The New York Herald Newspaper, February 26, 1875, Page 3

NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1875—TRIPLE SHEET. ~ A DEATH SERMON. St. Andrew’s Church Croshed bya Falling Wall. AGONIZING SCENES. Five Persons Killed and About Fifty Wounded. A DEATH TRAP. The Murderous Panic---Men, Women and Children Trampled to Death. THE STRUGGLE TO ESCAPE. Dead and Wounded at the Hospital and Station House. WHO IS TO BLAME? Poignant Grief of the Relatives and Friends of the Victims, A terrible gnd fatal accident occurred last night atthe Catholic Church of St. Andrew while the congregation were assembled for the penitential service of the Lenten season, In the midst of the service the wall of an adjacent house fell, crushing im the roof of the church, and killing and wounding a large number of the congregation. A panic imme- diately ensued; and, in the wild rush of the people to save their lives, men, women and chil- Gren were trampled to death, From the accounts ‘we publish it seems that a good deal of the re- sponsibility of this catastrophe must be laid at the door of the Department of Buildings. Had the officials done their duty the unsound wali, ‘which has caused such regrettable loss of life, ‘would have long since have been removed; but with the recklessness or carelessness which 80 Gistimguish officials in this city whose duty is to wecure the public safety, this wall was allowed ¥o stand, with what terrible results we now know, THE CHUROH 4s an unpretentious brick butiding, situated on the corner of Duane street and City Hall place. It Mesties in sheer humility beside the tall Duilding iately occupied by Mr. J. Shaw, 8 dealer in crockery ware, which separates at irom Sweeny’s Hotel. Some time ago this many-storied building caught fire, but appa- Fently was not sufficiently damaged to render the taking down of the walls absolutely necessary. It 4s very probable that the matter was never sum. ciently inquired into; for though the walis ap- Peared bulged, the reconstruction of the interior portions of the house was proceedea with, The honse remained in an unfinished state up to yes- ‘terday evening, when it was destined to play so wad a part in the impending tragedy, At the time the fire occurred in the premises of Mr. Shaw some apprehension existed in the mind of the pastor of the church from the prox- Amity of the charred walls, but this feeling of in- security died away as time progressed, and the condition of the neighboring house was for Of casualties we fina toat nearly two-thirds of those iojured are women, with some boys and girls, In the rush from the galleries two women anda boy were killed—thrown down and trampled to death by the escaping people. With sach awful suddenness did th events transpire that e the assistants were scarcely conscious how the frigtt or how the outrush from the church begin. The startled cries of women and children were uuheeded and the weak went down with their prayer for help waneeded in the blind im- pulse Which urged every human being to escape from out of reach of the crumbling walls. Womep, pale with fear and breathless with ex- citement, gasped out a prayer tor aid and sank exhausted to be TRAMPLED TO DEATH im the rush of the panic struck. In vain the devoted priest from the pulpit appealed to the people to becalm and keep their seats, They heard nothing but the wild promptings of their feara, Here and there the few gallant men that ever rise with occas'on, exhorted their less frm brethren to have courage and not to add to the horror of the situation by giving way to blind fear. These exhortations were made in vain, and the mad rush continued with fatal result, Over fifty persons were crushed by the falling walle or thrown down and trampled upon by the fleeing crowd; and when the church was cleared of the panic-stricken people, the victims were thickly strewn about, some with life still remaining. Others had already passed into the presence of the Being they had assembled to worship. It was aheartrending sight, Aid was promptly given to the sufferers, and the priests gilded about among the wounded, giving THE LAST CONSOLATIONS OF RELIGION to those who were conscious. The, police and fire- men’ were on hand with their usual prompt- ness, Some of the wounded were at once Temoved to Sweeny’s Hote), where the Yeading room was placed at the disposal ofthe sufferers, Here two of the victims suce cumbed. Others were carriea directly to the Park Hospital, where every attention was paid to the injured. The scenes in the hospital were heartrending, Many of the victims were almost unrecognizable, trampled out of human shapelt- ness Uld and young who had relatives in the congregation thronged to the scene of the catastrophe, anxiously inquiring after missing Telatives, Some of the scenes enacted would touch @ heart of stone, and to @ Jate hour last night the hospital doors were besieged by crowds of anxions inquirers. According to the latest ac- counts five persons had succumbed and two were not expected to survive till morning. In addition some thirty wounded persons were brought to the hospital, many of them grievously injured. Those whose wounds were slight were conveyed to their homes, and we have, therefore, no means of discovering how many persons were injured. I¢ la, however, to be hoped that the list we publish in another column includes all who have sustained serious injury. TRE HORBOR