Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1876-12-23
HORRORS OF A PANIC.

HORKORS OF A PANIC.
a Western Paper Gives some Advice. mn
Notes some Interesting Instances a
ilaPanic.
The Chicago Times, In its review O
tho Brooklyn Thoater fire, says: 1t j
not so much tho number OF the dead
, but the manner in which death came b
them, that invests the event in its hor
rible interest. During the war tho los
of three hundred men hardly raised tht
engagement above tho dignity Of q skir
mish. But then they vera soldiers, anG
anticipation robbed the circumstance,
OF half its horrors. The ingul6ng OF nj
ocean steamer with its freight OF hnmani
ty is terrible catasl ophe, but ever
then death comes quickly TO the doomed
ones. But when IN audience, quietly
seated at play, with their thoughts on
crossed with the entertainment, are
startled into panic; crushed in the sa
tanic stampede compelled by fear; pin
ioned under falling timbers, and held
to await the fiery death that comes
creeping upon them, then horror has its
full sway, and the imagination is palsy.
stricken in its efforts to conceive its ter.
rors.
1t is common remark among theatel
goers that they never enter theater but
they think of probabilities of fire aud
its consequences. Still this does not
prevent them from stampeding like
scared sheep at the mere mention Of n
conhagration. Emotions arc easily
Communicated, and the larger the as.
sembly tho faster and further do they
spread. Feur is the most potent and
unreasonipg OF all the emotions, and un.
der its impulse sense and reason forsake
their functions and men lose their hu.
mapity, ID for the moment become
more untMnking animals, intent upon
nothing but elf.preservation. 1t il at
that lime that few cool words, spoken
without excitement, have on effect that
is wonderful.
An instance can be cited i'll this city.
On the twenty second of last May the
Fifth Avenue company was at Haverly'h
theater. The play was "Pique," and
the curtain had gone down on the Sec
ond act. The wait between that and
the succeeding act was brief, and on
that account no music was arranged for
the orchestra. A buzz of suppressed
conversation was the only sound in the
house. The manager, Mr.. Chapman,
WAS sitting in his'office in the front OF
the building, "counting the house, y
when he heard cry of fire immooiately
in front OF the theater. Knowing the
fearful consequences Of panic, and
understanding the readiness Of an andi-
ence to stampede, Mr.. Chapman rushed
down stairs. As he entered the lower
hall the glare of the confagration, which
was in an adjacent building, began to IL
Illuminate the street. Just then man,
coatless and hatless, rushed into the en-
trance crying: 'The theater is aire !
My God, let me get my wife out !" To
stop and caution him with word was
ager stepped into tho auditorium. O
bright light was shining through side
window, and the audience, having
caught the cry of fire, were already on
their feet. Mr.. Chapman very coolly
said "Keep your seats. There is no
danger. The fire is not in this building.
If any OF You doubt me you can go out,
but don't rush."
This quieted the audience and Mr..
Chapman passed down the aisle, entered
the box and passed on to the stage to
quiet the actors. At this point an in
surance agent, who was in the house,
constituted himself warning committee
and went through the auditorium telling
the people, in whisper, that they had
better 60 out as there was danger. This
started another rush for the door, but
the manager coming before the curtain
repeated what he had told them. Then
the curtain went mp and the play went
on. When tho curtain went down again
hardly hundred people were in tho
house, for the sound of the engines and
the shouts of tho fremen told them that
the fire was near. The conditions were
favorable for stampede, but few
words in tho right place saved Chicago
from being the scene of woeful disas
ter.
As fear is contagious so is courage,
and the exercise OF little bravery will
often prevent panic. Within year
this has been exempliied in Chicago.
1t was during tho celebration Of solemn
high mass at a Jesuit cathedral. The
nave and transepts were thickly crowded
with kneeling worshipers when draft
Of wind from window which had been
opened for ventilation blew some OF the
hanging drapery about the altar against
gas jet. In an instant it flashed into q
blaze, and that peculiar clairvoyance
which the presence OF danger carries,
startled the congregation. Father Dali
men saw and appreciated the imminent
danger, and reaching out his handtorc
down the burning drapery and trampled
it out. OF course it quieted all fears, and
Father Daimen prevented panic at the
expense of badly burned ha ID. A
panic ia small hall in Franklin, Mass.
in 1870, and which was created by q
fight in the gallery, was prevented by a
policeman who stood at the head OF the
entrance, and threatened to shoot down
any ono who attempted to leave the hall.
The cry of fire is one of the most start
ling sounds that can beheard, and when
it falls upon the ears OF crowd pent
up within the walls of building the
effect cannot be described. Whether
there is fire or not the person who would
send the alarm into the st ,rtled ears of
an audience deserves the gibbet. |
A panic was started in Cleveland q |
few years since by an old man who sat |
in one OF the front seats. Some paper
had fallen into furnace register that |
opened on the stage, and smoke from it
fire to the man, who, regard
less of consequences, gave the alarm to
the audience. Instances of this do |
are very numerous, and doubt
less Vii continue to multiply for all |
time to come.
MURDER WILL OUT.-Richard Cullan
murdered a man in Modesto, GAL, in