The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1908-01-15

Boyetown, Pa, Jan. 1l.-When
night fal put stop to the work of
recovering the dead from the ruins Of
the Rhoades Opera House, where last
nights holocaust occurred, the official
roll OF victims numbered lG7 Wheth.
err any more bodies are buried be-
meath the ruins cannot b0 positively
stated but IL is the belief Of those
who had charge of the gruesome work
that all OF the dead have been re-
moved and that the total list of vic.
Tins will not so above 10. The ratio
OF women and girls To men and boys
Ii about nine to one. The work Of
identification will not be begun until
tomorrow as most OF the bodies are
still lying In confused state at four
improyised morgues. Tho inhabi
tants of the little borough in Berks
county hills are tonight stepped III
grie..
Awful Holocaust.
The calamity Is terrible when it is
realized that the population OF the
place is about $500. The town is
paralyzed and the people are going
about dazed. They do not realize
what has happened and cannot be
lieve that loved ones, friends, or ac'
quaintanees were lost in the awful
panic and fire. 1t is safe to say that
everybody in the place either lost one
or more relatives or was intimately
acquainted with those who died in the
fir,
Families Wiped Out.
In several cases whole families
We're wiped out. II ever q community
was truly in mourning it is the sub.
stantial town of Boyertown tonight.
It was almost daylight this morn
ing before the flames were oxtinguish.
ed and the rescuers We're able to en-
ter the ruins to remove the dead. The
morning was bitter cold and by the
time the benumbed and exhausted
firemen began the task of disentang
ling the mass of burned beams and
twisted iron, the entire ruins were
coated with ice and there was danger
of the walls falling.
The work went slowly at first and
it was I O'Clock before the first body
was removed.
Coroner on the Scene.
Coroner Strasser of Reading, who
reached the scene shortly after mid
night last night, had detail of men
ready to tag the bodies and keep 4 /
record of description of every
corpse removed. The bodies were 50
badly burned, however, that there
was little to describe them by and,
it is safe TO say that not half of the
victims will ever be identified The
second victim was taken out about
an hour after the first and the work
of recovery moved moro rapidly. By
noon the rescuers became thoroughly
exhausted from cold and hard work
and for time work came almost to
q standstill.
Railroad Gives Aid.
Fortunately tho Philadelphia and
Reading Railroad company sent w II.
Keefer. superintendent Of the Read
ing division, to see what the company
could do and within an hour the COM
pany had two car loads of laborers
and carpenters on the ground and the
work of recovering the bodies NOV
ed SO rapidly that the victims were
being taken from the ruins at the rate
OF two every five minutes.
The Rhoades Opera House was To-
Gated on the seond floor OF a three
story brick building. The entertain /
ment hau was a large room about 80
feet wide and IS feet long Il had no
gallery. There was a stairway al the
front of the building and a narrow /
exit in the rear Il the stage Fire
escapes were built on both sides and
on the front OF the building So far
as can be learned there were about
AS persons packed in the room. most I
of whom we're adults The numbers Of
children present was small
Tank Over7Urna
There we're about 65 persons. all