ... -
tuu steps underneath tbe heap of |
bodies died from suffocation.
SICKENING SIGHT.
The deid bodies were quickly!
moved and the crowd inside, finding
an outlet came pouring out.
Scores of them lost their footing
and rolled down the long steps to
the pavement, sustaining broken
linbs and and internal injuries.
In an hour the church bad been
practically cleared and the sight
which greated tbosejwho bad come
to aid tlio injured was sickening.
Down the aisles and along the
outside of the pews the dead
bodies of men and women were
strewed and the cries of the
maimed and crippled wu9 hearttn
a Tew"minutes the
work of removing the bodies was
begun and the wails of the relatives
of tbe dead who had waited
on the outsidt? could be heard fcr
several blocks.
ATTENDING THE INJURED.
As many of tbe suffering negro
s as could be moved by the
ambulances were taken to hospitals
and the rest were laid out 011
the ground and there tbe physicians
attended them. At least 15
of those brought out injured died
before they could be moved from
the ground.
WASHINGTON A WITNESS.
During the stampede Booker
T. Washington au 1 several other
prornintmt negro leaders were on
the stage and were unwilling witnesses
to the frightful catastrophe.
None of those in tbe choir or in
pulpit were injured theloast. For
a few uiiu ites they attempted 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 lnjuied.
CRUSHED OR SUFFOCATED. ,
Most of the dead are women 1
and the physicians s?y in many .
cases they fainted and died from
suffocation. A remarkable feat- <
1 ire of the calamity is that no !
blood was scon on any of the vie* .
time. Tbey were either crushed '
or died from suffocation.
Til E CAUSE.
? Tho 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 $75,000.
There are four entrances to the
building and tho main one is 10
feet wide. The deaths wero
caused by everybody trying to
win nave uur
Annual
FALL PINING
In Millinery,
Dress G eoils, Etc;
Miss Evans has returned from '
the North alter spending- weeks !
posting- herself. She has every-'
c
thing in the latest Styles and f
Shapes.
In our Dress Goods and No-'
tion Department, we have the1
nicest and most complete line we \
have ever shown.
I
We invite all the Ladies to;
come and see our different lines. 1
Old ladies, young ladies, little <
girls, big girls, bachelor girls, old \
maids and all. If you can't come !
yourself send your "old man," ,
so that he can tell you all about
it.
i
Don't forsret the date. TTTTCK-!
DAY and TUESDAYNIGHT,!
SEPT. 30th. 5
-Luette Irani frj
i <
I
ON TUESDAY
- AND * j
TUESDAY NIGHT
I
i 1
- train m - f
??-? ,
k we k'
l
Will II., ... A.?.
?rau<i lodge of negro Alisons of tl
Louisiana. " He was in charge of ii
i train of delegates from Louisia- b
iu and Texas and is well known al
hroughout tho United States, ci
I'lieo lost his life in an effort *c
o save several women who were pi
icing crushed to death beneath cl
he panic stricken crowd in the H
kurch. Three times ho fought Y
lis way into tho building aud h<
nought out three women. Tho T
ourth time ho was caught in tho hj
rush and before ho could extri- tb
ate himself was borne to tho
loor of tho church and died of A
u (location.
Sarah l'ritou of New Orleans,
chose name also appears in tho
1st of dead, was well known as tl
m active missionary worker. o<
The citizens of Birmingham m
lave started a relief fund to care A
!or the dead and injured and sov- ir
iral hundred dollars has already p
jeen subscribed. ft
N EO I<" LAWYER JAII.EI).
Judged. II. Ballew, tho negro ?
awyor who is said to have pre- ?
npitated tho panic by engaging ^
n an altercation with Micks, tie ^
he choir leader, has been an est ^
? t
id and is in juil charged with dis- 11
urbing public worship. Hicks *
not been located. Hallow is 1 v
i resident of Baltimore.
\ V AKRON'S NOBLK ACT c
"I want all the world to know," *
vrites llev. C. J. Budlong, of 1
Vthaway, S. I., 14what a thorough- t
y goo<l and reliable medicine I M
onnd in Electric Bitters. They
iurcd mo of jaundice and liver |
roubles that had caused mo great
differing for many years. For a e
genuine, all-around euro they ex;cl
an\ thing I ever saw." Elecric
Bitters are the surprise of nll|S(
!or their wonderful work in Liver, (j
Kidney and Stomach troubles.
