Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1866-11-17

est OF the place, was used ~ ware
house and crammed foll Of packages.
Being = strange house, it wasn'. easy
to find your way, and opposite to the
roem where the poor things were all now
huddled together at one window. for tho
FIRE was gaining on them, 40 that unless
they we're soon helped they wou ldnt want
any.
'Crash | crash |" Didn't I let my little
axe play around the sashes Of that vim
dow, and so IN had a clearance, for it was
nailed up, and then when the poor things
heard me, aud saw tho light shining on
my helmet, how they did shrek for help.
Just then looked down at the depth,
and caugh, sight Of one fellow standing
below With = shor. ladder in bis hand.
which might have been Of use if the poor
things had been 10 the first 6cor and
then l made ready to throw my rope
across, when jus. as was ready to let go,
and then going to Try and catch it, a
thought struck me, and l let the coil Of
rope fall down into the court, and but one
end As kept hold OF, and then when the
poor things saw it let down they Shrek Cd
again, and one Of them fell back from
the window.
cite on the ladder" I shouted, and
some Of you come up, aud one Of my
mates soon tied the rope to one end Of
the rounds, and then with two or three
more run into the house, while l hauled
away till got hold Of the bottom of the
ladder for they sent the heaviest end up
first, and then dragged i. in at the win.
dow, aud balancing the other end up, con-
tinued to push it across and into the win
dow Of the other house across the court,
and so made . sort Of a bridge, only it
was all askew, for the houses were not
quite opposite to one another.
Just As Id done this in comes my mate
with two more men, aud | sets them to
work to hold the ladder, while tpok hold
Of the rope, aud then made ready to
crawl across on the thin bridge Id rugged
up 1t was for life and death or woulln'.
have ven,ured to the slight bending wood
for though lad der set nearly upright
may be strong enough, it makes i, deal
weaker 20 lay it down level and then go
and crawl across it. | knew bow it wod
be, though, SO tel the rope round my
body aud male my mate hi;ch the Other
end round big hook ia the wall, USED
for pul!y, s. that in the ~ mt OF IL fail,
the rope held good, shouldn't have
""'" Oh ~" .""r 1h.r tod nna end Ia
the ladder. too, 10 keep it steady, and then
there | was s,ramblng across, with the
ladder bending ard quivering, and the
crowd underneath hurraLipg and clapping
their hands just as # | was doing a bi OF
Blondin to please them.
How that ladder did bend so that
though. !. must give way, and me 60
crash into the court; but 1t didn't, and
the next monen, was 10 the window of
the burning use. with the tremb ing
woman clinging to me.
"Now, then,' says to one man. "you
can creep across and painted 70 the
ladder.
II cant leave my wife, he says, hold
ing q halt-fain,ing woman against the
window, where the smoke wasn't quite so
dense.
YOU'VE trump, you are,' l thinks
and then | hauls more Of the rope. and
makes it fast around the poor womans
waist, when we laid her on the ladder and
the other side hauled, aud we held on to
the rope at this end, and 90 We got her
half across, when she slipped of the lad
der. aud hung light over the court, while
there arose regular shrek Of horror
But there were people, you see, at each
end OF the rope, aud We looseped a. the
other hauled, and &C they soon had her 10
at the other window, though the rope was
so tight that it must have hurt the poor
thing terribly.
Then they Ioosened the rope again, we
sent another woman over, and she wat
insen-ible with fear, and We got her over
all right, though she, too, slipped on the
ladder. Then there were two little girls.
one after another, and it was cad to see
how they trembled and shook-,oo much
frightened to cry, as we'll thsy might be,
for the heat was awful and know that
another qparter Of an hour would fnd the
room we were in red hot
We got another over-a young man
and be was dragged over, too, for he dare
no, try to crawl across, and suppose to
a man that amt used to such things, to
creep over place like that, all those feet
over the pavement, and when you've been
frightened to death nearly By waking out
OF your sleep to find the next place On
fire, is rather trying, and now there was
only that chap whose wife had been sent
over FIRST, and who had worked all he
could To helm ma and another terribly