Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1864-01-30


by the glaring light of day was indescriba
hy horrible. Iioo thousand eorpses, in every
stage of carbonizatioI, from biackened cn'
der to the slighesl scorcb, lay in heaps
around the several exit doors, the last
struggle painfully visible IN the eager posi-
tion, the outstretcbed hands, the staring
eye'balls. The upper portions Of the bod
les were, with few exceptions, dishgured
beyond recognition--the lower extremities
were scarcely touched by the flames.
The officiating priests, although as heav-
lily lneumbered as the wpmen with clothing,
succeeded in escaping, Dithout single ez
option, aud the same paper which published
l,st of over Two Thousand rictims phose
names are knoion, gives also a list OF church
. naments aud plate rescued, valued at
thousands of dollarsl Flom the vestry
door opened iuto the church, whence the
priests escaped and one of the mornings
papers stales upon the authority of persons
on the spot, that the door was hen closed
lest the FIRE should penetrate the vestry
and destroy the church property thereinl -
Certain 1t is. that three rooms in neigh.
boring palatial mansion are filed with
furniture, carpets, curtains aud pictures,
saved from the Ves;ry, while few pace.
beyond were perishiDg in frightful tor ure,
hundreds of frail aud helpless human beings
many Of whom could have found safety
through that door.
The Chilan papers give a number OF inci
dents calculated TO deepen the horror of the
calamity. Eizaguirres, the Papal Nuncio was
to visit the church on that evening. The Val
paraiso Mercury says:
1t is said that Ugartc, wounded in his
feelings as chaplain of the Daughter of
Mary, because Ezaguirres had told him
that the illuminatlous of his church could
not be compared with what he had seen iu
Rome, exclaimed with enthusiasm, | will
give him when he comes TO preach, such
an illumination as the world has never seen.
Nobody can deny that Ugarte has kept his
wordl
Instances Of the heart lessness Of the priests
are gwen. One priest exulted in the calamity
because Chill wanted supply OF saints and
martyrs The priests blocked up the vestry
door to prevent the escape of the crowd by it,
aud then one priest appeared at an opening
and gave absoluton to the perishing mass OF
sufferers. Ugarte told them to ''die happy,
because they went direct to Mary After
that not one OF the priests was visible until
next day, when they visited the ruins to say
mass for the victims, but were driven off by
the soldiers who kept guard. The Chilian pa.
pers say:
Heroic acts of sublime daring have not
been wanting Enduring gratitude has
been excited in every Chilian heart by the
gallant efforts of Mr. Nelson, the Minister
of the Uulted States, his countryman Mr..
Megs, aud several other foreigners. There
were generous men who defed the fury OF
, the flames 10 save lives, and some of those
u ed martyrs TO their noble hearts An
EugiShman or an American, it is unknown
"hlch, was seen TO rush through the flames,
, 10 Sit ze in his powerful arms u lady, stride
With her lIttle way, aud then his hair 10 a
blaze aud choked with smoke, fell back
INTO the valcauo never 10 rise again. A
, youug lady Damed OrelIa, having IN vain
; impored some byslauders TO save her
, mother, rushed in ana miraculously issued
forth bearing her glorious load
A young lady by the name of Solar, just
before the smoke sutfocated her, had the
presence of mind to kuot her handkerchief
round her leg, SO that her corpse might be
; recognized.
Que young lady-God bless heIl tore
up all her under clothing TO make banda
yes, anJ bound up The wounds as only 9
woman can.
= = Or the 500persons who lost their lives
;. g more lhau 600 belonged TO the best families
. The numher vi servants WHO persisted Is
, iucalculahle.
y Donna Jertrudis Sierra oosed her crino
} line aud dropped il off. euabiing her to
, get through he crowd, aud give her shaw
= : to another lady who was saved by stripping
= herself entirely naked.
e The people of Santiago rose en- masse anC
d demanded the demolition of the building, whicl
, had been burned three times in twenty years
Z aud each time with loss of life. The clergy de
D nouuced the movement, but the people, hither
to the humble tools of corrupt priesthood
!, that disgraced their Church, had become arous
ed aud ere terribly in earnest. The govern
r ment wavered, and then decreed the total dem
$ clifton of the building. The church was bull
e during the latter half of the seventeenth cen
!. tury, but with a roof of painted timber onl,
d fifteen years old.
u The criminal neglect to take the most
. ordinary precautions against fire, or eve
v alarm has been fearfully atoHed OF lh
u 5000 persons within The pile but five o
. six handIed escaped, aud most of then
J wounded, schorshed aud naked The res
Z became wedgrd together and faintng will
le heat. terror aud pressure, lost the abilit
+ To help themselves or second the efforts Q
II those who risked their lives to save them
y Il was only by almost superhumsu eTor
u that some few were dragged from the tgb
= ly lacked mass OF human belugs 10 ii
u tsrdily opened outlets: aud of those fe
majority only lived few hours.
le In bull fight days. blacksmith VIII
D. was rearing bull pup, induced bis ol
10 father TO go on all fonrs to initiate the pul
V The canine pupil pinned the old man b
', the nose. The sou; disregardng parents
z roaring, exclaimed Hold him Growler