Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1904-01-06
A HORRIBLE
CATASTROPHE
Hundreds rrsmpisd to Death In q
Panic at q Fire In the iriquois
Theater at Chicago.
MoReUes AND HOSPITALS FULL
Pltiful Scenes Follow the News ot
the Observation-Disclosures Mostly
Women and Children.

Chicago, Dec. 30.-Hundreds OF peo-
pie were killed this afternoon In a
fire which occurred In the Iroquois
thsater. The exact number has. at
this hour, not been fixed, but esti.
mates range from 300 to 700. Many OF
these are women and children. Ev-
cry morgue In Chicago Is filed with
corpses, and every effort Is being
made to Identify the bodies. Full iden.
tifcation, however, will not be posi-.
bic for days, and In many cases the
dead will never be known.
The wounded number among the
hundreds, but there is no means of de.
termining the exact total; likely it
will never be known.
Light Wire the Cause.
The fire in the theater, which was
the largest and most handsomely
equipped, and regarded as the safest
In Chicago. 1t is believed to have orig.
mated from an electric light wire
which grounded in the flies. The In.
fiammable stage settings were soon
ablaze, and q panic resulted among
the members of the chorus which was
on the stage at the time, singing In
"Mr. Blue Beard" q performance with
which the theater was opened. Those
on the stage rushed about frantically.
Efforts were made to lower an asbes-
tos drop curtain, but the piece STUCK
when 1t had descended half the dis.
tance.
Meanwhile doors In the rear end
and in front was opened. and an enor.
nous draft was created. The audi.
ence, numbering approximately 1.500,
Eecame panic.stricken, and the rush
for the exits became terrific. Behind
the people there roared the blaze, and
those in the rear fought frantically to
escape the fire. They fought with des.
peration those before them, and
trampled under foot the weaker ones,
without thought of mercy.
Sheets Of Flame Leap Out.
Suddenly there was terrific eX-
plosion of gas on the stage; the FIRE
had reached the supply tanks. A
sheet Of flame-rather, q wall of flame
shot through the half-enclosed stage
over the heads of those who sat In
the lower tiers of seats, and struck
the first balcony. Many of the spec.
tators there were burned to death In
their seats. Others were su6ocated
before they could move more than
few feet.
Piles Of Human Dead.
II was In the balcony where the
greatest loss of life occurred. Hun.
dreds of people. frantic with fright
and pain, scrambled over the bodies
of those who had fallen before, tear.
ing away clothing, stamping with foot
and clawing with nail, only to be
themselves buried In the crush q mo.
ment afterward.
Outside the theater the firemen. in
response to o general call, were work.
Ing with haste to reach those within.
Many deeds of hsroism were perform
ed. Women and children, half dead,
or terribly burned. were carried ont
by the fremen on hurriedly improvis.
ed apparatus. Scores were rescued
In this way. But there were obstac'
les that could not be overcome, and
many of the victims of the terrible
calamity were not reached until many
hours after the work OF saving be.
gan.
Work of Rescue.
Those who were taken out of the
theater were removed to nearby build
ihgs, which were instantly converted
into morgues and hospitals. Half a
hundred or more physicians hurried
to the scene and lent every aid In
their power to the wounded.
Bodies at the Morpuss.
According to the morgue keepers
there are S92 bodies at Ave Of the
morgues.
Rolston's, $50; Jordan's. 150; Car
rolls, 80. Gavin's, 90; County, 19i
st. Luke's Hospital. II.
The crowds around Rolston's and
Jordar's are so large that II is impos
sible 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
identity their relatives or friends. On
~ one body was identified at th'
county morgue.
The coroner has been notified tina
there are 422 bodies at the diferen
morgues and hospitals. All have no
been heard from yet, as q number o
bodies were taken to undertakerp II
different parts Of the city.
Death From Panic.
Will J. Davis, manager OF the tnes
ter, said after the catastrophe, tina
II the people had remained In thel
seats and had not been excited by tn
cry of fire not single life would hav
been lost. This Is, however. contrs
dIcted by statements of the foremer
who found numbers OF people sittin
In their seats, their faces directed Il
ward the stage as II the performaric
was still going on. II was the opil
Ion of the hremen that these peopl
had been suffocated at once by th
flow OF gas. which came from benin
the asbestos curtain.
As near as can be estimated. at Ii
present time, about 1900 people wei
In the theater. Three hundred
these we're on the first floor, the bs
ance being In the two Upper balconi'
and In the Railways back Of them.
The theater Is modelled after Il
Opera Comique In Paris, and from Il
rear OF each balcony there are thr'
doors leading out TO passageways
ward the front OF the theater. Tv
Of these doorways are at the end
the balcony and one being ID ,be ce
ter. The audience In It's rush for h
outer air. seems 10 have, for h
- A. a. A. - q