The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1904-01-09

der the seat. ana could not leaYe ner
there. All / could see were the backs
Of the people lighting like mad at the
doors. The flames seemed TO be every
where, and when | saw where ! was /
got sick. Then l reached Lester. | re-
member dragging her up the aisle.
Through the smoke l saw II door where
the crowd was not very big We got
through between the seats They were
hot and burned us. l fell down when
we got outside"
Eddie Foy, leading comedian in "Mr.
Bluebeard, said Of the lire horror:
/ tried TO get passes for my whole
family TO the matinee at the Iroquols
on Wednesday, Dec. 80, 1903. The
house was sold out, but they promised
10 save some seats If possible. l took
my boy Bryan with me and left Mrs.
Toy with the others at the hotel. l
thought maybe the management would
send over Il few seats for them.
l was on in the first act and saw that
Of the great crowd there must have
been 2,10O persons in the house nearly
all were young people or children. /
was In my dressing room preparing to
go on In the elephant speciality In the
second act when | heard a noise. /
thought there was fight ON the stage
and, remembering my boy, | took him
from his seat In box on 10 the stage.
BY that time, ten seconds, the whole
top of the stage was mass of whirl-
ing flame. l took my boy in my arms
and ran TO the stage door. People were
fighting TO get out OF there. Then /
thought of those crowds of children In
the balcony and gallery, and | thought
to myself, "Foy, you're very selfishp'
l thought of my own babies at home,
fearing one or two of them might, after
all, have come TO the show. / threw
Bryan into the arms of a stage hand
and yelled to him, Take out my boyl'
Then | turned and ran back across the
stage and down 10 the front
/ looked into the balcony. / saw
those hundreds of terror stricken chill
dren. saw the flames sweeping across
l thought again of my babies, and |
said TO myself: You poor little ones!
There is not one chance in million for
you" Then l thought again OF Bryan
Maybe the man had thrown him down
or been unable to get through the mass
at the door. half determined to run
back, but | went on to the front Of the
stage.
was desperately cool. | spoke slow
ly, / realized that to have any effect
on that panic stricken mass / had to
speak slowly. God, how | wished for
an education then that l could have
been able TO hurl words at them and
stop them! | stood perfectly still.
Fire was falling all around me. l
kept talking out Of the corner OF my
mouth TO the orchestra and swearing at
the stage hands, who had almost all
disappeared, telling them to get down
that curtain. Still | kept talking slow
ly. / talked slowly, as comedian does
when he's working up to laugh, but
In half minute talking and acting
were useless-the whole thing was
afire. Herbert Dillea, who had kept
on leading the orchestra, and that lit
tie fat man at the fiddle were still
there when all the rest had lied. Dill
lea kept beating time, the fat man
kept fiddling.
tried TO talk. Once | thought the
rush would stop. The people on the
orchestra floor thlnned out and some
stopped fighting. Everybody did the
best they could. ! blame no one. But
women 20 crazy at fire. They'll run
straight into flames. | saw them do II.
I looked up. The asbcstus curtain was
burning | thought, "Will jump over
the orchestra or try TO get ont at the
backy" ! guess | went crazy about
that time | remember jumping up and
pounding away nc the buttons that con-
troll the machinery hoping by luck /
might bring that curtain down. Then l
ran on out. | found all the kids safe
at home.