The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1923-05-18
Blaze Starts When Kerosene Lamp Ex-
plodes in South Carolina Building
Search of Ruins Complete
BY H. D. NILES
Tnitcd Press Cnrresnnrdcnt

CLEVELAND s. c. Kay i8%SeTenty-six crushed and
bakened bod the toll of disastrous fire which trapped 400
friends and children in schoohouse here in
povised today officials continued searching ruins of
little building
Officials in charge of they
did believe any bodies would be found in the still
glowing embers.
Every home the lite village pressed service
either mogu hospital tramped
panic which followed the cry of fire" who bruised
leapng from windows the second floor
Homes of the peaceful rural community into
houses Of horer by the agony the injured
backs daring leaps from the building while Others including
and children battered by
the door of the schoohouse when the audience fright
sought to escape.
Stampede Closed
The farmers and their families who night
be entertained by ampeded the closed door
Those who fell the crush of humanity
were tramped under foot
1t was shortly after when large kerosene lamp,
pended from the ceiling fell exploded
throwing flaming oil the terrified country folk.
The fire gave grim point the play, which amateur
actors recruited from the ranks performing
It was Topsy Turvy farce comedy which had kept the
audience in of mirth up the the lamp exploded
Persons nearest the windows smashed them and eped
the ground while the main body of the the
one exit stairway ending in hall and entryway,
more that eight feet square. IN
The door the foot of the ammed and while
flames licked the packed victims, pressed on
the stairway.
Then the flames roaring through building reached the
renzed entrance and those who had gone down
were consumed in the heat
Rescue workers. who attracted by the light, found
friends and loved buried in the backened
Relatives worked francay in effort bodies
Little gathered about each body brought from
the debris but there little that remained the
of the victims.
Loved Ones Garry Bodies
The bodies lifted enderly by ones, were taken to
nearby homes As the toll of the mounted other houses
Communicated until virtually every residence had become
morgue hospital
All doctors and from and other surrounding
rushed here throughout early today and gave
themselves up the caring the injured while officials
of Cleveland townspeope continued search
of the gaunt
The injured number score according to Sheriff
Z. +. Wech of Camden.
The figures compiled by Wech more than sixtv per
sons still missing but officials agreed number of these un
dOubedy escaped the inferno and have reported
Eighteen bodies had been identified and turned over
to relatives The others mostly burned flesh and
bones. Identification impossible
All of the bodies the narrow stair
way Of the schoohOuse where the children were
trapped IN their effort to according The stair
strained and then bucked heavy load Of 50 many
PERSONS and precpated many raging inferno ausd
additional deaths of those fighting like escape through the
entrance door
u piles of bones and burned flesh gathered today repre-
sent % cent of the total population Cleveland townspeo
pie Practically all of the white population about went
to the school last for the The last census of the
township showed 400 inhabitants
Cleveland is unncorporated village
About half of the bodies recover
police
whole families e ha oeen removed with the find
ones ringing