The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-10-01
The Fall River Horror.

River is taken from a dispatch to the
Boston Journal:
"Mills Nos. l and of the Granite
Works had been running about twenty
minutes, when the operatives in No. ]
were startled with the cry of fire, and
the escape of smoke from the fourth story.
In this, next to the upper floor, was the
mule warp spinning department, and
there were nearly one hundred girls at
work under male Overseers. On the up
per floor, or fifth story, about thirty girls
were employed spOOling and warping
cotton. These were the youngest of the
operatives. With the alarm the flames
seemed to leap to the attic, coming from
the windows below, and up the great
tower in the centre of the building, in
which were all the stairs communicating
with each story. The fire caught in the
mule spinning room i'm the northwest end
of the mill, from friction in the mule
heads, and spreading by means of oil on
the floor and about the machinery, with
great quickness rushed toward the centre
tower, the only means of escape for those
in the fourth and fifth stories, besides four
fire escapes, two on each gable end. Once
getting into the tower the flames ran up
to and through the single entrance to the
fifth story, then springing to the room tim
bers filled two great rooms, 450 by 80
feet, with dense black smoke and
flame.
"While the flames were making such
terrible headway, the operatives became
fairly wild. The overseers saw there was
no way possible to check the fire, and
gave their whole attention to those whom
they had at work. They called to them
to save themselves, and pointed out the
ways to escape, principally fire ladders.
The overseer of the spooling room who re-
mained until nearly suflocated, states
that the scene in his room-and it must
have been worse in the room bclOw-can
not be depicted.
"Childrcn ran about crying and beg
ging piteously to be saved, yet wrenching
themselves away when taken forcibly to
the tower while yet there was some
chance, or to the iron ladders that reached
from the two scuttle windows of the
south end, opening upon the roof balcony
at the head of the Twelfth street fire
ladders. 1t was impossible to get the
great majority to take even this method
to save their lives. Some wanted cloth
ing, others something else. AS the fire
frightened them away from these ladders
they rushed to the windows at the south
gable end, nearly sixty feet from the
ground, but dared not jump down. Cot
ton ropes were put out for them to slide
down by, but no sooner would a rope be
lowered than there was a rush for it from
the story below. Too many would take
hold, when it would break, and all cling
ing to it would come down in bunch.
"Similar scenes were going on in the
mule spinning room.
"The flames had assembled rapidly to
the entrance of the tower, on the fourth
floor, cutting off the means of escape,
but the operatives had two ladders OF
! the south gable before them, and were
urged by the Overseers and citizens be-
low to take them. Some did, but Others
rushed headlOng upon the balcony and
dropped or threw themselves from the
guards. There was ample time for every
, one to have been saved had the girls fol
lowed the course directed. The Super
intendent, as soon as the alarm was
given, rushed to the upper story, and
with the oversecrs, did all he possibly
. could to save life.
"When the mems provided for escape
in the mill were rendered unavailable by
heat, flames, and smoke, the people pro
cured beds and mattresses for the poo
unlortunates to jump upon, and many
did throw themselves from the windows
and, in almost every case, received fata
or terrible injuries. The fremen worked
to keep the flames out of the south end
whittier many of the operatives had fled
Ladders, as long as at command, wer
|, used to rescue the girls, and it is sal,
l four fremen lost their lives while thu
engaged. One fireman was lowered from
the roof by his brother firemen into TIN
e building, and remained so long trying t
i drive the girls forth, that he had to be lie
!, 90 by those who held the rope, bein,
: driven away by the dense smoke, and h
G was lost.
! "Morgues and hospitals were speedil
: improvised, Mission Chapel being take
= = for the latter, and as fast as the girl
u = could be picked from under the window
!. of the mill, stretchers were ready to cal
: ry them to the Chapel or to the Centra
: Station. At the latter place twenty-fv
: dead were soon lying, and other unfol
. tunates had been taken to the Station O
/ their homes. In a number of instance
they could not be recognized, they wer
= so disfgured, begrimed, and dirt COY
J, cred. In Mission Chapel were thos
= = whose sufferings were intense. Ever
- doctor in the city was summoned at tn
" earliest moment.
!, "The fire was under control shOrtl
= before half past 8. Then the entire roc
! had not fallen in, nor had the wal
!. crumbled much below the caves of til
. north side. The flames had been keI
y almost wholly out of the building sout
!, of the tower, and so portion of TIL
- fourth and fifth floors was left. The roc
!. north of the tower fell in and took wit
!. = it the tops of the gable end walls, crasl
= ing through to the third story.
n "The carding and two weaving foo
# remained intact The Granite Mills ha,
4 for some time been running full tim
/ and turn out five thousand pieces of prir
n cloth per week, and it is supposed that
"a considerable amount of stock is RUNE,
either by fire, or water or smoke.
large amount of machinery is also rel
dered useless principally that in the u
u good, and the engines and boilers are III
1nJureu. Lie lHsuTdICt, III 10 InclciO
y expected, will cover all the loss to pro
le erty. 1t is reported, however, that Il
IL walls will have to be taken down, as I'll
u granite of which the building was co
81 structed is cracked by heat. Work
u other mills was suspended that the op
Is ratives might assist in the rescue of the
y, colaborers.
y 1.-TWO and three members of one far
- lily are in several instances among u
:, now incomplete lists of killed, woundt
y and missing.
4. "Julia Coffee states that when she fir
" heard the alarm of fire, heavy columns
es smoke burst through the spool-room doc
At A crowd of little children surrounded u
ID overseer, and with him rushed for u
se staircase, but they we're forced back
IN the flames. Then all ran for the elevate
n q. n A A Il =. -. "A.