Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1909-01-27
5s woRKsiEN DIE By FLAMES.
Some Escaped Flames Only to Die
in Icy Lake.

and half of treacherous, drifting
ice cutting them OH from ready COM
ihunication with the shore, at least
ffty-three Workmen are included in
the list of missing, and the majority
of these already are known to be
dead, as the result of a fire which
had its origin yesterday in powder
vault attached to the intermediate
crib, used in the construction Of
new, water tunnel connecting with
the south side OF the city at Seventy
third street.
1t is known that ninety-five work
men were employed in the crib and
the connecting tunnel at the time of
the fire, but the work CT the destroy
ing element was begun so uneXpect-
edly and reaped its harvest OF dead
and injured with such SwiftneSs that
the contracting firm of George w.
Jackson and the rescuers have been
unable to arrive at anything like an
accurate list of those who perished
and others who escaped the fury CT
the flames or the icy waters Of the
lake.
Forty-Three Injured.
Forty-three, suffering from burns,
cuts or immersion in the icy waters
into which they plunged to save their
lives, We're rescued. This statement
Of casualties was made by George w.
jackson, whose firm was construct
ing the intake tunnel under the
lake and Of which the crib served as
base Of operations. The dead are
supposed to be imprisoned in the
tunnel under the crib. Death might
have come either from fire, smoke,
an explosion of dynamite stored
there, or the shutting off of the air
pipes. In the tunnel the men work.
ed under pressure. Little hope was
expressed that any of them escaped,
although this cannot be known until
the wreckage blocking the entrance
to the bore is removed. Fire tugs
eXtinguished the flames, and an at
tempt to enter the tunnel was begun.
The fire lacked none of the ele-
ments of a melodrama. Sixty men,
twenty of them at work in the tun-
mel under the crib, few moving
about the structure and others asleep
in their hunks, were suddenly con-
fronted with death by the explosion
of powder magazine which imme-
djately wrapped the wooden struc-
ture in flames. Those who were not
killed or injured by the first fiery
blasts rushed out of doors to find
no meals Of escape. On every side
were the waters of Lake Michigan
it's surface almost covered by great
cakes of broken ice. A mile and a
half distant, near the shore at Sew
enty-third street, lay their only hope,
the tug Merford. 1t could be dimly
seen through the haze Of fog and
smoke. On the shore a dim black
line indicated the gathering of
crows attractad bv tho dor,oc
Tragic Message.
At the shore Office the last word
received from the crib was tragic in
its incompleteness:
"The crib is on fire. For
Gods sake send help at once or
we will be burned alive. The
tug"
Then the telephone wire broke and
the men on shore heard no more.
Capt. Edward Johnson Of the tug,
had already hoisted anchor and the
sturdy little craft was already buck
ing the ice. The firemen in the hold
worked desperately, getting up
full head of steam. From the deck
of the boat the crib could be dimly
seen. Black spots appeared and then
disappeared into the waters below.
Some of the imprisoned men were
of them was seen to cling to cakes of
ice for time and then to disappear
The crib Is temporary structure,
erected in the construction of a new
3-milo tunnel into the lake. for the
ultimate purpose Of adding to Chi
cago's water supply. The first sec
tion Of the tunnel is being dug from
the shore at Seventy-third street. The
CRIB marked the beginning of the sec
ond section extending further into
the lake. 1t was used as the head
quarters for supplies and men of the
second section. The wooden mate
rial used in the crib made it an easy
prey of the fire. Powder and dyna-
mite used in blasting were both
stored there. Ordinarily from sixty
to seventy-fve men were employed
They worked in shifts of eight hours
each, eating on the premises and
sleeping in the bunks with which
the place was provided. A suspend
ed tramway connected the crib with
the shore. Immense buckets sus-
pended from heavy wire cable and
worked by machinery carried SUP
plies to the place. When the fire
was first discovered an attempt was
made by few daring spirits t.
reach the crib in the buckets, b,
the motive mechanism failed to work
and the attmept was abandoned.
Frightful Scene Greeted Rescuers.
When Capt. Johnson, after what
seemed to him an interminable trim
reached his boat, a frightful scene
greeted his eyes. Frantic victims of
the fire, their hair snged off and
their skins blackened, were strug-
Cling in the water and ice. Some of
them fought against their rescuers,