Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-03-25
Horrors of the Fire at Nice.
SRVENTY-EINE BODIES RECOVERED AND NoRi
UNDER THE RUINS OF THE THBATER.

OF the tbeater at Nice. IL does not appear at
present thar aGy Americans were among the
victims: The sole occupant Of the stage when
me explosion occurred was seen enveloped In
Hames- The injury Of NJ. Strakosch was only
a slight confusion of the leg. Seventy. nine
bodles were recovered up to yesterday after
under the ruins. The exits OF the theater were
very narrow and badly arranged. A gas-iet
SET nre to some OF the scenery. as the Curtain
was Gown the audience was unaware of the
QaDger untll the gas exploded, when The smoke
became suffocatiDgly thick. reorle tried to
throw themselves from small w!siows near
the roof OF the theater Most OF the artistes
,, ID .ne dressing rooms, and were aware CT
Lnelr Danger, cut IL was too late to escape
The choristers rushed along the narrow pas
sage In the darkness, many of them presum-
goiy TOO much disabled In the crush to escape
me bass0. tenor and must TO have been suffo-
Gated. Their bodies are probably under the
ruins The parts OF the theater most flied
were the upper galleries. and as the distance
narrow corridors and stairways, the people In
the galleries had the greatest difficulty Ia es.
Gaping. There was very inadequate supply
Oh water; III, me sailors, who volunteered as
were almost useless. TIVE midshipmen res
Cuea TWO persons from chamber, who are
sun living, that are horribly scorched, one
being having lunatic. Some OF the bodies
foui are so horrible charred that recognition
IS Impossible. The body OF one Of the singers
has been recognized.
HUMBLE SCEEES DURING THE FIRE
A telegram to the New York Times from Nice.
MaTcn p, says The terrible catastrophe at the
Tfeater Municipal Italien last night has trans
formed Nice from scene OF gayety and pleas
ure 10 one or mourning and Sadness Tue cur.
tain had just risen On The first scene Of Lucia
dl i.ammermoor" When an explosion OF gas
tool place at the back OF the stage and almost
Instantly the scenery with which the stage was
crowded took fire. The orchestra stalls and
the two rows OF boxes On the second door were
ohIy partially filled, Only few OF the subscrlb.
erS having taken their places, but the seats on
tie box floor and the benches In the upper tier
were packed with men and women, mostly OF
!Ee middle and working classes, AS soon as the
tIe was discovered the audience became panic
stricken, and a scramble for the doors
eDsued, In which scores OF persons were thrown
ana trampled under foot. The women shrleked
and the men, IN their eager efforts to escape
from the burning building, pushed rudeiy by
the frightened women and LETT them to their
fate: TO add to tbs terror OF the scene. the gas
suddenly went Out, and the auditorium was In
darkness With the exception OF the rays OF
light which were thrown from the burning
scenery. That part OF the audience which oc-
cup1ed the orchestra had three doors through
which to gain the street, and but for the panic
all OF these people might nave escaped. But.
crazy With lear, they rushed pellmei over
passages, and mangling and disabling each
other In their frantic efforts to fly from the
fire behind them. The occupants OF the second
tier were obliged to pass down stairs to the
orchestra floor, there being no exit to t1e street
from this tier. Those who were not trampled
on before reaching the stairway tumbied down
IN a confused mass. struggling and fighting
Win each other for precedence AT the bottom
Of the stairs the throng coming from the Or
chestTa met that pitng down from the second
tier, and the three doors to the street were
blocked By the struggling masses. A number
or American and English gentlemen who were
among the audience and preserved their heads
IN the panic cid their utmost to save life
by endeavor1ng to thin the crowds in the
DaSSagpWdyS. and ikpv Gii btr
IL was Impossible TO govern such q panic
stricken throDg, ard many were SO badly
Wouned In the mad struggle to escape that
they were unable TO move. aud were lefc to De
burned 10 death. In the upper gallery the
panic was, II possible, worse than on the fioors
below. Here the poorer classes had assembled,
and the benches were filled with workingmen
and their wives and children. A single door
led to the street, Gown two flights OF steep
stairs, and there WAS no other means OF exit,
When the ire was discovered rush was made
lowed hundreds were MANNED and wounded.
and many were probably trampIed TO death In
the darkness. The shriekS OF the frightened
women ard children, the groans OF The
wounded, and the shouts OF the men struggling
frahtically TO reach the street added TO the nor
T0r OF the scene, anu are described by one OF
the survivors as sickellng In pushing down
The stairs, those 10 front were thrown down by
the crowd In the rear, who trampied over them
only to fall 1n their turn. How many OF those
who were in the gallery persisted cannot yet be
tod, but IL Is certain that the greater number
OF those who were burned TO death were from
that part OF the house
ON the stage the artists and choristers also
became panic stricken, ana several or them
were more or less burned. There was only
one Goor leading from the stage to the street,
and through this Donadlo, the pima donna
escaped unharmed before the fire had gained
sufhclent headWay to make the passage dam
gerouS. Her 1elioW-artl5ts, however were not
SO fortunate. Ferdinand Strakosch, her agent,
In following her, was slightly injured, and
De NilieTS. the tenor. and Carb0ne, the bari
tone, with number OF the chorjls.sIucers
we're badly burned. A detachment or sailor
from the squadron In the haroOr reached the
Opera House in few minutes attef the IRE
began, and worked calamity to sfFe life.
succeeding II resculng q great many of
he wounded rom the burning theater
They brought pumps With them. but although
ne Mediterranean q. nost washes the walls or
he opera House, .5 vas found I'm
Jullding and by 10 o'cIoc,f the theater was
completely destroyed. The VOTE OF digging
yuI tbe burned BODIES was beguL as soon az II
vas asp possible to do SO with safety, ana up 10
'een extracted from the ruins. IT, 'ey were
nostly bodies of Italian artisans, who he 4 been
'uIned In the gallery, but among them vas
ouLd d Do0y winch has been identified as Il. W
y German phJ sician named Arend. It Is NO,
nOWn how many more corpSes remain TO the :,
eap OF bricks and ashes which marks the |
Pot vice. the Opera House Stood but |
is certain that many more Will De |
ound. One entire family OF i've persons, |
nd another OF three. are known to have per- |
shed IN the flames. one lady, whose husband |
vas burned to death, committed suicide last |
light, and the town is filled with families who |
ave lost one or more members In the catas- |
rophe. The regatta which was TO have taken [
,lace has been abandoned, and the prizes which |
we're to have been competed for, amounting to |
eveTai thousand francs, have been contributed |
O fund which Is being made up for the SUI |
erefs by the fire. Relief subscriptions have |
)een opened throughout Nice
IATER.-MoSt Of the aTt1SteS were In the dress
ng rooms, and were aware OF their danger, but
t was too late TO escape. The chortsters rushed
Ilong the narrow passage in the darkness,
hany Of them prrzumauiS g m!ch disabled
u the crush to escape. The basso, tenor, !
md baritone aust have been sufTocated Their
,coies are p,SJably under the ruins. The parts
u me tbeater most filled We're the upper gal
cries, and. as the distance from them TO the
rJors vas long and by narrow corridors End
the people In the galleries had the
greatest difficulty In escaping. There was
very inadequate supply OF water. the sailors
1h0 volunteered as f1remen piled buckets OF
sea- water, which, however, were almost use
esS. TWO midshipmen rescued two persons
rom chamber, Whe are still living. ouf a~H
horribly scorched. one hot. =. raotaE.uin:f;;cS
Some OF the 5vules found are 80 horribly charred
That recognition is impossible. The body of
one OF the singers has been recognized.