The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-08-28

and small children, were carried to
the sidewalk. All had been suffocat-
ed. Their eyes stared wide in terror.
Small Exit.
Coroner James T. Heffran arrived
at the scene early Sunday and within
a short time had selected jury. He
was shown through the opera house
by Manager C. F. Ferguson and John
G. Morgan, owner Of the building, and
announced that he would investigate
the matter thoroughly, holding the in
quest here next Thursday or Friday.
Measurements taken by members Of
the jury showed the stairway leading
to the second floor of the building, the
main floor Of the opera house, to be
only six and one-half feet wide, while
the doorway at the bottom was not
more than eight feet high.
1t Is customary for the management
OF the theater to give two or three per-
formances each evening, and Saturday
the moving picture machine operator
was about to complete the first when
q film parted. Some of the audience
had already commenced to leave the
building, and other persons were on
the stairway coming up.
Dubrowski's wild flight through the
theater and his subsequent stumble
down the stairs into those entering
the building, was the beginning of the
death struggling jam at the foot of
the stairs. The bodies clogged the
doorway. Men and women walked
over them and fought for position Of
safety until, overwhelmed by the
height Of the moving mass behind,
they, too, were crushed down to death.
When the doorway had been filled
up, still other persons walked over
the bodies of those who had gone down
and breaking the transom over the
door, crawled through and dropped
into the street.
During this time Manager Ferguson
endeavored to stop the panic. Accom-
panied by his wife he started for the
stairs when the first alarm was given,
but, seeing there was no escape there,
made his way to the stage Calling
loudly to the frightened people to fol-
low him he led the way to the rear of
the stage, and fully 300 escaped in this
way.
The alarm had been quickly spread
Persons standing on the street at the
entrance to the opera house endeav-
ored to extricate struggling men and
women from the rapidly rising pile Of
bruised and bleeding flesh, but to no
purpose.
An alarm Of fire was sounded and
firemen and police hurried to the
scene.
In ten minutes the opera house was
ON Ynfv nd IN, holt ~
bodies had been recovered. Physicians
places until thirty were at work.
The dead were carried into stores
and residences and the more seriously
injured were hastened to the Canons-
burg hospital. Many Of the slightly
injured ran about the streets until
taken In charge by friends, While ant0s
mobiles were pressed into service to
hurry others to their homes where
they later received medical attention.
Arthur McPeake, whose name is
among the dead, was passing the
building when the bodies began to pile
up at the door. The young man rushed
to the rescue and was in the act of
dragging body from the pile when
man came hurting down stairs. He
struck McPeake on the back and the
young mans neck was broken.
Sydney Rittiger was at the perform
ance with his fiancee, Miss Lulu Fisher.
Before entering the building they had
stopped at jewelry store near by and
Rittiger had bought the ring that was
to have been used at their wedding.
Both were killed.
Wilmer Lane, an employe Of the
Canonsburg pottery and member of
one of the volunteer fire companies,
hastened to answer the alarm and was
working at the pile of bodies at the
entrance when he came upon the life
less forms of his two children, lying
beside his unconscious wife.
Samuel Lane of Morgansea, not
knowing that his sons family was at
the theater, had entered the building
short time before the alarm was CIV
en-. He rushed toward the stairs, and
was making his way down when he
saw a child almost under his feet. As
he stopped to pick her up he recog-
nized his granddaughter. but at that
moment he was caught in the mighty
whirl and she was swept out Of his
reach and killed. He was seriously
hurt.
1t developed today that there was
no flash, nor was there the slightest
sign of fire. When the film broke in
the operating room bright light was
thrown on the screen. The frightened
boy imagined it was fire. and uncon-
sciously shouted out the death knell
a., of more than a score Of persons.
TWO SEAMEN WERE