Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1860-01-20

munity Immediately following that awful
calamity, when the destruction of life was
believed to bo greater than it haply proves,
has in degree subsidized, thougha profound
gloom has settled over the city.
Quite number of artists from the Bos-
ton and New York pic.orials were on the
ground.
From the Boston Courier, January ls.
The following extracts from a letter writ
ten by a gentleman who was an officer in
the Pemberton Mills, from the time of their
construction until February last, and who is
now connected with one of the factories at
Manchester, will be read with interest. On
Wednesday evening he went down from
Manchester to Lawrence on a special en-
gine. He says;
"On arriving at the scene Of desolation
the fire did not seem to occupy as much
space as had expected, and for an hour it
seemed as though it would speedily be sub
dued and the work of rescuing the poor
prisoners be continued.
~ felt that had one steam fre-engine
been on the ground, this last and saddest
of the series of calamitios might have been
avoided; as it was, it proved too much for
the iremen, for the flames spread readily,
and rapidly passed along the entire length
between the floors and fallen timbers, which
we're covered with cotton, fragments of the
work in process of manufacture, oil, &c.
The floors were Of southern pine, and quite
pitchy of themselves, and / am inclined to
think there must have been many cham
bers Of gas, as the full pressure was on the
mill at the time, and of course the broken
pipes let it loose; you can well imagine the
fury and power of the flames when they
were at last fully victorious; they drove us
far from them, and it did seem as though
the most fiendish of spirits would have been
fully and overwhelmingly satisfied in be-
holding such an awful spectacle. 1 will
mention how few escaped: Mr.. Patterson
was at the weaving room desk, and had
just directed letter he heard strange
noise, and on looking into the room through
the window of the office, saw the floor fall
ing; be sprang for the little gas-metre
room, which was next to the canal, between
the door of egrcss aud the canal wall, and
Mrs. Murley, the sweeper, followed: it
came crashing down till he was surrounded
with fallen timbers and boards, the water
rushing in with great force; he found that
the six-inch supply pipe was broken off,
and he felt that ne must drown; but on
looking up, he saw a mans heel, and be
then made himself heard, and was extrica-
ted without single scratch. His brother
James was in the lower corner, toward the
river; he was thrown down twice, and when
l arrived there was mostly over his iniu-
ries, except the effects of hard blow on
the face, which will take some months to
heal. The escape of Mr.. Benjamin Adams,
the second overseer in the weaving room,
was still more narrow. He was fastened
In the weaving room by broken timbers,
among which one of his legs was immova-
bly, jammed. He could see out, and after a
long time succeeded in attracting the at
tention of an Irishman, who procured SAW
from the Duck mill and handed it to him.
Mr.. Adams sawed away till he found that
the nearer the timber was cut through the
harder it closed upon the saw, until be
could scarcely move it; he then called for
an axe; the handle of which he sawed in
two, and with the short piece he cut away
for more than an hour, and at last succeed
ed in freeing bis leg, after which he quickly
made his escape; his wounds are severe"
Correspondence of the Boston Courier.
Lawrence, Jan. IL.
The work of exploring the ruins of the
Pemberton Mills, and removing the vast
masses of fallen but still adhering wall,
timbers and iron-work, was resumed to-day
with something like efficiency. The panic
and fatigue which crippled exertion yester-
day had been somewhat overcome. The
heavy snow in the morning and forenoon in
terfered considerably with the operations,
but did not repress the anxiety Of friends
and relatives of parties reported missing,
and supposed to be buried in the ruins
Several women with bare heads, and in
fants in their arms, might be seen Chamber
ing up the pile, with the hope of catching
the first glimpse of something that would
settle all doubt. For them the snow had
no terrors, and they were equally Indifferent
to the perils of the ascent, with possibility
of a burning chasm opening beneath their
feet. Early in the afternoon two boom der
ricks were placed in position and we're
worked effectively in raising the heavy
beams and fragments of machinery. About
two o'clock the body of CathariDe Cooney
was brought out and identified by some ar
ticles of her dress. 1t is thought she has
no relatives hero or in this neighborhood.
The bodies of three other females were dis
covered, and they will be reached to-mor-
row. Strangers continue to flock into the
city, and believe that the Maine Railroad
Company allow those who had relatives in
the destroyed mills to come in their cars
free of charge.
From the Boston Herald, January 49,
Nothing remains standing at the scene of
disaster except two immense chimneys,
through which ran the shafting which car
ried the works in the various rooms. The
wood and timber work has pretty much all
been removed from the spot and nothing
now remains but confused and mingled
masso Of bricks, mortar and broken machinery.
A party of explorers, while looking into
a sort of pit which had formed itself in the
fantastic shape Of the ruins, suddenly came
upon the dead body Of female who had
lost her life by fire.
IL was the dead bodv of a woman anna