The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1876-12-21
THE BROOKLYN HORROR,

ne UIIltllNlDllN'l WV "''''
which has bciallcn the city OF BrooklyI
in the destruction Of its principal thealeJ
by fire, and the consequent loss OF me
have notyct been fully realized, Enough
is known however, to make 1t certhli
that the catastrophe ranks among th'
most fatal Of the kind ever recorded Ac
COrding to the statements OF all the par
ties who profess to know anything AZ t.
THE ORIGIN or THE FIRE,
it began on the stage. The business man
ager, Mr.. Rogers, says that Il piece OF Tho
canvass, out Of which the trees, etc, arr
made, was broken from its llstcnings anc
hung from the flies, Immediately over 0n'
of the border lights, near the center OF tht
stage. The canvass had began TO 4mOul
der, and the paint to c%rackIc, ana the car
pcntcr was directed tOasCend TO OncOi Tho
grooves and remove the dangerous object
He could barely reach it with hishand and
he drew il hastily up. The rapid motor
through the air Of the half ignitcd and
highly inhan mablc canvass, caused 1t t.
burst into a flame, which spread to al.
joining material equally susceptible All
efforts to extlnguish the flames were
abortivc, and the carpenter had to retire
10 save his own life. The scene in the
gallery, after the alarm was raised, IL dis
cribcd AZ something horrible to contem'
plate, Up to o on the 7th
THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN BODIES
HAD BEEN REMOVED.
OF these ifty-ninc are Identified, some
by remnant. of clothing and Others by
watches, chains and such articles, but
few by their features. The actors Claude
Burroughs and Harry ;. Murdoch
are among those identified. What are
accepted ~ the bodies Of the two actors
are simply II few black cindera, Around
the trunk Of one was a sCOrChcd buck.
skin undcrshirt, and beside the other
was Il piece Of braid, apparently Il por'
ton of his stage dress, A. NJ. Palmcrs,
one Of the Icssces Of the theatcr, gives
the follow statement OF the
NUMBER OF PERSONS ~ THE T@HEArEE
Tuesday night. -Four hundred and five
persons in the upper gallery, three hun,
drcd persons in the drcss-circlc, two hun
drcd and fifty persons in the %plrqucttc,
twcnty-Onc actors and speaking people,
twenty supcrnumcrarics, ten stage hands,
and twelve musicians; total, LOIS or,
including drc-scrs and Observation-Disclosures,
in all about 1850 persons, A fault in
the construction Of the burned building,
and one to which there IL reason to be-
licvc the dreadful loss Of lite in the gal
lcry is in II large measure attributable,
was the use Of a painted cloth for ceiling
The canvass caught easily and burned
rapidly. OF course the flames followed
il up to the top, making the dome a fun
mel Of fire right over the head Of the pcO-
pie in the gallery. 1t seems more than
probable that the smoke and fire, in the
midst Of which they were thus placed,
destroyed the lives OF many persons who
might else have escaped oven by the in
adequate stairway provided for,
MISS KATE CLAXToN's STORY.
Kate Claxton, at the preliminary in
Quiry Of the fire marshal, said AT
the beginning Of the last act, just as the
curtain went up, | heard a rumbling
noise on the stage, and two minutes af-
ter | Jaw flames. The fire seemed to be
on the stage. Mrs. Farrcr, myself, Mr..
Stndlcy and Mr.. Murdoch were on the
stage at this time. We four remained
there, and endeayOrcd ~ best We
could to quiet the audience and pre-
vent Il panic. said To the people
BE quiet; We are between you
and the fire; the front door il
open and the passages are clear. Not one
OF the audience jumped ON the stage.
The flames were then coming down upon
us. Iran down and jumped owe several
people. Mr.. HIS. Murdoch, after attempt
ing Il caIm the fears Of the pane stricken
people, went to his d~ressing-room to yet
his clothing, and must have been suifo-
Gated"
FIRE-MARSHALS INvESrIGATION.
Fire-marshal Ready resumed his in
vestigation this morning, &. \. Wees
man, an officer Of the mounted squad,
was examined. He was in the thcater in
citizens clothes when the fire occurred. rIe
up in the dress circle, and saw the
flames burning the scenery on the stage.
lie ran to the front to get the doors
open, and the actors and audience quoted
for a moment. lie waited at the doors
till the spectators were all out, and then
closed the doors to keep the draught out.
People were then coming down from the
gallery, and he ran to see what was the