Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1903-01-24

from the wall, and we had to yell
to make ourselves heard. don't
ever remember hearing such noisy
fire, for the big mill-built building
1t was eight stories high-was
shrieking, bowling volcano of rush.
ing fire by this time. A high wind
was blowing in from the ocean, the
by-streets and alleys were choked
with people watching the fire, the
steamers were snorting and whist
ling and the chief-a young, strong
fellow, too-ycouldn't make his voice
heard 20 feet away.
"Out in the middle of the cross
streets next to the burning building
perhaps 30 feet from the wall the
Skinner truck was standing with its
extension ladder reared almost per-
pcndicular, and on the top pinnacles
with nozzle playing into the fourth
windows was Schwartz, of Four.
teens. The straight wall of massive
granite lowered above him, but no.
body noticed that there was crack
in the angle of the wall at the top
and that the heavy east wall was
slowly detaching itself from the
south wall. Then poor old Timmons,
his clothes torn and dirty, very drunk
and excited, came crawling under the
ropes. We saw him go up to the
chief, touch him on the arm and
with wild, terrified look in his eyes
point upward ut the top cornice
above Schwartz. ran over so as to
get in line with the east wall, and
then I knew what old Timmons
meant. for / saw the ponderous wall
of solid masonry leaning inch by
inch from its supporting angle. The
chief saw it, too, and, raising his
trumpet, howled at Schwartz to come
down.
"He might as well have kept ST.
lence, for the fireman at the top OF
the ladder, staring into the fire, was
oblivious to all sounds and sights eX-
cept the bowling bedlam of blaze and
wind and the deafening roar that
rose from the granite streets below
him. We all tried to attract his at
tention, but nobody had the nerve to
attempt the ladder. Gilligan made
n motion as if he would go after him,
but the chief dragged him of and
sent him to stop the steamer that
was pumping Schwartz's stream. We
knew that if the water quit the poor
devil would come down, or at least
look down to see what was the mat
ter. But Gilligan couldn't get
through the crowd quick enough, l
suppose, and the gap in the leaning
wall was widening every second.
"Schwartz couldn't have seen his
danger even if he looked up, because
he wasn't in line with the widening
crack, but east of it, and anyhow,
the fire and smoke that came belching
through the windows above him shut
out his view of the top. Well, sirs, you
should have seen poor old Timmons.
He would scream ut the top OF his
voice at Schwartz, then run to the
truck and shake il. and once he made
sudden, desperate rush to go up
himself. The crowd in the adjacent
streets was now aware OF the danger,
and the rush to get away choked up
the streets, blockaded the scattered
firemen and added panic to the dis.
order. 1t must have been then that
Timmons got away from the police
man who was Juggling him off, for
the next thing knew he came run
ming down the east sidewalk, just
under the wall, with fireman's ax
in his hands. The next minute he
was striking fiercely at the line OF
hose, and in another there was
geyser of water that drenched and
half blinded us all. Schwartz looked
down then, and we all waved and ges-
ticulated like lunatics at him. He
straddled the shafts of the high lad
der and slid down in the nick of
time, for just then there was ire
mendous report, followed by the
crash of timbers, the grinding of
rocks and showers of bricks and
stones. The earth actually shook
from the weight of the fallen mass,
and when the dust and ashes and
smoke blew away we ran back. There
wasn't n whole stick left of that
truck. The granite blocks of the
street had been driven down more
than a foot by the heavier masonry
that had fallen.
"But Timmons-poor old Timmons!
Whether he stayed purposely, or
whether he was too drunk to know
just which way to run, 1 don't know.
but there wasn't a sign of life left
in his wasted body. Schwartz sat
down on rock and cried like baby,
and we all liked the new chief bet
ter when he said: "He knew what to
do all riOht He cut the hose didn't