The firemen did what they could, they worked like giants, but the element they wuz workin' aginst wuz more powerful than man. Anon burnin' timbers fell with a crash, clouds of smoke wropped us round and choked us, the firemen sent up streams of water that turned to mountains of steam. I wuz carried by the screechin' mob hither and yon with no will of my own. Another element wuz added to the dretful seen. Someone cried out: "The wild animals are loose!" Wimmen fainted, and men, wimmen and children screamed louder than ever, expectin' any minute a tiger or lion or leapord to rush at 'em, or a maddened elephant to tromple 'em down. They said the sight at that time in the animal house wuz enough to turn the soundest brain, for to save the animals they had to let 'em loose. And as they couldn't be driven out, at last it wuz a great writhin', strugglin' mass of animal forms appallin' to see, while the ears wuz deafened by the maddened cries of leapords and hyenas--the wild jabberin' of monkeys, snarlin' and growlin' of panthers, tigers and bears, roarin' of lions--hybrids--hissin' of serpents--pitiful frightened neighing of ponies, trumpetin' of elephants. A great screamin', roarin, hissin', writhin', fightin' mass! But as they refused to be driven to safety, the keepers after heroic efforts to save 'em, give 'em a more merciful death. It took fur greater heroism to do this, for some of 'em wuz dear pets, and it wuz like slayin' their own children, and they aimed their revolvers at 'em through tearful eyes. A bareheaded bystander sez, "The fire started in Hell Gate." Sez I, "Jest what you could expect of that place, I never hearn no good of it yet." But the wild crowd surged to and fro. Earth and Heaven seemed filled with the dretful roar and confusion-- It wuz a riot of deafenin' noise and clamor below, and fur fur above, Dreamland Tower flamed up a immense pillar of fire, blazin' out for the last time over sea and land, and with a dyin' effort at decoration, crashed down, sendin' up a shower of golden sparks a hundred feet high. Jest then a woman sez, "The little Incubator Babies have been forgotten." "Not by me!" I sez, and I strove to push my way towards 'em, the woman toilin' along by my side through the inferno of clamor, steam, smoke, and shriekin' rushin' humanity. But jest before we got there we met the good doctors and nurses who wuz bearin' 'em to safety, and I sez to the woman, "It will be a shame if them helpless mites are ever brought back to this place of danger." "Danger!" the words rousted up afresh my agonized fears. Where wuz Josiah? Where wuz my idol? The woman tried to comfort me, for I wuz now cryin' aloud, and callin' on his name. She sez, "He will escape; men can git round so much easier than wimmen." "Have you a husband in this dretful place?" sez I.