OCR Text |
Show TELEGRAPHIC THE BROOKLYN TRAGEDY. Further I uclcleota Relief UovciueuUt. Brooklyn, 7. Fire Marshal Keady resumed bis investigations this mourning, Q. A. WELSH A. E, of the mounted squad, testified that he was in tbe theatre in cilizenB clothes, where tbe fire occured. From tbe dress circle be buw tiaraes burning tbe scenery, and rushed lor ward to open the doors. The actorfl quieted the audience for a moment, fie waited at -the doors till the spee talora were all out and then closed the doors to keep the draught out. The peope were coming down irom the gallery, but auddenly stepped; in I ran to see what was the matter. As I got lo tbe top of the first flight of stairs, there was a iady who in coming down, got her leg caught in the balusters. A large man fell orer her; others falling over him ntude a heap which those in the rear could not pass. There were full, 60 or 60 persons packed in a heap at the foot of tbe second flight of stairs. The stairs were open all the way down from that point and above. At tbis time the smoke waa Tery dense. It waa not three minutes after tbe fire broke out that the ourtain was lowered and took fire, and this had the erlect of sending tho tlamca up to the gulltjry. X looked at it for aljout three seconds and then closed tne door of the parquette, Persons were piled up in a heap, and cried to me to help them, and I did get some in the rear to fall back un I 1 got a man and woman out. Seeing those two got out they all rushed forward for-ward and again blocked up tho passage. I tried to extricate a woman whose leg caught m the railing, but she was held fast. An usher came up to assist me and we made a small place among tbem. We tore the dresses off some of them but we got them all out. Then I went up in tbe dress circle. I found a woman there and took her out. There must have been other peisous there for I beard criee, but could not aee them on account of the smoke. I was then getting weak and I dropped to the floor to get fresh air; the smoke was black smoke and had a very suffocating smell. I am an old fireman and never experienced ex-perienced smoke sosufloeating, I waa not in the smoke more than a minute and yet could not breathe. The first and second galleries and even the stairs were at the time filled wild suflocating smoke. No human being could lire in that Bmoke two minutes. I beard a thumping nois as if some persons were jumping cut of the windows. At the time it was utterly impossible to get up in tbe top gallery. I was nearly Buflbcated when X got out. Tbe evidence of this officer is the clearest description of the terrible struggle by the audience to escape from the burniog building yet given. There was even a larger crowd around tbe morgue this morning than yesterday. yester-day. A mass of people occupied the sidewalk in front of the dead house, and there was a ipirit of levity perceptible. per-ceptible. The fire was an event two days old. No permits for admission were demanded of those persona wlio could satisfy the officers that they had lost friends or relatives by the fire. They were allowed to enter from time to time, passing in tbe front door and through the room. There are very few indentifications. The features are for tho most part unrecognizable. At Adams street Morgue the scene was horrible. Many charred bodies lay on the floor which could neither be identified nor distinguished as male or female. "My God!" Baid one poor woman, gazing on the mass of charred bones, "That may be my boy, but who can prove it?" The remains re-mains of Dr. Franklin, dentist on Portland avenue, was recoguized by the initials on his shirt collar. Captain Cap-tain Crafts reports a distressing case of Mrs. Smith, widuw lady aud daughter, Mrs. Simpson, who left their residence oh Tuesday ovening to attend at-tend the theatre, leaving a servant girl and an adopted i-rphnn child alone in tbe house. Neither have returned and having no f:iends in the city cannot be identified, Mr. Simp son's busbaud is expected home from a long voyage on Sa.urdny. The undertakers arc very busy and the police with ditliculty keep the streets in the vicinity clear enough (or the passive of vehicles. Pitiful scenes are occurring every hour; 267 bodies have been put in the morgue. The mortality will probably reach 3o0. The aldermauic burial committee reports re-ports 1SS bodies were at Adams street morgue, and at the city morgue, at II o'clock to-day. Mr. Sheridsn Shook was at tho public station, reticent and intensely aflected by the affair. Palmer is ill from constant work Bince the disaster, but Rogers, stage manager mana-ger and Secretary Gauge, are empowered em-powered and anxious to furnish relief to those digressed suflering Irom the calamity. Union Square theatre is cloeed until after the funeral ot the victims of tbis awful