The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-01-01

faces revealing some portion OF the
| agony which must have preceded their
death.
SCORES OF PEOPLE WITH
FACES ALL TRAMPLED OFF.
There were scores and scores Of
people whose entire faces had been
trampied OFF by the heels OF those who
rushed over them and In one aisle the
body of a man was found with not a
vestige Of clothing, flesh or bone re-
manning above his waist line. The en-
tire upper portion Of his body had
been cut into mince heat and carried
awav by the feet of those who tram
| pied him; a search was carefully made
! with q hope of finding his mead but at
4 late hour last night 1t had not been
| discovered, and all that will ever tell
his friends who he was is the color
and appearance OF the clothing or the
lower limbs, and this is in such a con
dition as to be hardly recognizable.
The theater has been constructed
but a short time and all its equipment
was not yet In place. This was UNI
fortunately the case with a fire escape
in the rear of the building. The small
iron balconies to which the iron lad
der was to be attached were up but the
ladder had not yet been constructed.
When the panic vas at its height a
great number of women ran for these
fire escapes only to find as they
/ emerged from the doorway upon the
little iron platform, that they were
thirty to fifty feet from the ground, a
fire behind and no method of escape
in front.
Those who reached the platform
first e%ndeavored to hold their footing
and to keep back the crowd that
pressed upon them from the a The
effort was utterly useless and in a few
moments the iron lodges were jammed
with crowds Of women who screamed,
fought and tore at each other like
maniacs. This lasted but a brief In
terval and the rush from the interior
Of the building became so violent that
fell to the granite-paved alley below.
LEAP FROM THE PLATFORM
TO INSTANT DEATH BELOW.
Others leaped from the platform, frac-
turing legs and arms, and two
picked upsat this point with fractured
skulls, having been killed instantly.
George fl. Elliott, secretary Of the
Ogden Gas company, was in a build
ing directly opposite from the theater
across this alley, and noticing smoke,
went down to ascertain Its cause.
When he reached the street the wo-
men were already dropping into the
alley and Elliott Immediately rushed
for a ladder in the effort to a W as
many as possible. No ladder was
available and the only method Of as
sistance they were able to devise was
to hurriedly lash some planks together
and throw them across to the offright-
ed women on the platforms, with in
structions to place the end firmly on
the iron framework. Before this could
be done a fearful loss of time ensued,
the women were being pushed every
instant into the alley and by the time
the bridge vas constructed but few
remained to take advantage of it.
However, about two dozen made their
way across this narrow causeway.
The members OF the theatrical COM
pany, being on the first floor, had
comparatively little difficulty in reach
ing the street.
Eddie Foy, comedian in the play,
was one of the last to escape, by get
ting out through a rear door after as
sisting the women members of the
company to safety. He went into the
Sherman House in his stage costume
in order to secure surgical attendance
for some burns which he had sus-
| tanned. r.
DRAFT SWEPT FIRE AND GAS
UP INTO THE BALCONIES.
In describing the commencement of
the FIRE Mr.. Foy attributed the extent
of the catastrophe to the failure of
the fireproof curtain to work properly.
Because of this, he said, the flames
readily obtained access to the main
part Of the theater and were by the
draft carrying with it gas as well as
fire. swept up to the two balconies
where the loss OF life was greatest. 4
"The fire began in the middle of the
second act," said Mr.. Foy. can cleo
trjc wire broke. was grounded and