Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-08-04


On Cherry street, in New York, desti-
tute of a number and void of respectable
ity, stands the "House of Blazes," a
dwarf tenement-house, in which all man
ner of evil beings have roasted, have riot
ed, and have been arrested. Lately there
arrived in the "House of Blazes" stout,
woman, named Joanna
Costello, with whom came child named
Joanna Mara, the same name having be-
longed to the stout Mrs. Costello before
she married Jem, her husband, who was
professionally car-driver. -Four months
ago Jem, tiring of months welded bliss,
took himself off, and Mrs. Costello took to
the consolation of whiskey, more whiskey,
all whiskey, until she promoted the rot
gut to the place of more substantial food,
and lived-till she died-on its pestilen-
tial stimulus. On Sunday, at noon, her
neighbors heard her groaning in her room.
They found her dying hard and turning
black. Before the strength of four crones
could drag her into the passage, which Is
about thirty inches wide, she died. Then
they lugged the hot and clammy corpse
into back room, and held
NOISY WAKE
over it. The room was scarcely ten feet
square, and was not seven feet high. Two
broken windows undimmed the darkness
The roof was falling down in patches
The wall gaped big crevices, and where
the plaster I'D fslimy blistsrs cluns
were dingy blotches, horribly suggestive
of historic murders. A broken down iror
| bed, with straw mattrass crusted will
dirt stood in the middle of the room.
rotten pillow, also shedding mildeweC
straw, lay at one end, and pile of damp
yellow sheetipg at the other. On thu
matrass, the woman's body, growing big
ger and blacker every hour, lay quickly
purifying under the busy legs of mil
| lion flies. In one corner was broker
table, on which was saucer with thre
Jumps of salt in it. On the table also wer
three uneven candles set, one in a gun
bottle, the second in a battered tin candle
stick, and the third in an oil can. In th
corner lay neglected and cobwebbe'
broom Round the body, on backles
chairs, caneless chairs, legless chairs
empty buckets, and other improvise'
seats, were upward of thirty topers, NAL
and female, the scum of the neighborhood
While they drank, aud howied, an,
crooned, the
CORPSE swELLED yIsIBLY.
The black blood oozed into the limp fin
ger ends and puffed them up horribly
Loathscme indications of corruption mad
free with the dead woman's face. He
eyes were closed up by the tumefyini
/ e o.
inky lips of her distorted mouth he
teeth grinned at the ghastly crew VIII
hold high carnival over. They kept u
their awful revels until the sated flies
buzzing lazily over the corpse, wonders
Why they did not go when the whisk
gave out. At last daylight came, an
with daylight.
\ THE POLICE ENTERED.
Officer Wondlipg of the fourth pre-
oIhct euelG ouV tA~ cLnr1lish orcie an
sent for the coroner, who came, with hi
portable jury. Never was there such
gruesome inquest as that of yesterda
morning in " The House of Blszes" Th
jury found verdict of "died Of drink,
and the unwieldy corpse, ,oozing putridity
was squeezed into the largest coffin ia
Commissioners of Charities and Correctio
could provide.
After the burial, while the flies, hungr,
for another such night as the last, wer
cloudy lowering about the mattrass,
HIDEOUs WRANGLE
of hags took place for the belongings 0
the dead. She was buried in her opl
garment, so they had nothing to embezzl
but picture, pair of pants, and empty
box, three cups, two saucers, a half-yarc
of flannel, and a square inch of looking
glass. Her pantrye-the windowsill-
held all her provisions they were half
loaf of bread, an empty whiskey bottl
and two onions.
In the afternoon another wretchet
drunkard fell down the narrow staircas
of the house and cut his head in an awfu
manner He was trotted off to the station
house, probably to die.