DESCRIBED. A congregation of devout people, mainly women, seated listening with pions reverence to the words of a priest who disco ursed on the uncertainty as to the time at which death would arrive to end their lives, This was the scene in St. Andrew’s church at twenty minutes past eight orclock last Bight. There was no sound withim the church but the measured tunes of the clergyman’s voice ana the occasional evidence given by some emotional listener that the admonitions of the reverend speaker were reaching bis or her heart. There could be no other sense in the minds of the listeners than that of present security. They were assembled for worship in an edifice consecrated to the service of the Almighty, and, though the remarks of their spiritual teacher gotten, It remains to be explained | might have awakened tears of death coming with now the Department of Bulidings s0 suddenness upon them after they had left the church, those declarations could not failed in their duty as to allow the wall to stand, and the public have a right to demand that this matter should be strictly examined into and the Diame put upon the shoulders of the officials upon ‘whose heads must rest the responsibility for the heavy loss of life whicn resulted from their fajlure to perform theirduty. Last night the congregation Of St. Andrew’s assembied for the Lenten exercise prescribed py the Roman Catholic Church for. this pertod of contrition and satisfaction. Thirteen hundred persons of all ages were gathered in the | omble church, and there was nothing to warn ‘them of the dread fate that was about to descend on them, THE ROSARY OF THE VIRGIN had been devoutly repeated by the assembled ‘worsbippers, and Father Carroll, of St. Stepnen’s, ‘was engaged exhorting bis hearers to repentance and contrition. The congregation, reverentially silent, liatened to the impassionea words of the preacher. Outside the storm came down, and windy gusts swept over che onildings of the city, but within the church all was peace and quiet. The preacher had selected for his theme asolemn subject only too appropriate to the sad scenes he was destined to witness, “Death and the necessity for preparation” was lis theme, and the truth of his argu- ment was on the point of receiv- ing an illustration 80 terrible that ‘the lesson must have startled the teacher. ‘With tervid eloquence the priest held up to view ‘he uncertainty of life and the pressing need there ‘was tobe prepared to meet judgment. “Exam- fme your conscience,” he exclaimed, “for God alone knows if you are prepared to meet Him.” At tbat moment a heavy gust of wind struck the charred, gaunt-looking building that overtops the church and the weakened wall gave way. A ‘mass of brick and mortar FELL WITH A @RASH ‘through the roof of the churoh, crushing to death nd terribly wounding a number of people in the right hand gallery. A cry of terror arose from the impair their faith that, suppiiants as they were before the mercy seat, naught could work them harm. The Lenten services were drawing to @ close, and the Rev. Father Carroll, of St. Stephen’s church, was near the end of bis dis- course on “The necessity to be prepared for the ADVENT OF DEATH AT ANY MOMENT.” He had pictured the misery of those human beings who die, their souls being laden with sin; he had implored his hearers to shan vice, that they might not be surprised im its midst by the fall upon death; and he had pressed upon his hearers their consciences, so that they should know when they were guilty of gainful acts. At the mo- ment he was beginning to speak the words which are quoted below, a sudden gust of wind swept over the church and thrilled everything that it struck. It shook the sashes of the windows on City Hall piace until they rattled. It dashed rain drops that were falling, against the glass, and made them a new aid in the strange tattoo, But no- body within the church felt the least disturbed by the sounds of the commotion outside. They were completely under the control of the reverend speaker. His words were those of warning, and they could not be listened to carelessly. While the gust of wind howled and shook everything in the street, Father Carroll was saying, “Oh! ex- «mine your consciences at this moment, Look at them with the eye guided and made sharp by the sense of truth and sincerity. God now knows whether or not you are PREPARED TO MEBT HIM.” ‘He concluded as the wina ceased its raving; but by sharp, smap-like noiwes that came from the roof of the gallery at the east side of the church, At the same time a shower of small pieceg of plaster pattered upon the startled occuparts of that «section of the edifice. These people had not time to rise irom their seats ere arusbing noise and tnen a thunderous crash occurred, The horrified people lery had not time to see what had@ occurred when the sounds were repeated, and there was a veil of thick dust raised over the gallery which obscured it from view. THE MAD STRIFE TO GET OUT. But only the coolest, the most courageous of the members of the congregation saw this. made @ wild rush for the outlets of tne church, The scene became one of the most jfrightened congregation, and, losing all pres-| .+. ing character. In their mad haste to vence of mind, they rushed from their | escape threatening danger—whence it Beata to escape the impending doom.