The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1909-01-28
LAKE FIRE HORROR.
About Seventy Men Perish in
a Disaster at Chicago.
BLAZING CRIB A DEATH TRAP
Scores of Workmen Burn to Death and
an Unknown Number Are Drowned
In the Icy Water-others Rescued
by Tug.

Chicago, Jan. 21.-Death in frightfu
form--a choice between incineration
OF drowning in the ice-clogged lake
descended on probably 10 men at
eight o'clock yesterday morning when
fire attacked the temporary crib of
the new southwest land and water
tunnel mile and half off Seventy
third street.
AS nearly as can be learned, 1870
men, mostly employees of George w
Jackson Qnc), were in the crib at
the time. OF these AZ are known to
have been burned to death. as that
number of bodies. so charred and
mutilated as to make Identification
practically impossible, were recov.
cred
Still others-number unknown and
probably never to be revealed-lost
their lives while battling with the icy
waters which surrounded the blazing
crib having cast themselves into the
lake in the vain hope that they might
survive till help should arrive.
With the exception of the Iroquois
disaster, which stands high in the list
Of world horrors, It was the most ruth
less slaughter Chicago ever has
known.
The cause of the fire and RESPONSE
bility for the disaster remain unde.
termined. A rigid inquiry has been
begun by Coroner Hoffman and the
police.
Tug Prompt In Rescue.
Had It not been for the arrival Of
the tug T. T. Morford within ten min
utes of the beginning of the fire every
man on the crib probably would have
pershed Some of the men sprang
naked into the water, with portions
of their bodies burned to a crisp, and
battled their way to ice foes. Here
they dragged themselves up, only to
freeze to the foes and to leave strips
OF flesh upon the icy surface when
hey were removed by the crew of the
Morford.
Others of the men endeavored TO
hold themselves suspended by ropes
at an angle from the burning struc.
ture, only to be roasted piecemeal or
w nave Nht lODtH uulh
plunging them TO death in the water.
Many of these men were of those
who could not swim and who knew
that to jump into the water was only
to leap to death.
Death by Slow Burning.
They, therefore. made pitiable at.
tempts to elude the flames and met a
narrowing death by slow burning
Even those men who could swim and
who were not burned suffered terribly
from the cold of the water and from
freezing on the Ice foes Some of
those who could swim failed to reach
bit of Ice whereon they could drag
themselves and died from drowning.
Still others of the unfortunates, and
these were more lucky than their fel.
lows, inasmuch as they met only
death and not agony, were caught In
their hunks asleep and died almost in
stantly in the raging hell of the crib.
The fire broke out shortly after the
night shift had gone off watch. Some
of the men had gone to bed or were
preparing to go, and thus were caught
without even clothing. Many of the
men rescued from the foes by the
Morford were naked or nearly so.
Some of these, however, had been fully
dressed when the fire broke out, but
had their clothes burned off them.
Anguished Women Shrek.
Nor was the agony at the crib by
any means the total of all the anguish
Of the time. Eight thousand feet dis
tant, on the shore, helpless, shrieking,
hysterical or dumb with horror, were
grouped women and children and men
the relatives of those who were dead
or dying.
The news of the catastrophe spread
as rapidly as the flames themselves,
and In a short time the shore between
Seventy-ffth street and Sixty-eighth
street was lined with human beings
whose mental anguish was as frightful
as the physical anguish out in the fog
covered lake.
The smoke and flames could be seen
from the shore, despite the gray fog
bank. Every eye was on the flames,
and each impotept onlooker realized
that those flames meant death or indie
scribable suffering to father, brother;
| husband.
The inferno at the crib was in.
creased in horror about is minutes
after the beginning OF the fire by the
explosion of dynamite which was used
in blasting. Nearly three hundred
pounds of dynamite were at the crib
and part of this exploded.