The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-05
Little Ones Die
 h Fiery Furnace.


 thence loaded In the amb buiances. Mer- cifully covered with blankets. fhe pitt ful sights were yelled from the crowd of curious that stretched about the entrance to the structure. As fast as a load was obtained 1t was driven away to the finprovfsed morgue. 10 be succeeded by another within . short timo. s
 The sights of the human ciarnal house caused the men deliying Into the mass of burned flesh to hesitate. but the work had to be done and done quickly, so their feelings had to be smothered for the time being as they tenderIy handled all that was mortal of the little tots
 Intense EEuman sufferlsws.
 At the temporary morgue in the Lake Shore shop, the scenes became fourfoid in the intensity of human suffering. as fathers. mothers. brothers and sisters passed up and down the lines formed or one hundred and sixty corpses. To facilitate Identification the bodies were numbered as they were received at the morgue. The r first Identification was made by the mother of Nell and Tommy Thompson. aged 6 and 9 years respectively. The heads and arms had been burned from both bodies but the mother recognized the shoes on their feet And SO the dis heartening work went on. aceentuated now and then by a piercing shriek CT pfaintIve moan as q loved one was recognized by clothing or tokea, such as ring or necklace,
 About the burned school there are but few residences. In one of tn eee, Mrs. Clark Sprung lived. Her little Boy, aged seven. was pupil in the second grade. When the fire started, the mother started over to the sci4eoi and arrived when the first floer was a mass of flames. At window on that floor she saw the face oe her. boy. He recognized her and pleaded for help. Rushing across the street Mrs. Sprung secured a step ladder and placed 1t against the window. Climb ing up she reached for her boy. She caught him by tbe halF. It bfrnea or in her hands and the lad fell back into the uamea.s s,
 Desoiation unspsakabls hangs over the vicinity Of the school apa thes whole village of CoiilnWeod The schoqi board met in special sessten at the temporary rloYgue late thts after moon to- alnrnss the ezSantifV while the coroner prepared to hold an fn- qnest to determine the cauge and place z tte responaibility Tor the fire.
 of the. building was locked is. made hy Walter C. Kelley. the editor af the sporting department of the Cleveland Lender, two of whose children ware Killed.
 As soon as the alarm was given Mrs. Kelley ran from her home which Is not far from the school house, to the burning buildings. The front por- ton of the structure was mass Of flames and frenzied by the screams k of the dying children which reached them from the death trap at the foot of the first flight of stairs and behind that closed door. Mrs Kelley ran to the rear. hoping to effect an entrance there and save her children. She was Joined by man whose name Ia, not known and the two of them tuggaA and pulled franticaHy at the doof. They were unable to move 1t in the slight est and there was. nothing at hand by which they could hope to break lt down. Tn utter despair of saving any of the children. they turned their at- tention 10 the windows and by siuash- ing some of these they managed to save a few of the pupnls.
 Locked Door Prevented Rescue.
 They could have saved many more" said Mr. Kelley tonight, if the door had not been locked. ..obodys kffows how many of the children might have made their way out before my wife had reached there, If the door had . had been there when my wife and her companion. arrived at Inc school house. perhaps they mikht have brok- en down the door but these two could do. nothing and the flames spread so rapidly that 1t was all over in . few minutes1
 The suburb of CoIlinwood contains about 5000 people and within half an hour after the outbreak of the ire nearly every one of them were gath school house, hundreds of paFents cred around the blazing ruins Of the lighting ffantically with the policemen and firemeT who were busiiy engaged in, saving the lives of the children caught in the burning building and doing theiF best to extinguish the fire. Fathers and mothers ravsd. cursed and prayed. 1. 7
 The police were utterly unable through lack of numbers to keep. away the crowd that pressed upon them and the situation soon became so serious that a mum her of more cool headed men in the throng took 1t upon themselve6 others worked to help the firenen and the police. E Among the latter were Wallace up- ton who reached the building shortly after the front door had caved in and disclosed to the horror steicken crowd the aWIul scene InAL had been enacted there. Just in front of Up- tons eyes his own ten year old daugh- ter, helpless in the crush. badly burned and trampled down, but stin alive The fire was close upon sher and lf she could not be saved at once she could not be saved at all. Upton sprang to help her and with all his strength that was pressing her down and from thought to tear her from the weight the flames which were creeping close. l
 Although he worked with a despera- 1 tIcn of despair his strength was un- i equal to the task. He fought until his | was partly burned from hlm | and the skin of hls face and hands were scorched black. Other men at to induce him to move. but | he refused until he saw that his gfri | was dead and that he could not save | her life by sacrificing his own. He | then withdrew from the school house and although so seriously injured that he may die. fingered about the place for several hours. refusing to go to hospital or to seek medical attendance, The flames spread with such terrific | rapidity that within thirty minutes from the time the fire was discovered. the school house was nothing but a few blackened walls surrounding a cellar filled with corpses and debris.
 Faremea Were Heroes.
 The ftrenaen dashed into the bIa1fng | wreckage. and with r4kee. forks. Ahovels and fhslr hare -handas woxGed |