Worcester daily spy., 1860-02-04
From the New York Tribune.
The Great Calamity In New TOrk-Loss of
MANY Lives.

The Great Calamity In New KOrk-LOss of
| Many Lives.
On Thursday night, a terrible calamity oc-
Cured in Elm street, involving the loss OF
many valuable lives, and the manning OF
number of the survivors. One of those i'm
mense human packing boxes, called tenement
| houses, six stories high above the sidewalk,
100 feet deep, and 50 feet front, and. made to
| hive % families, took fire, and, before the un-
fortunate inmates could escape, a great many
| of them were sufiocated. The fire was caused
| by the explosion of burning fluid, with which
a little girl was filing a lamp. When the
dread cry of ''Fre" resounded through the
halls, and up the stairways, the human swarm
within the building snatched up their offspring
and rushed, panic-stricken, from their apart
ments, choking up the passages by sheer num-
bers. AS they thronged upon and tramped
down each other in the darkness, the thick
smoke came rushing up from below, binding
and sitting them in its folds
Those who occupied the lower stories escap-
ed with comparative ease. But higher up, be-
yond the reach of the ladders, where the
smoke was more dense, the suffering of the
poor inmates were heartrending. The parents
with little ones in their arms screaming with
alright, and other little ones behind, whom
they could not carry, crying Father, mother
save us p crowded down, till the foremost
started back before the flames now fast leaping
towards them. Then arose the wall OF wo-
men, and the yels of men, as they vainly
struggled to escape their doom. Some sprang
back to their rooms, and rushing to the win
dows, leaped forth into the icy streets, wound
ing themselves by the fall. Others ran to and
fro, beating their breasts, tearing their hair,
and franticaly beseeching aid from the crowd
of people below; some threw their children
out first, and then followed themselves, as the
| quick fire singed their hair, and laid hold upon
their garments. Most of those in the passages,
after struggling vainly against fate, had sue
cumbed to the sufocating vapor; but at near
ly all the upper windows were women and
children, whose vain appeals for aid rent the
air, and fell, heart piercing upon the impotent
people below no ladders could reach them ;
no hand could save. The lower part of the
house was all ablaze, and so they, too, had to
yield at length to their fate, for it were as
certain death to leap from that dizzy hight as
to stay till the fire came. Front and rear the
CHASTITY faces looked out of the windows upon
the hundreds of upturned, sorrowing counte-
nances below, as blanched as their own
[BY TELEGRAPH
The upper part of the building was occu
pied by about twenty families. Mr.. Wise,
with his family, consisting of his wife and three
children, occupied portion of the front of the
SSCOuo IIOOls MI w lSS GSCdpSQ anu OHS
child, three years old, was rescued but one of
its legs was broken. No particulars could be
obtained as to what became of the rest of tho
family, and it is feared they were burnt to
death. Isaac White, 18th his wife Amelia and
five children, occupied portion of the second
floor. Mr.. and Mrs. White escaped, also two
of the children, Eliza aged 20 years, and Louis,
ii years GuStave, aged II years, was alb
sent; Esther, aged Is years, was nearly sutio-
Gated. Francis Zerno, whose family is absent
Ill France, also occupied a portion of the sec
ond floor. He was badly burnt about the
body and hands, and was taken TO the hospi
tai.
George Bordner and two children escaped
uninjured, but Mrs. Bordner was badly burnt
She was found nearly dead. The officer took
her to the shoe store of George Scheffneyer,
Grand street. but the shoemaker inhumanly
ordered them out, when the policeman pushed
him aside, and put the woman on the Sota and
she was afterwards taken to the hospital.
Mr.. McCarrick occupied portion of the
third floor, 'front.' with his family, consisting of
a wife and two children they were all saved
uninjured A Jewish family, consisting of
eight persons, also occupied portion of the
third floor; the name could not be ascertained,
and the only member of the family that could
be found was child two and a half years of
~ ASeeASN
were burnt.
Mr.. bricks, with his wife and three children,
occupied portion of the third floor; as none
Of them were seen after the fire broke out, it
is feared that they were all burned. Mr.
Walks, with his wife and two children, occu-
pied a portion of the third floor, back no par
ticulars could be learned of them although a
diligent search was made among the crowd to
to find if any of them were rescued. Mr..
Armstrong with his wife and child, occupied a
part OF the fourth floor; nothing could be
learned of them after the fire broke out. Mr.
Stark, with his wife and two children, occu-
pied part OF the fourth floor. Nothing could
be learned of them. Mr.. Rebecco, with his
wife and two children, and four persons whose
names could not be ascertained occupied
portion of the fourth floor Nothing could be
learned of them after the fire broke out and
and it is feared some OF them have perished.
Mrs North, a widow, occupied room on the
fifth floor and she was not seen after the fire
broke out.
Mr. Vopel and his wife, Francino, occupied
portion Of the fifth floor Mr. Vopel, on the
discovery of the fire, finding he could not
escape by the stairway, took a clothes line out
OF the window and fastened the end TO the
window sill. He let his wife partially down.
when she slipped and fell on shed, iniuring
her severely He followed, and escaped with
few slight injuries. Mrs. Vope was taken to
the hospital, and her life is despaired OF. Fran
els Tysiner, with his wife and three children,
occupied part Of the fifth floor He escaped
by jumping out of the window, and received
some injuries. No tidings could be learned of
his wife or children, and it is feared they were
burned to death, Owing 10 the intense excite
ment which prevailed, the names of the occu
pants of the sixth floor could not be ascertain
ed, and as the fire commenced near the stair
case, cutting off all hope of escape in that
quarter, it is generally supposed that the occu-
pants of this floor, about dozen in all, were
burned to death. Mr.. North and his family,
consisting of his wife and three children, oceu-
pied part OF the third floor and all escaped un-
injured
Later.
The building contained 95 inmates, all OF
whom are safe, excepting 8, who doubtless
perished in the flames. Another account,
however, makes the lost and missing SO, and
| gives the details and Names
MASSACHUSETTS, LEGIsLATURE.
THURSDAY, Feb. 2
SENATE