New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-12-10
BROOKLYN THEATRE CALAMITY

BROOKLYN THEATRE CALAnIn
The Narrowing Details Of the De
| struction Of the Brooklyn
Theatre by Fire.
The following account of the catastrophe
at the Brooklyn Theatre last Tuesday eve
ming is furnished 70 tho Chicago. I1ibxn
by it's New York correspondent:
The Brooklyn Theatre, which was burnei
Tuesday evening, was total loss, and, con
trary to the hopes entertained ct an carly
hour this morning, the loss of life was ter
rible. Three hundred people perished mis-
ersbly in the smoke and hsmes. A large
majority of them were men and boys
Only few women and children were lost
occupants of the gallery or third tier d
the theatre. In descending the stairway
they were met on the second landing OF
second floor of the theatre by q binding
| and suffOcatipg volume Of smoke. and fel,
! in heaps on the stairway. This gave way
under their accumulated weight, and they
were precipitated upon the lobby on the
0F0C uOOr Oh tuo VuuuAuk. Aul0 6loO gave
way, and the entire body OF men thus en-
| trapped fell victims to the flames. OF those
who occupied the dress circle (ground a0orl
and family circle (second tier) only few
appear to have been lost. Two actors were
burned alive. Three scene -shi fters and
other assistants were seriously if not fatak
" injured and it is possible that several
supernumeraries on duty behind the scenes
also persisted.
prevailed in Brooklyn, and full and ae-
curste details were not possibly obtainabIe.
The list Of missing persons, it is hoped and
believed, contains many errors inspired by
the fears and anxieties Of the friends OF
those supposed to be lost, which later de-
velOpments may correct, but the evidence
is indisputable that fully 800 persons have
persisted.
The Morgue was early overtaxed in If.
the unoecupied market places was con-
verted into . temporary m0rgue. The
scenes ct both these places were heartreud.
ing. At tho scene Of the disaster itself the
excitement was intense from early morn
ing to midnight. Tho details of the awful
calamity which has fallen on Brooklyn it
is sfmost impossible to write tonight. Con-
fusion is worse COMPOUNDED. The whole city
ls not merely in state of fear and anxiety,
but il . state Of alarm. Every street ap-
proacAing the scene Of the disaster is filed
with crowds 1t once anxious. excited and
almost violent. About the Mosgue, where
hundreds of bodies ere deposited utterly
unacceptable, are orowds Of excited
people. utterly uncomfortable. About the
market-house, which has been temporarily
formed into . morgue, are Thousands and
for the police to restrain, and utterly i'm
pOe0iblo for them To aatiafp
Out Of all this coAfosion it is impossible
to tell . connected story which would be
ineligible to the readers Of the Tribune.
Only the salient features of the most horri-
Bile Ct calamities that has befallea this COM
munity can be told in this brief dispatch.
Most Of you in Chicago. and almost all in
Now York, have Witnessed the last scene
in the 1.-TWO OEpha0s'-that of tho boat.
house scene, that closes in on all eides-s
low root manufactured Of canvas. heavily
painted, with great doors in the rear,
through which gendarmes at the critical
moment break to rescue the two sisters.
Doubtless this brie3 description will call up
the scene as it was set last night at eleven
O'Clock on the stage of the Brooklyn Thea
tire. 1t was the same scene which has tray
eled all over the country in what 10 known
- the Union Square company.
The curtain had inst risen ca the scene.
Pour or five actors, including Miss Kate
Clsxton, who played the part of Louise,
the blind orphan, J. B. Studley. who played
the part Of Ensaohard, Mrs. Psrren, and
one or two others, alone occupied the stage.
The wind was blowing strongly from the
west, to which the rear or stage entrance to
the theatre faced, and persons entering at
| the stage door enabled the wind to blow
one of the "hies" against q gas jet, which
! ignited it. The ecene-shifter stationed
about the stage in what Is technically
called the ''aies," Immediately cut away
the burning scene, as instructed to do on
| such occasions, and permitted it to fall, as
they thou ght, on the stage floor. The
giving the audience Something of a
warning Of what was coming, but
as they saw the burning fly cut away, they
quieted the audience with q gesture, and
they also became quiet. Contrary to the
expectations, however, of everyb body, the
part of the burning fly cut away fell, not
upon the STAGE but upon the painted can
vass which represented the roof of the
ship house, and instantly it was in blaze,
as though it had followed q silent explo-
sion, and in q minute more the whole upper
part of the theatre was in flames. Com
posed. as it was, of eombustible material
it spread with the utmost rapidity and
broke through the roof, alarming not only
all Brooklyn, but all the lower part of New
York, the newspaper Offices instantly emp
tying themselves Of reporters. The actors
on the stage Immediately fed. after seeing
the extent of the disaster, and most of then
escaped.
Miss Kate Claxton, knowing of . score
or underground entrance, connected will
the box Office, fed under the stage AMI
thence under the auditorium to the boz
Office, dragging with her Miss Ward Harri
son, Mrs. Farren. and two or three othe
actors. The majority, however, escaped b.
the back entrances of the theatre, OF whlcl
there were two or three.
All succeeded in escaping except H.
Murdoch and Claude Burroughs, who wer
lost in their rooms, where they were dreei
ing, remote from the entrance, and prot
ably unwarned. Where their bodies Ii
now, great gas jet five feet high is burr
ing, where Q metre was, and probabl
hardly any of their bodies will ever be dis
covered. The actors escaping through tn
back entrance threw wide open the doors
and the west wind rushed in with fury
driving the smoke and flames toward th
: auditorium in the lower or dress circle, a
it is called. There were only go person
in this quarter, besides the ushers and p'
lice. Almost all Of those escaped. On
or two handsomely dressed wome
have been discovered among the ruin
In the second tier, or family circl
there were 800 persons. and of these prob'
bly, fifty persisted; In the upper tier, or ga
lery, there were 40S persons, twc-thirds {
whom fell victims to the flames. The dres
circle and parquette opened on the level {
/, the street. Persons on this lower floor earl
discovered the "flies" to be on fire. The
could see what those in the gallery were u
; terly unable to perceive, and were cons
b quently warned in advance. Those in tt