The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1904-01-02
Over Five Hundred Lives Lost
During q Fire and Panic.
All Within Ten Minutes.
IROQUOIs THEATRE SCENE
OF HORROR.
Flames Break Out ON Stage and
With q Roar Sweep Through
the Building.

Chicago, Dec 3O.-Over 500 peo-
pie lost their lives within ten min
utes this afternoon during FIRE in
the Iroquois theatre, the newest,
largest, and rs far as human power
could make it, the safest theatre In
Chicago. The police count of the
dead is 636, besides there are over
ifty people missing at midnight, the
majority OF whom probably among
the dead in the morgues and under
taking establishments.
The fire broke out during the
second act of "Mr. Bluebeard, the
first dramatic production produced
in the theatre since its erection.
The company, which was very large,
managed to escape to the street in
safety, nearly all, however, being
compelled to flee into the snowy
streets with no clothing but their
stage costumes.
1t Is estimated that 1900 people
were in the theatre. Only about
three hundred we're on the first
floor, the others being in the bal
comics and Railways back OF them.
/ Accounts OF the origin of the fire
are conflicting, none OF them GER
tain but plausible reason given is
that the electric wire near the lower
part OF q piece of drop scenery sud-
denly broke and was grounded, The
fire spread rapidly toward the front
Of the stage, causing the members
of the chorus, then engaged in per-
formance, to flee to the wings with
screams Of terror.
The fire, itself, up to this time,
was not serious and possibly could
have been checked had not the as
bestos curtain failed to work. As
soon as the fire was discovered an
attempt was made to lower the cur.
tain, butwhen about half way down
it stuck, The fire was thus given
practically fue through which a
strong draft was setting, aided by
some OF the doors which had been
thrown open in front of the theatre.
/ With a roar and a bound, the
flames shot through the opening
over the heads OF the people on the
first floor and, reaching clear up to
those in the first balcony, caught
them and burned many to death
where they sat.
AS soon as the flames appeared
beyond the curtain, man in the
rear OF the house shouted "fire, y
"fire, and people made mad rush
for the doors.
| From the rear OF each balcony
I. there were three doors leading to
passage ways toward the trout of
the theatre. Two of these door
ways were at the end OF the balcony,
and one in the center. The audience
in its flight seemed to have chosen
the left entrance and attempted to
make its way down the eastern
stairway into the lobby. Outside
OF the people burned and suffocated
by gas, it was in these two door
ways on the first and second bal
comics that the greatest loss OF life
occurred.
\ When the firemen entered the
building.dead we're found stretched
in pile reaching from the head OF
the stairway at least eight feet from
the door back to point about Ave
feet in the rear OF the door. This
mass OF dead bodies in the center Of
the doorway reached to within two
feet Of the top OF The passageway.
Nearly all the corpses at this
point were women and children.
The 6ght for life which must have
J taken place throughout the building