The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-03-05
NEARLY TWO HUNDRED
LITTLE ONES PERISH.
Over-Heated Furnace Sets School House in Sub
urb of Cleveland on Fire and Heart
rending Scenes Ensue.
One Hundred and SMyve Bodies Recovered and More in the
RuinS-SCoreS Injured in the Mad Rush to
Escape Death.

happened next, except tnat saw the
flames shooting all about ard the lit
tie children running down through
them screaming. Some fell at the rear
entrance and others stumbled over
them. 1 saw my little Helen among
them. I tried to pull her out, but the
flames drove me back. l had to leave
my little child to die"
Two Teachers Among Victims.
Herter himself was badly burned
about the head.
Miss Catherine Weller, one of the nine
teachers in the school, lost her life in
a vain effort to marshal the pupils of
her class and lead them to safety. She
died in the crush at the rear door. Her
room was on the second floor. and
when the fire alarm sounded she
marched her pupils out into the hall,
thinking it was Onl va fire drill. There
the truth dawned upon both teacher
and pupils and control was lost. The
children in their frenzy plunged into
the struggling mass ahead of them.
Miss Weller attempted to stem the
rush. but went down under ii. and her
body was found an hour later piled
high with those of her pupils. Miss
Fisk, another teacher, was taken out
alive, but she can not live.
Rescuing the Bodies.
Burning through the cross supports
of the first floor, the flames passed
upward until all three floors crashed
into d smoldering pile in the basement.
After the fire had practically burned
itself out the work CT rescuing the
bodies was begun by firemen and rail-
road employees from the Lake Shore
shops. The railroad company turned
over one of it's buildings nearby to be
used as a temporary morgue and thith-
err the charTed and broken little bodies
were removed as fast as they could be
dug from the ruins. Within five hours
practically all had been removed. They
were placed in rows in the Lake Shore
shop IdentkicetiOns were made only
by means of Nothing or trinkets. The
fire had swept away nearly all re-
semblance TO human features in the
majority of instances. Distracted PAD
rents soon began to gather, and the
work of Identification of the blackened
and mangled cOrpses began.
Agony of Fond Parents.
The gruesome task sof taking out the
blackened torsoes and bits of human
remains was one of horror A line of
rescuers was formed, backed by half
a dozen ambulances. AS the bodies
were untangled from the debris they
were passed along to the stretchers
and thence loaded in the ambulanCes.
Mercifully covered with blankets, the
| pitiful sights were yelled from the
crowd of curious that stretched about
/ the entrance to the structure. AS
/ fast as a load was obtained il was
driven away to the improvised morgue.
At the temporary morgue in the Lake
| Shore shop the scenes became fourfold
| in the intensity of human suffering,
as fathers. mothers. brothers and sis
/ tiers passed up andsdown the lines form
/ ed of 160 cOrpses.
Bodies Numbered.
To facilitate identification the bodies
were numbered as they were received
at the mOrgue. The first identifica-
| ton was made by the mother of Nels
and Tommy Thompson, aged 8 and 3
| years, respectively. The heads and arms
| had been burned from both bodies, but
/ the mother recognized the shoes on
their feet. And so the disheartening
work went on, accumulated now and
| then by a piercing shrek or plaintive
moan as a loved one was recognized
! by clothing or token. such as ring
or necklace.
Mother Falls to Save Her Child.
! About the burning schoolhouse there
are but few residences. In one of
| these Mrs. Clark Sprung lived. Her
little boy, Alvon, aged I, was a pupil
| in the second grade. When the fire
started the mother ran over to the
| school and arrived when the first floor
was a mass of flames. At a window
on that floor she saw the face of her
! boy. He recognized her and pleaded
! for help. Rushing across the street,
Mrs. Sprung secured a stepladder and
placed 1t against the window Climb
|
caught him by the hair. 1t burned
off in her hands and the lad fell back
in the flames.
/ Desolation unspeakable hangs over
| the vicinity of the school and the
whole village of COllinwoOd. The school
board met in special session at the
temporary morgue late this afternoon
to discuss the calamity while the
| coroner prepared to hold an inquest
to determine the cause and place the
responsibility for the fire.
Back Door Was Locked.
The statement that the back door
of the building was locked is made
| by Walter c. Kelley, editor of the
sporting department of the Cleveland
Leader. two of whose children were
| killed. As soon as the alarm was
| given, Mrs. Kelley ran from her home,
| which is not far from the schoolhouse.
to the burning building The front por-
ton of this structure was a mass of
flames and. frenzied by the screams
of the fighting and dying children
| which reached her from the death trap
at the foot of the first Eight of stairs
and behind that closed door, Mrs. KEEL
ley ran to the rear. hoping to effect
an entrance there and save her chill
dren She was Joined by a man
| whose name is not known and
the two of them tugged and pulled
frantically at the iocr. They were
unable 10 move it i'm the slightest and
Continued on name 2