Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1908-03-13

what, piles Of charred little bodies were
| still visible in the dOrways. In the rear
/ door bodies burned beyond recognition
! lay piled FIVE feet deep.
A man who reached the school build
! ing shortly after the fire broke out, de
| clarcd that the back door was locked.
! He attempted to break down the door
! but failed to do 50. He then smashed
in the windows with the aid of some
other men and rescued a number Of chill
! dren by dragging them out.
The flames shot mp through the cen
| trail halls with terrible rapdity. 1t was
said the children were terrified beyond
all control and The teachers. although
they struggled bravely TO marshal their
charges out If the building in something
! like order. were utterly helpless.
PARENTS IN FRENZY.
Those who were familiar with the
building and were early on the scene be
lieve that most Of the loss Of life was
due to the fact that all Of tile rooms
were dismissed at once
Pupils pouring down the stairs made
for the doorways already full Of children
escaping from the lower floors. The eX
its were soon choked. The desperate
| ones behind pushed and struggled Tor
their lives, driving the human wedges
the tighter IL place.
NrlgIbOrS LIVING across the street, who
were -hc first to reach the burning build
! ing, said the lower halls were already
fiIied with flames when they arrived. The
doors and windows were packed with
| terrified little ones, whose fright left
them helpless to escape.
Many children descended the fire es
car"s, but feared to jump on reaching
| the bottom. They were pulled down to
make room for others.
Fearful scenes were enacted around
| the burning schOOlhouSe. Fathers and
mothers raved, cursed or prayed. Many
tried to break through the crowd and
some got as FAR as to dash toward the
! flaming dOOrWays. One big man in over
| alS and jumper was restrained by force
| Explaining in broken English that his
kinder were in the building. He strug
| Gled desperately with the three men who
! held him Finally they threw him to
| the ground and sat on him. forcing his
great form down in the ankle deep mud.
HOPELESS RESCUE WORK.
The building was completely destroyed,
only the outside brick walls remaining
standing The floors and roof fell into
rcscde Of intact bodies absolutely hope
| less.
As soon IL firemen and volunteers could
| get close enough attempts were made to
| pluck bodies from the death heaps at the
! doors. It vas found that the flames had
practically incinerated the bodies. Fire
men with rakcs, forks and shoycls. turned
up blackened bones. little bIackcned
! skulls, and masses of charred flesh. but
bodies recognizable as such were no
longer to be found. A fearful stencil
added to the horror of the scene.
Miss Anna Moran, principal of the
school, who escaped, says the children
made mad rush for the door as soon as
the alarm of fire was sounded, but We're
driven back by the choking smoke.
Later the flames prevented the escape of
many of them from the burning building.
ONE DOOR LOCKED.
Walter c. Kelley, a newspaper man,
two of whose children were in the build
| ing, was one of the first upon the scene.
| He stated that the rear door, one of
the two exits, was locked. The children
rushed for the front and rear doors. The
| front exit soon was damned full OF fight
| ing and panic stricken humanity. Many
who reached the exit first escaped, but
! those. the greater number, who followed
! chOked the doorway. Those who fell
were trampled upon and many are sup
posed to have been killed in this manner.
| Those behind turned and made for the
| windows. Some upon the second and
thir floors jumped from the windows
and escaped. In this way three or four
were killed while others were more for
! tunate and escaped with slight injuries.
! The greater number Of those who met
| death were cut off from escape by the
smoke which blinded them.
: ELL I,
| the lower floor, amid the blazing tim
! bers. to the basement below. There the
| little bodies could be seen writhing in
their last death struggle.
Bodies were taken to the mOrguc at
the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern
Railway company's shops.
INTO FIERY FURNACE.
The fire from the basement. in addition
to filling the sChoorOOmS with smoke,
which caused the first alarm, leaped up
the stairway to the first second and
/ third floors When the children rushed
from their rooms 20 the Railways they
rushed into fiery furnace. 1t was in
the Railways and at the main exit where
the greatest number met death The
Railways were narrow and could not ac-
cOmmodate the large number that at
tempted to rush through them to reach
the main door.
FACTORIES ARE CLOSED.
Factories in the immediate neighbor-
hood dismissed their men, who went to
work in an effort to rescue the little
ones.
A few minutes after the building was
known TO be on fire the school was sur
rounded by parents, fathers and mothers,
who were frantic in their dazed efforts
to rescue their children. Very few were
saved from among the children who
were behind the jam at the front door.
The others escaped with slight injuries.
SCENE IS AWFUL.
From the moment that the floor gave
way and precipitated the children mo
the burning ruins of the building. it was
seen that any attempt to save the pupils
would be useless. 10 go into the burn
ing structure would be suicidal, and all
the parents could do was to look on and
pray that their" children would be
saved.
The apparatus for fighting fire in the
village was of no practical use. Eff
forts were made at first to quench the
AomnS hrf they were Ruthless and the