The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1864-02-04

from his father resident of San tiago Chill,
VINO witnessed the recent appalling catastro-
phe by which more than two thousand human
beings were burnt to death. 1t appears that
the failure to rescue these unfortunate victims
was owing to the idiotic police system of the
Chilians. The writer says; ....-
81 hear you asking, why We're those suffer
ersAnot rescued Yes, why we're they not res
cu9d? My heart stickens within me at the
question. Those determined, stupid ignora-
muses. of policemen Fifty foreigners, had
they been allowed to work, and to work in
| their own way could and would have rescu-
ed nearly Or quite the whole mass. But no,
as is always the case here on an alarm of fire
| the police place sentry on every avenue lead
ing to the fire. They have as you know, no
fire engines except some two or three old Cor
don pumps. fought my way past the police
one entire square, by wrestling guns and sabres
from their hands, knocking them out Of my
way, and being knocked in return, until |
was overpowered by numbers and compelled
to retreat and all within hearing of the most
heart rending lamentations that ever sounded
on human ears And nearly every foreigner
Jared similar to myself-was kept back. Mr..
Demilow of the gas works received bayonet
wound at the fire while in the act of rescuing
a young lady that he recognized, Miss Lar
rem. He had fought his way in company with
one Of the workmen at the gas works to the
church, and battered down side or private
door and saw Miss Larren; sho at the same
time recognized him and called on him to save
her. He could not enter in consequence of
sheet of fame between them. lie reached his
cane to her which she grasped with both hands
when he and his friend attempted to drag her
through the flames but she was SO surround
cd and hemmed in with the dead and dying,
and her strength was not sufficient They
abandoned this method and went i'll pursuit
Of some other means to rescue her, and return
ed again, ana on presenting themselves with
the means of saving her at the door, the po-
lice ordered them back, and not heeding the
ORDER Demll0w) was bayoneted. Ills friends
wrested the gun from the police knocked him
senseless to the ground, and made second at
tempt to save the poor girl. But ihe time lost
i'll dispute with the police was life lost with
her This is only one of many similar scenes.
Your brother Charles battered a door down
on Gale Baadera, or flagg street, entered and
found III a small ante room some 80 females
and all living, but like so many statutes, per-
fectly unconscious He was compelled to take
many of them ia his arms and carry them in
to the street and saved them all Mr. Meiggs
and Ii. Keith fought their way through the
police and reached the church at late hour,
and when the tower was fallingall about them
succeeded in saving several. MIR. M. saw
woman still alive under a crowd ofothers then
dead. She recognized him and called to him
saying, for Gods sake, save me ~ lie rush
ed through the fire to her and pushed several
of the dead from her, then attempted to lift her
out from among the dead, but they were so
firmly wedged i'll about her and OIL her, he had
to abandon that. lie then procured lasso,
fastened that about her waist, and the united
strength of eight men could not eXtrlcate her
from her companions, and they had toleave her
amid such cries for help as no christian heart
could endure, neither can language describe it,
The police had full charge of the front of the
church and in such force that the foreigners
could do nothing there. The police rescued
but few Axes and crowbars were not to be
had until late hour. A single instance will
suffice to show the stupidity of the police. An
officer of the police set some halfdozen of his
men to hew or batter down one of those large
front doors with their old broad swords. The
doors are made of two inch hard wood, double
thickness, and rivetcd through with iron NV
cts. You can judge the effect their old cut
lasses made on the door better than | can de-
scribe it.
The scene at the church the following day
was the most revolving, notwithstanding, that
ever was witnessed siuce the world was crea-
ted. There were the poor unfortunate dead
in all stages of consumption, the greater por-
ton of them naked. But few could be rec
ognized by their surviving friends. The pc
lice ordered on the peones, CT laborers, to re-
move the dead Those demon-wo"se than
devlish damned commenced their work with
as much hilarity as you ever saw school chill
drcn enter on some pleasure excursion. The
dead were pulled about and pulled apart az
one would pull apart tangled brushwood.-
You could see two or more peones pulling ON
a limb of some one buried under the others,
until the limb was pulled from the body
Then they would have a peon rejoice and
howl of exultation, and commence at anoth-
er. The dead were actually separated with
crowbar aud pick.
Limbs, head and fragments were sheveled
into carts with no more feeling than irish la
borers would have in shoveling gravel into
railway car. Hundreds Of bodies but par
tally buried entirely naked, were tumbled
into open carts aud packed up in cemetery III
one promiscuous heap, without even the COW
ering of a bundle of straw OF a bulrush, and
hundreds of these hcartles wretches comment
ing aud Joking on the scene, and all under the
supervision of the police | have seen with
in the past ten years here among these people
many things that were to me very unpleasant
But this is 50 horrifying to the soul that can
not find language 20 express my disgust OF
them
Twenty two hundred bodies Lave been
counted out from the ruins, and it is supposed
many were burnt entirely up. The prevail
lug opinion is that the number OF lives lost is
twenty-five hundred. The count and names
collected to date amount to fifteen hundred.
MANY families have lost the entire female
members-six, seven, eight and nine from one
family. All those that could not be re-
cognized by their surviving friends are now
buried i'll one grave or hole. place TWEEN
tv-five wards square was excaVated, and IN
to this they were laid, or tunbled and SHOW
eled.
This accident has given the Catholic relig-
ion here the most severe blow that the church
has ever experienced. The cIeergo are at a
discount. The men express themselves open
ly and publicly against the clergy having such
complete dominion over the females
The city authorities have had their hands
full the past week in keeping down mob vio-
lence as the masses are determined that the
church shall not again be rebuilt.
Dec. l5.-'The Government have stepped
in and ordered the ruins taken down and
carted off, and will purchase the ground and
erect monument to the memory Of the dead.
The place is to be enclosed with substantial
iron fence, and the remainder Of the ground
laid out in flower garden
The C1YCINNATI SANITARY FAR.--OveT two
hundred thousand dollars have been paid over
to the Sanitary Commission as the net re.
ceipts of the Great Sanitary Fair lately held
in CINCINNATI, and receipts are still coming
in. 1t is supposed that the entire net receipts
Of the Fair, will amount to $4,000.
Igg- Gen. Gilmore is trying the strength o.
ono &c ~, Qoo ..r.,,cd,. Dorroto The oruu is