The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-01-20
DEAD NUMBER q,
Fire Breaks Out in a Water
Supply Crib
A Mile and Half Out in Lake
Michigan.
FORTY-SEVEN SAVED.
All OF These We're Injured by
Burns or Ice.
Flames Started With Explosion
Of Powder Magazine.

loSt their lives today in a fire which
destroyed the Intermediate water sup
ply crib, one and a half miles from
shore in Lake Michigan. Forty-seven
suffering from burns, cuts or INNER
sion in the icy waters into which they
jumped to save their lives, were res
cued. This statement of casualties was
made by George W. Jackson, whose
company was constructing the Intake
tunnel under the lake and of which the
crib served as a base of operations.
The dead are supposed to be impris-
oned 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 air pressure. Little hope was
expressed that any of them escaped, al
though this can not be known until the
wreckage blocking the entrance to the
bore is removed. Fire tugs extinguish-
ed the flames and an attempt to enter
the tunnel was begun.
The fire lacked none of the elements
of a melodrama- Sixty men, 20 of them
at work in the tunnel under the crib, a
few moving about the structure, and
others asleep in their hunks, were sud-
denly confronted by death by an ex-
plosion Of a powder magazine which
Immediately 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 means
of escape. On every side were the wa
ters of Lake Michigan, its surface al
most covered by great cakes of ice. A
mile and a half distant near the shore
at Seventy-thfrd street lay their only
hope, the tug Morford. 1t could be
dimly seen through the haze of fog and
smoke. On the shore a dim black line
indicated the gathering of crowds at
Office the last word received from the
crib was tragic in its incompleteness-
Last Message.
THE crib is on fire For Gods sake
send help at once or we will be burned
alive The tug - - then the tel
ephone wire broke and the men on
shore heard no more.
Captain Edward Johnson, of the tug,
had already hoisted anchor and the
sturdy little craft was buckfng the ice
The firemen in the hold worked des-
perately getting UP a full head of
From the deck of the boat the crib
could be dimly seen. Black spots ap-
peared and then disappeared into the
waters below. Some of the imprisoned
men were seeking to escape by swim
ming. Some of them were seen to cling
to cakes of ice for a time and then to
disappear.
The crib is a temporary structure
erected in the construction of new
three mile tunnel into the lake for the
ultimate purpose of adding to Chi
cagO's water supply, The first section
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 headquarters
for supplies and men of the second
section. The wooden material used
in the crib made it an easy prey for
the fire. Powder and dynamite used
in blasting were both stored there. Or
dinariIy from so to 75 men were en-
pIoyed. They worked in shifts of eight
hours each eating on the premises and
sleeping in the hunks with which the
place was provided. A suspended
tramway connected the crib with the
shore Immense buckets suspended
from heavy wire and cables and work
ed by machinery, carried supplies to
the place. When the fire was first
discovered an attempt was made by
few daring spirits to reach the crib
in the buckets, but the motive me-
chanism failed to work and the at
tempt was abandoned.
When the Tug Arrived.
When Captain Johnson after what
seemed to him an interminable trip,
reached his goal, scene worthy the
brush of Dore greeted his eyes Fran
tic victims of the fire, their hair sing
ed off and their skins blackened, were
struggling in the water and ice. Some
of them fought against their rescu-
ers only to sink unconscious on deck
when forced aboard the tug When
everybody in sight had been taken
aboard, a second muffled explosion
was heard, probably marking the
snuffing out of more lives in the tun-
mel under the crib
When I neared the crib said
Captain Johnson, 81 saw a number of
men, their clothing ablaze, run out of
the blazing structure and jump into
the lake. Others rapidly twisted ropes
about anything they could find and
Jumped into the water to prevent be-
ing drowned Others used boats and
pieces of timber as life preservers-
when we got within so feet of the
crib I slowed down the engine and we
began throwing out ropes and life
belts to the men in the water. Some
of the men fought US and others were
so cold and stiff from their icy baths
that we had to reach over and drag
them in. They were taken to the boil
er room where they were kept as
warm as possible. Meanwhile we kept
drifting closer to the crib where a doz-
a far section of the pilings which had
not been reached by the flames, were
CRYING for assistance. When we bump
ed against the ruined structure some
of the men jumped aboard, but others
were so unnerved that we had to climb
out and drag them aboard Still 9TH
ers crawled from different parts of the
crib with their clothing ablaze. One
Of these We were compelled to throw
into the lake in order to extinguish
the fire in his clothing. We tied a
rOps around him and dipped him in
the water and then pulled him back
aboard 1t was while we were doing
this that the second explosion occur
red and backed the tug away. We
could see no more injured and de-