The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-12-28
4 FIERCE FIRE.
THE COLISEUM AT CHICAGO IS
AGAIN IN RUINS.

SAAy VIZ StC 8OA0
A Number Of People Perish with the
full Destruction Of Life
Chicago, December ,24.-Fire tonight
destroyed the Coliseum building at
SiXty-third street and Stoney Island
tional convention was held las year.
The fire was one Of the quickest ever
seen in Chicago. From the time when
the fire was originated by n crossing
of two electric wires, until h Coliseum
was a pile OF twisted iron and hot
bricks was not over twenty minutes.
The building had been rented for an
exhibit Of a manufacturers exhibition
and was filed end to end with booths.
all of which were destroyed with all
of their contents.
1t is supposed that a number of pec-
pie were lost in the flames, and al
though no bodies have been cover
the following people are missing and
have undoubtedly persisted: A girl
named Pauline, surname not known,
seen to enter the burning building in
search of her mother, whom she said
was imprisoned by the flames. The
girl and her mother were employed in
the Irish village, the former as a dancer
n the latter doing chores.
Two women, dancers in the midway
exhibit, seen in the building just before
it collapsed.
Two men, seen in the centre of the
building during the fire by firemen.
l.. Ladanyi, and his son, conducted
a sausage booth in the building;
Ladanyi entered the structure during
the fire to search for his SON., whom he
declared was penned in by the flames
and never has since been seen.
The fire originated in a booth which
was used for an exhibition of x rays,
the booth being managed by M. J. Nor
ley and William Robertson. The two
men were examining their Roentgen
machine when they were startled by a
sizzling noise behind them and upon
turning saw a part of their exhibit
ablaZe. Cross electric wires, which
were over the exhibit, are thought to
have caused the flames. They at first
tried to smother the flames but before
they secured water and cloth the fire
had spread, throughout the entire
booth. Morley, realizing that he and
his partner would he Unable to cope
with the flames, then made an endeav-
II to save some of the most valuable
of the x ray paraphernalia. Running
to the machine he grasped two Crooke's
tubes and then with Robertson began
fighting his way out Of the building.
Before he reached an exit the tubes
which he held in both his hands ex-
ploded, severely decorating his hands.
His hair also caught fire and he was
severely burned o the head. Rob-
ertson was burned about the face. So
About 800 hundred people were in the
building at the time of the fire and at
the first alarm there was a rush for
safety. Fortunately the aisies were
wide and, owing to the comparatively
small humble of people i'm the building,
there was little difficulty in reaching
the doors. Most of those endeavoring
to escape ran to a large dOor on the
east side of the building which is wide
enough to admit a team of horses and
wagon. "A crowd of fully 200 people
gathered before this door which was
fOund to be locked and as the fire was
roaring through the building with
great speed it seemed for a few min
utes as though none of these would be
able to escape. w. j. Wheeler, a
Waterman, saw the trouble and ran to
open the door, 'bu the crowd was pack
ed infront of it so closely that he had
the greatest difficulty in opening it.
once it swung wide, however, the
crowd was in the open air in a few
seconds. During the jam at this joint,
several people were badly crushed, but
none was seriously injured. The bal
ance of the people made their way
through the other doors and several
who were caught in the balcony were
compelled to jump to the ground from
the roof. The balcony is lined with
indOw that swing OutW7ards and
they had no trouble in getting upon the
roof and from there the leap to the
ground was not great.
The fremen were at hand before all
of the people were out, and before they
made any effort to fight the flames
they devoted their attention o clearing
a of the people. By the time
they were ready to our water on the
fire 1t was useless to do anything, as
the fire spread with such rapidity that
there was no chance whatever Of saw
ing the building after it had once got
beyond the confines of the booth in
which it started. Within ten minutes
after the fire began, the roof was
ablaZe, and in a very short time after
h fire had appeared on the top of the
building, one of the large arches that
spanned the building gave way with
a tremendous report, and then another
and then another, each one going down
with a sound like the report Of a can
non. The building fell very quickly, as
after the first arch went down the
weight was too great for the arches
next to it and all collapsed. 1t took
not over twenty minutes to make a
complete ruin of the building.
Nothing further is known of those
supposed to be lost.
The Coliseum cost $3.50, goo and was
twice as large as the Madison Square
Garden building of New York. 1t had
a floor al Of v acres, including
the ground and gallery FLORES. 1t was
no feet long by 800 wide, and contain
Q6 9 mo 000 Mounds ~ r&-oar 4 0nn mn