The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1876-02-11
DEATHS HARVEST.
4 Foolish Cry of Fire Causes Panic in
Cincinnati Opera House.
Nine Women and Children Killed, and
Many Others Injured.

the panic IN RoDlnSOns opera HOUSE,
last Saturday afternoon, from the report
| OF the Cincinnati Gazette: The house
was full to tooverfiowing, fully 2, 900, fully
half of whom were children, being pack
! ed within its walls. Just as the curtain
was about to raise a foolish and false
cry of ''fire" was heard, and here is the
result:
AN iDdescribable impulse seemed to
creep over the entire house, and with
one accord every man, woman, and
child rose and looked toward the door.
| Cries of Whats the matterT Whats
the matter" were raised everywhere in
| the lower part of the house. Nobody
| heard the cry of fire there, except those
| very close to the stage. In an instant
| the crowd on the two stairweys leading
| to the balconies began TO surge down
ward toward the door. The doors were
| thrown open. Mr.. Davis perceived the
| situation in time to remove the bars.
| And then the resistless stream of chill
dren, women, and men pushed on by a
1 relentless force from behind, which one
| could check no more than he could stay
the progress of an avalanche, began its
| deathly exit. In a twinkle, every
| thoughtful man and woman in the house
was using every possible exertion and
| argument to stop the panic. 1t is to the
shame of some full-grown, even gray
| haired men, that they did more to in
crease the panic than scores of mere
| children, but these were exceptions. All
| over the lower part of the house men
were calling out, ''Sit down." ''sit
| down, and on the stage j. Webb, jr.,
/ Mr.. Hager, and Mr.. S. S. Davis We're
| shouting at the top of their voices, and
| gestic1lating by raising their hands and
throwing them down, to indicate that
they wanted people to resume their seats.
There is no accident" could now and
then be heard, and then scream at the
| door would send fresh tremor through
timid hearts, and hundreds would again
| turn in that direction. The scene in the
upper part of the house was more fright
| full. There people clambered over their
seats, and over one another, in a mad
chase for the stairway. Only when the
| avenue was effectually clogged did they
seem to begin to think what it was they
| were fleeing from, and then those in the
rear began to return to their seats. But
the fatal pressure on the balcony stairs
continued. As the stream emerged from
| the first door into the vestibule. the
steps were a pitfall, and the foremost
| fell to the marble floor. The next STUN
| bled over them, and still the mass madly
| pushed on and walked over the PROSTATE
bodies that had gone before. Shrieks
of pain were mingled with cries of fright
and eXclamations of horror, as the mad
scene was witnessed by those powerless
| to prevent it. When the exit began
there was an excited and compact crowd
| of people in front of the door demand
| ing admittance on the tickets they had
| bought. This may have been fortunate,
| as it served to check the outward stream.
| But as the doorway became clogged, and
| those on the stairway were unable to
| proceed, some of them tried the peril
GUS effort of walking out over the heads
and shoulders of the compact mass
about the door. This added new horror
to the situation. Meantime, at the very
beginning, people in the orchestra seats,
and in the first part of the parquette,
jumped on the stage, clambering over
the piano, breaking the keyboard and,
almost trampling under foot Miss May
Donnally, who was at her post ready to
play the opening piece. Others on the
east side of the house, on the first floor,
tore down the window curtains, and,
without waiting to unlock the window
and raise the sash, broke out the glass,
and jumped through to the alley, a dis
tance of ten or twelve feet 1t is but
just to the audience to say that more
than three -fourths of those on the first
floor never left their seats at all.
BEHIND THE SCENES.
What were the poor children doing
during all these fearful moments? If
there was fire, was it not reasonable to
suppose it was somewhere among the
infiammable material behind the cur
tain! The horror of the thought was
uncomfortable. Fortunately no such ter
rible calamity befell our city. The mass
Of the children who only take part in the
choruses, or who come on the stage once
or twice as soldiers, are bestowed for the
remainder of the time on terraced seats
reaching from the floor of the stage to
the upper flies. The States, and large
number of others who took part in the
tableauy, were disposed, according to
well understood plan, in the green room
and other rooms below the stage. 1t
was not true, as many suppose, that all
these children were ignorant of alarm.
Their sublime behavior was all the more
creditable to them, because they dit
know there was an alnrIn rf f-n. The
frightened creatnr"s =, 49, usL ,ed Jsi the
stage, ran at o.3ce behind the sraIe, cry
ing fire" as they went. Mr. jesse
DeBeck, Principal Of one nf the schools,
who commands the troops in one scene, |
was behind the scenes. The children |
all knew him. He at once saw the |
necessity of prompt action. Placing |
himself on the stand occupied by the |
central figures III the tableaux, in full |
view of all the terrace of boys and girls, |
he clapped his hands to call attention, |
and then simply said. keep still; every |
thing is all right" The brave children |
gave him implicit confidence, and obey
ed. Not one of them stirred an inch.
THE KILLED.
Up TO 9 o'clock TO night the following |
have been reported killed and injured:
Mrs. Alfred White aud lier son Harry,
aged 12; Mrs. Nancy Clark, reported to
have died from heart disease cansed by
excitement; August and Fred. Loesch,
two brothers, aged s and u; Hattie Les
lie, aged u; James Crowley, aged z;
Anna Mai Riem, of Alton, ILL.,, who was
visiting friends here; Miss Teronica
Massatt, aged %; Mrs. Henry Kessler
suffered severe conclusion of the brain,
reported died this evening; one un-
known woman died.
AMONG THE INJURED
are Fred Strasburg, Miss PGmphrey,
Master Harry Bliss, and child named
Coddington; Garry Uhl, base of the
skull crushed and collar bone broken;
Mrs. Anna Flood, hurt In the breast,
seriously; Mrs. Lyon, injured internally.
Mrs. White, who was killed, had FIVE
children with her, one of whom was
killed; another, the youngest, was found
clasped in her arms, injured
Mrs. RienZie, of Alton, who was in
the gallery, was either pushed over the
railing or jumped to the floor below
striking on her head.
The coroner's inquest will be held
Tuesday, and he will endeayor to ascer-
tain definitely how the alarm originated.
LATER DISPATCHES.
CINCINNATI, Feb. 5.-The informa-
tion to night from those injured at Rob
inson's Opera House yesterday is favor
able. Mrs Henry Kessler, reported
dead, is still living. and will recover
THERE are Northern Democrats who
defend the Union in good faith and still
act with their party. 1t is a strange
phenomenon, but there it is. These men,
many OF them, are puzzled to understand
what is meant when the Ben Hills says
'1tla SOuth is here and bara 70 e&orr |