The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1895-12-28
TWEAIY.F0UR PERSONS KILLED
Terrible Results of Panic at a
Hsbrew Gathering.
The Lighting of n Gas jet Caused Some
One to Raise the Cry or Fire When
the Whole Audience In a Mad Rush
Piled Upon One Another In q Narrow
Stairway. ISL

Stairway. R
BALTIMORE, Dec. 27.-In q senseless
panic, caused by defective gas burner
and foolish cry OF nre, at the old
Front Strees Theatre tonight, twenty
four paople wore killed, two fatally In
1ured and ten moro seriously hurt. Up
to 2 O'Clock this morning thirteen Of the
dead have been identified They are
Leo Cohen. aged IS, sO5 North Front
street; Jennie Henzle, aged ls, 209 AL
10, 226 South Eden street; Morris NAL
Rious, tailor, aged 80; Louis Amoski,
aged As; Louis Levepstein, aged IS;
Gabriel Bernstein, aged A; Theresa
Bernstein. aged S; Ids friedman. aged
Ia; Sarah Rosen, aged Is; Lena Lewis,
aged 90; - Sa.zbsrg, aged 1a; -
Wolf, aged IS, man, Inc oshers are ss
the morgue awaiting Identification.
Inc injured at tho city hospital are
MRS. Friedman, aged 25, crushed; Mrs.
Goldman, aged 40, badly crushed; Milda
doiuwait aged 10, Commissions and shock;
Morris Shaeffer, crushed; Jacob Gold
stein, aged 20. crushed; abraham Rosen-
thai, aged 80, crushed; unknown boy.
aged 10, will die; unknown woman.aged
20 Will die; unknown man, aged 20, se-
rlously hurt about the body; unknown
boy, aged IL, serious internal injurie g.
Most OF the killed and injured are
hebrews. Thoy were carried to hos-
pitels and their homes and 1t was very
difficult to obtain their names.
The theatre, which Ia possibly the
Oldest In tho city, WAS filled from pit to
aome with people who had Assem- bled to
listen to the Hebrew opera which has
been given In the house twice a weak
for the past month.
The ticket offices show that over
2,T00 tickets had been sold, when at 6
O'CLOCK the sale of seats Yves stopped
Decause there WAS no mora Left, Gen
eral admission tickets were sold, how
ever, alter this, and 1t is supposed there
were at least 5000 in the house when
tho curtain won't up on she first act.
Inc capacity Of the house is less than
$500, the densi;y Of tho crowd may be
imagined.
Ten minutes after the curtain rose
one OF the attendants wont up so the
second tier to light Ras let, which
appeared to have boon pu. out As he
turned the cook and applied match the
light flashed up, and 1t WAS seen that
there was no tip to tho burner. The jst
was we'll down toward the stage on the
| 1910 side OF the house in plain view Of
the greater part of tho audience; but,
as the glare from 1t showed against the
wall some one in the gallery shouted,
Fire, fire. fire."
In an instant there WAS mad
scramble for the doors, in which the
whole audience took part.
Ineysnguard OF the frightened multi
tuda reached the ENTRANCE on the front
M hnH hryk y
ing mob behind thsm. There those in
the foremoet rank were compelled to
turn - the right and left to reach tho
double entrance way built in the form
OF storm doors. Passing through theee
doors they reached flghs of steps
leading from eaca door, downward to q
Landing, from whence q broad stairway
or moderate height would have carried
them into the street, and to safety. The
steps leading from tho doorways are
bat about five feet high but the land
ing at their base is narrow. Down these
the frigh toned people hurled themselves
In the frigh.ful struggle to reach the
open air, and to escape the certain death
they thought WAS behind them.
AS the crowds from the two doors, one
on the right, the other on she left, to
reach the landing, met, there
was brief struggle. and then somo ono
lost his or her footing and fell, In
moment tho crowd pushed with TREE
sietable force from the rear, crowded.
upon tho PROSTATE forms and began tn,
turn to tumble, reel and presently to,
fall prone upon the floor under the.
myriads OF feet coming like herd Of.
frightened buffalo from behind. IR.laa@
time than it takes to tell IL. the landina 4,
was packed twenty or thirty deep win
the psnic.stricken multitude, and .the
hundreds behind them were struggling
over them TO reach the street. "A
The tumuls attracted an Anu snse
| crowd from the outside, manyofp$hen hj
tried to gain entrance to heaBS%,I
thus adding to the oonfusi9S Z. a. 1SEsR
policemen. also attracted 8ySS6 maea
OF the frightened crowd Swess .to- qEe, +,
scene, and, using rheir@3E SH- h8,S.
outside, pushed through Che apa Toahss
mass on the landings
Among the frstao.lsscsf, them Ssysg
Officer Kellyf.Wh9so. %sas1ftssr 10 e
block away. ForciSs 1is Wa Is ia. shro5ISiE
and pulling wilt, al SID 9SsRt Esggea
woman frorm afdeS ha42JanxS ewd!S
glance az Eer tsce @hgasA Aas She:
(cOSIaIgA OF l@ssFng sHSEs