The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1883-12-07
A FATAL JUMP.

Two Girls Imprisoned in Burning Build-
ing in Chicago Leap from the Sixth
Story to the Ground-They Are Picked
Up Mangled and Unrecognizable Mass
Fifty Other Badly Frightened Females
Rescued by the Heroic Firemen.
CHICAGO, Dec. 3.-The people upon the
upper floors Of Nos. 1853 and ITO Market
street, near the center of the east front of
that enormous structure were driven almost
frantic at five o'clock Saturday afternoon by
sight of smoke slowly rolling through the
elevator shaft At that time there were
about fifty women at work upon the fifth
and sixth floors. Every one of them at
once went crazy, and without any thought
began the most frantic efforts to escape.
In the first stampede every one escaped
from the upper floors but eight girls and
the foreman of the sixth floor, who were cut
off from the elevator stairway by the smoke
and heat. These nine people were in a
horrible trap, and the only escape was down
the iron ladder built Upon the outside Of the
Market-street front.
After wild dash toward the rear. the
nine assembled at the window that opened
out upon the ire-escape. BY this time the
alarm had been given and the firemen were
in the street below the panic-strici1en girls
Had they simply waited, all would have
been well, but their wild terror forbade any
thing but action Frances Fairweather was
the first to venture upon the fire-escape
leaving her most intimate friend. Kitty Hill
CERT, standing in the open window, with all
the rest crowding back of her. just as Miss
Fairweather made the first steps of her de-
scent, her friend in the window let 90 her
hold upon the iron ladder and leaped straight
down from the window. The plunge was
horrible one, and the poor girls body
reached the earth head foremost. dashing
out her brains upon the stone sidewalk.
Frances FairWeather'S eyes were turned up
ward when her companion made that wild
jump. The sight completely unnerved her,
and in another second she, too was lying
crushed upon the cruel stone below. After
one Mortified exclamation strong fireman
raised the corpse of Kittie Hilgert from the
pool of blood and brains about it, and carried
tito place Of safety. The same poor kind
ness was done for her companion, and The
firemen turned their attention to the other
seven people, part Of whom were still at the
windows above and the rest making their
descent The firemen quickly mounted to
their aid and all were safely rescued The
AesoU WV NStb tdhCiA SlllUh6 jtlSb III
side the window, and virtually carried
down the ladder. One of them was Annie
Ryan and the other was Lizzie Fair
weather, whose sister had dropped from
the ladder when Miss Hilgert made the i'll
sane leap. The two dead girls were inti-
mate friends, having been almost constant
ly companions since childhood. The par
ents of both reside in Sheboygan, Wis.
During the first few moments of the fire
the crowd filled Market street in front OF
the building. There was an immense
crowd present, and when reinforcement
of police arrived they were crowded back
upon the wooden sidewalk opposite the fire.
The extra weight was too much and about
twenty feet of the rotten structure fell down
to the old grade of the street. No one was
hurt, but one or two ladies' tainted when the
smash came.
A number of firemen were injured, but
none seriously. A short ladder was erected
at the foot of the fire escape, and one OF the
girls who came down dropped when she
reached the top of this ladder. Both she
and a member of Truck Company No 6 had
fail to the ground, but neither of them
were hurt This circumstance undoubtedly
saved the life of the young lady. The cause
of the fire is not definitely known The
loss will reach in the neighborhood Of $780,
600, mostly covered by insurance.