The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-08-16
DESTRUCTION OF LIFE IN WATER.
WORKS TUNNEL.
FIRE AT BOTTGM OF THE LAKE
Fearful Loss OF Life Among Men
Working In the Temporary Crib
and Tunnel of the Cleveland, Ohio,
Waterworks. Situated Two Miles
Out In the Lake-were Caught Like
Rats In a Trap at the Bottom of
the Lake.

Cleveland, Ohio. August I4.-Five |
men were burned to death. four were
drowned, three and possibly four were
suffocated and several injured as a re-
suit OF a fire which destroyed a tenn
porary water works crib, two miles of
Cleveland harbor today
Cleveland Ohio. August 14.-Fire
early today DESTROYED a temporary
| water works crib two miles out in the
| lake, resulting in the death of at least
| ten men, while two probably were IA
| tally injured. Fire and harbor tugs,
| with rescuing parties on board reached
| the crib soon after the flames broke
| out, but when they arrived the struc-
| ture was a seething mass of flames and
| all hopes of saving it was abandoned
Men could be distinguished swimming
and floating in the water and shouting
| for help. Others were clinging TO ropes
which they had hitched or tied 10 the
| rafters, but the flames were burning
| the ropes away while the men We're
! stark naked. and, one by one, they were
falling into the lake.
| The tugs circled around the burning
| crib, picking up men from the water
| and in the mean time playing heavy
| streams upon the flames.
| After an hours hard work the flames
| were diminished so the firemen could
| fight the fire. Then the horror of the
| calamity was first realized. Every
| thing was a total wreck. While the
firemen were pouring water on the
| flames there was a roaring furnace be-
| meath which could not be reached; but
| the firemen clung to their places and
| fought every inch of the way until the
| fire was under control.
After two hours of nard work five
| charred human bodies were found
burned beyond recognition. Two were
| in the attitude of prayer. They must
| have been awakened by the fire but
could not escape. Tney We're caught
like rats in trap. One body was
| burned almost to nothing. All that
| could be found of it was a skull and
some bones. The bodies of two other
men lay close to those that were on
their knees and looked as though they
| never knew what happened to them.
They must have been suffoCated before
| the flames reached them.
| AS soon as the five bodies were dis
| covered the tug Kennedy returned to
| the harbor at once and notified the cor
| oner of the discovery. While this was
| going on ways and means were being
| devised to reach the men imprisoned in
| the tunnel, whose air supply had ap-
| parently been shut of entirely by the
| burning of the compressed air machin-
| cry. At times it was thought that
| voices could be heard down below and
| the life savers and the firemen peered
| down with ears intent, but the sounds
| ceased again. At the mouth of the
| shaft it was like a furnace, and the
| iron work was red hot from the flames.
| Finally after a deluge OF water
| had been thrown on the smolder-
| ing shaft entrance. a voice was
| heard from the bottom. calling for help
, | For Gods sake throw down a rope
. | throw down a rope man called.
A line was quickly dropped down the
l shaft and as it frightened a shout o.
! joy went up from those above, for +
l was quickly observed that the man a
the bottom was able to grasp 1t.
He yelled again to the rescuers Z
| pull him up. Slowly and carefully h
was raised. His pallid face. covere'
) ! with slime his staring eyes and heav
ing chest told of the horror he had gon
| through in the hours he had spent Il
e | the tunnel. He was William Curry, @
/. | Canton.
;, AS soon as he could gasp, Curr
| says: They are all at the bottom G
e | the shaft, hurry up
e In quick succession. seven other
II | were brought up from the foul an
sitting tunnel. All were in a mos
- pitiable condition. They reported tha
two other men were lying unconsciou
l at the bottom of the shaft.
ii A workman volunteered to rescu
e these men and he was quickly lowere
:. into the shaft. In few moments tt
&C unconscious men were brought
more dead than alive.
81 The tugs that hurried out to II
& scene as soon as the fire was discovere
L p6 in
twenty men, who were found clingfr
sc | to wreckage and ropes tied TO the burr
1 ing structure.
Sc The tunnel which has been und'
d l course of construction for several yea
10 l past. and is still far from complete, h;
IN been the cause. an told of the loss
OF more than thirty lives. Four years az
S. an explosion in the shore section Of u
8. tunnel resulted in the suffocation
IN eighteen men. Two years ago, in
D similar accident, several more me
Is | were killed at almost the same plai
IN and today's catastrophe adds at lea
j. ten additionl names TO the Death list.
ID The fire which destroyed the or
'f this morning was due to an overhead.
boiler srnokestack- The boiler expIod.
soon after the flames broke out. tt
| crib itself was OF pine timber. built I
n straight from the waters edge II
VI men who were asleep in their bunk
N sprang UP TO find themselves in II
II midst of the flames. The boards a
J. around them were burning Aercel
le Down in the shaft. under the lax
n eleven men were at work digging. VI
a conscious until the air supply was CT
off by the awful holocaust above then
lei Mayor johnson expressed great liz
d dignation today when. he learned tha
l. no boat or ffe preservers were pro
} vided as a safety measure by the con
l. tractors at the crib. He declared tha
J. the case would receive the closest in
| yesugaffon, and that those foun