The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-12-14
THE BROOKLYN HORROR.
Over Three Hundred Men, Women
and children Crushed or Burned TO


Death.
NEW York Dec.6
THE Brooklyn Theater burned to the
ground last night. The fire originated
on the stage at 11:30 p. N. The fire
spread with lightning rapidity, and burst
out through the door on Washington
street. The panic and confusion among
the audience were terrible. The fire
broke out during the performance of the
last scene of the "Two Orphans" in
which Miss Claxton, who plays the part
of heroine, lies on the boat-house floor.
In five minutes more the audience would
have been dismissed, and there would have
been nothing more serious to record than
the destruction of property
The house was about two-thirds filled,
those below sitting well forward toward
the stage. For those in the family circle,
dress circle and galleries there was no way
of escape except by Washington street.
The panIc-stricken people rushed pell-
nell toward and down the stairways. The
main exit became Immediately choked
up, and scene of terror, confusion and
and distress ensued which beggars de-
scription.
Just above the landing place Of the
| stairway, a woman in the crush had her
foot pushed between the bausters and
fell. The crowd behind, forced forward
by the terrified people still further behind,
fell over her and piled on top of each
other four and five feet deep.
The police from the station-housc, next
door, were promptly at the scene, but ow-
| ing to the manner in which the people
were piled upon top of each other and
massed together, they could extricate
comparatively few, and these were all
bruised, bleeding and MANNED
The liremen got to work on the ruins
shortly after daylight this morning
Although the fire originated on the
stage, the loss of life among the theatri-
cal company was not as extensive as
might have been imagined. Two lives
were lost-two young men in the flower
of their professional life, Henry s. Muir
| d0ch and Claude Burroughs. These two
young men were playing, respectively,
Pierre, the cripple, and Picard, valet to
the Cheualier. At half-paSt ten this
evening the bodies of the two men were
diggcd from the ruins, and both were
identified by remnants OF dresses worn on
the stage. Only the trunk of Murdoch
remained.
There were 200 people in the theater,
800 in the galleries.
When the panic occurred on the main
floor Of the theater, Thomas Rockford
chief usher of the establishment, was in
the lobby. The performance was almost
over, and he was about making arrange
ments for the departure of the audience.
At the cries of Fire.n he rushed ipto
the auditorium and, taking in the terrible
situation, endeavorcd to quiet the people
who were about him. Seeing they were
too thoroughly alarmed, he ran to the
doors leading into Floods alley, which
connects johnson street and Myrtle ave
rue, AMI opened them so that the peo-
pie might escape that way. This diverted
many from seeking escape through the
main entrance.
All who were on the right hand side of
The parquet and balcony escaped through
these doors. The opening Of the doors
created Il tremendous draught, which so
increased the flames that the players were
compelled to abandon the stage, and cs-
cape as best they might. They had re-
manned there to the last, but, seeing that
it was now a question of life ana death,
they retreated. The flames shot ont or
all sides of the stage, and cnvelopcd the
proscenium, and the smoke began pouring
IN volumes into the parquct. Studiey
and Murdoch were the last to leave.
Probably not more than five minutes
elapsed between the beginning of the
panic and the complete development of the
stage and parquct in flames. BY this time
nearly all those in the lower part of the
house had escaped. The crowd from
above came pouring down into the lob
bics, which were soon dcnscly crowded.
Stairways were choltcd up, and there
seemed to be no way in which they could
be relieved. Many succeeded in escaping
by the regular means Of cgress into Wash
! ingtOn street, but that staircase was also
soon crowded, and escape by that way was
next to impossible.
Horror upon horror accumulated as the
day advanced. Corpse after corpse,
charred and blackcncd, was passed ont,
and still the pile of bodies in the cellar
did not seem to diminish As the num-
her mounted to $50 and 100, the belief
that the number would reach 200 grew
into "A certainty, and, finally, at 30, the
two hnndredth body was removed. Some
were found with limbs and hands burned
off, and nothing left but Il ghastIy, black
ened trunk
At 4 late hour tonight 2sj bodies have
been recovered.
The Times says that Fire Marshal
Ready, who has made an exhaustive ex-
animation Of the circumstances attending
the fire, is of opinion that at least $50 per
sons persisted in the flames.
SOME OF THE SAD SCENES.
y
| fled by his sister and a friend, who, on
discovering that it was the body they were
in search Of, were so overcome that it was
all the authorities could do to keep them
from falling on and embracing the corpse
The sister stood near it crying. and giving
vent to such GXclamations as, " Poor Abe |!
Oh, if mother can only stand this blow!"
The body of one young man was discov-
cred by his sister, who, casting one glance
1t what was left of his coat, gave cry of
"My Tomn' and fell fainting in the arms
of her father, and was carried lnselsiblc
| to the street. 1t was afterward found that
this young man was the only support of
his mother and sister, his father being a
drunkard, who had not contributed
toward the support of his family for two
or three years.
\ temporary wooden inclined plane
was built from the horrible pit in which
most of the bodies were found. Along
this they were carried in boxes covered
with blankets. They were then placed in
| the undertaker's wagons, which were in
waiting to carry them to the Morgue.
The wagons of all the undcrtakers in
Brooklyn were in use, and were drawn up
in line along the edge of the sidewalk.
One after another of them was backed up
to the thcater door to receive the
boxes containing the dead. At in
tervals of few minutes several men