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Manawatu Herald, 5 January 1904, Page 3

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WITHER detail of the ■ EIRF. ■ roll. deaths, which occurred at the fere at the Iroquois Theatre, Chicago, previously estimated at 392, are now found to exceed 600. The outbreak occurred during a matinee performance of ,i Bluebeard,” and the audience was mostly composed of mothers with their children. Bodies wc-vA found stretching Bight feet beyond the balcony door towards the .staircase, and piled within two,, feet of the ceiling of the passages. The faces of scores of the dead had been badly trampled upon. The draught blew the asbestos curtain against the proscenium, and the curtain, when partially lowered, became blocked. The firemen then flew for their lives. The audience fought in the darkness and smoke to reach three or four doois which they knew of, although there were forty ample exits, as the Theatre was unfinished. One of the galleries had an escape outside, without a ladder to the pavement, fifty feet below. This escape was crowded, by women in a frantic state, twenty of whom were pushed over the railings and killed. The others Wsre ultimately rescued. GHASTLY RELICS OF THE VICTIMS. The auditorium of the Iroquois Theatre resembles a burnt out volcano. The fabric is comparatively little injured. The building was insured for only ten thousand dollars (£2000), the owners believing it to be fire-proof. --.(A message published stated that the theatre cost £210,000.] Five bushels of purses, furs and handkerchiefs have been collected from the debris—relics of those who perished. One man found at a morgue the

bodies of five relatives. A father identified a headless son by his watch. Mr Ingin, a millionaire, lost five sons.

Thi •ee hundred and fourteen persona are still missing. Fifty-seven dead girls remain unidentified. Mr Quinn, a railway agent, saved over a hundred of the performers, who were wedged against an entrance to the stage, by using his [pocket to Is to remove fastenings, thus enabling a door to be opened, Just as the flames were overtaking the fugitives. Wires used in connection with an aerial flight earlier in the performance prevented the lowering of the asbestos curtain. THE DEAD TRAMPLED OVER. A leading comedian pluckily tried to stem the panic. Scores of the bodies found among

the debris were naked. Many of the faces of the victims were undistinguishablo, as the result of being trampled upon. A dozen thieves were arrested in the act of plundering the dead. The theatre w r as in darkness when the fire commenced, with the object of increasing the effect of a song Which was then being sung. Within ten minutes all the mischief was done. The city officials of Chicago declare that there is evidence of grave neglect and reckless disregard of public safety. There were no automatic sprinklers or fire-alarm box, and it is doubtful whether the fireproof curtain was really asbestos. NINETEEN THEATRES CLOSED.

The Mayor, in consequence of a report furnished by the Commission of Inquiry, ordered the closing of nineteen Chicago theatres for noncompliance with the regulations. Twelve arrests have been made, and others are probable, in consequence of the officials of the theatre urging likely witnesses to leave Chicago.

FUNERALS OF THE VICTIMS.

The funerals of the Iroquois theatre victims were held on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Long lines of processions were constantly proceeding to the ceme

tori® B - , „ T . ~ , The hymn, “ Lead, Kindly Light, was at all funeral services, the church bells tolling all day. Business and seasonable celebrations were suspended, and the public schools closed on Monday in memory of 34 school teachers who had perished. Warrants have been issued tor the arrest of the proprietors of the theatre and the Building Commissioner on a charge of manslaughter. ' Not enough coffins and hearses > w ere available for the funeial rites. The Mayor, after an inspection. that the building did not Iknply with the law, and ought not ■have been opened. Hlhe operator of the electric Ugh. ■ the moonlight dance states that ■ saw an arc "splutter between tin ■bons, and a curtain immediately ■game alight, •