The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-03-05

race of her boy He recognized he
md pleaded for help. Rushing I,
the street Mrs. Sprung secured step
Iadded and placed II against the win
dow. Climbing up, she reached TO
her boy. She caught him by the1halr
IT burned off In her hands and TIN
Ind fell back into the flames.
Back Door Was locked.
The statement that the back door o
the building was locked is made b,
walter C. Kelley tho editor of thi
sporting department of the CLEVELAND
Leader. two of whose children wor,
killed.
AS soon as the alarm was givci
Mrs Kelley ran from her home, which
is not far from tho schoolhousc, t.
the burning building. The front por
lion of the structure was mass o.
flames. and frenzted by tho screams o
the fighting and dying children which
reached them from the death trap a
the foot Of the first flight of stairs
and behind that closed door, Mrs
Kelley ran to the rear, hoping TO eff
feet an entrance there, and save hel
children.
She was joined by man whose name
Is not known. and the two, Of them
tugged and pulled, frantically at the
door. They were unable 10 move 1t IN
the slightest. and there was nothing
at hand by which they could hope TO
break it down In litter despair of
saving any OF the cilildren they turned
their attention to the windows. and
by smashing some of these they man
mged to save few of the pupils.
.erhey could have saved many more"
said Mr. Kelley tonight, IL the door
had not been locked Nobody knows
how many of the children might have
made their way out before my wife
reached there. If the door had not been
locked If half dozen men had been
there when my wife and her companion
arrived at the schoolhouse perhaps
they might have broken down the door.
but the two could do nothing, and the
flames spread so rapidly that It was
all over in few minutes
Parents Were Frantic. Z.
The suburbs of Collinwood contains
about 5000 people, and within half
hour after the outbreak of the fire
nearly every one of them was around
the blazing ruins of the schoolhouse |
hundreds OF parents fighting franti. |
cally TO save the lives of their children
caught In the burning building.
The police were utterly unable.
through lack OF numbers. to keep away I
the crowd that pressed upon them
and the situation soon became so seri-
Gus that number of the more cool
headed In the throng took it upon
themselves to aid In fighting back the
crowds. while others worked to help
the firemen and the police.
Could Not Save Child
Among the latter men was Wallace
Upton. who reached the building short
~ after the front door had been caved !,
III. and disclosed to the horror-stricken
crowd the awful scenes that had beer
enacted there.
Just in front of Upton's eyes was his
own ten-year- old daughter, helpless In
the crush, badly burned and trampled
upon. but still alive. The fire was
close upon her. Upton sprang to help
her, and with all his strength sought
to tear her from the weight that was
pressing her down and from the flames
which were creeping close. He fought
on until his clothing was partly burned
from him and the skin of his face and
hands was scorched black. Other men
attempted TO induce him to move. but
nc refused until he saw that his girl
was dead and that he could not save
her life by sacrificing his own. AL
though so seriously injured that he may
die, he fingered about the place for
several hours.
The flames spread with such terrific
ranidity that within thirty minutes
from the time the fire was discovered
the school house was nothing but
fcw blackened walls. surrounding
cellar hlled with corpses and debris.
Rake the bodies Ont.
The tiremen dashed into the blazing
wreckage, and with rakes, forks, show
els and their bare hands, worked in
the most frantic manner. with the hope
of saving, a few more lives They were
unsuccessful, for none was taken alive
from the ruins after the floors coll
lapsed. Fragments of moderated limbs,
Skulls and bones were found almost at
every turn, and these things We're piled
together in a little heap alongside OF
the building.
The great majority of the little
bodies that werc taken from the ruins
were burned beyond all possible recog.
milton. Positive identification of mant
of the children Will never be mads
Besides the children who were killed
inside the building, three little girls,
Mary Ridgeway, Anna Roth and Ger
trnde Davis. were instantly killed by
leaping from the attic to the ground.
Miss Ethel Rose. teacher on the
first floor OF the building, whose pupils
were the youngest In the school, man
aged to get sill but three of her charges
out of The building in safety. Two of
the smaller ones she carried in her
arms.
Miss Anna Moran, the principal of
the school, and two of the teachers,
9Iiss Gollnar and Miss Rowley, es-
capped by one OF the windows In The
rear. They remained with the panic
stricken children until they could do
no more for them and then sought
their own safety.
Saves Her Little Tots.
Mrs. Laura Bodcy, the only teacher
,n the third floor. formed her pupils
in line and marched them down to the
tecond floor, where finding The flames
fushing up the stairway, she turned