Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-21
Saving Queer Things From Fires.
BE- GEORGE E. waIsH

Company No. 8, land didn't receive anv
special mention for it-neither In the official
reports or newspapers. Billy over there can
vouch for my words. If you doubt me. Isn't
1t SO. Billy? Well. what of 1t If they were
cats. dogs and birds? / didn't say human
lives. They were in the burning building
and l had to carry them out or let them
2erish
The worst I had to deal with was pet
cat. She was all fluffy and white. with
blue ribbon around her neck; belonged to
some child, suppose. At any rate 1 found
her running around wild in room on the
sixth floor Of an apartment house 1 called
ner and tried to coax her toward the win
ooW, out the smoke and blaz sort of made
her crazy. I knew 1t was somebody's NET
and l grabbed her by the neck and started
for the window.
wen, It was tough proposition I was
up against. That fluffy white bunch of fur
just clawed, scratched and bit until dron-
PED her. said If she wanted to get burnt
up she was welcome. Then somehow I re-
mempered that Billy's little girl had white
cat that She thought the world Of What IL
some little child should make herself sick
mourning for the loss of this one? / guess
my fondness for little girls made me jump
back and grab that streak of white fur
AGAIN This time flung my coat over her
and tried to hold her so she couldn't use
claws or teeth. 1t was all right until got
half way down the ladder Then something
began to pain me In the back. I thought a
PIN was sticking in it. But 1t wasn't. That
white tabby had decided to bite its way
out, but she was going the wrong way
through me instead of the coat.
That was the fastest descent ever made
from a burning building I guess jumped
from the tenth rung Of the ladder and flung
my burden to the ground The crowd howl
ed at this. and some Missed. but when a
white cat jumped from the coat and dis
appeared In the 6a r5<ppSc
l don't know whose cat 1t was or whether
the owner ever got 1T again. but I never
rescued cats from burning buildings after
that IL they objected to being handled,
: That isn't as bad as Jake's experience
with the monkey" remarked Billy between
pulls at his pipe. Jake didn't know 1t was
a monkey until 1t was too late to retreat
II was IN an apartment up on the West
Side There were lot of actresses In the
building, and they all kept pets. Jake
didn't know 1t beforehand He was new to
the service. and when he saw pretty wo-
man In pink and white dressing gown
appealing to him to save her dear Jerry
he felt that he'd risk dozen lives to serve
her. She told him that the dear little thing
was on the seventh floor in the rear. He
climbed the stairs through the fire and
smoke at the risk of his life and CROPPED his
way into the burning apartment. Every
thing was quiet at first in the rear of num-
Der seven. But after listening a moment
there was a sound like child crying. Jake
Just followed up the sound, and a moment
later grabbed the warm body OF dear
Jerry He kind of thought It had a good
deal of hair on for a kid, but he was too
blind with smoke and fame to stop long to
think of 1t. He made break for the win
dow, and tried to pull himself up on the
roof. 1t was his only chance to escape.
or the window sill and hung by his hook to
find his little child better climber than
himself. Jerry just hoped from his arms
and climbed to the roof over his back and
arms.
Jake nearly tumbled to the ground in
surprise. When he saw that he had res
cued q monkey he felt mad; but when the
and tried to pull him up By the hair he
was frantic. The moro he yelled the
harder Jerry pulled You see, Jake's hair
was long. and the monk could get good
hold. He pulled out three handfuls be-
fore Jake sprawled upon the roof. Then
there was a change Of tactics. Jake
chased the monkey over the roofs until
he nearly lost his job. The foreman found
him half block away. throwing bricks
at a telegraph pole to which chung a big
monkey. It took month for Jake to make
the foreman believe his story. That's
what call unrewarded heroism and it's
the kind that you never hear outside Of
the service
"oh. well. that was bad enough" ven
tured third member of the company,
often tell about, for 1t always hurts my
feelings. But / think 1t will go to help
cap the climax Of such stories. / attended
a fire on the East Side number of years
ago and made rescue that never got
into the papers It was bad scare for a
houseful of tenants. and we were not sure
that all had escaped when the chief or
dered US to go through all Of the upper
rooms. There wasn't anybody left, and we
returned to see the old building CO.
Then. just as we were sure that no
lives were lost, most unearthly scream
from the fourth story startled us. Come
quick! Come quickr the voice shouted. I
confess we all jumped and looked blankIy
up at the burning building. The crowd
groaned. and some of the women shrieked
and groaned. OF course we couldn't stand
there and see some one burn up. Half a
dozen Of US raced up the old stairs and
then came back half suffocated. We
we tried to reach the roof from the adj
joining house. but we were too late.
Finally we got ladder up in front and
volunteered to run up 1t.
1t was tough climb through sheets OF
flame and clouds of smoke. I know I
singed my eyebrows and burnt of half
my mustache. But reached the fourth.
story window and climbed in. There
wasn't blessed soul in the room. and Vet
that shrieking kept up: Come quickl
Come Quickr
well. II It wasn't an old parrot in Z
cage calling to me! At first was so dis
gusted that wanted to kin the bird. Then
j thought I'd open the cage door, but Il
was locked and couldn't make q space
between the wires large enough for tho
bird to squeeze through. / had to abandon
the polly to his Gate. or descend the ladder
with the cage on my back. wasn't hard
hearted II was mad. and took polly and
cage With me. We just rushed through
the smoke and fame. and for q few mo-
ments the parrot said nothing. guess the
smoke nearly suffocated her,
But half way down the ladder she re-
covered her Equilibrium, for she began din
ming in my ears. Come quick! Come quick
Pretty d--n quickr
This tune kept up until reached the
third story Then polly called on the rest
OF her vocabulary and shrieked: Stop
he's killing mel He's killing mel!
Her cries began to starfle the crowd
below. and some Of them mace rush for
trying to murder some one But polly
changed her tune again. and this time she
rhrieked: Amt be q guy! Just look ct
him: Give him Gun under the ear. Oh.