Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-03-15


The fire department responded prompt
ly, but it seemed an age before the fl re-
men were able to reach the windows on
the fifth story. A ladder was put up to
the fourth story, and the sight of rescue
so near seemed to madden the suffering
groups at the two windows in the story
above, who dropped in succession to the
sidewalk. Six fell in this way-some of
them forced off, and others madly leap.
ing, causing the crowd to groan and turn
their heads, as they whirled through the
air.
The following is list of the dead:
Henry L Goulding, foreman of the
composingroom; burned to death.
Miss G. Thompson, proof-reader.
Mrs. Frederick E. Farley, editorial de.
partment, fell from a window and was
killed.
Mr.. Lamson, of Quebec, jumped and
was killed.
W. E. Hovey, of Boston, fell to the side
walk and was killed.
Mr.. Brown, compositor.
The injured are as follows:
Thos. Donahue, compositor; bad cut on
the head and left leg broken at the knee.
Timothy Dunn, compositor; arm broken,
also leg broken.
Joseph w. Witty, compositor; hand,
neck and ears burned. He chung to a
window until the fire forced him to drop
He fell on a ladder and was saved.
G. F. Ensw orth, composltor; compound
fracture of the leg.
1t is thought that the fire started among
the lumber in a cl oSet on the ground floor.
The flames were drawn up the elevator
well and spread through the composing
room on the fifth floor where thirty com.
positors, men and women, were at work.
By the time the fire department arrived,
the top windows were filed with poor,
desparng human beings, who di ID not at
first seem to realize their dreadful posi-
tion. The crowd underneath cried to them
to have courage, and on no account to try
to jump or climb down; and they at first
seemed de termined to obey. There was
so much delay in raising the ladders,
however, that the unfortunate victims be-
came panic-stricken at their danger, and
began to jump or let themselves drop
from the windows. Shrieks of horror is
sued from the crowd of spectators as the
bodies were seen to fall through the air.
and EXPLANATIONS of sympathy mingled
with the groans of the wounded who were
picked up and carried away to hospitals
or drug stores. A large sheet of canvass
was procured as quickly as possible and
stretched below the windows. A number
of men held its edges. Three men and a
woman fell upon it, but the shock was so
great that they struck the ground with
great force, though, of course, the fall was
somewhat broken. They were picked up in
sensible. There were no pumps or buckets
in the office, which could have been used
in quenching the flames.
George G. are, a press correspondent,
who had narrow escape, tells the fol-
lowing story: 81 hea I'd the alarm
sounded just at the same time that 1 no.
ticed the room filling with smoke. Mrs.
Farley, Mrs. Rowland, New E England
editor, Mr.. Warren, news editor, and Mr..
Hill, managing editor, were in the same
room with me. We jumped to the door
and saw that the passage was full of
smoke and escape by the elevator cut
off. Mrs. Farley started for the elevator.
shouted to her to go the other way and
pulled her out of the smoke. She would
have been suffocated in moment if she
had gone that way. She struggled to free
herself from my grasp and succeeded.
She rushed out and in to the front of tho |
building. l followed Hill, Warren and
Mrs. Howard through window to the |
roof ON the east side"
Joseph H. Landlord, who was standing
on the sidewalk where Mrs. Farley fell,
reached OUT his arms to catch her. She
fell on his neck, bearing him to the
E,
Farley was instantly killed, but Mr..
Landlord was not seriously injured.
Mr.. Hill, the managing editor, was in
the news room when the fire occurred. The
forms had just been sent down stairs and
the men were enjoying the relaxa ton
after the afternoon hurry. Four or five
were in the room, smoking, chatting and
joking. 1t seemed less than a minute
before the smoke burst into the compos-
tn, tIa hna
alarmed. Hill ran out and told the men
and women to start for the roof in the
rear, which many of them did. About
fifteen of the thirty five employees, how
ever, rushed to the front, six of them GO
ing into Editor Shipley's room on the
corner.
With Mr.. Hill in the room were Dan
Phillips. Tim Dunn the galley boy, Mrs.
j. H. Farley, another woman and a
compositor. Hill opened the window and
shouted:
"For Gods sake, put up ladder"'
The crowd below appeared to be dazed. |
He then took off his coat and threw it; he |
picked up books and files of the paper
and hurled them out to attract attention.
The smoke became so dense that he could |
not breathe.
a crowd of compositors and others |
gathered around the window of the COM
posing room. IN winch the smoke seemed
still thicker. They were trying to get
air. Fred Ellsworth was seen trying to
break through the partition into the edi-
torial room, where the air was better.
The prisoners could see the ladder COM
ing, but it seemed ages before it reached
them. Mrs. Farley became too excited to
wait any longer, and she jumped for the
top of the ladder. She struck it, and
seemed to roll down the ladder to the
street, strikin the sidewalk all in q
heap.
The copy holder, young woman, start
ed to Jump after her. Hill caught her and
held her back, shouting that the ladder
would soon be up, and urging her to wait
quietly. A..
The flames began to burst through the
part itions in various places, adding to the
terror of the situation.
Dan Phillips began to choke for breath. !
He said to Hill: ST guess it's all over. l
don't care for myself, but my poor wife"
Hill said: sI have wife, too." The
two men began to pray, hardly knowing
what they said. The girl was struggling
to escape from Hill's grasp and shouting
yavyc foria oil hnN ton