| came they did not know—the peopic ‘Those in the gallery who were near by where the ‘Tass of brick {ell in, rushed for the narrow stair. way, blocking it up, and with the madness of Gespair struggied to escape from the building, which their imagination picturea as about Planged toward tne street. They caught hold of each other impulsively, and mutoally aelayed one another. In the galleries they fougnt fiercely on their way to the narrow staircases that ied down to the vestibule, and in their eagerness two or three would wedge themselves immovably be- tween the sides of the staircases, There they to tumble dowa snd bury all im he) wood remain until the gathered force fuins, Others, bolder in their {renzy,|of the many odehind disiggged them Jumped over the balustrade into the pews be- | violently and = threw them headlong @eath, and so the terror was communicated from ne to another until the whole congregation joimmed in a wild stampede, in which the strotg ‘sed their strength to preserve their own lives with the SUPREME SELFISHNASS OF HUMANITY. ‘The majority of the congregation was composed of women and children, naturally AAU I NN Rin HO ae down the awful descent. Thus they would strike their predecessors, and, if nut overthrown them- selves, Woutd Knock the Jatter to the Noor. down nO one could arise until the senseless and pitiless mob had passed over an¢ trampled upon and hed kicked their bodies iato mere horrid shapes than ever the Compracnicos devised. In the first momenta of the rush from the church the vestibule became crowded with people, and the masses on thi them of the palsying hand of | the necessity for them to keep watch upon | the sound of bis last word was almost overcome | | | | | in the body of the church and in the other gal- | All others | Unce | | saw all that passed during that short series of | self, taircases could not move, | REORIP, Ab. She (00) OC pO cRDA Dagd | moedieLey (he church pegame Aulcd With heacgnis- staircase became jammed between the [| wall and a sbicid of wood meant to be a guard at the outer side of tne stairway. This shield was iragile and could not resist the pressure of the rushing mass of humanity. It soon gave way and the panic siricken people pressed against it, and fell with it to the ground. About tne same time the exit from the | right hand side of the church was «en- larged = bys the opening of one of the doors, which bad hitherto been locked, Fora moment there was a slight freedom for action on the part of those who were upright, and they rushed with a fierce, surging movement for the street. The poor people who were prostrate were run over, and they pullea down some of their trampiers with despairing cluich, and they who had a moment vefore been among the triumphant, how became components of tne human mosaic pave- ment, over which the selfisn and tbe senseless went stumblingly, Of the many people who went down before the immense force of the crowd not one arose uninjured. Two of them were Picked up dead—two women—and a boy who was taken out of the mass and removed to his home, died almost as soon as he reached there, Ris name was Thomas Feeney: he was aged @pur- teen years, and resided at No. 19 City Hall place. All of the horrid scenes that have hitherto been described occurred on the staircases or in the vestibule. IN THE CHUROH the actions of the people were various and cannot allbe pictured, Every face inthe edifiée was stamped with the marks of fear. Few knew what had occurred, Those who did not know Were sure prised at the interruption of their devotions and fled without discovering what bad excited Uheir sense of dread. Their steps were hurried by the incitement which tney received irom the moaning and groaning of the people in the gal- lery who were hurt. Beside. thege incitemenss the few courageous men, who saw that all danger was over, and who wished to still the tumuit, added others with their cries for “Order.” Roundsman Patrick T. Muldoon, of the Twenty-sixth precinct, Who was at the service, was one of the lew cour- fgeous people in the chureh, He called out, ask- ing the crowd to stop, but his words, if they were heard by the people, were taken only as cries of alarm, Fathers Currin and Carroll also retained thetr coolness, and implored the people to be still, as there was no more danger. But the maddened people would not stop nor stay. If there had been a abarrier of brass shutting them in from the street they would have thrown themselves against it, and have beaten and berated it, as they ing cries of the injured men, women and children, and those wro escaped bodily injury began jump- ing over th liery upon the floor below. The main body, however, made arush for the door, i tmmediately called out to those in the opposite gallery to keep tueir sears as I feared that they would also rush headlong for the door and thereby cause a greater loss of lie, I consider my own escape a miraculous affair.” SCENES AT SWRENY’S HOTEL. A member of the HekaLp staff was sitting last evening in the parlor on the ground floor of Sweeny’s Hotel, between eight and nine o’click, when suddenly aery was raised by the female | domestic servants in the laundry, which adjoms | the parlor, that the “house was coming down.” The servants, with TERROR AND CONSTERNATION depicted in their iaces, rushed into the parlor, which at tne moment . was filled with guests, some of them reading and others engaged im conversation. The guests, start- ing to their