The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-01-23

colored man fell over me. Ho picked ms
up bodily, dashed through the halls and
down the stgirways and Brought mo here.
God knows I am thankful
One OF the most pitiful cases was TINT Of
q littlo oight-year child. Ethel Pintt,
daughter OF James n. Platt, OF Pinkney-
vile, Ill. Little Ethel was found in her bad
on the third floor half strangled with smoke
in Blanket, she was taken in the arnns Of u
fireman and carried down to the next floor.
through tho dense smoke and past the
roaring 1arnss, toa window, and as the
crowd gathered below and extended their
arms, she WAS thrown out of the window.
With broken Lex she WAS taken across
Illinois street ana placed on q table and
covered with blankets. She suffered tor
ribly, and frequently screamed ont In
agony.
LAZARUS Stearns, Of Dubuque, Iowa,
helpless cripple, lay on his bed and yelled
tition ut the foot OF the bed and the burn
ing boards fell on him. He became un--
conscious, and when rescued II was found
that his limbs were 80 badly burned that
the flesh had burst asunder.
Mrs. q. j. Simpson and her little girl,
while being carried out by the fremen.
were badly burned by the fire. X. Conner,
the father Of a little bov who WAS a patiAAt,
IN his efforts to gave his child, fell from the
second to the first floor Of the east wing
through hole in the floor, receiving fatal
injuries
When tho firemen first arrived a woman
was seen at a window on the upper floor,
clntchinQ babe in one hand and atrug-
Cling with this other TO raise u sash. She
finally sncceeded, and screams fell upon ths
ears Of thousands Of spectators.
No notbna ladders .on,S were :. at ana hand and and
flames were closing in about her, and
she looked back into the furnace Of death,
| then down TO the pavement below. Sud-
denly, she clasped the babe TO her breast.
then tossed it ont OF tho window and gave
her lifo to the flames within. Az the child
I OBrien planted himself firmly beneath the
window and caught the child, which in y
few minutes Was smiling and happy, SEEM
ingly unconscious Of its surroundings.
| The heroism OF Fireman John Loucks will
long be remembered He assembled an ex-
he reached the window sill. was met by
Fireman Robertson. who had pushed his
way through the smoke with child in his
arms. Loncks Rrasped the child
aud started down, but had de-
scended only few feet when he missed
leg caught in the rounds of the ladder and
was broken, but he held the child and
grasped the ladder with his hand. As he
hung there, the spectators below turned
away, thinking he would soon be obliged
to loosen his gasp and fall. In a moment,
however, two other fremen reached him,
and carried the injured man and child
safely to the ground.
Fireman Connolly went to second d-story
room where he found number of female
patients. He took one under each arm and
ordering a third to cling about his neck,
landed them safely on the floor below.
Fireman Higgins stood .on the sidewalk
and seeing woman leap from window,
| determined to save her life.
| Search of the rooms after the smoke
cleared out revealed some horrible scenes
In one room on the third foor four VIC
Tins were found dead, kneeling in an atti-
tude Of prayer. Windows we're up. but the
unfortunatss had apparently made no ef-
| fort te escape. Some tients were found
| III bed lead, others iA the halIs, where they
had tried to work their way out.