Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-06-24
DRIVEN OUT BY FLAMES
A sixty Thousand Dollar Fire Caused
by a Little Button.
Three Women Leap from the Window,
of Blazing Factory.

CmcAoo, june II, A button caused the
loss OF 100000 and severe injuries TO-
three women in this city about 4 o'clock
this afternoon.
AT that hour am operative In Payne.
PORES 3 Menzie's mattress and shoddy
factory, corner OF Butler and Twenty
fourth steets, was feeding rags into a
separating machine. Five minutes later
tooth in the machine struck button
and q spark shot into the air and fell i'm
the midst OF the combustible matirial
Almost instantly the rags burst into
flame, filling the room with smoke and
driving the operative from the machine
Engineer Cash, who heard the screams of
the frightened girls and boys who were
at work in the blazing room, shut down
his engine and, seizing fire eNtinguish-
er, hurried toward the flames, which were
cracking and leaping to all portions OF
the building. He fought his way through
/ the binding smoke and terrible heat
until he reached the second story, where
/ he dropped his extinguisher and yelled
I to the operatives to flee for their lives.
/ Then he ran TO the corner of Archer aven-
ne and Grove street and summoned the
[ fire department When he returned to
/ the building, flames were bursting from
every window.
/ While Cash was hurryiug toward the fire
alarm box the nineteen girls at work in
/ the building made desperate fights for
I life, The flames spread with indeserib-
able rapidity The hallway was chokod
with sitting smoke, and the stair. were
ablazc from top TO bottom. Many OF the
/ girls dashed down the burning steps into
the street, their garments blazing horcoly
and their hair scorched TO the scalp.
/ J ust as the first fire engine swung into
/ Butler street a little woman with pale
/ face appeared at one of the windows of
I the second story. Tongues of fire were
leapiug mp behind her, and tho glass in
/ the sash had already begun to crack and
| crumble Somebody i'm the great crowd
/ i'm the street yelled to the woman TO
/ jump. She turned holf around and
/ looked at the flames which were sweeping
/ toward her, and then with Am expression
/ of despair ON her pale face hurled herself
/ from the window Two hremen picked
her up ana placed her in patrol wagon.
She was bleeding from several cuts ON her
I face and one OF her legs was said to hava
! been broken. Women who had escaped
down the blazing staircases told the
officers that their unfortunate companion
was Katie liildebrand She was removed
! TO her home on Twenty fourth street
just as the girl struck the ground two
more women thrust their heads out of a
window from which great Volumes of yell
low smoke were pouring They were too
I frightened TO scream. Men and women
fstf lt. ID fsig a.
/ them but before the fireman could
4 place a ladder against the window the two
women plunged headlong to the ground
When they were picked UP both We're un
conscious. Mrs, Nika Gibson who was
the'most seriously injured, lives at 3lI
West Randolph street. Her companion
Jennie O'dare, resides with her parents
at 402 Tweuty-fourth street. Both ar,
seriously but not fatally injured.
The building, which was a wooden fir,
trap, 5Ox l25 and three stories high, burn
ed tiercely. 1t was filed with shoody
cloth corn husks, and curled hair, and in
this iuilammable material the flame.
roarcd without check until a second bait
alton of engines arrived. While smok,
was still pouring out of the charred wind
ows OF the shell a dozen fremcn with axe.
ana pixies leaped among the runs ana be
gan oyerhauling the debris under which
it was said several persons were buried
Diligent search, however, showed that all
of the operators have been saved.
The cottages at 2iO9 and 2i,1 Twenty
fourth street were nearly destroyed, II
Werner, who occupied the hoose at the
first number, lost about $500 The ten
ants Of the adjoining cottage lose about
5000. The buildings. which are owned
by II. T. Wheeler, are damaged to the eE
tent of $500. Payne, Peires 81 Monzie
the proprietors of the mattress factory
lose about 100000 on stock snd machin
cry. The building was owned By T. +
Wheeler and is complete wreck, The
latters loss is not far from $4,000. En-
gineer Cash lost $50 which was IN his
v7st.