The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1874-09-24

| nOOr,, was the mule Warp-Splnn1ng de-
partment, and there were nearly 100
| girls at work under a male oyerseer. On
the upper floor of the fifth abe 1t twenty
girls were employed spooling and
warping cotton. These were the
| youngest Of the operatives. With the
| alarm the flames seemed to leap to this
| attic, coming from the windows below
| and up the great tower in the center of
the building, in which were all the stairs
| communicating with each other.
THE FIRE CAUGHT IN THE MULE
spinnlng-room, in the northwest end Of
the mill, from the friction in the mule
head, and spreading by means of oil on
the floor and about the machinery, with
great quickness, rushed towards the
center of the tower, the only means of
escaped for those In the fourth and fifth
stories, besides the four, fire escapes, two
on each gable end. Once getting into
the tower, the flames ran up to and
through the single entrance in the fifth
story, then springing to the roof tim
bers, filled the two great rooms, 450x9O
feet, with dense black smoke and flame.
While the flames were making such ter
rible headway, the operatives became
fairly wild. The overseers. saw there
was no way possible to check the fire,
and their sole attention was given to
those at work. They called to them to
save themselves, and pointed out ways
OF escape, principally fire ladders. The
! overseer of the spooling room, who re-
manned till nearly srlffocated, states that
the scene III his room,-and it musthave
been worse in the room below-cannot
be depicted. Children ran about CRYING
| and begging piteously to be saved, yet
Wrenchng themselves away when taken
to the tower, while there yet was some
chance, or to the ladders that reached
| two scuttle windows of the south end,
opening upon the roof of balcony at
the head Of Twelfth street.
USELESS FIRE LADDERS.
1t was impossible TO get a great ma
jority to take even this method to save
their lives. Some wanted clothing. 9th
ers something else. AS the fire fright
ened them away from these ladders.
they rushed to the windows at the south
gable end, nearly sixty feet from the
ground, but dared not Jump down. Cot
ton ropes were put out for them to slide
down by, but no sooner would the rope
be lowered than there was a rush for it
from the story below. Too many would
take hold, when it would break, and all
ciinging to it would come down in q
bunch
Similar scenes were going on in the
mule spinning room The flames had
ascended rapidly to The entrance Of the
tower on the fourth floor, cutting off this
means of escape, hut the operatives had
the two ladders of the south gable direct
ly before them, and were urged by the
Overseers and citizens below to take
them. Some did, but others rushed
head-long upon the balcony, and drop
ped OF threw themselves from the guards.
There was ample time for every one to
have been saved had the girls
TAKEN THE COURSE DIRECTED.
The Superintendent, as soon as the
alarm was given, rushed to the upper
story and with the Overseers did every
thing possible to save life. When the
means provided for escape in the mill
were rendered unavailable by the heat,
flames and smoke, the people procured
beds and mattresses for the poor unfort-
unates to Jump upon, and many did
throw themselves from the windows, to,
ID almost every case, receive fatal or ter
rible injuries. The firemen worked to
keep the flames out of the south end,
whittier many operatives had fed. Lad
ders, as long as at command, were used
to rescue the girls, and it is said four
hremen lost their lives while thus engag-
ed. One fireman was lowered from the
roof by brother fireman into the build
ing, and remained so long, trying to
drive the girls forth, that he had to be
let go by those who had the rope, driven
away by smoke, and he was lost.
MoEGUEs AND HOSPITALS
| We're speedily improvised. Mission
Chapel being taken for the latter. and
as fast as the girls could be picked from
under the windows of the mill, stretch
ers were ready to carry them to either
the chapel or the cen raj station. At
the latter place twenty-five bodies were
| soon lying, and other unfortunates had
been taken to the station or to their
homes. In a number Of instances, the
/ bodies could not be recognized. they
were so disfgured, begrimed and dirt
covered. In the Mission Chapel were
those whose sufferings were intense.
Every doctor in the city was summoned
| at the earliest moment. It is not too
| high to place the number killed at 40,
and the injured at twice that number.
The fire was under control shortly be-
| fore $50. Then the entire roof had not
fallen in, nor had the walls crumbled
much below the caves Of the north side.
The flames had been kept almost wholly
out of the building south of the tower,
and the southern part of the fifth floor
was left. The roof north of the tower
fell III, and took with it the tops of the
gable end the wall norton of the fifth
floor and some Of the side walls, crash
ing through the third story. The card
ing and
| TWO WEAVING FLOORS REMAINED INTACT.
The Granite Mills have been for some
time running on full time and turning
out 5000 pieces of print cloth per week.
and it is supposed that a considerable
amount of stock is ruined, either by fire
or water and smoke. A large amount of
machinery is also rendered useless prin-