The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1891-12-31
THEATER PANIC.
A Boy Drops a Lighted Match
From the Gallery,
Which Sets Fire to Some Stage
Paraphernalia Beneath.
A Frightened Woman Shrieks Out Fire,
Causing = Stampede-The Result is u
Frightful Jam, In Which y Num-
ber Of Lives Were Lost.

LONDON, Dec. 2S-A frightful panic
occurred, Saturday night in the Royal
theater, Gateshead, resulting in the
loss of a number of lives. Owing
to the Christmas season, the Royal
theater was thronged with theater peo-
pie. The audience, while not unruly, in
dulged in more license than is allowed in
most London theaters, and boys smoked
in the balcony without amy apparent
objection on the part of the attendants
The piece on the stage was of sort
familiar in the provincial manufactur-
ing places including magic, sleight of
hand and other variety.
One of the boys smoking got SO inter-
ested in the play chat he accident
ally dropped a burning match on the
people below him. The match set fire
to some of the theatrical furniture, ex-
actly what is not yet known, but at any
rate the slight blaze communicated to
a partition.
A woman noticed the fire, and
shrieked that the theater was burning.
At once the audience, which had
been all attention to the play, was
aroused, and, not comprehending the
exact danger, made a sudden and SIM
ultaneous rush to escape. Every aisle
and avenue became packed and the au-
dience, which was numerous enough to
have made exit slow and difficult had
there been no panic, became one pant
ing struggling mass of cursing men,
and crying, half suffocated women and
children. The strong, hearty men
from iron works and mills showed
| no pity for the weaker sex. If a
woman or child fell beneath the strain,
she or it was at once crushed under
iron-shod heels. Men climbed on each
| others heads and sought to tread over
the squirming mass of humanity to
safety. Women pleaded for their little
ones, holding them above their heads
as far as arms could reach, and the
babes, with the breath being squeezed
out of them. were saved, in several in
stances by being grasped in the strong
| hands of men able to hold them, with
| one arm, above the crowd.
Down the main staircase the multi
tude struggled and painted, The jani-
| tor, Foster, had rushed to open the
door at the foot of the stairs. The
solid crowd fell on him like an i'm
mense Krupp hammer. crushing the
| life out of his body, which was aatten-
ed to the door. Down with him went
the eight or ten at the head of the
mass, and had the lives stamped out of
them. Behind, the shrieks and loud
oaths, with appeals for mercy and
| eXecrations against the Creator, made
| hell; in front, at the foot of the stairs,
| was the rampant of dying and dead,
over which the escaping multitude had
to climb.
Meanwhile, these on the stage had
not been idle. 1t was soon apparent to
the players that the panic had little or
no cause, and they shouted appeals to
the people to be still. One actor. in the
| attire of magician, climbed into the
balcony from the stage. and implored
the audience to be calm. "Return to
your seats" he cried, there is no fire;
the only danger is in your panic"
Some of those in the rear turned at his
words and stopped their share in the
mad struggle to get out, but the large
majority needed not the warning and
pressed on.
Two men, thinking they had no other
way of ESCAPE, leaped frorn the win
dows into the street, and were severely
injured. Many slid down into the pit
by the supports of the balcony. When
the theater was at length emptied, and
the panic over, it was found that teu
were dead, and that many others had
broken limbs snd were otherwise seri-
ously injured.
The fire itself which had given occa-
sion to the horror, was but a slight al
fair, having only burned through thin
partition. and was easily eXtnguished
with two buckets of water 1t was
sufficient, however, to make some
smoke, which hung about the ceiling
and the sight of the smoke had much to
do with perpetuating the panic, when
it might otherwise have been ca'med.
The city of Gateshead has been
thrown into general morning by the
calamity, and all to-day the theater
was guarded by police from the multi
tude of the curious. Many pathetic in
cidents occurred in the terrible crush
for the doors. but it is also stated that
the display of brutal selfshness over
came every other feature of the awful
occurrence.
The news of the catastrophe
spread rapidly, and soon thous-
ands of frantic people were rush
ing to the scene to ascertain the
fate of relatives or friends. Within a
few hours all of the dead were identi-
fed. All were between the ages of
thirteen and sixteen. The names of
the dead are: Casely. Robson (2),
Crepp Carlen Watson Rainbridre
Murray Waddingtor and Forster The
last named was the check -taker.
The lessee of the theator announces
that he will give the proceeds of the
performance to the bereaved, and will
close the theater pending an inquiry