calamity. The report was circulated this morning that a number of persons got down stairs in the basement during dur-ing tho fire and were making their exit through the gnuing when the police closed the grul'mg and ordered them to go out the otlur way. The aldermen and supervisors met jointly to-day to provide tor n public burial ol the umaenunea ootnes. i e ofler of the directors of Greenwood cemetry of a lot for 100 bodies was accepted. The proprietors of the Park theatre and Hooley's opera house have offered their services in behalf of the sufleren. The academy of music will be used for memorial services on Sunday at 2 p. m. Among those present will be Bishop Little-john, Little-john, Bishop Laughton, Kev. Br. 1 , Cuyler, Rev. Dr. Scudder, Rev. Dr. A. P. Putnam, Rev. A. S. Walsh, Rev. Dr. Steimle, Rev. H. R. Nye, Rabbi Bramdeslein and many others. Members of the IStb reciment have taken the places of the police at the morgue, theatre and other places, the latter being exhausted. At the in-vesication in-vesication by the fire marshall this afternoon Samuel W. Hastings, ticket receiver, Genrce Heeuey, property t man, Charles Straub, one of the parties par-ties who made their escape from tne nailery were all examined and gavp . their versions of the calamilv Thomas R. Jackson, architect, of the i- tieatxe, testified to the structure of the building and its dimensions. He said d the Brooklyn theatre was as well pro vided with means ol exit a? any theatre thea-tre that he knows of. Wben the theatre was erected particular attention atten-tion waa paid to the gas jets nii border bor-der lights. I, At ft meeting of Ihe actora and actresses of this city yesterday to arrange for a benefit for the Brooklyn Brook-lyn theatre suflcrers, every regular theatrical troupe in New York and Brooklyn was represented. A large, number of theatrical people were also represented individually. A resolution was adopted that every theatrical manager in the country he asked to contribute the proceeds ot one performance to tbe relief fund. Brooklyn is literally walking in tbe valley of the shadow of death. The funerals of such of the victims of the theatre disaster as have been identified identi-fied are taking place and through the streets in every part of the city hearses are moving, bearing the remains to the cemeteries. About thirty-five men are at work on the ruins and it is hoped that the full extent of tho calamity will be definitely known within the next twenty-four hours. They have not succeeded in uncovering the dress circle, and it is therefore still uncertain uncer-tain how many of the spectators, if any, within it peri-hed. One more body wka found this morning in tho parquet; also two or three fragments of flesh which may possibly belong either to the bodies which have already been removed or to others which were almost totally consumed, Tbe body was so charred and disfigured as to be unrecognizable. It was evidently evi-dently that of a woman, as a piece of hoopskirt adhered to tbe remains. The articles taken from the dead have ben deposited for identification identifica-tion unl are guarded by a number of polinu ollicerd. Since 11 o'clock iflii'ii itin articles warn iirrani-fd for identification they have been examined exam-ined by a Urge number of persons. The remains of Mr. Murdoch and his brother actor, Claude Burroughs, are in charge of an undertaker. A meeting meet-ing of the surviving members ol the Brooklyn theatre and Union square companies will be held at the Union square theatre this afternoon to make arrangements for the luneral of their late associates. Several bodies were claimed at both the morgue and market to day. One body on which was a gold watch was claimed by no less than seven persons. In the temporary tem-porary morgue there is quite a pile of arms, legs und fragmeuts of flesh, 'fue police central otiice and city hall are heavily draped, and the larger business establishments are puttiug on tbe habiliments of mourning. A number of stores are closed, and on tbe doors are notices reading "Closed in consequence of death in the family." , Eighty bodies are still in the morgue and eighty-three in the Adams street market. Parts ot some of the corpses have crumbled and look like heaps of ofial. Carbolic acid is poured over them hourly by order of the board of health. Chloride of lime is scattered about tbe floor and the decomposing limbs and trunks increase the offen-sireness offen-sireness of tbe place. The coroner made a further post mortem examination examina-tion to-day. Physicians believed that most of the deaths were caused by suffocation. In tbe Catholic churches to-day reference was made to the disaster, and the congregations were celled upon to make manifest their Catholic charity by prayers for tbe dead aud pecuniary aid lor tbe living. |