The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1860-01-19
of the Observation-Disclosures of the
Mills, &C., &C., &c.
~.

From the Boston Herald. Jan. II.
The dreadful calamity which yester
day afternoon cast q gloom over the
city of Lawrence has already beer
detailed with much fullness, but the
following fuller account, gathered las
night by our own reporters on the spot
will be read with intense interest:
The mill, which was long brick
building 800 feet long by "a feet wide
was yesterday in full operation, when
at very few minutes after five O'Clock
in the afternoon, it fell with a sudden
crash, and without hardly moments
warning, to the ground, burying in it,
ruins the vast masses of machinery
used at the mill, and with this mass Of
solid iron, and mingled with the beams
and brick of the edifice, lay in mangled
and goary layers the forms of over
four hundred human beings.
As soon as those in the neighbor-
hood could recover from the Mortified
astonishment into which they were
thrown by the disaster, the fire alarm
was at once sounded, and the depart.
ment were soon on the spot. Their
services were not, however, required
to extinguish any flame, for at this time
no fire had broken out.
Without the horror of fire, however
the scene was frightful beyond des
cription. The ruins lay in one con
fused heap, covering an area of about
two acres, and piled up to height o.
about thirty feet.
From nearly every hole and crevice
in this vast pile, from the top, from the
sides, and in fact from every assure
from whence voice from the inside
could make its way, came shrieks fol
help, groans of anguish, prayers and
meanings, and in many, very many
cases, the poor sufferers could be dis
tinctly seen, talked to, and even reached
by the hand from the outside. Many
thus imprisoned were encouraged and
sustained bysassurances of safety, and
in many cases cups of coffee could be
and were, passed down to those below
who, alasl after all this near approach
to- safety, saw. hour after hour pas:
away, until, at last, the frightful cry O.
fire, and the greedy licking of the
flames as they approached with fearful
rapidity, cracking and Kissing all ovel
the remains on the ground, told then
too plainly that all hope of life wa
gone. The fall of the building tool
place just as the mill was being Lighted
up, and outside, of course, all'was dark
To obviate this difficulty huge fire,
were made to the leeward Of the ruins
and the light thus made lighted up tx
horrible scene with inexpressible gran
deur.
At this time-six o'clock-fifteer
hundred persons gathered about tn,
spot, and by the light of the fires thu
more daring were on top, crawling
under the ruins, fixing ropes, and doing
all in their power to extricate thos'
within. At the outset their effort
were quite successful. About seventy
five persons, men, women and children
more or less wounded, were taken out
and if recognized, carried home, an(
if not, taken to the City Hall, which
had been converted into a temporar,
hospital. After the first hour, however
the work becomes much more danger
Gus, by reason of the fall Of timbers a
displacements are made, and often TIL
rescued and the rescuer are again il
danger of a fresh entombment. w
do not learn, however, that any seriou
accident has befallen any of those VIII,
rendered assistance from outside; bu
still the danger of the attempt deterre,
many from rendering any help excep
by standing at distance and screamin,
themselves hoarse in giving advice o
direction to the more daring spirit
who were hot at work
AT one point, when rope had beer
fixed to projecting timber, a call wa
made to the crowd to take hold am
pull with will, but for few minute
such was the danger of the attempt
for the beam in falling might engulpl
all near it-for few minutes we say
the call was unheeded. Men shuddere,
and drew back-they would risk mucl
to aid those below, but life was sweet
and the danger great. AT this critica
iuncture, woman rushed from anon!
the crowd, and daring the spectator
to follow, seized the rope and attempte,
to mount the pile of smouldering ruin
to clear away with her hands. TIL
EXAMPLE was enough; not word wa
said, but strong hands at once drew
bor hooI- o,1 fbor tboro xroTo M 10 81
of hands to the rope, the beam wa
drawn out, and at least two sufferer
released from the opening thus made
Besides those thus saved, a larg
number of operatives, mostly males
who were in the weaving room, which
is in the lower story, managed to es
cape by crawling up from that room
through couple of low windows which
were not INSTRUCTED. The weavin!
room was partially saved by heav.
stone floor of the story above, AM
many in the department were thu
saved.
The sights and scenes at this periot
Of the disaster were frightful. On
poor girl, alive and fully conscious, wa
dragged from the east end of the fallel
mass, with her left arm torn from tn
socket, and her body and legs awful,
mangled. She was taken to her friends
but could not have survived long. |,
one place the bodies of three girls wer
found locked in each others arms, bu
quite dead. They could not be remove,
without mangling the bodies, and