The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1881-12-15
TIE VIENNA HORROR.
Rurnlng of che Ring Theater.

VIENNA, Dec 9.-The celebration
Of the feast of the immaculate cons
ception yesterday terminated in the
evening With q terrible public calam-
ity. Just as the curtain assembled
in the Ring thester, the second finest
theater in the city, on the perfor
nance of Offenbach's new opera,
lies Contes de Hoffman," the thea
ter was discovered to be on fire. -
There were upward of 1000 people
in the audience, the crowd being
mostly in the galleries, and but few
being 10 the boxes and psrque'te
owing to the early hour. There
was an awful, psnicNstrickep rlsb
for the means of exit. The flames
spread with lightning rapidly -
Many sprsng from the uppermost
gallery, and wers killed. Many
leaped from the windows, while the
shouts and shrieks of those unable
to make their escape rent the air. -
During the greatest excitement the
gas meter connected with the thea-
ter exploded, causing total darkness.
The escaping gas and the dense
smoke caused by the combustion of
paint and tupentine caused many to
die of asphy xiation The crowds
in the galleries pressed in their des-
pair toward the doors, crushing
against each ether with remorseless
force, aud trsmpled to death those
who were so unfortunate az to fall.
At midnight from 250 to 300 bodies
had been taken from the building,
and il was supposed that at least
100 more bad persisted. Only a
small proportion of the audience
we're able to save themselves by
dropping from the windows three
stories high, to the cloths held for
them below.
The fire spread with such sapidi'
ty that in ten minutes after the
alarm sounded the theater was
wrapped in flames, which stepped
the city in lurid glory for miles
around. Thousands of people Assem-"
bIed in the neighboring streets,
where they could hear the sgonizing
cries of those at the windows of the
theater praying to be saved. The
soldiers were called out to assist the
fireman in their work and to keep
back the crowds. Company after
company marched through the ex>
cited thongs to relieve the companies
that we're first on hand. At II
o'clock the theater was Quilted, leav'
ing only the beautiful front standing.
The bodies of the victims were taxi
en- to the AIIegemeine krankenhaus
The faces of many of them were
black and their tongues p'otruded,
with froth issuing from their mouths
symptoms of suffocation The
most agonizing sights were witness
ed at the hospital, where friends
we're striving to indentify friends
and relations were looking for the
charred corpse of relatives. Won
en- we're rushing about crszed witt
grief and excitement. After the
flames were extinguished Eremer
set to work with torches, searching
the lower part of the house.
The latest estimate of the loss o
life by the destruction of the Rims
theater is 720. Many of the bod
les are 80 horribly burned as to b'
beyond naturalization, and they viii
be buried en- masse on Sunday. Thu
attitude of the dead is by the atraDg
est character. Some men were
found grasping each other by theil
throats, the nails of their fingers be
ing imbedded in the flesh. Some
show seIf-inficted mortal wounds,
while children were found 10 the pit
that had been thrown from the gal
leries by their frantic mothers. Ten
cart loads of corpses have been ta~
ken to the hospitals, and the hospi,
tai gardens are filled with weeping
relatives seeking for their missing
friends.