"My intentions were to go around and out the same way I got in, or to get near the door, because I remarked to him when I got down stairs: 'We may have to help some of these little children here in case they don't put this out,' although I thought they would put it out. Well, there were three or four people standing along there, and when we reached the main floor just about that time the audience began to notice there was a fire.
"Previous to this time they had not seen it and they began to mumble and some of them to rise, and Mr. Foy came out and tried to quiet them by stating that it was merely a little curtain fire; that they would put it out, and to be as quiet as possible. It seemed to relieve them. A great many of them returned to their seats. I thought I could hear Mr. Foy speak to some one back in the scenery as though he was waiting for the drop curtain.
"Well, it began to look pretty bad about that time and I looked around and I saw the curtains, the first I had noticed of the exits there. I said to some one standing there, 'Where does this lead?' He says, 'Outside;' so I stayed there probably thirty seconds, when the bits of scenery and pieces of fire began to drop down all around the stage, and one or two of the girls that were on the stage at the time of the octette, fainted; well, I pushed this fellow aside, and for a moment—momentarily—looked at the lock, and it happened to be a lever that lifts up.
"I am familiar with it, as I have one in my home, and I didn't have much trouble with it, but I was kind of disappointed when I opened it, because I thought it would lead outside—when I faced the iron doors. At that time there was a big blast came out from the stage."
Charles Dexter, professional baseball player:
"I met Mr. Houseman and he invited me to go to the theater with him, and we went together and we were a little bit late. We got seats in an upper box.
"The house was quite dark when we went in, and we were ushered into the right hand box, that is, to the right of the stage; I guess that is the north box, and we got to see about the last part of the first act, and just about two minutes after we came in a lady and gentleman came in and we gave them our seats; they sat directly in front of us; I took the back seat, and just as the moonlight scene came on, the octette, Mr. Houseman turned to me and said: 'Do you see that little blaze?' And I told him I did.
"He said: 'I think it is about time for us to get out of here.' I told him I thought everything would be all right; that he had better not start down stairs or say anything that would be liable to cause a panic, and he said he would go down quietly, and for me to tell the people ahead of me what to do. The stairway was so dark I tried to follow out.
"I knew he had started down the steps, and I had to wait and light a match to tell where I was going down the steps, from the box down to the first floor. I lost Mr. Houseman then; I looked for him but could not find him, and I walked around and stood very near the first box. By that time the blaze had gone up.
"Mr. Foy was on the stage telling the people to be quiet or pass out quietly. I couldn't tell exactly what he said, and I noticed the orchestra seemed inclined to leave, and I could hear him yelling to the leader to play, which he did.