feet with the utmost alacrity, ran toward the laundry to ascertain what was the cause of the commotion, There was heard a rushing of water, as if it came irom an overflow- ing tank or from bursting pipes. The reporter heard the noise which produced the consternation, 1t was like a rush of wind Jol- lowed by @ distant peal of thunder. The guests Jooked at each other in amazement, the servants were mute with fear and everybody seemed to think that SOMETHING TERRIBLE had occurred, And, indeed, the result shows that one of the most awful calamities that has ever happened in this city bad just taken place. In afew minutes Mr. Daniel Sweeny, tie pro- prietor of the hotel, entered the purlor ana stated that he knew what had occurred, that the wall, or a portion of the wall, of tne crockery store, be- longing to Mr, Shaw and adjoining the hotel, had falien down, and that this was the cause of the Dolse Which had so much irightened the servants and dismayed the guests. This crockery store was burned about the 12thof last mouth, ‘Ihe root was nearly all destroyed and several of the loita were completely gutted, Mr. Shaw, | within the past week, has had men employed repairing his store, and they hud put in or were about to put in large joists to replace those | that had been destroyed by the fire. To make those repairs it was necessary to fasten the joists | im the side walls of the store. While the guests and the servants of the hotel | were all mingled togevher in the greatest possibie | contusion a cry was uttered in the street that the | western wall of the crockery store had fallen on | the roof of the Catholic Church of St. Andrew, | which adjoing the store in question, and that, were veing crushed to death against it, Inferno can bave no acenes more appalling than those that were seen in St. Andrew’s church last night. The occupants of the galleries, who saw the stair- cases blockaded, m frenzy sought to reach the .main floor of the church, They either threw themselves in des;erate recklessness over the balustrades of the galleries or let them- selves down until their hands only clutched those palings, and then fell into pews, For some mo- ments the sides of the galleries were strung with men, women and children, sus- pended by their hands. The few men who knew what they were about caught some of these reckless people and kept them com- paratively free from injury. Yet nota tithe of toem could be thus rescued. Still, it is a strange fact that very few of those who got into the body of the church from the galleries in the way described were seriously hurt, so far as can be ascertained. As soon as they reached the floor they ran eagerly to join the struggling masses or Mobs that clogged all the outlets, Many of them ran toward the vestry, to escape by the stairway that winds from that room into @& emai basement hall, which has @ door opening into an area below the grade of City Hall place. But this staircuse was cnoked, and the crowd fillea tne vestry and the approaches to it. In their desperation many people raised the window sashes, and jumped into the area that bas been described, the pavement of which 1s about ten feet below the window ledges. it is not known that any persous who thas made their exit irom the church were burt dangerously. The example of jumping out of the window was set by an old man, who, tnongh almost crazed with fear, yet had method in hla madness. When he entered the vestry, the stairway running front it was crowded with meu, women and children, who struggled ineffectually—who could not extri- cate themselves irom the tangle imto which their hands, feet and bodies had got. This des- perate, fearful oid man, did not deliberate nor add nis force. to the attempt at dislodging the mob from the staircase. He was inspired as soon as he had entered the vestry and seen the dilemma of his predecessors, A heavy wooden money box was standing beneath the window. The olf man picked it up, and hurled it through the vestry window. It carried away every pane of glass except tour, which ran down oue side of the sash. The glass was taken out very cleanly, and an apper- ture of about two ijeet and a half long and two feet wide was made, through which the old man bounded. He went out with force, and struck on the stone stairs that ran up from the area to the grade of City Hall place. He alighted on one knee and on one oot, but arose quickly and ran down City Hal place, The passage from tne vestry into the street was speedily made Clear and there was no- body hurt badly in the crush therein, ‘rhe siory thal is told above is not exaggerated jor effect upon the minds of readers about the awful close of last night’s religious ceremonies in St. Andrew’s church. Ist 1s faithful to the statements made to the writer by men who struggles tor escape trom unknown or miscon- ceived danger. Short, indeed, was the: series of struggles, but they comprehended and gave play to the most devastating passion of mankind—tne passion that is produced by the desire to retain life oneself, zhough many others perish. The following is the story told to the writer by the Rev. Father Curran about the beginning, con- tinuance and close of the horrliying accidents, or series of accidents, in the church of which he is pastor, It bas been said before that Father Curran did all he couid do to stem the tide olf fight of the frenzied people, He un- derstood from the