building began to shout "Fire!"

At this juncture McGee, the old janitor, who had just reached the
door, cried out, "Lieutenant, there is a box in here on fire!"
speaking to Lieut. Parker, who was verifying issues just outside the
door. The lieutenant replied, "Let's throw it into the river," and
dashed toward the box through the door, pushing the excited negroes to
each side in order to assist McGee, who had instantly started for the
box. When Lieut. Parker reached the box, he found that McGee had
already taken it up, and was staggering under its weight. He placed
one arm around McGee's shoulder and with the other assisted him to
support the box, from which the smoke was still ascending, and the two
rushed for the door, throwing the whole momentum of their weight and
speed against the crowd of frightened negroes, who were falling over
each other in their panic-stricken efforts to escape. Priv. Greenberg,
of the 13th Infantry, a member of the Gatling Gun Detachment, who was
the sentinel on post at the time, saw the two men coming with the box,
and with great presence of mind added his own weight with a rapid rush
to the shock they had produced, thus enabling them to break their way
through the dense throng at the door. It was only the work of an
instant to then throw the box in the river, where it sank in the water
and for a moment the blue smoke continued to bubble up from the box,
which lay clearly visible on the bed of the river, the water being
only about two feet deep at this point, which was, however, enough to
entirely cover the box and thus extinguish the fire. At the outcry of
"Fire!" Lieut. H. L. Kinnison, of the 25th Infantry, who was waiting
outside of the basement with a wagon, started in at the other door,
and Serg. Weischaar, acting first sergeant of the Gatling Gun
Detachment, started for water. Just as the two men emerged from the
door carrying the box, Lieut. Kinnison reached the spot where the fire