Abilene weekly reflector., 1896-01-02
A FEARFUL PANIC.
Twenty.four People Killed In a
Baltimore Theater.
A STAMPEDE on The CRY OF FIRE
Police, Attracted bv the shouts Of the
Crowd, Use Their Clubs and rushin
to the Writ hing Mass ON the
Landing.

BALTIMORE, Md, Dec. 20 In sense
less panic caused by defective gas
burner and a foolish cry Of fire, at the
old Front Street theater, last night,
"a people were killed, two fatally In.
jured and ten more seriously hurt Up
to one o'clock this morning, but four
Of the dead had been identified.
Almost all the victims are Of Polish ma.
tivity and Hebraic extraction, and
many Of the injured were taken to
their homes by friends, rendering 1t
almost impossible to get a complete
list at this time.
The theater, which is probably the
Oldest in the city, was filed from pit
to dome with people who had assem-.
bled to listen TO Hebrew opera, which
has been given in the old house twice
a week for the past month The ticket
Office receipts show that over 2,7oo
tickets had been sold when, at eight
o'clock, the sale OF seats was stopped
because there were no more left GEN
eral admission tickets were sold, how
ever, after this, and II was supposed
that there were at least 5000 people
within the walls when the curtain
went up on the first act As the CO.
pacity Of the house is less than $500,
the density Of the crowd may be lmag-
ined.
Ten minutes after the curtain rose,
one OF the attendants went mp to the
second tier to light gas jet which ap'
peared TO been extinguished. As he
turned the cock and applied match II
was seen that there was no tip to the
burner. The jet was well down to-
ward the stage on the left side OF the
house, In plain view Of the greater
part Of the audience, but MS the glare
from II showed against the wall. some
one in the gallery shouted, "Firc lircl
Fire!"
In an instant there was mad
scramble for the door, In which the
whole audience took part The van
guard OF the tcrror.stricken multitude
reached the entrance on Front street,
pushed on by the bowling, shrieking
mob behind them. There those In the
foremost rank were compelled to turn
10 the right and to the left to reach
the double entrance way, built In the
form OF storm door. Passing through
these doors, they reached fight OF
steps, leading from each door, down
ward to landing, from whence u
broad stairway Of moderate height
would have carried them into the
street and to safety The steps lead
ing from the doorways arc but about
Ave feet high, but tho landing at their
base is narrow. Down these the
frightened people hustled themselves
In the frightful struggle to reach the
open MIR, and to escape the certain
death they thought was behind them
As the crowds from the two doors,
one on the right, and the other on the
left, reached the landing, they met
There was brief struggle, and then
some one lost his or her footing and
fell, In a moment the crowd, pushed
with irresistible force from the rear,
crowded upon the prostrate form, and
began, In turn, TO stumble, reel, and
presently to fall prone upon the floor
under the myriads OF feet coming like
a herd OF frightened buffalo from be.
hind,
In less time than it takes TO tell it,
the landing was packed 20 or 80 deep
with the panic-striclen multitude, and
the hundreds behind them were strug-
Cling over them to reach tho street,
The tumult attracted an immense
crowd from the outside, many Of
whom tried to gain entrance to the
theater, thus adding to the confusion.
A dozen policemen, also attracted by
the shrleks OF the frightened crowd,
hurried to the scene, and, using their
clubs on those on the outside, pushed
through the door and to the writhing
mass on the LANDING When tho mass
on the landing had been cleared, the
frightened mob on the inside were
quieted down sufficiently TO enable the
police to clear the theater. Then it
was found that there had been no dan.
ger and that not u soul would have
been injured had the audience but re-
mained seated.