Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-04-28
THE LOSS OF LIFE.

4
Saginaw train was standing, the passen
gers and spectators scattered in every di
reetion. The train was about starting
. and many of the passengers had settled
themselves into seats TO enjoy q quiet nap
The sleeping car was comfortably filed,
and several passengers had retired. One
: man who was near at the commencement
of the fire went to the train TO render
what assistance he could. He says in
passing through the cars he saw one man
near the door of a car after most of the
passengers were ont, who lay on the floor
in a drunken condition, vomiting and too
stupid to help himself He tried TO assist,
but finding it impossible TO move him,
and the fame coming on, he left him to
his fate. He thinks the man must have
met a terrible death in the burning car.
The same gentleman speaks of another
horror AS he left the sleeping car, 1t
was completely enveloped in flames. On
reaching the third car he met a woman
rushing frantically TO the rear declaring
that she had several children asleep in q
berth in the sleeping car. She pressed on
with all the earnestness Of q mothers
love to rescue her offspring from terri
Bile death. The last seen of che was strug-
Cling towards the burning car and it is as
| vel unknown the fate of the mother and
I her children.
One gentleman named Pendleton, of
Grand Rapids, had taken off his boots and
hat, and had fallen asleep. He was hasti-
| " aroused, but in his stupCr insisted upon
walking out of the wrong end of the car.
He was finally dragged through window,
e-f.r not
! he did not appear to know where he was.
Another individual, whose name we
could not learn, but who waSsbouDd for
Milwaukee, sat in his seat in one of the
cars, and with his head out of the window,
was endeavoring to coax some one to save
him. He was unceremoniously hauled
cut by some passer5-by, and thus saved.
INSURANCE.
Upon tbe general property the Detroit
and Milwaukee Company are believed to
have an insurance in various companies
of Sl00, 00o or thereabouts. The amount
of losses, of course, it is impossible to esti-
mate with any probable accuracy. With
the freight buildings were burned a num-
Der of freight cars, but how many cannot
be ascertained. A pony engine was ha-
express purpose of drawing out cars in
the event OF such catastrophe as has Just
occurred, and it IS probable that many
were saved by this means, though the
progress of the flames was SO rapid that
no opportunity was given for much exer-
tion in this line.
PRODUCE.
The amount of -four in the depot is
thought nos to be very large. Mr.. Hatch, |
the Flour Inspector of the Board of Trade
was there yesterday to inspect lot of 100 |
barrels belonging to Ray Haddock, and |
gives this rs has positive opinion. The |
larger amount of -four in the hands Of the |
company was yet in cars, the majority Of |
which were saved. There was a large re-
ceipt of -four at the depot few days since, |
and without doubt the aggregate loss is |
very large. The storage of potatoes was |
very large, very heavy shipment having |
just been received from Pontiac. The loss |
is estimated by those competent to Judge, |
as varying from 5000 to 1000 barrels. |
The loss on miscellaneous freight must |
have been great, two boat loads having |
Just been landed upon the dock, from the |
Great Western depot in Windsor. The |
quantity of lumber and staves on the dock |
was also very large, all of which was a
total loss.
THE BOOKS AND PAPERS.
Nearly all the books and papers Of i'm |
portaBce are believed to be secure, being |
deposited in thoroughly fre-proof safes |
kept in the main building. A portion of |
the safes have fallen to the ground, but |
appear TO be otherwise uniniured, while |
number of the most important ones are in
a portion of the building which is still |
standing. The law library of George Je-
rome, Esq, the attorney for the Detroit |
and Milwaukee Railroad Company, was
saved without much damage His safe |
containing the most important papers Of
the company, fell through, but its contents
are undoubtedly unframed.
MISCELLANEOUS INCIDENTS.
The fire created great excitement in the
crowded tenements in the vicinity of the |
confagraticn. The old buildings on the |
oppositeside Of Atwater street, were sew
eral times on fire, and were only saved |
from destruction by the heroic efforts of
the fremen. We observed children ac-
tually dropped out of second story win
dows, and feather-beds carried down stairs. |
There were three sick persona, one appa-
rently dying, removed, and so intense was
the heat and numerous the flying embers |
that their clothing was badly burned.
The freight house was densely packed |
with freight of all kinds. Thirty cars in |
the freight house and on adjoining tracks, |
all of which were loaded with freight, |
were destroyed. The cars were about |
equally divided between the Detroit & |
Milwaukee and Michigan Southern rail-
roads.
The Free Press has the following:
RAPIDITY OF THE SPREADING FLAMES.
So rapidly did the terrible element |
spread that almost the euti-e length of the |
freight depot along the dock was on fire |
before the engines were fairly on the |
ground and at work, and from the first it |
was seen that the most that could be done |
was TO confne the fire TO the depot build |
ings, and this was done with the greatest |
difficulty and most heroic ezertions on the |
part of the fremen. 1t seemed at one |
time that the large brick building con-
tanning the Superintendent, and other |
Offices, might be saved, but when the roof |
of the adjoining building fell in, adding |
fresh fuel TO the fiery furnance below, |
with the dripping pitch and cement of the
roofing composition which, dropping in |
hot globes of IRE, spread and expanded
into tongues of fire and volumes of fame
that devoured all before it, and overcame
the efforts Of three steamers in full play
upon and around it, hope was aban-
doned
Loss OF LIFE.
The absolute certainty that from six to |
twelve human beings lost their lives on
the occasion is the most deplorable feature |
Of the catastrophe. In addition to those
already mentioned, eye witnesses state
that they saw several jump from the
Windsor into the water, struggle for |
moment and sink to rise no more. One |
Patrick Carol, with whom our reporter |
conversed, stated that when the alarm |
was given on board the boat all means. of |
escape were cut of. The whole vast pile |
of buildings along the dock were one vast |
sheet of fame, and the upper works of
the boat had already ignited. 1t was some
time before the vessel was cut loose, and |
bv that time the flames had driven the
fear-stricken workmen to the opposite |
side. Some shouted agonizingly for help,
stating that they could not swim, and |
would certainly drown. One by one they
dropped into the water as the flames drove
them to that alternative. Carol states
that he was among the last to leave the
boat fearing that If he Olunued in he |