moment of the first crash what had occurred, but was not appalied by it. At tne time of the accident he was sitting at the right hana side of the —that is, to the leit of Father Troll, who was speaking to, and, of course, facing the con- gregation. That part of the right gallery into | which the débris fell aiter the first crash was im- mediately behind Father Currin’s chair, ana some | of the plaster, lathing or bricks, bound- ing from the ledge of the gallery bal- ustrade, struck his chair and broke its mahogany back from it, The escape of tne rever- end gentieman from instant death ig? marvel- lous. He did not seem to think of hi of the danger through which he c passed, during or after the occurre among the people in the church, and when all the terrible scenes o1 strife in the church were over he moved among the wounded, giving them the last offices of their faith, His duties were so Dumerous that his remarks to the report- ers had to be brief. FATHER CURRAN'S STATEMENT. The Rev. Father Curran was found in the church subsequent to the accident, his clothes coverea with lime, which bad fallen upon nim when the wali gave way. In response to the interrogatori: of our reporter he made the tollowing statement:— “You see, sir, a8 usual we were hoiding the | Lenten services, I was officiating, and at the | smashing in the roof, the débris came down on | the gallery of the church, KILLING AND WOUNDING, several persons who had assembied there to at- tend to their Lenten devotions, This sad cry proved to be too true. Instantly | tme space in front of the hotel became filled with EXCITED PROPLE. As yet they had not realized the full extent of the deplorable accident; but when they saw police- men coming from the agoors of the church and bearing 1n their arms WOUNDED MEN AND WOMEN, they became convinced that a calamity of no ordinary character had happened. Two women, with their faces covered with blood and bruised about the body and arms, were taken into the hotel and placed on seats. Mr. Sweeny, with great consideration and Kindness, despatched @ messenger to the Park Hospital for adoctor, and then ordered brandy and water as restoraiives for the wounded wo- men, While the bystanders were wondering what might possivly be the exvent of the deplorable ac- cident, two other women were brought by the | police to the parlor of the hotel. It was quite evi- dent that their wounds were of @ severe, if not jatal nature, tor they spoke not a word,they uttered not a sigh; im fact, they were almost dead when they were removed from the church, They were placed on chairs in the hotel parlor, and ex- pired m about three minutes alter. 4 SOLEMN, DREADFUL SILENCR sasued. It was a moment of crugmng angutsh, of excruciating pain. Strong men looked sadly at each other, shed copious tears, and exclaimed, “Oh God, this is dreadtul!’? One of the poor crea- tures whose life had been so suddenly terminated wore @ marriage ring. She was rather a good- looking woman, probably the wile of some honest laborer or mechanic, the mother of affectionate children, who bad gone to her place of worship to pray for her husband and her little ones—to beg of God that their lives and her own mignt be long preserved from trials and danger. Alas! she little | knew how soon her own end was to come—now soon her LAMP OF LIFE } was to be extinguished amid the crush and confu- | sion of @ most disastrous and deplorabie accident, | The pallor of death soon overspread her face. Sne lay on the floor of the room, and close near her was & young woman who did not appear to have suffered much. She was quite dead. There were no wounds apparent on her face or hands, In all probability soe was TRAMPLED TO DEATH inher efforts to escape from the church at the moment when terror, consequent upon the crash- | ing of timbers and the falliag of bricks into the | wallery, caused the people to rush peli-meil to the doors ior satety. Every moment the crowds in the street and in the hotel began to increase. Alter the lapse of | about five minutes another woman was fetched | into the hotei by three policemen, who laid her | gently down on the floor, She was not able to speak, yet she showed signs of Ilie, but they were | weak and flickering, and in a few moments sne drew her last breath, She was poorly dressed, and was evidently a person who hai lived in the humbler walks otf life. All this time the spectators looked on awe-stricken and norritied. They coula haraly speak @ word, for they did not know to what an extent the calamity had gone, and were | uncertain as to the moment when the next poor victim might be brought into their presence. Another rush to the door, and tn are brought two more women, cut badly about the head, but they are not fatally injured. Restoratives are ap- plied and they soon recover, Then the scene is | changed, and a young man Is borne into the room, He is cut much about the face and neck. His wounds are fatal, and he expires almost as soon as he ta laid down, He was dressed tn dark, plain clothes, somewhat worn, By directions of Mr. Sweeny, sheets were pro- cured and placed over the bodies of the dead per- were most active and energetic in their attention to the wounded. They had the dead treated with the utmost tenderness and respect, and, under the painful circumstances of the case, they acted with noble, Christian feeling, SCENES AT THE STATION HOUSE. When the dead were brougnt