Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-01-05
Stories of Survivors of the Iro-
 quois Theater Fire.
FRENzIED STRUGGLES FOR LIFE.

G0go was gwen Dy bTank a0uS6mans professional ball player, who, with Charley Dexter, another baseball play er, was occupying an upper box in the theater when the Are started. Here is Houseman's story.
 "Charley Dexter and were in the front upper box on the right hand aide. We had just been talking about the double row of little boys and girls that filled the front balcony seats. The theater was dark for tho second act, and the stage was only partly lighted too Maybe dozen of the chorus were on the stage singing I Meet You In the Moons Pale Light when noticed little tongue of flame back in the flies on the other side of the stage It was up just below the bottom of the drop curtain, which was raised, and looked just like somebody shaking blazing handkerchief
 Charley, l said, it's me to the exits. This may not be anything. but you know the dark little hall we had to come through So we moved along quietly before anybody in the audience knew anything was wrong. We hadn't any more than got to the next floor when the stage began to get smoky, and you could hear the crowd in the theater begin to get worried. Just then Eddie Foy came out to the front of the stage, and, with the little blaz- ing bits of scenery dropping back of him, he kept saying: Don't get fright ened; sit still. It's only little stage fire By this time the whole theater was in an uproar. Big chunks of blazing scenery began to fall. The girls on the stage were fainting, and Dexter and I rushed to couple of exits on the east side
 ".Open the doors, said to an usher.
 Wait till the drop curtain comes down. he said.
 By this time the crowd was getting wild and pushing against the doors. The stage was blazing and the smoke rolling out into the body of the theater. For Gods sake, open the doorsy shouted. The usher didn't move. We'll, I grabbed the fellow and threw him as far as could and burst open the door. The minute it gave way the crowd showed me with a rush and damned me against q pair of iron doors that were locked. I felt of the latch and found it was like the one on my ice box at home. This is easy,' said to Dexter, who had broken open another Noor WA oayrh+ bo1d <4 %ba h3 ~ a,.x,1, latch and with few wrenches pulled it open. At that minute big sheet of fire came out from the stage with a puff that drove the crowd mad. In a flash saw Eddie Foy apparently bur jed in flames, and before could catch my breath the crowd caught me and almost threw me clear across the alley leading to State street
 "In that alley was the most awful sight ever saw. The fire escapes over the alley were packed with struggling, screaming people fighting to jump to the ground. They were falling like raindrops and making pile of dead and dying under the escapes.
 '.One man landed on the mass of peo- pie and struggled to his knees when a woman fell on his head and struck him dead. I saw another woman clinging to the outside of the lower fire escape. 'Jumpv l yelled. Its only ten feet As she came down I held out my arms to break her fall, and she struck my shoulder By this time the smoke was piling out of the door we had broken open, and Dexter and worked tillzwe were exhausted pulling out women and children who were overcome by the smoke and the horror.
 'sIt was terrible. Mothers were call- ing for their little ones. Little girls were screaming and bewildered. A mass of crazy human beings were al- most tearing each other to pieces try ling to crowd out of that one small lopening that we had made"
 Of the deeds of heroism that marked the dreadful fight for life in the Iro- Quois theater horror few eclipsed an act of devotion and self sacrifice per- formed by fourteen-year-old Byram Green, son of A. ". Green, chairman of the board of directors of the Ma tional Biscuit company.
 Little Byram, Wno pore ike slolc the agony of dozen cruel burns, first guided his mother to safety through the struggling throng, fighting fercely in the aisles, and then, though half suf-
 located, fought his way back through flame and smoke and deadly gas and carried and dragged to safety help less little girl who was in his mothers
 party.
 "I was not brave" he said. 'I was scared to death, but I had to helr mamma was not able to do much But stayed near her. I saw Lester fall under the seat when the flames came out. I knew she would die un less some one helped her. So I went back.
 ''It was awful! I shut my eyes and
 tried not to breathe, for the air seemed to be on fire and burned my throat. stepped over lot of people who were Gead, I think. The seats were on fire, and when caught hold to keep from falling I burned my hands. In front |