The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-01-05
DEATH LIST GROWS LARGER
FIVE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY
EIGHT PERSONS PERISH IN
THEATER FIRE.

VOW VIVIAN ~ SONA SAO~oA |
self to tax the resources of the under
but the heavy snow fall Of the
past two days has increased their diff
flculties enormously. All of the ceme-
teries in Chicago are miles from the
business center and residence dis
tricts, and with good weather and the
streets in passable condition it is a
matter of several hours to reach one
Of them. Sunday, when every hearse
was in urgent demand, it required
about twice as long to reach a Gene
terry as under normal conditions. Ar
rangements were made by the under
takers to have as many funerals as
possible held in the early part of the
day, in order to allow if possible, the
use of the, hearse for a second funeral
in the afternoon. In a number of
cases this was done, but there was in
stances where the families who were
to wait for the return Of the hearse
were disappointed, and were compelled
to defer the burial of their loved ones
until today. 1t is not expected there
will be any further trouble in this di-
rection, for today the streets to the
cemeteries are in such a condition as
to permit of the passage of funerals in
almost the ordinary time.
Grave Diggers Kept Busy.
The cemeteries were compelled to
keep men at work all through Satur-
day night digging graves and in some
of the larger cemeteries they barely
managed to make them with sufficient
speed.
At one time Sunday afternoon four
teen burials were in progress in Rose
Hill cemetery and all Of them were
the interments of victims of the fire of
Wednesday afternoon.
In the rooms of one undertaken on
the south side of the city, a fraternal
organization held servicM over five
members of their order at the same
time and all of them were buried side
by side in Waldheim cemetery.
The funeral services over the re-
mains of Ella and Edyth Freckelton,
sisters. were held in Boulevard Hall at
Fifty-fifth and Halsted streets, fully
1000 persons being in attendance and
500 stood outside in the biting wind
until the funeral had departed for
Oakwood cemetery.
In the houxe of the millionaire manu-
facturer, Ludwig Wolff, at 1929 Wash
ing Boulevard. was held the q%uadruple
funeral of his daughter, Mrs. William
Fl. earn, and her three children. A
crowd of more than 1000 people sur
rounded the house and the police were
compelled to open a passageway for
the ~pallbearers when they left the
hohse with the caskets.
Mother and Three Children Buried.
A funeral conducted in a humber
manner was held a few squares from
the Wolff residence at the same time
as that of Mrs. earn and her three
children. 1t was that of Mrs. Mary
w. Hoist and her three children, all
of whom died in the Inflated second
balcony last Wednesday afternoon.
Fully as many people were around the
small frame church in which this fu-
neral was held as gathered outside. the
pretcntious Wolff mansion, and, as In
police were compelled to open a pass.
age way for the caskets as they were
borne to the hearses.
These are but instances of what
happened throughout the length and
breadth of Chicago Sunday. Multiply
the funerals mentioned by twenty and
a better idea can be held of the FIRST
Sunday in the new year.
, The list of dead was increased tC
588 Sunday by the death Of Leroy Rain
bold, a boy of four years who was Sc
verely burned and died at st. Luke's
hospital. OF the ten bodies at the
county morgue -four were identified
Sunday. The injured nov number. 1O8
of whom there is any record.
Outside of the numerous funeral:
that were held in the city it was thu
first day of rest the city has known
since last Wednesday afternoon. Les:
than twenty persons called at the OF
flee of the chief Of police for permit!
to visit morgues and few people wer'
at the hospitals.
!. John Schmidt Still at Large.
} John Schmidt, the stage hand VIII
il said to have left open the reflecto
l which prevented the asbestos curtain
from descending, is still sought by tn
police. He is believed to be in hid
ing in the city. Th0ge were no al
rests Sunday and no more are expect
: ed unless there should be %unexpecte
developments.
t Coroner Traeger and the jury en-
r panelled to sit at the inquest will re
8 sumo their task of collecting evidenc
t at the theater building today. Al
s other exhaustive inspection OF tn
e building will be made and particula
b attention will be paid to any violatio
of the building ordinance which ma
S be found.
e In response to a request from tn
Jury all sightseers will be exclude
from the building while the examin'
ton is in progress.
Mayor Harrison says he intends
h hold a meeting in his office today
l. aldermen ard theatrical managers
it talk over what is best to be done.
The mayor said he had heard not