The Dickinson press., 1904-01-02

naming above his waist line. The en-
tire upper portion Of his body had
been cut into mince heat and carried
away by the feet of those who tram
pied him; search was carefully made
with hope OF finding his head. but at
a late hour last night it had not been
discovered and all that will ever tell
his friends who he was is the color
and appearance of the clothing on the
lower limbs. and this is in such con-
dition as to be hardly recognizable.
The theater has been constructed
but short time and all it's equipment
was not yet in place. This was un-
fortunately the case with a fire escape
in the rear of the building The small
iron balconies to which the iron lad
der was TO be attached were up but the
ladder had not yet been constructed.
When the panic was at its height a
great number of women ran for these
fire escapes only to find as they
emerged from the doorway upon the
little iron platform, that they were
thirty to fifty feet from the ground, a
fire behind and no method of escape
in front
Those who reached the platform
first endeavored to hold their footing
and to keep back the crowd that
pressed upon them from the rear. The
effort was utterly useless and in few
moments the iron lodges were jammed
fought and tore at each other like
manacs. This lasted but brief in
terval and the rush from the interior
of the building became so violent that
many of them were crowded off and
fell to the granite-paved alley below.
LEAP FROM THE PLATFORM
TO INSTANT DEATH BELOW.
Others leaped from the platform, frac-
turing legs and arms. and two were
picked up at this point with fractured
skulls. having been killed instantly.
George H. Elliott, secretary of the
Ogden Gas company, was in build
ing directly opposite from the theater
across this alley, and noticing smoke,
went down to ascertain it's cause.
When he reached the street the wo-
men were already dropping into the
alley and Elliott Immediately rushed
for ladder in the effort to save as
many as possible. No ladder was
available and the only method of as.
sistance they were able to devise was
to hurriedly lash some planks together
and throw them across to the offright-
ed women on the platforms, with in
structions to place the end firmly on
the iron framework Before this could
be done fearful loss of time ensued
hn
instant into the alley and by the time
the bridge was constructed but few
remained to take advantage of it
However, about two dozen made theil
way across this narrow causeway.
The members Of the theatrical com
pany. being on the first floor, had
comparatively little difficulty in reach
ing the street.
Eddie Foy, comedian in the play
was one Of the last to escape, by get
ting out through rear door after as
sisting the women members of the
company to safety. He went into the
Sherman House in his stage costume
in order to secure surgical attendance
for some burns which he had sus
tanned.
DRAFT SWEPT FIRE AND GAS
UP INTO THE BALCONIES
In describing the commencement o
the fire Mr.. Foy attributed the exten
OF the catastrophe to the failure O
the fireproof curtain to work properly
Because Of this, he said, the flame!
readily obtained access to the mali
part Of the theater and were by thu
draft carrying with it gas as well al
where the loss of life was greatest.
"The fire began in the middle of thu
second act" said Mr.. Foy. can elec
trio wire broke, was grounded, ant
from this the flames were started ii
the rear Of the stage. The stage il
unusually wide and there was so grea
O draft the flames spread rapidly
They soon had attacked all the scener!
in the rear of the house. / never he
lieved 1t possible for fire to spread 81
quickly. When it first started I wen
to the footlight and to prevent alarm
ing the audience, said that there wa
slight blaze, and that it would b
better for all to leave quietly Thel
/ stepped back and called for the as
bestos curtain to be lowered Thi
when about half way down, refused t.,
20 farther, and thus an additiona
draft was created. This swept tn
flames out into the auditorium and
knew that the theater was doomed
I hurried back to the stage and aidet
In getting the women members Of tn
company into the alley.
CURTAIN FAILING TO FALL
SAVED LIVES OF PLAYERS
"The simple fact that the curtain
did not descend entirely was wha
saved the lives Of the company, al
though it caused such a horrible
catastrophe in the front of the house
After the curtain had refused to dc
scend there came the explosion o
the gas tanks and with the curtai
down, all the fire and gas would hav
been confined between the rear wa
of the theater and the fireproof cul
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