Don't fail to try them. Only 50 V
ds Satisfaction is guaranteed by ^
Crawford Bros' and .1. K. Mack* li
jy ?Sc Co's* drug store. 1 n
Brigham Young's
imndson Accused v.f Committing
Murder?The Death of Mrs.
l'ulitzer Huh Been Traced
To Flint.
New York, Sept. 10.--The pore
todu) nro seeking clues to the
e 11 -utionul murder of Mrs. Anna
hilitzer, wife of .Joseph Pulitzer,
tailor at 1(50 West borty-sixth
treet, found mutilated and
weighted with twenty pounds of
hains in Mm-ria' r>nnoi ??
VMUW1 VUV Ckl
itMirny, New Jersey, yesterday
ftcrnoon. Her skull was fracured
iu two places and there was
six-inch knife gash in the right
ide of tho abdomen. She was
bout to become a mother. She
iad left her home in this city
ruesday night to buy fruit for
ier husband. Her husband is
lold on suspicion. The police beiere
that the woman was killed
lore and taken to the canal in a
vagon hired in Newark by a man
Jiving a false address who is myseriously
missing. The murderer
iiade tho fatal blunder of throwng
the body in tide water.
New York, Sept. 20.?Evidence
n the hands of tho police today
?oint to Wilson Hooper Y'ouug,
ho grandson of the famous Brigiam
Young, as tho murderer of
Irs. .Joseph Pulitzer, whose muilated
body was found in Morris
anal cut, at Kearney, N. J.,
'hursday afternoon. The crime
ras traced through the strap and
'oight on tho body, and it is beeved
to have been committed in
lie apartment of Young's father
j this city, where Young haa
een stopping while his father is
broad. Young has not been
lught, but tho police know ho
snt a trunk to Chicago. They exact
to bavo him soon. The first
no to the mystery came from a
obokon liveryman from whom
ouug rented a buggy in which
jcarried the body to the canal,
ho bloody bedroom in Young's
lartments strengthened the bolief
lat he is tho guilty person.
Littlo Child Smothered to
Death.
?News reaches us by 'phone
lis morning of a most distressing
ccurrcnce near Ansonville, Anin
county, yesterday afternoon.
l number of children were playig
"bury the dead" in a large
ile of seed cotton. The little
illows scooped out a grave in the
utton pile aud a little boy 7 years
Id, named Tyson, played the part
f corpse. He was put into the
o!e and cotton was packed on
1111 by his little play-fellows.
Yliet; tho time came to change
lie gamo the children found to
boir horror that they could not
,uko llio little boy who had been
iiiried. Thoy pulled him out of
lie hole and found that he was
old and could not move and then
hey ran in their childish terror to
l?e older people and told of their
rouble. The little boy was dead
/hen the grown up people rcach~
d him, haying been smothered in
lio cotton pile. ? Monroe Enquire
?Lieut. Peary, who has beenearching
for the North pole, hut
id not get there, has arrived
dthin the bounds of civilization.
Vhibt ho failed in accomplishing
us purpose, ho claims to have
nude many important discoveries.
rush out of the main entrance at
the tame lime. Inside the church
not a bench was overturned and ^
all of those who wore killed died
in or about the entrance. The
people near the front of the
church wero not injured in the
least.
rilK TOT A I. Nl'MHEK oy I)KAD18 1 1<>. ,
! 1
Birmingham, Ala., Sept. 20.? js
l'ho negro population of Binning- ! j
nam is in mourning and a gloom u
nas boon oast over the entire city K
is the people begin to realize the v
immensity of last night's appali- v
lug disaster at Shiloh Baptist i
church. I'p to 10 o'clock to- u
night the number of dead had \
reached 110, and 00 of these have :l
been identified A largo mujori- s
ty of the victims of the stampede ?
wero res' lents of Birmingham |,
nnd as fast as the undertaker can j
nrenare their hrwlipu .
1 . .... ...-J.vv, - tl
tion they are being identified. I,
Among the dead are: 1
Kev. L. li. Price, New Or- [
leans. N
Rev. 1*. H. .Johnson, Weir <_
City, Kas. [
Rev. Ford, Pratt City, Ala. t
.John Houston, Pittsburg, lvas. [
Rev. Wm. Stone, Greenville,
Tenn.
Rev. James Kelley, Binning- j
aani, Ala. y
A. L. Hill, Birmingham. t
Of the identified dead 65 were j,
Birmingham people, most of
whom were women. t
SOME OF THE VICTIMS. C
The Rev. L. R. Pi ice of New I
Jrleans, whose name appears in w
ho list of the dead, was most
worshipful grand master of the li