San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-12-27
COLISEUM FIRE.
How The Big Chicago Show
Place Was Fired.
SOME EMPLOYEES TELL HOW 1T
WAS DONE BY A LAMP
EXPLOSION
The Author of This Story Now De-
MES tit is RumOred That
II Was The Work of lncen-
iian-InyeStigatiOn by
The Company.

Chicago, Dec. 27.-The Coliseum
which burned Christmas eve was set
on fire by a pet dog. An explosion
of gasolene set the dog on fire. Lol-
ita, a dancer in the Cuban village,
says Frank Murphy, an employee in
the X-ray booth, confessed to her that
he caused the explosion. She says
he told this to her and her mother,
when he called on them about the
benefit TO be given the exhibitors
Lolita said:
Murphy told me today how the fire
started. 1t was caused by an explo-
sion of gasolene in the X-ray exhibit.
A big lamp was used to light the booth
but it was not considered sufficient,
and the manager of the show went for
a gasolene torch. Murphy said man
named Bowen gave the gasolene torch
to the manager and about twenty
minutes past five O'clock Murphy car
ried in tive-gallon can of gasolene.
The lamp was burning close by and
when Murphy went to fill his gaso-
lene torch he was quite near the burn
ing lamp. Merely, the manager of
the exhibit, was on a ladder over the
lamp arranging the drapery about the
booth. Murphy started to pour the
gasOlene into the tank of the torch,
which had not been lighted, but the
fluid caught from the lamp nearby and
went up in puff. There was little
pet dog in the place connected with
the exhibit and when the gasolene ex-
plOded the dog was covered with the
burning oil. The poor beast rushed
around in terror and set fire to the
drapery of the booth, which hung TO
the floor. Quicker than a flash the
whole trimming of the booth was on
fire and the blaze was rising to the
balcony, where our show was located.
The men about the booths nearby ran
and got the extinguishers, but they
would not work. The hose was turn
ed on, but they could get no water.
y. Morales, Mexican dancer.
warned me to get out, and we had
just got out of the door when the gas
tank that supplied the calcium lights
for the tight rope walkers exploded
and the place was a mass of flames"
Lolita's story as to the origin of the
fire was corOborated by Frank Hat
field, the doorkeeper.
Murphy was seen but denied that
the explosion of a can of gasolene was
the cause of the fire. He thought the
drapery caught fire from the stump
of a cigar or cigarette.
''The origin of the fire will be
thoroughly investigated by the police
and by agents of the insurance COM
panies and our company will do all in
its power to assist in the investiga-
tion," said Col. John Dickinson, presi-
dent of the Coliseum company. II do
not know whether the fire was due to
the act of incendiaries or not,% he
continued, although l am inclined to
think it was caused by some accident
in the X-ray or picture exhibit About
all L have heard that would indicate
incendiarism has been CLEANED from
the newspapers.
I'VE have meeting of the executive
committee of our company tomorrow.
The subject of rebuilding will doubt
less be considered, from what l know
of the temper of the stockholders I
am satisfied that no such project will
be undertaken by them for. although
the Coliseum babe fair to be a very
profitable investment, those who have
put money into it have, of course, lost
money heavily by its destruction. We
had just. gotten clear of debt and were
in a fair way to make money in the
future"