The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1930-04-22

I'd
Flame and Smoke Kill
Locked p Prisoners
CONTINUED from page one)
at midnight. only Z few Of them were
left In the yard.
0hag&ly Scene Iighted
Beacon lights and arc lamps, placed
upon tho main wall for protection
played down on the ghastly scene.
Slowly the work Of removing the
bodies to the fair grounds proceeded.
Far into the early morning hours the
official investigation went forward In
the private residence Of Warden
Thomas.
Scenes Of confusion ana terror &C.
compenied the outhurst Of the flames.
They started In the northwest corner
Or . new building Of cell blocks, part
Of which stu was under construction.
e vas In this new part that the fire
originated, not more than half an
hour after . gang OF prisoners work
ing on the job returned to their cells.
Apparently the flames broke out In
several places simultaneously, Of
ficials said. Everything pointed to
incendiarisrn, they indicated.
Listen q. Schooley. Cleveland
councilman who Is serving . term for
participation In . Cleveland play
ground fraud was at work In the dep
uty warden's office, on the opposite
side Of the prison yard. He saw
smoke rising from the cell blocks.
Doubt :Joksr's' Alarm
About the same time Charley
Smokey, . prisoner from Toledo. and
one Of those quartered In the dam
aged building sounded an alarm on
Range Two Of Section H. Smokey,
q practical Joker vas not taken seri-
ously by his fellow convicts until they
saw the red reflection in the win
dovs Of q manufacturing plant near
the penitentiary.
Then q great scream emanated
from sections G and H. The flames
and the smoke were eating toward
them rapidly.
william G. Baldwin and Tom Lit
tie, guard captains, dashed to the
flaming building with keys to the
cells.
At the AM time other guards ran
70 the deputies office where Schol-
key, In the absence Of officers. began
handing out orders and issued all thu
keys he had.
Meanwhile fire companies. answer.
Ing four alarms spread every foot Of
hose available. As the guards re.
leased convicts from n range they
climbed to the next. Men were
choking and gasping for breath.
As they were released many Joined
In the rescue work.
After he had unlocked the last cell
on the fourth range Little collapsed.
-Four inmates carried him out. Bald
win struggled on to the fifth tier,
then, he. too. collapsed and was car
RED to safety.
Lungs FIN With Smoke
On the fourth and fifth ranges
death took its toll rapidly. The lungs
Of the trapped men were filled with
smoke. Ghastly sights greeted the
reScuers. 6uffocated men lay OF the
floor clutching with pale. white fling
eYs ct the bars that held them In.
Others were stretched across and
under their bunks. Some had tried
to bury their heads in the ~lavatories
in the cells. and stu others had
grabbed their blankets Of torn their
shirts from their backs TO drench
them with water and place them over
their heads.
Streams Of water swished through
the mesh and the iron bars and
formed rtvulets In which the faces Of
fallen me were buried.
Hundreds had been carried from
the structure and above the heads Of
the rescuers In the sixth and last
range were more than . hundred
others who could not possibly be
saved. Bed mattresses and the cots
were masses Of flames.
Batter Locks Open
Locks on the cells were battered
away with sledge hammers. The
mesh walls Of the ranges were cut
away with wire clippers. Hose lines,
winding q path up the flights Of
stairs got In the road Of stumbling
men.
Outside the smoke filled building
the scene resembled . field Of battle
strewp with corpses.
At first, the prisoners who had
escaped death emerged In pairs carry
ing . comrade by the arms and feet.
They hurried across . small clearing
covered with new lumber and dropped
the victims into the grass.
Try Resuscitatjen MethoAs
Then they kneIt beside the choked
men, turned them on their stomachs
and applied methods Of Teguscttation.
For . while this revived the victims
but soon they came - fast that the
band Of convictS found themselves
stumbling over each other, dropping
the men they had carried out and
hurrying back for others.
lips Of the victims aud words Of en-
enlargement and shrieks Of terror
from the msn who were working over
them rose from the ground. Scared
and blackened faces bespoke the lu-
tf1ity Of pondering over men who IL
ready were dead.
Big gray blankets were spread pro.
fusely over the green grass.
Out at the guard room door poured
doctors, tnternes, nurses, priests. and
ministers Dying men, cried for the
last rites Of the church. Medical
man. some without hats or coats and
others In uniforms Of white tSamped
over the ground. which became soggy
under the burden q many feet.
Week, Under Arc .Lighte
Two hours after the fire started
daylight had faded away and weary.
tHouhaed men woc1od on under the
fnS8 of the &C LIGHTS that gave the
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