Durango semi-weekly herald., 1904-01-07

shrieks. curses. lamentations, walls
horrors ever depicted In mimic realms
behind foolights to pale and shrivel
into comparative nothingness.
An English statistican published
six years ago list of fires at places
of public entertainment in all coun.
tries in the preceding century. He
showed that there had been 100 con
f'agrations. with 10000 fatalities. and
he apologized for the incompleteuess
OF his figures Another authority says
that in the twelve yeass from 1876 to
1883 not less than 1900 were killed in
theater disasters in Brooklyn. Nice.
Vienna. Exeter and Oporto. and that
in every case nearly all the victims
were dead within ten minutes from the
time the smoke and fame from the
stage reached the auditorium. As in
the lroquois fire. IL was mainly In the
balconies and galleries that death held
Its revels.
Fire wrought havoc at Rome in the
Ampitheater In the year IA B c.. and
the Circus Maxims was similarly de.
stroyed three times In the first CEN
tury of the Christian era Three other
theatres were razed by flames In the
same period. and Pompeii's was burn
ed again almost two centuries after
but the exact loss OF life is not record
ed In either instance The Greek
playhouses. built Of stone In open
spaces. were Iever endangered by fire
No theaters were built on the mod
ern plan until In the sixteenth CEN
tury III France, and not until the sew
enteenth did any catastrophe worthy
OF record occur. When Shakespeare
lived plays were generally produced
in temporary structures. sometimes
merely raised platforms in open
squares, and II was after his time that
scenic effects began to be ampIified
and the use OF illuminants increased
Thus II was than dangers. both to
players and auditors, we're vastly In.
creased
In the Teatro Atarazanas in Seville,
Spain. many people were killed and In
iured at fire In 1916. The first con.
tiagration of this kind In England
worth noting happened in 1872. when
the Theater Royal, or Drury Lane.
standing on the site of the playhouse
in which Mr.. Blue Beard" was pro-
duced before 1t was brought to Chi
cago. was burned to the ground Six
ty other buildings were destroyed. but
no loss of life is recorded.
Two hundred and ten people lost
thaIr Iiyn1 nd h. u,ba ~
Amalienborg. in Copenhagen, was laid
in ashes in 1859 from rocket that
ignited the scenery In the opera house.
Eighteen persons perlshed at the the
ater in the Kalzersgracht. Amsterdam,
in l772, and six years later the Teatro
Colisseo. at Saragossa. Spain. went up
in flames and seventy-seven lives were
lost. The governor OF the province
was among the victims. Twenty play.
ers were suffocated in the burning Of
the Palais Royal In Paris in 1881.
In the nineteenth century there were
twelve theater fires marked by great
loss of life, and the first of these oc-
Cured in the United States. AT Rich.
mond. on the day after Christmas in
1911. benefit performance OF Agnes
and Raymond. or the Bleeding Num-"
was being given. and the theater was
filled with wealthy and fashionable
audience. The governor of Virginia.
George w. Smith. ex-Unlted States
Senator Vanable. and other prominent
persons were in the audience and were
numbered among the seventy victims.
The last act WAS on. when The careless
hoisting OF stage chandelier with
lighted candles set fire to the scenery.
Most of those killed met death In the
jam at the doors.
The Lehman theater and circus in
st. Petersburg was the scene Of fire
in 1886. In which 800 people perished.
A stage lamp hung high ignited the
roof. a panic ensued. and there was
such a mad rush that most OF the peo-
pie slew each other In trying to get
out. Those not trampled to death
were incinerated by the fire that rap
idly enveloped the temporary wooden
building.
A lighted lamp. upset in a wing.
caused a stampede in the Royal the
ater. Quebec. June IL. 1876, and 100
people were either burned or crushed
into lifelessness. The exits were poor.
and the playhouse wes built of com.
bustible material Less than year
later. the Grand Ducal theater at Gals
ruhe. Baden, Germany. was destroyed
by fire, due 10 the careless lighting
Of the gas In the grand ducal box.
Most Of the so victims were suffocat-
ed. Between fifty and 100 people met
a fiery death in the Teatro Degli Aqui-
dotti at LeghOrn. Italy. June T. 1857.
Fireworks were being used on the
stage and rocket set fire TO the seen
cry.
Kate Claxton was playing THE Two
Orphans" at Conway's theater in
Brooklyn on the night Of Dec. 6. 1876.
In the lnst scene OF the last act Miss
Claxton. as Louise, the poor blind girl,
had just laid down on her pallet of
straw. when she saw above her In the
flies tiny flame. An actor OF the
name Of Murdoch. on the stage with
her, saw II about the same time. and
was SO excited that he began to STAN
mer his lines. Miss Claxton tried to
reassure him and partially succeeded.