The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-15
CAUSED BY CHILDREN.
CatastrOphes That Have Resulted in
Loss of Life and Property.
From TIT BITS


1t is not often that child in a naughty
mood does so much damage as was oc-
casioned recently I'm an Indian village in
Malabar. A little lad of g. having been
scolded by his mother, threatened to set
fire 10 the house-and did so. In hot
weather on the plains, and especially in a
native village, where the houses lie thick
and where fire engines are unknown, a
fire soon spreads, and the one that was
kindled by this mischevious urchin lasted
two hours and destroyed ffty-seven
houses.
On Nov. %, 1875, a meddling mildly
opened a valve in the Iron Duke, and the
sea rushed in. He first tried to shut the
valve, and then becoming frightened, ran
away to another part of the ship. HIS
cowardice caused damage to the extent of
fS5, 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 Esperanza,
from San Francisco to Callao was totally
lost owing to the action of a baby of FIVE
a little girl, in meddling with the COM
passes. The Inflated vessed had on board
ninety-seven passengers and crew, and of
these all but eleven persisted. Among the
saved was the Innocent cause of the terri
BILE catastrophe.
There have been many cases of fatal the
ater panics being wilfully caused by mis-
cheViouS children. One of the most terri
BILE of all, however was brought about
quite inadvertently. AT the Victoria Hall
Sunderland, on June Is, 1888, a few chill
dren in the gallery started to run down
stairs, in order to secure their share of
some toys that were being distributed in
the body of the building by a conjurer
named Fay Others followed their ex-
ample the stairs became blocked and In
the end no fewer than 1856 unhappy little
ones were crushed to DEATH
on the evening of Der. II, 1873. a police
man on duty near the Coliseum Music
Hall Liverpool, noticed an unusual COM
motion at the entrance. Disheveled boys
and girls their clothing in many instances
torn from their backs, and some of them
covered with blood, were pouring from the
gallery, while from within the building
came the sound of shreking and wild
cries for help. Realizing what was hap
pening 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 a young HooH-
gan of ten. who threw a lighted match
into the auditorium, and then raised a cry
of Fire.
A similar piece of folly-perpetrated by
a girl-intiated an almost precisely SINH
lar stampede among the occupants of the
gallery of the Star Theater Glasgow. on
Nov. /, 1884. when fifteen persons were
killed and as many injured.
At the Surrey Music Hall, Sheffield,
again on Sept. 10, 1855, lad In the gallery,
IN selecting a match from a box for the
purpose of lighting his pipe, accidentally
set fire 10 the remainder. A girl sitting
next 10 him cried out, and instantly there
commenced wild rush for the doors.
Luckily the gallery staircase was wide
and the fight short; otherwise the loss OF
life would probably have been very great.
As il was, five persons persisted.
To go farther back still, banic origi-
mating in precisely the same way. caused
the loss of eighteen lives In the winter of
1907 al Sadler's Wells Theater then one
OF the most fashionable resorts in London,
while as recently as Jan. IS, 1887 a false
alarm of fire, raised by young Jewish
girl. cost the lives of seventeen persons at
4 Hebrew dramatic club In Spitalhelds.
The recent terrible accident to the Scotch
express, caused through two lads playing
with a luggage trolley, will be at once re-
called by nine out OF every ten people who
read these lines. Well-nigh forgotten by