The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-12-31

CHICAGO. Dee. 31.-At 1920 O'Clock
this morning the .olice complied a list
OF the bodies covered from the ruins
of the Iroquois Theater and found that
5s1 persons met death in yesterday holo-
caust
With the prospect of finding other
bodies in the debris it is almost certain
the number viii exceed six hundred
Coroner Traeger believes the total will
be nearer to seven hundred, as the upper
portion of the stage and part of the
gallery. not thoroughly searched, may
yield up more Victims
Chicago Appalled,.
The disaster. the most appalling of the
character that has ever befallen Chi
cago. occurred in the middle of the
matinee performance of Mr.. Blue
beard. with fully i,SO0 people in the
audience. large proportion Qf them
women, girls, and little children.
A calcium light. on a stand six feet
above the level Of the stage, exploded.
and in a moment little thread OF
fame had caught the tinsel Of the stage
settings. flooding everything back Of
the footlights in a wave of fire.
Fire Precaution Failed
Eddie Foy. the chief comedian Of the
company. stood out from the panic
stricken group on the stage TO assure
the audience that there was no danger
Even as he spoke the great asbestos
curtain was let down. caught on one
side and failed to work
In another instant smoke burst from
the to9 arch of the stage and from
under the bottom of the curtain. and
before a man or woman in the seats
could rise the whole roof of the audito-
rum was in a blaze Two gas tanks ex-
ploded in the flies on the east side of
the theater and black. choking fumes
beat down in a cloud Of death from
every wall.
Fear, Uncomfortable, Reigned.
That was all Fear. uncomfortable ana
terrible. reigned. Men and women fought
like wild beasts. filled only with desire
for self-preservation. Little babies
slipped from their mothers upIifted
arms and in an instant their lives were
crushed under foot. Girls threw them
selves from tie balcoNes and lay crush
ed and lying until sufocation ended
their miseries.
over 1.0O0 people in the orchestra seats.
with easy access to the doors. gradually
made their way to safety. but most OF
them threw aside wraps. hats. every
thing that seemed to burden them in
their rush for life and the open air. In
spite of the panic. in spite OF the suffo-
cation. nearly all OF them were saved.
Stampede in Gallery.
But iT the balcony and the gallery
the angel of destruction wrought his
frightful work at will. The flame and
smoke gathering on these upper floors
caught the people before they realized
the full extent OF the danger II seem
ed incredible that the little rush of
fire could lap the walls so quickly and
reach out after them like a stroke of
lightning
Then when the fuii meaning of the
disaster came to them they fought and
battled with one another for safety-
battled like stampeded animals-with the
deadly smoke curling all about them.
everything plunged into absolute dark
ness. not even friendly lantern to
show them the way out of this house
of death
Theater Became Morgue.
The classic outlines of the tbeater
the beautiful plush hangings. the arch
ed windows with their stained glass
the stately pillars. became "A morgue
five minutes after the first little ribbon
OF fame made its way along the stage.
Women and girls in the gallery never
had chance for life. They were found
at the eEd still seated in their theater
chairs. their poor. impotent hands burned
into one complingled cinder with the
sides of the seats they had Crashed
when the panic came
Died IN Masses.
Others who had managed. by the
strength of terror. to get into the aisles.
found their awful death in a mingled
doom OF smoke and fire and tearing OF
limbs in the passages and the oDen
space back Of the seats. Dozens of 9th
ers, swept, carried. dragged or thrown
ont to the stairways. and even beyond
them down to the landings, in actual
sight OF the daylight that streameI
through the big front doors-in sight
of the throngs outside. the fire wagons
and the smoking horses-died in great
masses, seven and eight feet high.
limbs mingled fearfully together. cloth |
ing burnt OF. and faces in their last
agonies all turned toward the doors
they could not reach.
N Ind