The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1904-01-07


tiiicatioD. Bodies lay In the first and
second balconies in great numbers. In
some places they were piled up in the
aisles three and four deep, where one
had fallen and other tripped over the
prostrate forms. and all bad died
whore they lay, evidently suffocated by
the gas. Others were bent over backs
of seats where they had been thrown
by the rush of people for the doors
and killed without hardly a chance to
rise from their seats. One man was
found with his back bent nearly dou.
BILE, his spinal column having been
fractured as he was thrown backward.
A woman was found cut nearly in half
by the back of the seat, she having
been forced over it face downward.
In the aisles nearest to the doors
the scenes were narrowing in the ex.
treme. Bodies lay in every conceiv-
able attitude. half naked, the look on
their faces revealing some portion of
the agony which must have preceded
their death. There were scores and
scores of people whose entire face had
been trampled completely off by the
heels of those who rushed over them
and in one aisle the body of man
was found with not a vestiee Of cloth.
| ing. flesh or bone remaining above his
waistline. The entire upper portion
Of his body had been cut into mince-
meat and carried away by the feet of
those who trampled him; search was
carefully made with hope of finding
| his head. but at late hour Wednesday
| night It had not been discovered and
all that will ever tell his friends who
he was is the color and appe arance of
the clothing on the lower limbs, and
this is in such condition as to be
hardly recognizable.
The theater has been constructed but
a short time and all its equipment was
not yet in place. This was unfortun-
ately the case with fire escape in the
rear of the building. The small iron
balconies to which the iron ladder 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 o fir1 as they
emerged from the doorway upon the
little iron platform that they were 80
to 35 feet from the ground, fire be-
hind and no method of escape in front
In few moments the iron ledges
were jammed with crowds Of women
who screamed fought and tore at each
other like maniacs.
Although all the patrol wagons and
| on I,tt1 10 hu thn GitV
were pressed into service, they were
utterly inadequate 10 carry away the
dead and in a short time there wa
line of corpses 80 feet long. piled two
and three high, on. the sidewalk in
front Of the theater 1t was found
necessary in order 10 convey the bodies
rapidly to the morgue, and to the vari-
Gus undertaking establishments. TO i'm
press trucks into service, and in these,
upon costly blankets furnished by the
dry goods stores in tho vicinity, and
covered with the same material, the
dead were hauled away practically like
so much cord wood.
One large truck, ordinarily used Tor
conveying freight to depots, was so
| Al-hiNilN AbANtA WIN "Nslh ~ ilNhL W.
the theater that the two large horses
attached to it we're unable to start. and
the police were compelled TO assist by
! UEai1- at the whec s. When The need
for true 8 to remove The dead was more
presin q huge electric delivery
wagon owned by Montgomery Ward &
Co. was hailed by the police.
| e -
ryiug out the dead and injured, others,
fortunately few in number, searched
the aisles and seats for valuables.
Two men were found who had pro.
yided themselves with baskets and
were filling them with the property
Of the dead They were Immediately
| placed under arrest and the theater
ushers and stage hands were given the
work of collecting all the vaIuables
on the floor of the theater. During the
evening the police arrested. over a
dozen men accused OF being thieves
and piclipockets.
| Chicago, Jan. 1.-For the first time
since Chicago has possessed bells to
peal, whistles to shrek and horns to
blow, the old year was allowed to ST.
lently take its place in history and the
new year permitted to come with no
evidence Of Joy at its birth.
In an official proclamation issued
Thursday afternoon by Mayor Carter
II. Harrison he made the suggestion
that the usual New Years eve celebra-
tion be for this time omitted The
| idea found roady resnonse in the
hearts of the people and the mayors
words in fact only gave utterance to
the unexpressed thought that had fill
ed them all
The appalling calamity of Wednes-
day in the froquois theater has cast
Chicago into the deepest grief and
gloom, and for the time being at least
seems to have chilled and deadened all
the ordinary ambitions of life. Bust
ness Friday was performed with the
sole view to actual necessity and even
that much. was carried out in a per
functory manner.
In addition to his proclamation is
sued during the afternoon suggesting
that the usual New Years festivities
be abandoned. Mayor Harrison Thurs
day night made the announcement
that all departments of the city hall
will be closed on Saturday, January 2
on account Of the calamity at the Iro
quois theater. He made the request
that all business houses throughout
the city also close on that day
From early In the morning until late
l