The Dillon tribune. [volume] (Dillon, Mont.) 1881-1941, 1881-12-17
GREAT THEATRE FIRE.

GREAT THEATRE FIRE.
Terrible Loss Of Life in the Ring The
atre, Vienna.
Four Hundred Dead Bodies Reported
Found in the Ruins.
VIENNA, Dec. S.-The Ring 'rheat, e, for
nerly the comic opera house, where Sarah
Bernhardt recently performed, took fire at
seven O'Clock tonight just before the be-
ginning Of the opera Les Contes de Hotf.
man. The fire was caused by the fall of a
lamp on the stage. The house was tolera-
bly, full and the loss of life is great. Up to
the present time seventy bodies are recov.
| cred. Many other persons are injured.
| Sixty were saved by means of ladders and
| by jumping into cloths held below. The
| greatest efforts were made to save liie.
| The scene was terrible, the flames shooting
up through the roof and evidently getting
the entire building.
| VIENNA, IL p. m.--One hundred and
forty five bodies have been brought out OF
the theatre dead. There are still nnmer.
Gus bodies which were consumed in the
galleries and other elevated parts Of the
building. The chief cause Of the catastro-
phe was that in the confusion the iron por
ton, separating the stage from the audito'
rum, was not lowered. Thousands Of peo-
where they could hear the cries of agony Of
the people at the windows of the theatre,
praying to be saved. The rapidity Of the
flames prevented the people from taking
advantage of the ordinary exits. Only
small portion Of the audience saved them.
selves leaping from the windows three
stories high into cloths below. 1t Is esti
mated that the audience in the theatre
numbered 1000. Many persons were
trampled to death in the panic which en-
sued AS soon as the fire was seen there
was an explosion Of gas and the audience
was left in darkness. The taking Of bodies
from the theatre still continues. II Is e>ti.
mated 900 persons perished. Some bodies
are tearfully disfgured. Several persons
were injured bv springing from the win
dows OF the theatre. Among the missing
are Herr Fife, the court musical director,
les identified up to the present time are
those of tra.iesmen and minor officials.
On the spreading OF the news Of the disas=
ter, performances at the other theatres
stopped.
At o'clock it was discovered that the
death ro II OF the Ring Theatre catastrophe
was much larger than at first rumored.
An American physician who had just re-
turned from Il visit to the Elegnmile krark-
enha,.s told me he had seen eighty eight
men and forty four women laid out in that
institution alone Their tongues protrud-
hRHa RMa :rfiifthGsyhipsBihg "9t'i'ss'
he left the krankenhaus at midnight, they
were still CARRYING the dead away. lie de-
scribet, the scene as horrible in the extreme.
Friends were striving to identify friends
and relatives, and women were rushing
about almost crazy from truitless search.
. Bv o'clock ,lo bodies had been taken out
Of the theatre. 1t was thought that Il hun
: drea more were still among the ruins. Re
Y ports up to o'clock were Of dead from the
! third gallery, where ninety corpses wer.
: found in one mass. The fourth gallery had
r not vet been searched. 1t appears that the
# men who had charge OF the iron scrtc'
J. which should have been let down in cast
T. of fire and thu, divide the stage from th'
Il auditorium deserted their posts when tn.
d fire broke out 1t is probable that the dcat'
Il list will be fully 400 The latest report
< saw that the crowd in the galleries in the'
,f despair rushed to the doors, and crushin:
p each other prevented most OF the nunbc
10 from escaping. The smoke and flame
h completed the wreck of death within nv
L. minutes after the first alarm had been Civ
,e en-, The fireman are still at work wit
IN torches searching the lower parts OF IN
t. house. AT present it is considered unsa'
n. to enter the uppcrmost gallery, where ae;'
ed will be in great numbers. Halt OF \lenn
as will be in mourning to-day for their chile
Of rem and relatives. believe no America,
py are among the dead, though it Is possib
,is that som. of the medical students wi
e. frequent the cheaper theatres may
&C. among them.
IN vienna, Dec 0.-O:3oa ny estcro'
llv was a fete day in Vienna ir celebration
ir- the Feast OF ihe immaculate ConccPt'o
RI but it ended with public calamity unpa
OF alleled in the history of Vienna. a te
rk, minutes before O'Clock and before I
second performance of Otfenbach'> !;
in est work, "Lcs Contcs D'lioffnan,' t
ion Ring Theatre, formerly known as I
erv Opera Comiquc, on the Schettan KING
of the second finest theatra in the CITY, open
pt- in 1S73-was discovered to be III nam
ent The fire quickly spread, and IN ten m
iss, utes all the city for miles around lhe IN
ess tire was stepped in l.,r'd glow, tne re"
,ey tion of the burning pile. Seven O'Clock
$ to ~. hour for the commencement of pl;
,ac- at Vienna theatres. and it was feared Il
half the loss of life would be great. si's
ing snow fell during the afternoon. 1t
his known that all the theatres would
'lrs. crowded. Fortunately, the catastro;
sted happened some minutes before sew
,on- The galleries were already crowded, wf
:on. but few people had appeared in the DO,
,nts and only about score OF people haa t'!'
DIR. places in the parquette. Little can yet
$50. gathered rs to the origin OF the cata>troI
Mrs. The people who escaped have but
pay. idea Of what really happened, and the
the est rumors prevail. Those who "
nate among the audience say that suddenly
one curtain was raised, and the fire was disc
N to cred raging on the stage. and that the
hall nj strife for life by those III the upper
y. lerics commenced. Many sprans from
%. uppcrmo>t gallery and were killed. "
of those who remained it is impossible
and saw how many met death. Death app
leak TO have been due to suifocation. An
ed pap.rs publish long heartrending acco'
c to Of the catastrophe Most of them p
the dead at 900. With person VINO
in the fourth gallery vet to hear rom.
i'm. number will be >wcllcd to 500 at II
as a Even the policemen seem rtiac''!n
fine sneak of the extent of the disaster III
ruck upper gallery and neither fl'cmen nor
no,,s dicrs hay. rs vet dared to penetra'e
e 80 dreadful scene. Fircmen, who h;'a a'
rs in ed in bringing out the bodies from
strict third gallery. being asked. no" !,
Az, i.,t ~