The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-09-24
LOSE LIFE IN VAULT
Nine Little School Girls Meet a
Horrible Death

CINCINNATI, Ohio Sept. 23.-Nine and
possibly ten little school girls at Pleasant
Ridge, seven miles north of Cincinnati.
were suffocated In q vault during the
forenoon recess today and over a score
OF others narrowly escaped similar hor
ribfe death. During the rest of the day
this suburb was wild with excitement.
sorrow and indignation, and tonight those
openly charging the calamity to official
negligence are making serious threats.
among them many women.
: The large building is used for high
schooi as well as for all lower depart
ments. All of the victims were from the
primary grades. On opposite sides of the
spacious ground in the rear of the school
building are two outhouses When re-
cess was given about thirty of the smaller
girls were In the clubhouse assigned, to
them, when suddenly the floor gave way,
preeipitating them into the vault This
vault is twelve feet deep and walled up
with stone. There was four feet of wa
ter that would have been over the heads
OF the girls falling in it singly, but these
falling foremost filed up the vault par
tally so that the others were not entirely
submerged.
The girls fell eight feet from the floor
ing before striking the water and the
at least nine underneath until they were
dead. The frame sheds over the vault
We're about twenty feet square, without
windows, and only one narrow doorway
so that only one little girl escaped from
the door. She ran into the school build
Ing and told the teachers what had hap
pened. Principal T. L. Simmerman and
the other teachers, Mary Banning Emma
Venabel Hattie Gage, Louise McGrew.
Alice Bay Emma Johnson and Louise
Layman, rushed to the rescue The
women gave the alarm about the vicinity.
while Principal Simmerman secured a
ladder on which the drenching girls
climbed out, most of them fainting as
soon as they reached the surface.
The screams of the girls were dimly
heard while within the vault and they
were, most of them, unable to speak when
rescued The rescuing party were soon
reinforced by the entire population of the
town. the police and fire departments rem
dering effective service. Those able to
climb out on the ladder themselves were
rescued by Principal Simmerman. who
finally tainted. Then others went into the
vault and kept bringing out dead bodies
until the vault was cleared. The fire.
men drained the vault so as to be sure that
the rescue was complete. Those engaged
in the rescue work recite the most ghast-
by experience. The children who were
on top of the writhing heap were rescued
first. While they were getting out of
the vault their feet crowded relentlessly
down on others who were meeting with
most agonizing death. 1t was noticed
that the older ones were on top and res
cued.
Reports about the floor having given
away last year are denied by the school
trustees, who state that the floors were
repaired during the summer vacation and
nothing wrong was noticed with the
girders. Janitor Smith states that he had
told members of the board that the place
was not safe. Coroner Weaver had the
wrecked Orders preserved. 1t is claimed
that as soon as they were dried out the
timbers were found to be rotten, and it
Is reported that one of them was spliced.
The dead:
LORETTA FINKE, aged twelve.
EMMA STEINKAMPF, thirteen.
AMELIA HESS, nine
MARTHA BUHR, eight.
EDNA THEE, ten
LILLIAN WITHAM thirteen.
HAZEL GLOVER, eight.
FAUSTA CARD, eleven.
CHARMINA CARD, nine
Stella Corliss, aged ten, is reported in a
dying condition