The Little River news., 1919-11-26
DIE IN
 FIRE IN LOUISIANA
Burning Dance Hall Death Trap for Scores of Merrymakers; Blazing
 Stairway Falls.

Willie Platte, La, Nov. 23.-Twenty- five persons, mostly women and girls, are known to have perished in a burn ing building here last night, when 300 attending at a dance became panic stricken and stampeded down a narrow stairway Fifteen are known to have 1 been critically injured. Ten bodies were burned beyond recognition, and identification was possible through remnants of clothing and jewelry
 The full list of dead may not be known for some time, as removal of the debris of the DeFille building, in which the dancers were caught, has not been completed
 Babies Hurled to Safety.
 Several mothers who were chaperon- ing their daughters saved 20 babies in a nursery room of the dance hall, but themselves perished, according to one report While those attending the dance, were fighting in panic to reach the one exit, a narrow stairway to the side street, and relatives and friends in the street were struggling bers of the trapped crowd, mothers seized their babies and hurled them over the heads of the Surging men, women and children into the arms of men below
 Some persons who were snatched from the fighting heap at the foot of the stairs died in the hands of men, carrying them high over the heads of the crow in the street.
 Dancers Unaware.
 The flames spread so rapidly that the entire floor of the building was ablaze before the dancers were warn ed. Three hundred persons in the dance hall, which occupied the entire second story of the building, were stricken with panic and rushed pell- mell to the only door which led to the stairway.
 l. The younger and weaker were trampled by the screaming, fighting crowd. In the fight on the stairway those who came from the streets drag ged down many who were fleetine from the hall after climbing over oth- CTS.
 few who did not rush into the stairway jam escaped through win doWs to a roof over the street and made their way to safety by climbing down the posts or leaping into arms of men who had damned the street be- low
 Calls for fire-fghting equipment anG physicians and nurses were sent tC neighboring towns. People rushed from the country to assist and some were in time to aid the firemen who were handicapped by the crowd jam ming the streets.
 Other Towns Aid.
 The Opelousts, La, motor fire trucl arrived after a run of 45 minutes ovel a rough country road of Is miles. Al Eunice, La, a fire apparatus and 200 men were on special train when they were stopped by the news that the fire had been checked.
 Surgeons and nurses from Eunice Bunkie and other towns began arriving last night in automobiles, and have been at work since. The hotels anC some private residences have been con verted into small hospitals. Red Cross women from several miles around have arrived and are at work.
 The dance was attended by towns people and many rural residents O. the parish. All night people wandered through the streets in search of rela tives who attended the dance, anC many mothers didn't know their child ren were alive until today, In gar age where the bodies were assembled other mothers with screams or moans identified their daughters by small pieces of clathing, necklaces, rings or other bits of jewelry.
 Willie Platte, the parish seat of Evan geline, has a population of about 1000 and is 45 miles south of Alexandria La. Most of the residents are "Ce- jeans" and speak only French patois
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