The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1904-01-07

Chicago. Dec. 31.-About five hun
dred and fifty people were killed in ten
minutes yesterday afternoon, during
fire in the Iroquois theater, the new
est, the largest and, as far as human
foresight could make it, the safest the
alter in Chicago. Estimates of the dead
and injured vary. The police count of
dead ie $50. The estimate of the news-
papers is 562.
There are still ffty-fve people miss
ing. the majority of whom are probably
among the dead in the morgue and va
rious undertaking establishments.
Eighty-six of the dead have been
identified positively.
1t will be many hours before the
number of dead is accurately known
and many days before all of them will
be identified.
There are bodies lying by the dozens
in the undertaking rooms, in the po-
lice station and in the hospitals, from
which nearly everything that could re-
veal their identity to those who know
them best is gone.
Their clothing is torn to rags or
burned to cinders and their faces have
been mashed to a pulp by the heels of
the crowd that trampled them down as
they fled for safety.
Broke Out in the Second Act.
The fire broke out during the second
act of the play "Mr. Bluebeard, (which
was the first dramatic production pro-
duced in the tbeater since it's erection.
The company, which was very large,
escaped to the street in safety, nearly
all of them, however, being COM
PEELED to flee into the snowy streets
with no clothing but their stage cos
| tunes.
The accounts of the origin of the fire
are conflicting, but the best reason Civ
en- is that an electric wire on the lower
part of piece of drop scenery suddenly
broke and was grounded. The fire
spread rapidly toward the front of the
stage, causing the mem ers of the cho-
rus who we're then engaged in the per-
formance to fee to the wings with
screams of terror.
The fire in itself up to this time was
not serious and possibly could have
been checked had not the asbestos cur
tain failed to work. AS soon as the
fire was discovered Eddie Foy, the
chief comedian of the company, shout
ed to lower the curtain, and this was
Immediately done. The curtain de-
scended about half way and then
stuck. The fire thus was given prac.
tically fiue through which a strong
draft was setting, aided by the doors
which had been thrown open in front
of the theater.
Gas Reservoirs Cause Explosion.
With roar and bound the flames
shot through the opening over the
heads of the people on the first floor
and reaching clear up to the first bal
cony caught them and burned them 20
death where they sat.
Immediately following this lush of
flames there came an explosion which
lifted the entire roof of the theater
from its walls, SCATTERING the great sky
light into fragments. AS soon as the
flames appeared beyond the curtain a
man in the rear of the hall shouted
Fire." and the entire audience rose
as one person and made for the doors
1t is believed that the explosion was
caused by the flames coming in contact
with the gas reservoirs of the theater,
causing them to burst.
Will j. Davis, manager OF the the.
ater, said after the catastrophe that if
the people had remained in their seats
and had not been excited by the cry of
fire not single life would have been
lost.
Thir, however, is contradictej by the
statements of the firemen, who found
numbers of people sitting in their
seats, their faces as if the performance
was still going on. 1t is the opini,
of the firemen that these persons had
been suffocated at once by the flow OF
gas which came from behind the ashes.
tos curtain.
As near as can be estimated at the
present time about ! 800 people were
in the theater. Three hundred OF these
were on the first floor, the remainder
being in the balconies and in the hall
ways back OF them.