The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1876-12-15

topped To the front o! the stage ana re-
Iue,ted the people to be quiet. Almost
u the same breath, one of the actors,
yho had nrgeb the audience tn remain
n their seats. called wildly to the peo
de. commanding them to fly for their
ives. Miss Claxton jumped into the
luditur; um, aud escaped through the
main entrance Mr- Farren got out .
hruugh passage way nnder the stage.
md Mr.. = udl.y does not know how hr .
.avrd him eli. There were.
ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED PER- (
SONS IN THE HOUSE.
IL H. estimated that not more than fif |
ty Of these escaped One man who was
in the upper gallery testified that after |
the fire was seen on the stage the flames
had reached completely across the house.
The first body WAS taken out at
o'clock yesterday morning. Until day
break il was not discovered that any
number Of people had lost
their lives. The scenes of excitement
witnessed in the neighborhood of the
doomed theatre were terrible and heart
trendng. A few minutes before midnigh
the bodies of Mr.. Murdoch and Mr..
Burroughs were found under the stage
They we're not removed TO the Morgue.
THE TESTIMONY TAKEN BY FIREMAN
sHAL KEADY
tends to show that large majority of
the people who have perished were
sufTocated while struggling in the narrow
passaSeway leading out of the top gal
lery. But few Of those who occupied
seats in the lower part of the house were
injured.
The loss on the theatre and the adjoin-
ing buildings amounts to about S25, 900.
Weaver, a machinist, who was in the
theatre at the time the fire broke out,
testified that if he had at hand a buck
ct OF water, he could have extinguished
the flames; also that there was no appli
ance of any kind for extinguIshing
fire.
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE FIRE MAR
sHAL.
Kate Claxton, at the preliminary in
quiry Of the Fire Marshal, said: Al
the beginning Of the last act, just as the
curtain went up, heard a rumbling
noise on the stage, and two minutes af
ter ] saw the flames. Mrs. Farrcn, my
self, and Mr.. Murdock were on the stag
At this time. We four remained there
and endeavored as best we could to quie
the audience and prevent a panic.
said to the people: "Be quiet; We arr
between YOU and the FIRE. The from
door j. open and the passages are clear.
Not ooe of the audience jumped on tn
stage. The flames were then comm
down on rs. ran out and jumped ov
er several people. Mr.. Ii. ). Murdocl
after endeavoring to calm the fears u
the panic stricken people went to hi
dressing room to get his clothing an
must have been snifpcdtrd.
. Some persons assert that no one in III
upper gallery of the tTenter escaped =
The last man that left the strir- befuI
! they fell says behind him was a heIple.
half-sufFocated crowd.
The Post says: At about II o'clock
horrible discovery was made in the mi'
die of what was the lobby ofthe thea,e
where lay an immense pile of ruhbisl
: smouldering beams, fragments of girt
= ers, and other things. This heap WI
nearly opposite the principal entrance
" the auditory of the theatre. Behind
was another heap, marking the pla
where the stairs which led to the gale
fell. Under the heap first mentioned
dead body was found, and the frem
diligently prosecuted their search
= this direction. With much labor son
of the heaviest lumber was remov
and horrible sight was revealed. Z
meath that mound corpses lay in rov
= heaped one upon the other, packed
-, gether with fearful solidity which to
= of the great pressure to which they h
been subjected. How many lay the
y what their sex or age, no man could t.
and at noon only guesses could be ma
As the day advanced, corpse af
corpse, charred and blackened, '
passed out, and still the pile of bodies
the cellar did not seem TO diminish.
the number mounted up to $50 and !
'e the belief that the number would re;
: over 200 grew into a certainty, and
:, ally at haIfpast 4 the 200th body ,
, removed.
70 At o'clock the number had reacl
~ -, 22o.
be A look into the pit at this time 5
o, showed considerable
PILE OF CoRPsEs LYING CRosswIs
Like sticks Of wood, and there were
parently still fifty or sixty corpses
manning. This was in the cellar un
the inner vestibule, from where all
bodies taken out to-day were remo'
They lay in a pile apparently WI
y, they had been pitched into the ce
~" when the floor and stairway gave wa
As night approached two calci
lights were placed in position and
work of removing the ghastly form
''"' the dead, made more so by the light,
" "' continued. They were under the gal
w. les, but no estimate could be made OF
number.
not
.., When tie panic occurred on the n
floor Of the theater, Thos. Rockt
chief usher Of the establishment, wa
Il. the l"hbv. The performance was ali
:; % ser, anl he "a. ibtrit utkiis arr,
ma. f,r t'i. l,pArtlt. pft1. ~ lie
IA. A the erie. o. fire he rushed into
auditorium, and taking in.