Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-10
CAUSED BY CHILDREN.
CatastrOphes That Have Resulted in
Loss of Life and Property.
From Tit-Bits.

From T1t-B1tS.
1t is not often that child in naughty
mood does much damage as was occa-
stoned recently in an Indian village in
Malabar. A little lad of six, having been
scolded by his mother, threatened to set
fire to the house-and did In hot
weather on the plains, and especially in a
native village. where the houses lie thick
and where fire engines are unknown, fire
soon spreads, and the one that was kim
died by this mischievous urchin lasted two
hours and destroyed fifty-seven houses.
On the 2sth of November, 1879, a med
ding MILDLY opened a valve in the Iron
Duke, and the sea rushed in. He first
tried to shut the valve. and then. becom-
ing frightened. away to another part
of the ship His cowardice caused damage
to the extent of $50 900 and came very near
losing the country one of its finest men-of-
war. This was bad enough, but some three
or four years later a big ship, the Esper-
ANA. from San Francisco to CallaO, was
totally lost owing to the action of baby
of five, little girl. in medding with the
compasses. The Inflated vessel had on
board ninety-seven passengers and crew,
and of these all but eleven persisted. Among
the saved the innocent cause of the
terrible catastrophe.
There have been many cases of fatal
theater panics being willfuly caused by
terrible of all. however, was brought about
quite inadvertently. At the Victoria Hall,
Sunderland. on June Ii, 1SS3, few children
in the gallery started run down stairs
in order to secure their share of some toys
that We're being distributed in the body of
the building by a conjurer named Fay
Others followed their example, the stairs
became blocked, and in the end no fewer
than 1876 unhappy little ones were crushed
to death.
On the evening of October II. 1878. a
policeman on duty near the Coliseum Mu-
sic Hall. Liverpool noticed an unusual
commOtion at the entrance Disheveled
boys and girls their clothing in many m
stances torn from their backs, and some
of them covered with blood, We're pouring
from the gallery, while from within
the building came the sound of shriellire
and wild cries for help Realizing what
was happening, the constable seized an Ak
and smashed in two of the extra" doors;
but despite this timely assistance thirty
seven unhappy people lost their lives, and
more than twice that number were badly
hurt The cause of the panic was young
Hooligan of ten. who threw lighted
match into the auditorium, and then raised
a cry of "Fire,'
A similar piece of folly-perpetrated by a
girl-initiated almost precisely similar
stampede among the occupants of the gal
lery of the Star Theater, Glasgow, on No
vember l. 1884, when fifteen persons were
killed and as many injured.
At the Surrey Music Hall. Sheffield, again
on September b. 1885, lad in the gallery.
in selecting match from a box for the
purpose of lighting his pipe, accidentally
set fire to the remainder. girl sitting
next to him cried out, and instantly there
commenced a wild rush, for the doors.
Luckily the gallery staircase was wide and
the flight short: otherwise the loss of life
would probably have been very great. AS
it was, five persons persisted.
To go farther back still, panic, original
ing in precisely the same way, caused the
loss of eighteen lives in the winter of 1907,
at Sadlers Wells Theater, then one Of the
most fashionable resorts In London while
as recently as January 1S, 1887, a false
alarm of fire, raised by a young Jewish
girl. cost the lives of seventeen persons at
a Hebrew dramatic club IN Spitalfields.
The recent terrible accident to the Scotch
express, caused through two lads playing
with a luggage trolley. will be at once
recalled by nine out of every ten people
by this time. however, fs the even more
shocking catastrophe near Rednal, in
which no fewer than thirteen people were
killed and about forty injured. 1t occurred
through the miscellaneous conduct of a
party of school boys, who removed the
spikes that held one of the rails to the
sleepers. Only the other day, it will be
remembered. two lads We're arrested for
tamperng with the signals on a suburban
line, and the evidence clearly proved that
terrible accident would have been inevi-
table but for chance discovery of the
mischief
One of the worst colliery accidents that
has ever taken place in the united king
dom was that which, on November 8 1861,
plunged into mourning almost the whole
of the Rhondda Valley district. A little
pit lad employed at the Ferndale mine
opened his safety lamp-contrary. of course,
to regulations-and caused an explosion
which blew to atoms himself and nearly
200 of his mates. Another explosion at
tributabe to a similar cause. was that
which killed fifty-four miners at Ashley pit,
near Manchester, on April H. 1874.