The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1904-01-08

Il an 'front.' nder these circu stances
4 would mob have been pOSsi BILE for "a
,lBlngl membefaof 4 the comp any to
Il escape alive unless he or she had been
4 lstanding eiiiately la front OF the
II door leading to the alley. AssiI was
u the draft carried tile gas and fire Out
Il Ibeneatli the cur tain aud the company
4 syas saved, although their salvation
was tho death OF SO many poor peo.
Iple In from ~ 1ss
si.IlA ABF M DIscoYEaY.
Ihe hIst ne,Y ,Yspaper men on the
\ ground also carried sent many dead
Land Injured. ,,lle building was So
II full lSof smoke when tile q ircmen .frsf
.Iarriped that the full extent OF the
I catastrophe sws.s not ifnme diately
d grasped until a fireman and o. news
.lipaper man era Yled up the stairway
leading to the balcony; holding hand
! sEkerchiefso over their mouths3to avoid
9tsnffocation AS they reached the
slldoorwayg She fireman, whose vision
Twas better trained In such, ernergen-
'lcies, seized bis companion by the arm
4 llexclaimipg:
Good God, man, don't walk On
!, their faceS.'' =; s. ~.
. g The two men tried Tyaiu1y to get
through the door which was jammed
with dead women, piled higher than
I |either of their heads s. .ss =; 8
All the lights in the theatre were
necessarily out and the only light
came through the clouds of smoke la
the interior or the theatre. The two
men immediately hurried TO the floor
Il halryx n t,l n ThfaP Oe
4 the fire department. that dead bodies
were piled high in the balcony and
4 prompt assistance must be rendered II
4 any OF them were to be saved.
4 Tie chief at once called upon all OF
! his men in The vicinity to abandon
work on the fire and come at once to
the rescue. The building was so dark
and the smoke so thick that it wai
I found impossible to accomplish any
thing untillights had been secured.
{. Word was at once sent to the Orr &;
Lockett Hardware company, two
doors east of the theatre, and that
firm at once placed its entire stocks
OF lanterns at the service of the de.
partment. Over 200 lights were
quickly carried into the building and
the work Of rescue commenced.
So rapidly were the bodies brought
down that for over an hour there
were two streams Of men passing in
and out OF the do ,rway, the one carry
ing bodies, the UJller 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 proprietors.
THE WORK OF RELIEF.
The dead and wounded were placed
upcli c.lairs. tables and counters, ono
:, .ua!. even being placed for lack OF
a better place on top OF a cigar case,
Because of the tremendous throng
which surrounded the block In which
the theatre build ing :stgod, it was nut
II ppssiGls fof=-J Jii,sp police carry biis
dead and wounded any distance, and
they were con PEELED to await fol
, ambulances at The theatre.
Although all the patrol wagons and
every ambulance owned by the city
was pressed ino service, they were
utterly inadequate to carry away the
dead and in short time there was a
, line Of corpses so feet long piled two
and three deep on the sidewalk In
{ front OF the theatre. 1t was found
| necessary in ordr to convey the bodies
rapidly to tue n,orgue, and to the va.
rious undertaking establishments, tc
impress trucks into service, and In
these, upon costly blankets furnished
, by the dry goods stores in the vicinity,
, and covereved with the same material
the dead were hauled away practically
like so much cord wood The mer-
chants in the vicinity Of the theatre
sent wagon load after wagon load OF
blankets, rolls Cf linen and packages
of cotton to be used in binding up the
wounds Of the injured and To cover
the dead. The drug stores furnished
their stock to anybody that, asked
FOR 1T in tue name Of the peopc hurt
in the fire. Doctors and trained
nurses were on the ground by the
score within half an hour after the
extent of the calamity was known,
and every wounded person who was
carried from the building received
prompt medical aid. A number of
doctors waited at the entrance to the
theatre with sJethoscopes in hand,
and as soon rs a body which looked as
though it might have life was carried
out it was at once examined and IL
dead placed on the pile lying on the
sidewalk. The others were at once
placed in ambulances and wheeled
away to hospitals or to the offices OF
physicians In the immediate neighbor-
hood.
CHILDREN TRAMPLED UNDER FOOT.
A man who was in the theatre said
There were few men in attendance
but l saw several of them pulling
and pushing women and children
aside as they fought like manics t.
reach the exits. I saw number OF
J little children trampled underfoot and
some or them arose again. In the bal.
cony the scene was beyond my power
to describe. There was big blacl
crush Of human beings, each one ap
arently fighting everybody else. The
balcony was so steep that many fell ir
!, the first four rows Of seats. The exits
J to the fire escapes were checked anc
those in the rear rushed with all the
/, strength they possessed upon Those
who were nearer to the doorway.
1T was almost incredible-th
speech with which the flames rar
through the scenery, and although II
; was but second after Miss. Gilmore
, jumped over the railing of our box tc
J the aisle in front the stage was mas.
Of fonpc ctortod m tho o;clo 4,