Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1876-12-16
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
'he lrOo iyn Observation-Disclosures Greele
-Fa sh lons-The Com ptrOllershtp-

The Droo kiyn HOrrOr-POlitic al-Greeiey
la h Ions-The Com ptroiiershtp -he's'
the TRApEGY At THE BROOKLYN THEATRE
Last Tuesday night, tho Brooklyn
Theatre WAS burned, during the pro-
grrss of q play, aud over three hun
bred people lost their lives. II seems
Incredible that so many could die IN
10 short IL time. hut the ghasily fact
cannot I've denilrd. The Theatre Is
u hnilhing one hundred and ftlv
feet deep 10y seventy wide, IN the
centre of u block, with u passage
leading from Washington Street.
perhaps 20 feet wide. The stage i
so teet deep, the lobby in front is 20,
leaving on the ground floor 50 feet.
which is seated Above the ground
floor, the Parquette. Is Il gallery, the
Dress Circle, which extends over
the Parluetto perhaps thirty feet.
and above that the Gallery proper.
The entrance to the Dress Circle
and the Gallery is from the lobby
outside, being simply II staircase,
The Dress Circle and Gallery peo'
pie go up one flight together and di'
verge at Il landing one flight up.
The stage is filled with the most in
ilammable material imaginable. The
flies" are short curtains of canvass
painted in oil. to represent skies on
clouds or what may be required.
mounted on the IishteSt pine wood.
and the "wings" aud the FLATS" are
also painted canvass, on the li@hirsl
possible frames, and it must be tax
en- into account that almost the ell
lire space back Of the curtain. eX.
crpt that shown to the people when
it is raised. is filled with scenery of
different plays, stacked up, which
makes the "brhind the scenes" of II
theatre Il magazine of cOmbustihlcs
almost as dangerous as IL powder
house. The play was the "Two Or
phams," and the scene was a boar
house. In the scene I here are NOT
only the wings representing the
sides of a house, but the ceiling is
represented, which is also painted
canvass. The theatre was full with
IA delighted audience. BY some ac
cdent one of the flies was blown
against a gas get, and one OF the
employees attempted to cut it loose.
1t fell, all in a blaze upon the cell
ing of the scene below, and in an
instant that was in a blaze. The
actors on The stage saw it, but hop.
I'd it would be exiinguished and
went on with their parts, but it had
too much head way. In IA momen:
the painted CANVASS was on fire, the
at1righted audience rose, and IL wild
rush at the doors commenced. a II
order was at an end, the only thing
for every one WAS to get ont of the
hell that was raging. The people
III the crowded gallery precipitaIed
themselves down the tortuous pas.
sage, and at the landing met the
equally wild crowd from the dress
circle, and the two masses became
wcdged in, go that passage was i'm.
possible, and there WAS q deadlock
which human strength was imposSi-
bic to break. All this was the worI,
of a minute. In the meantime, the
stage was lurid furnace, the oil
and the light wood of the wings
aud stage sets belching out great
volumes of smoke and flame, filling
he theatre-and to add to the GER
tainty of doom, the ceiling of the
building was made of a sort of paste
board, which was as cumbustible as
the canvass, and the flames ran
along that like powder, making a
furnace right above the Leads OF
those in the gallery. And all this
time the only exit from tue dress
circle and the gallery was blocked
by the two masses that had met at
the landing common to both, and
escape was impossible. The fire
ieaped from one part of the build
ing to another, the wooden seats
caught and blazed; the unfoltu-
mates, wetlged in AMI helpless, fell,
Suilocated 10y the smoke and roast,
ed 10y tue fire. The supports were
burned off. and finally the mass fell
with probably three hundred and
fifty burned men and women in its
terrible embrace.
The sight the next morning was
horrible and sickening. Where the
galleries fell hundreds of bodies
burned and SCARED brv0nd i,lenti
fication were found. and all through
The debris, covered with burned
tlmberS, masses of bricks. and the
fearful remnants of contlagration,
were bodies in every possible form
OF designation. There were pirc
IS of bodies, legs. arms, trunks-al
together the most frightfnl Sighl
probably ever witnessed by human
eyes. There were parents trying to
identify children, friends searcln /.
tor the remains of friends, brothers
for brothers. The whole city is in
mourning, and a general gloom over
spreads it.
1 saw the bodies at the Morgue,
aud where there was enough left of
one TO show anything, it was notice.
able that they all died with Their
hands before their faces, as if in eff
tort to ward off the fate that was
overtaking them. A more ghastIy
sight--a more absolute nightmare
than the smoking ruins of the thea
ire and the MOrgne preSented-hu
nan eyes never rested upon.
OF course the people are nervous
now about their theatres, and are
investigating. Out of the ten or Il
dozen principal places in the city
only one or two are found To have
even decent means of escape in case
ut fire. The others are, like the one
destroyed, the most deadly traps.
aud citizens shu,l,ler as they thiuk
i hat for years they have been risk
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