Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1913-12-31
7|'2P'E |:|: PERISH [
STRICKEN WOMEN AND CHILDREN
DIE IN "FIRE" PANIC AT cALlu-;
MET, MICH. g
MANY sMoTHERED TO DEATH III (
Cry Of Fire at Holiday Celebration
Starts Mad Rush OF Hundreds
Down Stairs Steps Are ssf5.
Blocked by Bodies.

Starts Mad Rush OF HUNDREDS &53s +
Down Stairs Steps Are n .5!5;
.z Blocked by Bodies.
M Calumet, Mich, Dec. 27.-Seventy-.
two persons--men, women and chill.
dren, some babes in arms-were tram.
pied and suffocated to death here IN
mad panic to escape from what they
thought was a burning building.
IA What they really fed from was an
insane mans cry of Fire i" 5.;.5
When he let out his fateful cry sew rev
eral "a hundred persons were gathered
round q great Christmas tree ar:
ranged for the starving children OF
the striking miners. 1t was the first
touch Of Joy they have known own in
months. 33}t&s .t:s 55 X F-t 81 \ XIII 81
A moment later q human avalanche
was pouring madly down a narrow
flight Of staiTs-the only egress from
the building to the street. m 1. @
ii In FIVE minutes it was all over. The
stairway was packed and damned to
the ceiling with dead bodies. Seven
ty-two were taken to undertaking
rooms. Il s IN X Il n isisi s .3s{ j.s
The bodies OF sye men, 10 women,
81 boys and SO girls lie in a temper
airy morgue established in the town tow
hall. AZ
Detectives are seeking the scatter
brained-or, perhaps, worse----p person
whose shout started the rush to death.
The miners. already desperate from
months OF fruitless struggle for better
conditions and higher wages, are NUT
tering threats against the Calumet &
Hecla properties. Many think the cry
of alarm was uttered by some one n.
agent or employe, perhaps mot IN
sympathy with the strike. a u 535 S5j
Investigation later showed there
wasn't vestige Of hre in the build
ing nothing q blaze could have start
ed from. There wasn't even candle.
on the Christmas tree the people
who gave the celebration were n too
poor to: buy candles. For that reason
they gave the celebration in the day,
time. q IN Il aafs$ 5E
@sE, There is some dispute among those
who saw the man whose act is re
sponsible for the loss Of so many lives
as to whether he was In the hall dur
ing the exercises. Two women who
were near the door when the rush
started, but pressed back against the
wall and escaped being caught in the
maelstrom OF death, say the first cry
came from the stairway. l.4s !s.5. s.,s s
81, "Fire!" shouted the man. Fire !"#
The crowd turned toward the stairs,
but they cav no fire nor anyone yell
ing Fire
The next moment he appeared IN
the doorway while all the crowd
gazed at him spell bouad.
Fret he screamed.
A low murmur ran through the,
crowd and 1t shifted uneasily.
.fts Fire! Fire!",h he repeated. He
waved his arms and dashed down the
stairway, with death in his wake.
The next moment the crowd swept
to the top OF the stairs and began its
maddened fight to reach the. street.
Women with babes in their arms
were hurled over the stairway on top
Of their own and their neighbors' chill
dren. The frenzied, shouts and
screams sof the living mingled with
the gasps and groans of the dying in
horrible tumult. :i ~ 81 y
Many Of the frantic men and wom-.
en- fought to get to the windows, 40
feet from the, ground. Some did. Hall
a dozen bodies, all OF adults, crushed
beyond recognition were picked up.
beneath the windows. But the few
In the hall who kept their heads final
~, stopped the rush for the windows.
and when rescuing parties arrived!
those left alive in the hall were ex-
hausted from their efforts 5
Men, rushed to open the doors They
did not then know the extent of the;
horror and FOR some time tried to
press the doors inward. This was i'm
possible. Finally axes were brought
and the doors were chopped on the
hinges. &s3i 34ss EtsS { M
[, Then the rescuers encountered their
real trouble. The bodies were piled
to the ceiling and 1t: was impossible
to extricate them. The efforts from
below finally was abandoned and it
was necessary to begin at the top
of the stairs and work downward
through the mass. S & III a: ;5i
Houghton citizens pledged $1,000
for the relief OF the relatives OF the
panic victims and appointed COM
mittee to-receive other contributions,
which are expected to be large. Reso.
lutions we're adopted extending sym
pathy to the bereaved. 5$s