Norwich bulletin., 1913-12-25
Cry of Fire" by Drunken intruder Turns Joyous
 Christmas Festival Into Scene of Tragedy
THREE-FOURTHS OF VICTIMS ARE CHILDREN
Were Marching Up Gifts When Alarm Was Raised Carried Along by Rush Toward Doors and Sufocated
 Bodies Piled Up to Ceiling at Foot of Stairway-No Fire in Building-A Sad Christmas For Calumet, Mich.

Calumet, Mich Dec 24.-Four score persons, mostly children, were killed
 tonight at a Christmas celebration by
 copper mine strikers in an Italian hall
 because of d needless panic caused by'
 false alarm of fire.
 While several hundred miners and
 their wives looked on, the childrea
 pressed eagerly towards the stage | :,
 receive Christmas presents At hat
 instant a man put his head in at the
 door of the nall and yelled, .'Firel"
 General Rush for the Doors.
 The cry was taken up by those 1n
 the hall
 Everyone started for the doors The
 weaker were thrown 10 the floor and
 these behind tried 10 climb over them
 The stairway and other avenues or
 esress were blocked so efectnally that
 those inside could not get out and
 those without could not get in to ai :!
 The panic stricken It was some time
 before the ps-nEc sCDsided. The alarm
 was spread oUIside the building by a lew persons. Who. near the door, had
 escaped unhtul. A crowd soon assem-
 bled and the work of clearing the hall
 began
 Stairway Piled Up with Dead Bodies.
 The principal exit was a narrow rear stairway When this had been ttGdtF4 NL t4lE DOultS WHICH HllGO It to the top, an accounting showed there
 were seveIE+N-EOur known dead
 It is Uh0ught that s dozen other
 bodies were carried away by friends.
 The dead removed from the stairway included S7 girls. 19 boys, 12 women and five men. Excited men and wO- men stood about the building. some dazed S5v the sudden change from hoI- ida- festivities UO tragedy. others cry ing ou1 llg7sterically. few ever
 $ for i7cepins, them back from the long row of bodies.
 Three Taken to Hospitals.
 There was not much work for the man aoctU-s who hurried to the scene. Those persons who were not killed in the first rush were held upright and ip this position were carried. by ths rush. through the exit. Only three in tured persons We're taken to hospitals. A few others were assisted to their homes
 For many days the children of the eOpfaSr~ -ralJ8e strikers had waited ex- TecEfil5iS for the Christmas tree ex- src-ises. which had been arranged by 1 the V70FusT1is auxiliary of the Western i F edsersf-son of Miners. The entertain n9e-Es was set for the early evening and 1 the hall, which is on the second floor, E-sS soon filed to it's limit. The chil- l oren selected to recLte Christmas se- ! fet+trrAlE' ~ftt1 5SSfIli@ f<tIOtS N1u I1DESne0 | ftleiT part Of the programme and the | man selected to play the part of Santa ! Claus had appeared to distribute the i presents that Were piled around the | large illuminated tree
 AisEes Filled with Children.
 The children were instructed to | march uD the aisIes to the tree, so | that the .presenJs could be handed to | Then. The aisles were filled with the | sser-f- man thrust his head in at the door i of the main way and shouted ''F'irer" 1 A woman who was near the door i seized the man by the shoulders and l tried to cobnteract the effect of his | cry II was useless. The man wrest- 1 cd bliEEself from her grasp and ran | away.
 Dis cry ''F'fret" was repeated l tlsEoughoUt the room The word was | S shOu4ed in several languages as par 1 enuts rose and rushed forward to get | thsiF children. The lives were crush | ed out in almost g twinklng Then, 1 the physical inlpossdbility of further 1 movement brought the panicl1y persons 1 70 their senses It was realized too | late that there was no fire, but most 1 Of Those in the hall could not get out | of the jam.
 Police and F.irenaen Enter by Windows. |
 Policemen and .firemen hurried to the building @ find the hall congested. 1 Several offl6exs climbed the fire es- saDes and entered by the windows In i 3. short time the HItinjHred and the i faint had been p5Rfled from the taneIe of human beings and placed in the front of the hall. Other men began lo pull the bodies of the dead and | helpless from the stairway and lay taeIn in a row beside the building.
 ssziS disposition of the crumpled 1 eoAes was found inadvisable because of nhe hEsteFia. it caused among the ! spectators and the cOrpses were car izea back into the hall as soon as it l yyas eDaFtled of the frightened per E1us The chairs were lined with l placed in riLe kitchen of the hall and beneath the stage.
 Halt Converted Into Morgue.
 Inside an hour everybody In Cal unet was near the scene as it was possible to get. The police formed 1 3 cordon about the place and kept back the crowd. After much effort 9 lane was opened through the crowd and i the bodies Of the children were car ] ried to Red Jacket village hall which was turned into morgue. It was many hours before all the bodies were identified.
 During the confusion several bodies Of children were wrongly identified oy mothers and taken away, only to be returned later by the parents who U had found their own offspring safeI u other cases parents ran about for some time unsertain whether their -hildren were dead or alive. Many mothers tainted. while fathers cursed hose who interfered with their mad search.
 Three- fourths of Assemblage Children
 Frantic women ran the streets for hours calling for their little ones Eff .orts were made 10 calm them and many were taken into the homes that lad not been bereaved so that they night have proper attention. In this way. often husbands and wives were ' ieparated. Of the TOO persons in the ! laf, more than three-fourths were 4 many of them having gone without their parents. These fathers md mothers. rushing to the scene, add d to the confusion. hindering the res uers by insisting on information as ] l O what had occurred. There was a fire escape at the rear { f the building, but only those who : rere very near it could make any ( SC of il until after the fatal rush was f yer. Probably moi more than a hum ! red persons escaped the first rush a