THE FATAL PANIC IN A NEW YORK CHURCH.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5058, 9 June 1877, Page 3

THE FATAL PANIC IN A NEW YORK CHURCH.

(From the New York Herald.) Two thousand five hundred women assembled on Thursday night iu the Jesuit Church of St. Francis Xavier, in West Sixteenthstreet, to attend the fifth of a course of lectures delivered by llev. Father Langcake. The course was one of instruction for women, and Is known as a mission or retreat. Already the services were drawing to a close, and the preacher was preparing to bring his exhortations to a close, when in the crowded gallery there suddenly arose a loud cry from a hysterical woman that thrilled the congregation to the core. Startled people rose through the audience, and a movement began which too soon developed into a panic. There was a moment of terrible suspense. Now, on startled ears, rang out the awful cry of “Fire I fire !” Iu an instant all control was lost; that terrible cry had paralysed all power of thought aud filled the terrified congregation with a frantic desire to escape from a death of horror. Like a flock of frightened birds the occupants of the galleries rose up and fled toward the stairways which empty into the vestibules of the chinch. The stairs were almost immediately choked by the sudden inrush of the people. Checked iu their flight, the occupants of the gallery lost all control of themselves. Heedless of the obstruction, those in the rear struggled to pass beyond those iu front, and in their desperate efforts rendered egress more difficult. The scene now became heartrending. The struggling mass of women shrieked with pain and dismay, and some, in an excess of desperation, threw themselves over the balustrades and were trampled to death by those beneath. At first the panic was almost wholly confined to the galleries, but the shrieks of the struggling crowd soon filled with terror the crowd which filled the aisles, aud the movement to escape became general. Out from the body of the church began to pour the immense congregation which, meeting iu the vestibule the fleeing occupants of the gallery, made a new obstruction and effectively blocked all egress. Then ensued a terrible struggle to escape from an imaginary danger. In vain the priests mingled with the frightened

crowd and tried to calm their fear. They were blind to everything but the phantom of a terrible death which had taken possession of their souls. The news of the accident spread with wondrous rapidity, and the friends of the worshippers gathered rapidly iu crowds about the door. Husbands, fathers, and sons, urged by the wish to save their relatives, attempted to enter the church, and so added a new difficulty in the way of those who were trying to escape. Matters were iu this condition when Company No. 14, of the Fire Brigade, came thundering along. The rumbling of the wheels and the warning ding dong of the firebell echoed with ghastly significance through the church and renewed the panic. The effect was partially foreseen by the commander of the fire company, and when he arrived within half a block of the church he halted his command and ordered his men to take off their helmets before mingling with the crowd, in order to avoid increasing the terror. These orders were obeyed, and the firemen advancing to the main entrance of the church, mingled with the crowd, and, forcing back those who were unwisely attempting to enter the church, succeeded with some difficulty in making a passage for the congregation. A strong detachment of police, under the command of Captain Williams, arrived on the ground almost simultaneously, and forming line held the excited crowd iu check. The work of extricating the people was then pushed on vigorously, and in a few minutes the church was cleared. Six dead bodies were found at the bottom of the stairs, where they had been trampled to death. One well-dressed lady was picked up and brought to a drug store in Sixth Avenue, where she shortly afterwards expired. Six women and one boy were killed. Many persons undoubtedly received slight injuries, but in every case they were taken by their friends to their own homes. The cause of this sad accident was of such a nature that it could not be guarded against. The means of egress provided in the church seem ample for all ordinary occasions, but the emptying of the whole congregation into a vestibule, however spacious, seems to he a dangerous error in construction, which should be remedied as soon as possible in all places whore it exists.