The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-03-28

above watched her drop because I had
turned away. Then came the frs.
thud.
looked up. Another girl was
climbing onto the window SILL Others
were crowding behind her. She drop
ped, | watched her fall and again
the dreadful sound. Two windows
away, two girls were climbing onto
the SILL they were fighting each other
and crowding for air. Behind them
I ! saw many screaming heads. They
fell. almost together, but | heard two
distinct thuds.
Then the flames burst out through
the windows on the floor below them.
and curled up into their faces.
The firemen began to raise a lad
der Others took out life net, and,
while they were rushing TO the side
walk with it, two more girls shot
down. The firemen held IT under
them; the bodies broke It; the gro
tesque simile OF dog jumping
through hoop struck me. Before
they could move the net another girls
body flashed through 1t.
Scenes Horrify Him.
The thuds were just as loud, II
seemed. as If there had been no net
there. Ii seemed to me that the thuds
were SO loud that they might have
been heard all over the city.
| had counted ten. Then my dulled
senses began to work automatically.
noticed things that II had not oc-
cured TO me before to notice. Little
details that the first shock had blind
ed me to. | looked up TO see whether
those above watched those who fell.
noticed that they did; they watched
them every inch OF the way down and
probably heard the roaring thuds that
we heard
AS | looked up saw a love affair
in the midst of all the rorror. A
young man helped a girl to the win
dow sill. Then he held her out, de-
liberately away from the building and
let her drop. He seemed cool and cal
culating. He held out a second girl
In the same way and let her drop.
Then he held out a third girl. They
did not resist. | noticed that They
were as unresisting as II he were
helping them onto street car, in
stead of into ternity.
Undoubtedly he saw that a terrible
death awaited them in the flames,
and his was only a terribly chivalry.
Then came thee love amid tn
flames He brought another girl to
the window. Those of us who were
looking saw her put her arms about
hi mand kiss him. Then he held her
out into space and dropped her. But
quick as fash he was on the win
dow sill himself His coat fiuttered
upward-the air filed his trouser legs
could see that he wore tan shoes
and hose. His hat remained on his
head.
Thud-dead Observation-Disclosures
they went into eternity. l saw his
face before they covered 1t.
We found out later that, in the
room in which he stood, many girls
were being burned to death by the
flames and were screaming In an In
ferno OF flame and heat. He chose
the easiest way and was brave enough
to even help the girl he loved to a
quicker death, after she had given
him a goodbye kiss.
He leaped with an energy as IL to
arrive first in that mysterious land
OF eternity; only a second Of time
dead, came first.
The firemen raised the longest lad
der. II reached only to the sixth
floor | saw the last girl jump at 1t
and miss ii. And then the faces dis
appeared from the window.
BY now the crowd was enormous,
though all this had occurred in less
than seven minutes, the start OF the
fire and the thuds and deaths.
heard screams around the cor
ner and hurried there.
What I had seen before was not
so terrible as what had followed. Mp
on the eighth floor girls were burn
ing to death before our very eyes.
They were jammed In the windows.
No one was lucky enough to be able
to Jump II seemed. But, one by one,
the jams broke. Down came the
bodies in a shower, buring, smoking,
flaming bodies. with dishevelled, hair
trailing upward. They had fought each
other to die by jumping instead of by
fire.
Broken Bodies In Heaps.
The whole, sound, unharmed girls
who had jumped on the other side OF
the building had tried to fall feet
down. But these fire torches, suffer
ing ones, fell inert, only intent that
death should come to them on the
sidewalk instead Of in the fiery fur
mace behind them.
The foods of water from the fire.
mems hose that ran into the gutter
were actually stained red with blood.
On the sidewalk lay heaps Of brok-
en- bodies. A policeman later went
about with tags, which he fastened
with wires to the wrists OF the dead
girls, numbering each with a lead
pencil, and | saw him fasten tag No.
54 to the wrist of girl who wore
and engagement ring.
A fireman who came downstairs
from the building told me that there
were, at least, so bodies in the big
room on the seventh floor.
Another fireman told me that more
girls had jumped down an airshaft
In the rear of the building. went
back there, into the narrow court,
=. k.an ~ dnah OirIa