Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-02-17
A FEARFUL CONFEDERATION.

uary 8, the Newhall House of Mil
waukee, Wis, was burned, and with
it more than seventy men, women
and children. The following graphic
description of the scene is gwen by
L. b. Anderson, who was one of the
fortunate ones:
Il sat on the window :sill of my
room and L saw the flames take my
bed and my clothes and the floor
sink in mass of flames before l es-
capped by sliding down the rain spout
which ran along my window. 1t was
nearly l o'clock in the morning when
l went to bed l walked up stairs to
my room, as the elevator had stopped
running at 1920. On the way up
met the only watchman in the house
and asked him how 1 could escape
in case of fire. He said it was easy
enough, that there were two ways
one by the stairway, another by
going through labyrinth of halls to
the front. l went to bed after that
and was awakened by the horrible
shrieks of burning women and .the
groans of dying men. The flames
were cracking all around, and as
opened the door great mass OF
smoke and flame rushed in and / be
same stified. 1 was unable again tc
shut it and the smoke almost killed
me. had nothing on but a gauze
undershirt. l felt my strength leav-
ing me. l was choking. l sank to
the floor. I thought was gone. but
my senses had not altogether left me.
gathered myself up as best 1 could,
and made my way toward the win
dow By desperate effort sue
ceeded in getting there 1 sank
again to the floor, but rallied and
attempted to raise the window. 1t
was SO well balanced that it yielded
at once to my puny effort and went
up. l leaned out and the fresh air
revived me. l was strengthened and
consciousness returned. 1 looked
down Ielow and saw the firemen and
police holding a mattress. They
shouted for me to jump on to the
telegraph wires, but l refused. 1 saw
the ladders against the building, 1
sat down on the window sill, and saw
everything go down, my clothing,
valise- everything-unable to save a
thing. shouted, 1 begged, 1 implored
for those below to save me. / saw
my friend come from his room and
attempt to come to me through the
mass of flame, but saw him go into
the vortex of flame to his death. Oh,
such sight, 1t was too horrible to
imagined l saw the tin spout. 1t
was partly covered with ice Three
women and one man had tried to de-
scend it, but they lost their hold and
fell to the street below. 1t was the
only means of escape left. / seized
it with a frantic effort of despair.
Everything inside of my room was
gone. / caught the spout in a vice
like grip and commenced to slide
down. Sometimes / slid six to
twelve feet and at others a few
inches, but l kept going down, using
the ice as a foothold and catch for
my hands, which, you see, are ter
ribly blistered. l went clean down
to the cellar, fifteen feet below the
street, but l was alive.
"On my way down, saw two little
girls standing in window OF the
third story, and they asked me to
save them, but l was powerless to
give them aid. Ihad to see those in.
nocents, not over six years old, swal
lowed up by the heartless flames /
saw Kelsey, Tom Thumbs colored
servant, go down with the walls. He
was clinging to a window sill in the
fifth story. 1 walked out to the
front and went upstairs into the
office, where found woman tearing
her hair. l could not see her face
and did not know who she was. l
spoke to her but she took no notice
of me. l seized her by the ankles
and dragged her down bodily, thus
saving her life. l went across to the
express Office where l saw Antisdel,
who was leaning over Mrs. johnson.
He said: i am crazy. Rub this
woman. l want to go and save my
children I was in position to be
rubbed myself, being almost naked
and chilly. l said to the fireman
standing by: L have lost everything
He said: You are alive and point
ing to man who was clinging from
tifth-story window, How would
you like to change places with him? 2
Somebody gave me a coat, and l
walked in my bare feet four blocks
to the Plankinton House. l was be-
side myself. l met a woman who
threw shawl over me, and said:
Here, poor boy, take that"