The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-12-23
LIONS FRIeHTEN NEW YORK.
TRAINED BEASTS ESCAPE IN
THEATRE IN CITY.
Five Of Animals Recapturcd Without
Diniculty, While One Loncss Is Shot
After Terrifying Many People
Man Shot In Melee.

Now York. Dec. 17.-Six trained
lions escaped from their cage on the
stage OK an east Eighty-sixth street
theatre today and. bounding into the
audience. consisting principally of wo-
men and children. created a panic.
One honess. Alice. largest Of the
pack, escaped into a crowded street
Policemen pursued her into the hall
way Of an apartment house and In
shooting at her probably fatally
wounded Sergeant Daniel Glenn. Two
other officers were slightly wounded
by the claws Of the beast in a battle
at close range.
Al sight os the lions. hundreds OF
persons In the theatre fed. screaming
to the exits. Scores tainted and many
sat transflxed In their seats.
None Of tho beasts except Alice dis
played great ferocity. A few persons
who got In their paths were scrat ched
but none Of them seriously hurt.
Ffvo Of the animals were still a,
large In the theatre when the las,
OF tho audience escaped. In their rush
to safety. spectators left behind all
sorts Of personal belongings. Mean
time the beasts roamed over the
house from gallery to basement. An
hour after the last spectator left they
were rounded up In the lobby and
driven into their shipping box. all OF
them uninjured. Three arrests were
mades on charges Of criminal negli-
gence. Those In custody are: Iabelle
Andree. the lions trainer; c. A. Turn
Quist. their keeper. and George H.
Hamilton. manager Of the attraction.
The lions were owned by Francis Fe-
rari. a Snowman.
The animals act had been finished
and song and dance quartette held
tho stage In front OF the first drop
when the lions. about to be trans
ferred from the steel exhibition cage
TO their shipping box, escaped. Andree
screamed and Turnquist, cracking a
whip. loudly shouted at his charges
Frightened actors. actresses and thea.
re attaches began climbing stairways
suddenly one Of the lions walked
into the wings and peered at the quar-
tstte. The singing ceased abruptly.
~ the singers started to retreat De.
tective Peter Cahill. who was In the
audience. saw the lion and shouted tc
the entertainers to go ON. One singer
returned and began a solo. Suddenly a
Hon came into full view and all contro
Of the audience was lost.
The first lion ambled upon the stage
then q second. and in a minute more
tho six were clambering into stage
boxes and out into the audience. The
orchestra kept playing until the lion.
came down into the pit. Then the mu.
sicians fed under the stage.
Almost everybody In the audience
had a different version of what the
animals did after they got among the
crowd. but nearly all accounts agree
that they did not live up to the dan.
serous name Of the king of beasts. 81
One caught up with Mark McDer-
mott while he was hurrying down an
aisle. so he lay down. The animal
clawed him on the head and his
wound appeared to be the most dan
gerous that any Of the beasts inflicted.
He was taken to a hospital.
The last Of the audience to leave
tho theatre were several women. who,
cooped up In a second floor dressing
room. signaied firemen from nearby
engine house and were carried down
ladders.
A throng had gathered outside the
theatre when Alice emerged, trotted
across to a street corner and calmly
sat down. The crowd began to shout
and 10 policemen. with revolvers
drawn. came rushing towards her.
She turned and fled into an apart
ment house.
Abraham CHASER. a photographer,
was working on tho first floor of tho
building. He opened the door to in
vestigate the noise outside and stared
into the face of the lioness. slamming
the door. he shouted for help.
The beast turned to q stairway and
bounded up a flight. There two women
peered from n doorway. saw the ami
NAL. shricked and slammed the door.
Alice then fed to tho third floor,
where the police found her seeking
egress To the roof.
For more than 10 minutes there
wased In the marrow hallway "a fierce
battle between man and beast. Thir-
ty shots were fired into the now en-
ragged lioness. Up and down the stair
ah. rocaS .no,lin-