The Plymouth Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1878-1901, 1901-08-22
Horrible Disaster in the Lake off
Cleveland
Ten flen Lost While M0ny Have Thrill
ing Escapes From Terrible Death in
the Crib and Tunnel Hundreds of
Feet Below the Surface.

porary waterworks crib two miles
out in the lake, resulting in the
death of at least ten men. while
two others were probably fatally
injured. In addition to a large
number of workmen who were
in the crib, eleven others were at
work in the tunnel leading from
it 200 feet below the bottom of
the lake. As air which was
pumped from the crib to supply
the men working in the tunnel
was cut off as result of it's
destruction, it was at first sup
posed that these men had all
persisted.
Subsequently, however, nine
of the men in the tunnel were
rescued after heroic work upon
the part of their fellow workmen.
Fire and harbor tugs, with
rescuing parties on board, reach
ed. the crib soon after the flames
broke out, but when they arrived
the structure was a seething
mass of flames and all hope 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 to the rafters, but
the flames were burning the
ropes away, while the men were
stark naked, and one by one they
were falling into the lake.
The tug circled around the
burning crib, picking up men
from the water and meantime
playing heavy streams upon the
! flames. After an hours hard
work the flames were diminished
enough so that the firemen could
climb up the charred steps and
fight the fire from the interior.
Then the horror of the calamity
was first realized. Everything
was a total wreck.
While the firemen were pour
ing water on the flames there
was a roaring furnace beneath
which could not be reached. But
the firemen chung to their places
and fought every inch of the
way until the fire was under con-
troll. After two hours of hard
work five charred human bodies
were found burned beyond recog
milton. Two were in the attitude
of prayer. They must have
been awakened by the fire, but
could not escape.
While this was going on ways
and means were being devised to
reach the men imprisoned in the
tunnel, whose air supply had APP
parently been shut off entirely
by the burning of the compressed
air machinery. 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. The
water that was thrown on it
turned into steam at once.
Daniel Hartman was one of the
rescued. He said that the first
intimation of anything wrong
was a terrific explosion, which
awakened him and the others.
ga fearful panic followed" he
said: s'many of the men rushing
from their beds and throwing
themselves into the lake. | ran
from my bunk and looked around
and soon saw that the crib was
doomed. The fire spread like
lightning and there was hardly
any use fighting it. 1t soon got
too warm for me and l jumped
into the water"
After deluge of water had
been thrown on the smoldering
shaft entrance, q voice was heard
from the bottom calling for help.
"For Gods sake throw down
a rope. throw down a ropen' a
man called.
A line was quickly dropped
down the shaft and as it tighten
ed a shout of joy went up from
those about, for it was quickly
observed that the man at the