Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1871-10-19
Flfqht Of tie Peoa1Le.

ashes.
Flight Of TIE People.
Now was TO be seen the most remarka-
BILE sight ever boneld in this or any coup-
try. There were from SO, eco 70, IS 600
men, women and children fleeing by every
available street and alley to The southwarl
and westward. attempting to save their
clothing and their lives.
Every available vehicle was brought in
to requistion for use, for which enormous
prices were paid, AMI The streets and
sidew atks presen'e ed a fearful sight. Thou
sands OF persons and horses. inexhicably
comminglod poor people, Of all colors,
shades and every nationality. from Eu-
rope, China and Africa. mad wiki ex-
cltcment. struggled with each other to
get away
Srcne IF Distress and Discretion.
Hundreds we're trampled under foot
men and women loadel with bundles and
their household goods, to whose skirts
were ei]nging tender infants, half dressed
and barefOoted, all seeking places of
safety, Hours after they might have
been seen in vacant lots, or on tie streets
far out in the suburbs, stretched 10 the
dust. These are the suffering lambs
who Christ calls on the rich world to feed
and olotae. Cd help them, if the heart
ofmau should prove obdarate. One Of
the most plttful sights wss ihat of a mid
dle-aged wolaen, on State streat, loaded
with bundles, stiugg ling through a crowd
singing The Mother Goose melody.
"Chiekery, hickory, cranery crow. [
went to the we'll TO wash my toe, &c
There were hundreds Of others likewise
distracted, and many made desperate BY
whisky, which, from excess Of thirst they
drank. In the absence Of water. in great
quantities, who spread themselves in
every direction, terror to all they met.
1t is feaif-l to think Of tie
Loss Of Life.
Il is corr ured, with good cause. tbs.
near five hundred have been burned to
death. We saw four men enter burn
ing building, and in moment they were
overwhelmed by falling wall. There
was crowd OF men around the corner Of
building, trying. to save property, when
the wall yielding, tAe whole Of them
we're buried beneath it. Adult twelve or
fifteen men, women and children rushed
into the building Of the Historical Society,
. fire proof building for safety. In a.
few minutes the flames burst up and they
were burned to death. Atuoag those who
took refuge in this building wa s the veuer =.
-aiAiA - Sazatsel Stone eighty 5laAes e E
age, for long time connected with the
society also John B. Gerard and wife
and Nine. Depelgroye, Il noted teacher
Of music. It is feared that Dr.. Frear
and family were also burned, as they
were in the building and have not been
seen since. Mrs. Edsall, whose husband
was murdered last week, and who was
suffering from illness, vas carried for
protection 10 building which was after
wards consumed, and it is feared she also
persisted. All the books and papers of
the Historical Society, including the or
iginal copy Of the famous
Emancipation Pyoczunsatlon
Of President Lincoln, for which the soci-
ely paid $25, 900, were destroyed. 1t is
feared that a large number of children,
inmates of the Catholic Orphan Asylum
on State street, were also burned, as many
Of them ale issing. On Oh loago avenue
a father rushed up stairs to carry three
children away when he wasovertaken by
the flames and persisted with them. The
mother was afterwards seen OF the street.
on the northwest side, a raying maniac.
In the same neighborhood family of five
persons persisted. The list of such fatal
tiles is very long, and can Only be fully
verified after the smoke shall have cleared
away.
There are hundreds Of families on that
side who saved no clothing, but barely
their lives. Among them is the family
Of Perry Smith, formerly president Of the
Railroad Company.