Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-05-19
WOODEN STAIRWAY
FROM SECOND FLOOR
COLLAPSES IN RUSH
Continued from Page u

ficult task, as almost. all were burn
ed so badly that only through keep
salles. and bits of clothing, could
their identity be established. One
man was identified by an automo-
bile switch key and another by a belt
| buckle.
The exact number of injured could
not be ascertained this morning, at
tention being given to the injured
and identification and care of the
bodies of the dead. witnesses to
the horror today still were so shaken
that but few could talk of it.
The blaze, that in some instances
wiped out entire families, leaving
none to care for the dead, started
near the close of the comedy,
Stoneybrook, being presented by
the senior class of the school as a
part of, it's commencement exercises.
The bracket on which hung a
! lamp over the stage gave way. The
lamp fell to the stage and exploded.
Burning oil splashed over the stage
igniting flimsy draperies.
Mothers and Babes Crushed
Men, women and children made a
rush for the single exit from the
room. The scene, according to per-
those least seriously injured. while
| the more serious cases were hurried
| to Camden hospitals.
| Within two hours after the fire
| broke out, the schoolhouse was moth
! ing but a smoking mass of red-hot
| cinders.
Identification Difficult.
Relatives and friends of many of
| those who attended the entertain
ment flocked to the scene of the dis
aster, seeking their loved ones. Many
| were driven almost out of their
minds with grief and anxiety. Few
| families in the surrounding country
| side escaped unscathed, as either i'm
| mediate or near relatives were
| among the dead or injured.
"It was the most heart-rending
sight I ever saw ;" said Sergeant sill
ton, of the Camden police force.
when 1 got there, the schoolhouse
was one mass of flames.
I people were screaming and
grooming. Those who had got out
were trying to get back in to re-
lease those penned in the hallway.
I'VE tried to get them out, but
the fire spread so fast that it was
no use. The building burned like
finder. People who jumped out of
the windows nearly all had broken
bones. Some of them forgot all
about, their own injuries when they
remembered children or other loved
ones left behind in the hall.
You couldn't get at the facts
about it for long time, the sur
vivors were SO excited and grief
stricken. Families got separated in
the rush. This was a country
schoolhouse, where they used kero-
sene lamps for light. One Of them.
got loose, or the hook pulled out
from the ceiling, 1t fell right in
the midst of the crowd there and
exploded.
"a lot of people were burned then
and everybody started screaming
and running for the doors and win,
dows. They all got jammed on the
Stairway and in the hall leading to
the street, and they didn't have
chance after they got in there.
Nobody could help them, and the
worse they fought and struggled,
the tighter they got TANNED in.
From the looks of some of the bod.
to death before the fire got to them.
Terrible Scene
1--WE could not get into the build
ing to get the bodies out for long
time, the fire was SO hot. There
was nothing left of the building at
all L never saw anything so ter
rible in my life" T.
The charred bodies of the victims
were laid in rows on the ground as
fast as they were taken. out.
Hundreds of people came hunt
ing their folks" said Mr.. Silton.
THE scenes were terrible. A good
many of the bodies were nothing
but charred bones. 1t was pitiful to
see half-crazed people, driven out of
their heads by grief and anxiety,
poking among the heaps of black
ened bones hunting for a ring OF
some token that would identify the
bodies
You would see woman hunting,
and then she would scream and
faint. People went about absolutely
crazy Everybody knew everybody
else at that entertainment, you see,
and it was quite an affair for a
small country place.
The folks who were in that hall
were small farmers and landowners
mostly, quiet folks who We're proud
i of the work their children did al
school and who went to see them
perform at the entertainment. A
| few folks from Camden went over.
About seven or eight Camden PEG.
| pie were burned to death, but most
| of the victims were country people
like l described"
The whole countryside stood
mourning at the ruins today, while
| the search went on for more bodies.
The community was stunned by
| the disaster. Many Of the relatives
Of those caught in the fire, while
| they escaped actual injury, were un.
der doctors care today, suffering
from mental shock as o result of
their grief and anxiety.
The pitiful piles of bones and burn
ed flesh gathered together today
represent twenty-five per cent of
the total population of Cleveland
township. Practically all of the
! white population about Cleveland
went to the school last night for tie
entertainment and the last census
of the township showed 400 inhabi
tants. Cleveland itself is a small
unincorporated village.