into the Sixth Precinct station house the scene beggared de- scription. Crowds of men, women and chiliren flocked around the door and prayed for admission that they might see 1 some iriend or reiation had passed the dread portal The kind-hearted officer in charge admitted them & few at a time, and no man made in our common mould could have kept his eyes dry as occasionally some poor woman recognized her son, Foor humanity was put to its worst test, however, when @ modest looking girl, of about eighteen yeas of age, came in and requested to look at the bodies, The second one shown her she recognized as her nusoand, and the PITROUS WAIL OF DESPAIR that went out from ner young lips made even the sturdy police bend their heads in reverential awe for a few moments, Tne poor woman could not be reconciled, her grief was her own, and too sacred and deep for mortais to relieve; but it made one feel kinder toward humanity to see the generous hearts tuat poured out sympathy for her and the tender care that was used to induce her to leave the station house. One poor Jellow, who looked as if bis heart was broken, stepped up to her, and, in & voice choked with emotion, 8 It’s too late now, Maggie, God help us.” The poor girl said, “I know it, but I can’t bear to leave him here.’? Gentle persuasion, how- ever, finally induced her to go with her friends, Next came an old woman to look for her daugh- ter, She seemea at first alraid to ask the question, but finaily asked to be admitted. The first sight that met her eyes as the bodies were uncovered was that of her daughter, Miss Mary G. Connors, aged thirty-seven, of No, 42 Park street, The poor ola lady was almost PARALYZED WITH GRIEF, and her prayers and lamentauons would have moved @ heart of stone, The next recognition Was taat of a young girl who found her father and the scene was @ repetition of the others, Tears were freely shed by all, and prayers to Heaven, that In His mercy none can doudt He will in His own good time answer, were sent up from hearts that last night knew a greater grief than | 18 ever Visited upon most mortals, It is not.ihe death so much, but the “deep damnation of our taking of” that makes the strong grow weak aud the heart sick to look upon the mangied remains of tose who only @ few moments before we have looked upon in the full enjoyment of ine and health, It is not yet certain who will have to bear the diame of this fearful accident; but it should be fathomed to the depth. Accidents, if not of this nature, almost as bad, are not of un- | common occurrence in this city, and it 1s time that something be done to make places of worship. and all other places where large bodics of people assemble safe, The following are the namea of the dead tuat were taken to the Sixth precinct station bouse up to Len o’clock :— Rosa McGlin, aged fifty years, of No. 13 Vanae- water street, Michael McCarty, of No. 42 Park street. Mary G. Connors, aged tuirty-seven, of No. 42 Park street. Catherine McGinness, aged fifty, No. 22 City Hall place. A little boy, aged five years, named Feeny,. of No. 19 City Hall place. Up to the time oi our going to press the station house was besieged by an anxious crowd, expect- ing that before daylight some friend or relative would be brought there dead, as the doctors at the bospital had given the opinion that some of their patients would not live through the night, . AT THE PARK HOSPITAL, There was presented at the Park Hospital last evening @ sight that will never be forgotten by | those who witnessed it, Owing to the proximity of the Park Hospital to the scene of the disasier it took but @ few minutes to fill the inside of the hospital to repletion with the wounded and dying men, women and | children who had been reecned sru.if under | the débris in the gallery of thechurch, As soon as they were brought in the ambulance tley were immediately carried up stairs to the diferent | wards, where their sufferings were allayed as | much ag possible. Ina very few minutes an im- | mense crowd of sorrowing iriends of the injured | assembled in and around the hospital, and tueir | number kept constantly increasing. They impor- | tuned, begged and prayed of the policeman on | duty at the door to “piease let them in.” “On! | Mister Policeman,” cried an agonized mother, | “my little son is killed; my darling is killed. Oh! please let me see him just once!’? The policeman, | unable to discriminate between those who reaily | had relatives and iriends inside and those who had not, were compelled to succumb to these appeals and in so doing admitted quite a number of sightseers and curiosity mongers, who were only in the way. Dr. Hull, the house surgeon of the hospital, however, on ascertaining this fact, disposed of them in an emphatic and summary manner by ordering the police on duty to escort | them out of doors, ‘The priests attached to St, Peter’s and St. An- drew’s churches were ubiquitoas, and attended to | the dying as best they could, In the inner room o1 the hospital a most pitiable sight was presented. Reclining upon one of the hospital peds lay a pocr young girl, hardly sixteen years of age, named Mary Jane Martin. She appeared to | be suffering from internal injuries of a terrible character, and being totally unconscious ske was | unable to state the extent of her injuries, except | by giving expression to groans of a most agoniz- ing character. Her countenance