The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-12-05

reached the third floor the flames were
shooting out into the hall. We had barely
room to rush past them and down to the
street. 1t must have been impossible for
anyone else to have escaped by the stairs
after we did. When we left the editorial
rooms Messrs. Williams, Caven, Millman,
Jermane and Igoe were still there"
AN HEROIC MANAGING EDITOR.
Charles Alf Williams, managing editor
OF the Tribune, was probably the last man
to go down the fire escape. His window in
the seventh floor was directly OH
the escape. Over thirty printers
rushed into his room when they
found escape cut off from the stairway.
One by one they went down the ladder
while Williams held the door shut to keep
out the draft. The. last one of the crowd
was out of the window and Williams left
Other men, crazy with fear and
blinded with smoke, burst through
the door and made for the fire
escape. Both jumped wildly to the win
dow, and in their haste or frenzy missed
the rounds and fell the whole seven
floors to the hard ground below. The
hnhCo IuSilcu ~ Ilc IOOIl IilIOuSu Vic
door, and Williams had barely time to
commence his descent when sheet offames
burst through the window. Williams is
plucky fellow and all athlete, else he would
never have reached the ground. He held
on like a bulldog, however, and finally
dropped safely to the pavement with no
other injuries than blistered hands
and badly scorched face. A minute
later and whole length of the escape was
obscured with the flames and smoke. But
tor Mr.. Williams presence of mind in
keeping the door shut it is probable that a
dozen or more lives would have been lost at
this spot.
A AFORLoRN HOPE.
The sickening sight that met my gaze
shortly after IL o'clock, that memorable
Saturday evening, afteI a fruitless half an
hours search for my dear co-laborer, Mil
ton Pickett, shall never forget to my dying
days. In company with Mr.. Chaplin, Mr..
Jones and Mr.. Mannix, had asked the
sad, simple question of all we met: Had
they seen Pickett anywhere? Once some
one gave us a ray of hope, saying that he
had seen one who resembled him on the
street. This intelligence was comforting
only for brief period. Traced down to
clear, hard facts the hope that he was alive
proved to be well-nigh illusory. Mannix
was running around bare-headed, in an
agony of grief, his big Irish heart o'erswell-
ing with sympathy. In order to protect
him from exposure to the raw air l sue
ceeded finally in getting him away from the
crowd long enough to obtain hat from the
A. D. T. office. 1t was then some minutes
after II o'clock. We separated, and he
went back into the crowd that was watch
ing the blaze. My attention was attracted
to the drug store on the opposite side of
NicOllet avenue. where some one said the
dead bodies had been carried. A small
crowd surrounded the entrance, and it was
with difficulty that those inside would let
me in. From the outside of the door
could see two bodies lying on the floor.
Once inside l felt that l had stepped as
never before in the presence of grim death
himself. There, full length on the floor,
lay stretched the dead bodies of two men.
One was told was that of DR.. Olson. If
this eminent educator was large and we'll
proportional in life, his figure was truly
majestic in death. His jet black overcoat
| lay folded about him like verltable mantle
of the grave. There seemed to be no signs
of blood upon his face or head, but l did
| not care to take more careful look. My at
tention, in truth, was riveted upon the corpse
of the man in front. Who he was seemed
to be a mystery to those in the store. The
dead strangers head was elevated and his
mouth was wide open, showing a set of
prominent front teeth. His beard and mus
tache had been curled and singed by the
fire, so that they almSBt disguised the iden-
tity of the man. The vest was wide open,
showing a plaid four-in-hand necktie of
some light material and spots of dirt on the
short bosom. The trowsers we're drawn up
so that they revealed the tops of his neatly
laced shoes. The dress and the appearance
of the man betokened one who was neat,
though not fastidious in his attire. There
were present two other reporters, Frank
Jones, OF the Globe, and Robert Strong, OF
| the St. Paul News. Both scrutinized the
face and declared as in one breath that it
was Pickett's.
ooh! no it is not Pickett" cried almost
despairingly. Pickett's forehead did not
slope back as much as that, and Pickett,
know, did not wear that kind of necktie. "
Still they insisted they were right, and
Strong, who had been looking at the dead
mans hands, suddenly asked:
"Barnes, did Pickett wear gold ring on
the little finger Of his right hand2"
II don't remember that he did, / re-
piled, falteringly, and then repeated, almost
angrily, at cannot be Pickett; you must he
mistaken"
Strong then appealed to me to search his
pockets for card. Coroner Towers entered
at this iuncture, and think it was he who
stopped down and extracted from the dead
mans pocket card or letter bearing the
convincing and simple words "Miltor
Pickett" The ghastly Identification wa.
complete. had battled against hope anc
lost, and my heart sank within me.
E. B. BARNES.
STAYED TOO LONG.
James Igoe, the associated press operator
whose office adjoined the Tribune loca
rooms, made a fine fight for his life, bu
the fates were against him. Waiting too
long, he was cut off both from below and tn,
fire escape in the next room. There wa
only one chance left, and that was to slid,
down the telegraph wire that stretched
faoui the seventh floor to pole on Firs
avenue south in the rear Of the building
He started down the wire hand over hand
, and 1t seemed at the start that h
J would make it. The crowd in the rea
cheered him on, but the wires cut his hand
} terribly and when getting about half wa.
down, to relieve his hands, he tried to throw
his leg over the wire He was too exhausted
to accomplish it, however, and after hold
ing desperately for a moment, he droppe,
like lead to the ground below, q aisfanee q
fully fifty feet, A groan went up from tn
, crowd and rush was made to pick him
He was alive, but died an hour later at tn
city hospital. He was thirty-two years o
age and leaves a wife. Walter E
Miles, the day operator of the associates
press, also met his death. but just how
yet unknown, He was picked Np dsad q
the rear Of the building, horribly manglei
about the head and neck, as though he hal
! fallen on to tie wires while leaPing from
the burning hHilding, He was fWsnty,eigh
years af age. He lived Of sO5 Fifth stree
south, and leaves wife and two children.
/ There have been alarms of fire In th
, building before which have increased fear
as to the danger in case of fire. But til