Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-12-31
were fully 800 to 500 dead bodies III
first balcony of the theatre.

Iii 81 UdICOhy VI SAS
Chicago. Dec. 30.-The fremen io .he
at the head of the stairs Leaning ne,
balcony a large number OF people p ID
up six to eight feet high, SO tans s ~
that the policen,en and firemen hau =
drag them out by main force'
chicago. Dec. 3O.-At p. M, the ~
lice estimate that 500 persons en ne
lost their lives or were inluIeu arried
fire. Some Of the persons Deihs we're
from the building at that houi
still alive. N 100
dead bodies had been taken - ,rhe
principal morgues of the Guy ,,,ore
keepers refused to take any u.a n
bodies, saying the places were me- cons
Overlooking with dead, though eon-
| were backing I'D to the oooio
stantly with more bodies.
Chicago. Dec. 3O.-Forty-three pouisS
had been carried out of one
trance Of, the theatre. Only woinn n
showed signs of life. The bodies taA-
~, fro,,, tho different entrances accu-
mulated so rapidly that tney Tho
be piled up two or three deep and
| sidewalk. Police amDuian cant
| other vehicles took them TO tne .cssi-
tails and morgues as rapidly aS p
BILE.
cbic,po Dec. 3O,-At 4.50 O'CLOCK oV
bodies had been carried from the urea
| ire into Thompson's restaurant ole
door east. OF those, fully ~ ~eie
| dead. a number were showing i"hit
| SIGNS IF life and it was impossiDie 70
toll at first glance whether about one
an.on ,f them were dead or alive They
wnre mostly the bodies Of young
women, under 20 years OF az. u
| children from to IL. The DOME. W.
| placed on the floor, on cnaHe;
and one young woman IN drlppms So
ments was stretched along 'ne oisaf
case. - -.
| All the large drygoods stores Oh the
| city which are situated Wnh'h t"o
SQUARES of the theatre-fleios, Mail
dels, Carson, Pierce, Scott Co. 0cnies-
niger & Meyer, and the Boston store
as soon as they heard Of the emergen-
cy. sent wagon load after wagon load
Of blankets, linen and cotton Ior Dand-
ARES. All Of their teams was placed
at the disposal of the authorities and
were utilized in conveying the wounded
| to hospitals or to the offices OF nearby
physicians.
| Withing Is minutes after the fire
| broke out fully so physicians were on
the scene and trained nurses seemed
to spring from the ground SO rapidly
| did they appear. AS soon as body
was taken into Thompson's or one of
| the neighboring stores, it was exam
med with a stethscope for signs Of
| life.
Chicago, Dec. 3O.-Most of the occu-
pants Of the first gallery were caught
| in a trap. When the fire broke out,
| with one simultaneous run, they made
1 for the exits In the aisles they fought
tooth and nail and when the firemen
| reached the balcony they found bodies
upright, wedged between chairs like so
many sticks. Some Of; them were
burned to a crisp, others were st1ffocat-
ed and some in their frenzy had leaped
| over the balcony rail into the audito-
| rum and were incinerated.
| Fear of a COLLAPSE Of the walls of
the building occupied by the Chicago
1 Real Estate Board, next to the theatre
| caused the firemen at Sis p. NJ, to
4 order the removal of the many bodies
which had been taken to the Real Es-
tate building.
| Chicago, Dec. SCATTER the first
! alarm of fire when the excitement was
at it's height two explosions of gas
| tanks occurred, hurting fragments
through the roof. 1t was then that the
flames broke out of the roof and
through the windows.
Chicago, Dec. $3.50 p. M. Chief
Musham said that he considered 500 as
the lowest estimate for the total dead
and injured. =
Chicago. Dec. 3O.-According to
Stage Manager Carlson. all the the
1 atrical people are accounted for,
though some were slightly burned.
Among the burned are Polly Whitford.
Queen of the Fairies. and Dottie Mar
low of the Pony ballet.
Chicago. Dec. 3O.-According to the
morgue keepers there are 1872 bodies at
six of the morgues as follows:
1
80: Gavin's, e; County, 10; st. Luke's
hospital. H.
The crowds around Rolston's and
Jordan's are so large that 1t is impos-
sihle to get the excited people into
line to view the dead. Therefore the
crowd was notified that no one would
be admitted. tonight. to see II they
could identify their relatives or friends.
Only one body was identified at the
County morgue.
| Chicago. Dec. 30.-Coroner Traeger
at 7.45 p. M. reports by actual count
1856 dead
Chicago, Dec. 30.-At $50 P. NJ 1t IS
declared by the police that 637 bodies
have been taken from the ruins.
|, TIE ALvoRD REWARD
Shall Go to }. n. Atwood, Boston, Says
Judge Mccall.