wore an expres- sion akin to agony. Her father, mother and sisters knelt at her bedside, and while they kept constantly saying prayers in @ loud tone for the recovery of their dear one, they were unable to restrain their tears, and at | every gasp which was given by the dying girl their griei became more and more violent. The mother leaned over upon her daughter's breast and beggea her 1n piteous tones to speak “ONLY ONCE, DEAR MARY, please, ob, please, to speak to me! Don’t you | know me, darling?” In anotier bed lay a poor | litte fellow named Denis Haily. Poor Denis was at the time of the accident seated in the gallery, near the altar, and was struck on the heaa by | some hard substance, causing concussion of the | sons, which weré removed to one corner of tho room, where they lay tor some time before being removed by the police. It was depressing to witness the anxiety of per- sons who entered the room to ascertain if they could recognize friends among the wounded or the dead. An eldetly woman, without bonnet or shawl, made her appearance in the apartment in almost @irantic state, The officers were about putting her out when somebody said she came there to ee her dead daughter. The officers at once de- ted, when the poor woman exclaimed, in tones Of melting pity, “Ob, let me see my poor daughter, my darling child! Oh, sor God’ sake, do not Keep me trom my poor child!” and, having uttered tnese heartrending words, she knelt down over the form of the dead girl, and, seeming not to realize the fact that her child was dead, said, “Speak to me, my sweet daughter! speak to me! Oh, | sure you are not dead!” While this distressing scene was being enacted the spectators held their breath, They seemed to be jastened to tne foor with iright, actually in- capable of motion. They had been, a few moments before, in @ chamber o! amusement and comiort; now they stood in the time of the acetdent I was seated in my chair, You can see the narrow escape that 1 had, | (Father Curran bere showed the reporter the | remnants of the chair upon which he had been | seated.) | Father Carroll was at the time engaged in | preaching vhe regulur Lenten sermon, when sud- denly | heard a rumbling kind of @ noise, accom- panied by a.terrible crash. | immediately jumped up and, looking toward the gallery, | discovered that the east wall of the church had gives way. Im- | CHAMBER OF SORROW, where death spread its pailor, amd the wounded were bearing their pains patiently, as the lust bighs of the dead ascended to that eternal shrine | where the lowly and the suffering are ever sure to | find mercy and forgiveness, It only requires one | to see one such sight as this in a lifetime in order to have it deeply impressed on the memory, and | Certatnly there was no one at Sweeny's Hotel last night but who will for ever remember the depior- | le spectacle we have described above, Mc, ARAB WAS fue OMiciAls Of Dis gstapUabment_ | oF brain, He was unable to communicate with any one, veing in @ state of deli- rium, caused by tis injuries, His father was at his bedside and tried hard to have his boy recognize him, but the poor iittle fellow was unable todoso, The grief of the father was terribie in the extreme. “Uh, my poor boy,” he exclaimed, “Ob, speak to me and 1 will never again say @ cross word to you. Oh, Denis, don’t you know me? The father finally became so overcome with grief that it was necessary to call nim away. In the upstairs ward, which 1s set aside for the reception of women, was found a@ young girl named Katie Hatton, aged twenty years, and re. siding at No. 15 Jacob street. Previous to the /all- sng in of the roof she was seated about the centre the gallery in one of the front pews, She remembered clearly wien she first heard the Tumbiing uf the wall and the subsequent fall, She felt something hit ber upon the bead, and in very few minutes she became conscious of the fact that she was LYING UNDER A LARGE RAFTER, and bleeding copiously from a terrific wound in the head. Un being brought to the nospital it ‘was found that she had received a scalp wound | four inches in length. Very littie hope 1s enter- tained of her recovery. On the bed immediately opposite lay a little boy and girl, neither one of them being more than ten years ofags. ‘Ihe girl was named Martha Mullen, and resides at No. 31 Park street, She was suffer. ing irom the shock and (right, She was subse- quently removed to her home by her mother, The doy, however, whose name is Patrick Fay, and resides at No. 46 Elm etreet, tarea far worse, having been struck upon the bead by @ plece of @ rafter, and is sufferiig from concussion of the ain, He was anavie to speak or to recognize ATCA WHO At At Dis Dedede wuaneruad 40. | him words of endearment, which he, u: Was unable to appreciate. PATRICK LAVELLE’S ACCOUNT. Ona cot in the further corner of the re tion room lay & young man in the full viged of Mife named Patrick Lavelle, aged \wenty-twog and residing at No. 22 vity hall place. He nad been} struck in the back by one of the falling rafters and suffered {rom a fracture of the spine, He rememe bered everything connected with the accidenty and thus portrayed it to our reporter :—*You see, sir, went to chureb to attend to my Leatem dut.es, and, as I generally do, I took a seat in the gallery. Father Carroll was preaching, and h@ had just said, ‘You do not know how soow you may be called upon,’ when