The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-12-08

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those in the rear couldn't pass. There
were fully fifty or sixty persons
packed in heap at the foot OF
the second flight of stairs.
The stairs were open all the way down
from that point, and above that point
! the stairs were filled within few steps
of the top. AT this time the smoke was
very dense; it was not three minutes
after the fire broke out. The curtain was
lowered and took fire, and had the effect
of sending the flames up 10 the gallery.
l looked at it about three seconds and
then closed the door Of the parquette.
The persons who were piled up in heap
cried to me TO help them, and did get
some in the rear to fall back till l got a
man and q woman out, but seeing
those two got out they
all rushed forward again and blocked
up the passage. | tried TO eItricste
the woman whose leg..was caught in the
railing. but she was held fast. An usher
came up to help me and we made a
small place among them. We tore the
dresses of some of them but we got them
all out and then l went up in the dress
| circle. | found woman there and took
her out. There must have been other
persons there for / heard cries but l
could not see them on account OF the
smoke. | know there must have been
several other persons in the dress circle
who were overtaken by the fire. | was
then getting weak from the smoke
and dropped to the floor TO get fresh
air. The smoke was black smoke
and had very sutfocating smell. | am
an old frems: and never experienced
smoke so suffocsting | was not IN the
smoke more than minute and yet
could not breathe The first and second
galleries and even the stairs were at
the time filled with the sufoeatlng
smoke. No human being could live IN
that smoke two minutes. | heard a
humping noise rs if some persons were
jumping out of the Windows At that
time it was entirely i'm possible TO get up
in the top gallery, and | WAS nearly
sufocated. When got out Il knew
the people were all taken
from the dress circle stairs, but / heard
the the cries inside. called out but got
no answer. Even when | got down on
the floor heard a humping NOISE, as
though they were jumping out OF the
upper gallery. If they had jumped from
the gallery to the dress circle the smoke
was so dense | could not have seen them.
There was no breaking Of the SLiars
while ! was there. | am pretty sure all
in the dress circle did not get out alive.
The evidence of this officer is the
clearest description of the terrible strug-
gle by the audience TO escape from the
burning building which has yet been
given. There was even larger crowd
around the morgue this morning than
Yesterday. A surging mass of people
occupied the sidewalk in front of the
dead house and stretched into the middle
of the street, and men and boys climbed
upon the fences and wagons in the
neighborh9od. Yesterday the people
gathered in the neighbOrhood of this
building were quiet and orderly. To-day
there Sas spirit of levity pereeptlhle.-=-
the fire was an ev-nttwo days old. No
permits were demanded Of those who
could satisfy the officers that they had
lost friends or relatives by the fire. They
were allowed TO enter from time to
time, passing in the front door and
through the room on the right hand,
which contained about thirty bodies,
living on the floor. So through the
smaller room at the further end OF the
building back to the lett hand room, in
which some of the corpses were lying on
marble slabs and tables in the center,
upon such bits of clothing as remained
on the bodies. Numbers were written
hastily with lead pencil on bits oipaper
and PINNED TO the bodies, and when the
BODY has been recognized the name and
address are added 10 the number, and
on 'ae coroners permission the corpse
is J. Led in plain deal coffin and
driyrr 10 the address. There are very
few ntiIicstions, however. 1t Is I'm.
poss. that there can be many, as the
features are for the most part unrecog-
nizable. Trinkets and SUCH things were
many of them lost IN the crowd and
the clothing has been either all
DESTROYED or burned into mere rags.
At the Adams stree. morgue, formerly
known as the old Fulton market, tho
scene was horrible in the extreme. On
the floor lay large number Of charred
bodies. but in many instances
it was impossible TO. tell whether
they had formerly been male
or female, human or ami
msl. In some cases the mas was
or lv about handful of chsrred bones
and hesh. without II remnant OF clothing
or ,ther property that could possibly
lead 20 Identification. In other cases a..
the clothing was either torn from or
burned ID, leaving but charred and
blackcned remains, bodies they cahnot
be called. MY God said one
poor weman rs she gsHcd on
chsrred mass OF bones,
That may be my cnild, but who can
prove it, Among the bodies not 20
badly burned was one OF a man VINO had
evidently leaped from the gallery n his
leg was broken short of above the ankle.
The remains Of DR.. Frsnkish, dentist.
WHO resided at the corner OF Portland
Avenue and Fulton street, were recog-
uized by the initials on MS shirt collar.
II WAS the only article OF wearing sp-
psrel which could be distinguished.
A report OF most distressing case he's
been made by Captain Crafts, Of t."
second precinct. Mrs. Smith. wIdo"
lady and, her daughter, Mrs. simpson
left their residence at lO4 Sands street
Tuesday evening 70 attend the theatre.
The only other occupants OF the
house were servant CIR! and
al orphan child. whom Mrs.
Simpson mad adopted. Neither of the
ladies have returned 70 their nome, and
having no friends in the city. no effort
have been made to identity their remains.
The hu. band of Mrs. Simpson was
expected home from loog voyage 81 tse
close Of the week. The uncertskers were
constau,lydrlvIngt 20 the m0rgue all morn
ing with wagons and permits for the re-
nova o! identified remains. and the po-
lice had great difficulty in making pas
sage way for them through solIdly p,ct-
ed crowds which flied up the street n
front OF the building. Hundreds 0! Pso-