The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-12-28

IeSS IlduIC CduSSI ny IL uNlCNIlNN toSS7
burner and a foolish cry of fire at the
Old Front street theatre tonight,
twenty-four people We're killed, two ia
tally injured, and ten more seriously
: hurt.
Up to 1 o'clock this morning but four
of the dead have been identified.
Almost all the victims are of Polish
nativity and debraic extraction and
many of the injured were taken to
their homes by friends, rendering it
almost impossible to get a complete list
at this time.
Three Thousand in 1t.
The theatre, which is probably the
Oldest in the city. was filed from pit to
dome with people who had assembled
To listen TO Hebrew opera, which had
been given in the old opera house twice
a week for the past month The tick
ct office receipts show that over 200
tickets had been sold when, at s o'clock
the sale Of seats was stopped because
there was no more left General ad-
mission tickets were sold, however,
after this and it is supposed that there
We're at least 5000 people within the
walls when the curtain went up on the
first act. AS the capacity of the house
is less than $780, the density of the
crowd may be imagined.
Ten minutes after the curtain rose,
one of the attendants went up to the
second tier to light a gas Jet which
appeared to have been eXtinguished.
! AS he turned the cock and applied a
match the light flared up and it was
seen that there was no tip to the bur-
ner. The Jet was well down toward
the stage on the left side of the house
in plain view of the greater part of
I Il l,A rl11 f1Or-
showed against the wall, some one in
! the gallery shouted Fire! Fire. F'ire!'
Ho,yIing. Smoking Mob.
In an instant there was a wild
scramble for the door, in which the
whole audience took part. The van
guard of the terror-stricken multitude
pushed on by the bowling, shrieking
mob behind them. There these in the
foremost rank were compelled to turn
to the right and to the left to reach
the double entrance way, built in the
| form of a storm door. Passing
through these doors they reached a
flight Of steps leading from each door
! downward to a landing from whence
a broad stairway of moderate height
would have carried them into the
street and to safety. The steps lead
ing from the doorway are but five feet
nigh, but the landing at their base is
narrow Down these the frightened
people hustled themselves in the
frlghtful struggle to reach the open
air and to escape the certain death
behind them. AS the crowd reached
the landing, one to the right and one
to the left, they met. There was a
prle1 struggle, and then someone lost
his or her footing and fell In a mo-
ment the crowd pushed with irresist-
able force from the rear, crowded
upon the PROSTATE form and began.
IN turn to stumble, reel and presently
fall prone upon the floor. under the i
myriads of feet coming down like a
nero OF buffaloes from behind.
A Writing Mass.
In less time than it takes to tell it. |
the landing was packed twenty or !
thirty deep with the panic-striclzen I
multitude, and the hundreds behind |
them were struggling over them to !
reach the street.
Inc tumuIt attracted an immense
crowd from the outside many of whom
tried to gain entrance to the theatre
thus adding to the confusion. A dozan
policemen also attracted bv the
snrleks of the frightened crowd hur-
REQ to the scene and, using their
ciupS on those outside, pushed through
the door and to the writing mass on
the landing va
Among the first to reach them was
o ~ Ger II. ). Kelly. Forcing his way
IN through the main door he grasped
par OF arms, and pulling with all
his might dragged a woman from
, the surging crowd. A glance at
ner lace showed that she was past all
human aid, dead from suffocation.
AGAIN he reached into the mass of
humanity and pulled out a boy about
years Old He too was dead. also
from sultocat1on with scarce bruise
ON his body. The other officers nv
this time, reinforced by a dozen Of
thelr fellow officers, dragged out the
PROSTATE ones. passing them to those
on the sidewalk.
Ambulances carried the dead to tba
morgue and the wounded to the civ
hospital, wherever practicable. In manv
cases the slightly injured, and in a few
cases those who were badly hurt, were
taken to their homes by friends.
Was No Danger.
When the mass on the landing had
been cleared the frightened mob inside
were quoted down sufficiently to en-
able the police to clear the theatre
Then it was found that there had been
no danger and not a soul would have
been injured had the audience but re-
manned in their seats
Nine bodies were taken to the
morgue, all of them dead from suffo-
cation. OF those taken to the civ
hospital fifteen are dead. Two more
will probably die before morning. as
they are seriously hurt The confusion s
at both places is indescibable and +,
up to midnight four of the dead had s
been identified. !
AS has been stated, all the dead and t
injured are Polish Hebrews and few ]
of them have friends or relatives who /
are able to speak English sufficiently {
well to make themselves understood.
or enough knowledge of the ways of /
this country to know where to go to c
look for their lost ones.
The dead are of all ages. from mere I
infants to gray-hafred men and wo- S
men. All were killed or injured in
he terrific crush on the fatal landing.
not casualty having happened inside
The house, although the crush there
vas tremendous.
The Front street theatre is an old !
lumble-down affair. on the west side
IF Front street between Cav and Low =