Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-12-28
DEATH IN A PANIC.
Frightfu! Result Of Frenzy in q
Theatre Audience.
TwENTY.ONE TRAMPLED TO DEATH
Two Fatally anu Ten Others Seriously
Hurt in the Rush Of Frantic
People.

Dreadful Cry nj "FIrs- Ra,sed n the Gal.
i~ry Becausc . Oas BuYner Having No
Tip Was LightsA-Two Year-stficken
Go Down sud Are Piled Up Undef the
Masidepsd Throsg Seeking to Escape
from lmsgised Danger.
BALTIMORE, Dec. sS-Twenty-f -four per-
s,ns two fatally injured and ten
seriously hurt during q panic at
the old Front street theatre in this city
last night Almost ali Of the victims arc
of Polish nativity and Hebraic extrac-
tion, and many Of the injured were taken
To their homes by friends, renderingit al
most impossibleto get a complete list. This
theatre, which Is probably the oldest In
the city, was filed from pit to dome with
people who had assembled TO listen to
old house twice week for the past month.
The ticket Office receipts show that 200
tickets had been sold when, mt o'clock,
the saie Of seats was stopped because there
were no more left. General admission
tickets were sold, however, after this. and
It Is supposed that there were mt least !. 200
people within the walls when the curtain
went up on the first net.
Cry Of Birs starts . Panic.
As the capacity Of the house Is lc - than
2,5o0 the the density Of the crowd may be
imagined. Ten minutes after the curtain
rcsc one of the attendants went up to the
second tier to light gas jet which ap.
pcard to have been extinguishcd. As he
turned the cock and applied n match the
light ilarcd up. and 1t was seen that there
was no tip to the burner. The jet was
well down toward the stage ON the left
sido Of the house, In plain view Of the
greater part Of the audience, but ns tho
glare from 1t showed against the wall,
some one In the gallery shouted "Fire.
firc, nrc!" In an instant there was mad
scramble for the door in which the whole
audience took part. Tho vanguard Of the
tcrror-strickcn mulitude reached the en-.
trance on Front street, pushed on by the
bowling, shricking.mob In the rear. There
thosc in the foremost rank wcrc com
pcllcd To turn To the right and to the left
to reach tho double cntnsncc way, built
ia the form of storm doors.
Meeting os Two rvsssseA Crowds.
Passing through these doors, they
rcachcd nigat of steps leading from each
door downward to landing from whencs
a broad stairway Of moderate height
would have carried them into the stree,
and to safety. The steps leading from the
doorways are but about five feet high. but
the landing at their base Is narrow. Dowr
these the frcnzied people hurled them
selves In the frightful struggle to rcacl
the open mir and to escape the certain
death they thought wns behind them. a,
the crowds from the two doOrs. one On tn,
right, the other ON the left, reached tn,
landing they met. There was u brie
struggle, and then some one lost his or hel
footing and fell.
rtied Twenty or Thirty Deep.
In n moment the crowd, pushed Will
Irresistible force from the rear. crowded
upon the prostrate form and began in turI
TO stumble and reel, and presently to fal
prone upon the floor under the nhyriads o
feet coming like n herd OF frightened bui
falo from behind. In less time than I
takes 70 tell IL the landing was packe,
twenty or thirty deep with the panic
stricken multitude. and tho hundcrris be
hind them wcrs struggling over them L
rench the street.