snddenl, I heard @ rumbling sound followed b. @ crash, and the next minute [ found myself buried under the ruins of the wall, which had falienin. A large rafter struck me ial the middie of the back, and, [ tell you, sir, it's awfa).” The poor fellow told his story in manne which could not heip but Make an tmpression anc create sympathy. Tne mother of Lavelle, Mrsg Catharine McGuinness, woo attended church wit: her son last eventing, WAS KILLED OUTRIGHT, But this fact was concealed from the poor fello who kept continually asking his friends at his be side to go and tell Lis mother, Elizabeth Farley, aged twenty-eight, of No. saf Greenwich street, was found to be suffering frony @ terrible scalp wound and a fracturd of the thigh, She stated that she wi trampled upon in trying to make he! escape from the building and fell at the foot of ng stairs’ leading from tue gallery, She stated, moreover, that the crowd jumped upon her an aimost killed her. She remembers distinctly tha@ she was not lying upon the floor, but that she feil upon a dead person, who had been previous): trampled upon, and remained there uatil carrie out of the building. The surgeons on duty at the Park Hospital were untiring in their efforts so assist ana ai those who were unfortunately intrusied to air care, Drs. Huil, Getman, Smith, Becker an Amabile, attended to every one who was brought into the hospital, and as soon as was possible des¢ Ppatehed the greater number to Bellevue, wherd they can receive better attention, NAMES OF THE DEAD. Residence. 42 Park street. 9 City Hall place. 42 Park atreet. City Hall place. ® Conners, Mary G... Feeny, Thomas... McCarty, Micnael... McGinniss, Catharine, McGinn, Kosa.. 3 Vandewater st. NAMES OF THE WOUNDED. As far as could be ascertained the following ig a list of the wounded that were taken charge of by the police and removed to the Park Hospital though many others were wounded and | nome by their friends :— Name. Age. Residence. Baptiss, Catnarine......18....125 Roosevelt st, Uavanagh, Ellen.. Cowdon, Edward. Cunningham, Peter. Donvvan, Thomas Donovan, Ellen... Deritt, Charles. Dempsey, Mary. Fay, Patrick Farley, Elizabeth. Freel, Lizzie...... Grimin, Jerry..... Haley, Dennis. Hatton, Kate. Kehoe, Mary Corner Cedar ang Washington sta, Kehoe, Edward Keuy, Ella.... Lavelle, Patrick Martin, Mary Jane. Muller, Martha, Moore, Mary. Mooney, Michael. Neal, Mary..... Ring, James.... Splaine, Michael. Quinn, James Tibburs, Maggie. Tramor, James Splao, Michael. CAUSE OF THE CATASTROPHE. ‘ The cause of this shocking accident dates md 22 City Hall place, 75 New Church st. 101 Hudson st, «17 Cherry st. ++23 Roosevelt at. 35,..,84 Uity Ha.l place, 4:4 Pearl st, to the 12th of January. On that day Mr. Shaw’ crockery store, a six-story brick iron front build: ing, standing between Sweeny’s Hotel and St. Andrew’s church and extending vy a wing throug! to Chatham street, caught fire in the basement o1 the Duane street section. All the floors and thay Toof were consumed. Great fears were enter< tained during the progress of the fire for th safety of the church, it being apprehended that the wall on that side, which is separated from th church by @ narrow alievway, might fall, especial: if a strong wind should biow upon 16 while it wi unsupported by roof and floors. While the fire was raging the weather was intensely cold, sq that the water from the hose FROZE UPON THE STREETS AS IT FELL. All the day and night the steam engines poure their streams of Croton upon the walls and int the smoking ruin. When they ceasea the wall | next the church was covered and encased in ices There is no space between the east wail of this store and the west wall of Sweeny’s Hotel, sa that there was no danger on that side. Nor was there probability, while the Arctic weathe' lasted, that the frozen wall next thi church would stir from its icy perpena dicularity. Meanwhile repairs were begun. Joists and planking were being re« placed for the several floors, commencing atthe basement. But the upper floors were ye wanting, and the roof was still open. This wag the condition of affairs when the recent mila weather and the warm ruin of last evento dissolved the icy cement which secured th treacherous wall, and it broke suddenly some tem feet irom the top, a section o! about twenty feeq in length, and fell with resistless force and witty such fatal effect upon the church and its congrega« tion of listeners to the sermon on death, Fatner{ Carroll had no need of oratorical tliustration fo1 his solemn homily. God emphasized it. nose, Wis auditors will ever forget the logic or it# catastrophe. THE BUILDING CONDEMNED. : It was reported last night that the Inspector o& Bulldings had already condemned Snaw’s store unsafe, and given the requisite notice to tw owners to take down or properly secure th damaged wall. In the darkness, storm and co! fusion of the night it was tmpossible to fully con firm this statement. Snould it prove true, a fear: ful weight of moral responsibility will be held b; the community to rest upon those who disr garded the oficial warning which pointed out this fearful deatn trap. i DIAGRAM OF THE C. Bt_Andrew'y Church. DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH, = St, Andrew’s church, the scene of last eventng' disaster, 18 situated at the corner of Duane stree ‘and City Hall place, The charoh hes A from. of 1 A200 RARE BITRET BOG a daRAA Of ”