The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1908-01-16
DEATH LIST IS 1853
BODIES ARE BADLY BURNED
At Least Half the Victims of the
Awful Disaster Will Never Be Iden-
tified-Eyewitnesses Tell of Mad
Struggle to Get Out of Building.

Boyertown, Pa, Jan. 16.-One hun
dred and sixty-five bodies have been
recovered from the ruins of the
Rhoados Opera House, the scene of
the recent frightful holocaust, one
fireman met death in responding to
the alarm and two persons have died
of their injuries. This makes a total
of 1853. Chairman Irwin T. Ehst of the
relief committee says that he believes
that all bodies are out of the ruins
and as far as known no others are
missing.
The inhabitants of the little bor-
ough in the Berks county hills arc
stepped in grief. The calamity is
terrible when it is realized that the
population of the place is about $500.
1t is safe to say that everybody in
the place either lost one or more rela-
tives or was intimately acquainted
with those who died in the fire.
Coroner Strasser of Reading, who
reached the scene several hours after
the flames broke out, had a detail of
men ready to tag the bodies and keep
a record Of every corpse removed.
The bodies were so badly burned,
however, that there was little to de-
scribe them by and it is safe to say
that not half of the victims will ever
be identified. So far as the physi-
clans and undertakers could ascertain
the charred remains and clothing of
lis of the dead were women and girls
and 43 were men and boys. So badly
were the other bodies burned that the
sex could not be determined and it is
probable these will all be inferred in
one place in Union cemetery. Not one
of the bodies was identified by the
features, but were claimed by sorrow
Ing relatives by means of jewelry or
clothing found on the corpse.
Eyewitnesses Describe Tragedy.
Eyewitnesses of the fire and panic
say that the audience rCSe en- masse
and the one impulse was to reach the
front doors. One of the double doors
had been bolted shut SO as to better
enable the ticket taker to take up the
tickets. Not more than two persons
could pass this door at one time and
after the first half dozen got through
the narrow passage it became clogged
with the struggling mass of human
ity Men, women, boys, girls and
chairs were tangled up in a solid
mass.
In the meantime some one discov-
cred that there were fire escapes on
each side of the building and dozens
made their exit by those avenues of
escape and gave the alarm. The fire
bell was rung and the whole town
was aroused and went to the rescue
All this time the flames from the oil
tank were creeping toward the mass
of terrified people who were fran
tically fighting to get out.
While the frenzied people were
fighting to get down the front stairs
the calcium light tank exploded and
fire was spread over the entire mass
of people This added horror was
more than the feeble rescuers could
stand and In order to save their own
lives they were forced to fee down
the fire escapes. On the front steps
outside the door men pulled fran
tically to open way for the wedged
in people, but not more than half a
dozen were rescued in this manner.
The explosion of the calcium tank
and the flames from the front of the
stage, which by this time had reached
the struggling people. made further