The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-01-01

tain did not descend entirely was
what saved the lives OF the company,
although IL caused such q horrible
catastrophe in the front Of the house.
After the curtain had refused to de-
scend. then came the explosion OF the
gas tanks and with the curtain
down. all the fire and gas would
have been confined between the rear
wall of the theatre and the fire proof
curtain in front Under these cir
cumstances il would not have been
possible for a single member Of the
company to escape alive. unless he or
she had been standing Immediately
in front Of the door leading into the
alley. AS it was. the draft carried
all the gas and fire out beneath the
curtains and the company was saved.
although their salvation was the
death of so many poor people in
front"
Rarely in the history of Chicago
has its people been SO stirred as by
the calamity of today. 1t is next TO
the Chicago fire, the greatest catas-
trophe that has ever occurred here,
and the speed with which it came and
went seemed for brief period 30
appall the business section or the
city. The news spread with great
raptdity and in short time, hundreds
of men. women and children were
rushing toward the theatre. The
building in which the calamity oc-
Cured stands midway between State
and Dearborn streets on the north
side Of Randolph street.
Although every available police
man within call of rne department
was Immediately hurried to the spot
and the men placed in lines at the
end of the block allowing nobody to
or
Dearborn or State, it was found for
a time almost impossible to hold
back the frenZied crowd that pressed
forward. many Of them having friends
or relatives in the theatre and tried
to learn something OF them. The
conduct of the police was beyond all
praise. The officers held their ground
firmly and gently pushed back all
those who sought to gain an entrance
to the theatre, although in some m
stances frantic men, anxious to look
for the loved ones, actually beat the
officers with their fists in their rage
at being prevented.
In spite of the efforts of the police,
however, a large number of people
succeeded in breaking through their
lines and entering the theatre, and In
many cases did heroic work in res
cuing the injured and carrying out
the dead. Among these was former
Alderman William H. Thompson
who. unaided, carried to the street
the bodies of eight women. The first
newspaper men upon the ground also
carried out many of the dead and
injured. The building was so full of
smoke when the firemen first arrived
that the full extent of the catastro-
phe was not Immediately grasped
until fireman and a newspaper man
crawled up the stairway leading to
the balcony, holding handkerchiefs
over their mouths to avoid suffoca-
ton. AAs they reached the doorway
the Bremen. whose vision was better
trained in such emergencies. seized
his companion by the arm exclaiming
Good God, man, don't walk on their
faces" The two men tried vainiS
to get through the door which was
Jammed with dead women piled
higher than either of their heads. All
the lights in the theatre were neces-
sarily out and the only illumination
came through the cloud of smoke
that hung between the interior of the
theatre and the street. The two inn
mediately hurried to the floor below
and informed Chief Musham of the
fire department that the dead bodies
were piled high in the balcony and
prompt assistance must be rendered
If any Of them were to be saved.
The chief at once called upon all
of his men in the vicinity to aban-
don work on the fire and come at
once to the rescue. The building WAS
SO dark and the smoke so thick that
it was found impossible to accomplish
anything until lights had been Sc
cured. Word was at once sent to the
Orr and Lockett Hardware Company,
two doors east of the theatre and
that firm at once placed its entire
stock Of lanterns at the service OF
the department. Over 200 lights
were quickly carried into the build
ing and the work of rescue COM
menced. So rapidly were the bodies
brought down that for over an hour
there were two streams of men pass
ing in and out of the door way. the
one carrying the bodies, the other
composed of men returning to get
more.
They were carried into Thompson's
restaurant which adjoins the theatre
on the east, where all the available
space was given by the proprietor.
The dead and wounded were placed
upon chairs, tables and counters, one
woman even being placed for lack Of
a better spot on top of cigar case.
Because of the tremendous throng
which surrounded the block in which
the theatre building stood, it was not
possible for the police to carry the
dead and wounded any distance, and
they were compelled to await for
ambulances at the theatre. Although
all the patrol wagons and every am
bulance owned by the city was press
ed into service, they were utterly in
adequate to carry away the dead and
in short time there was line of
corpses fifty feet long. piled two and
three high on the sidewalks in front
Of the theatre. 1t was found neces-
sary in order TO convey the bodies
rapidly to the Morgu-, and to the
various undertaking establishments.
to impress trucks into service and in
these. upon costly blankets furnished
by the dry goods stores in the vicin-
ity. and covered with the same ma
teriaI, the dead were hauled away,
practically like so much cord wood.