The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1874-09-24
TERRIBLE CALAMITY.


Mass.-A Cotton Mill Burned, with a
Large Number of Particu-
lars of the Disaster.
One of the most appalling catastrophes Of
recent occurrence took place at Fall River,
Mass, on the 10Th of September. Shortly
after the operatives had gone to work in one
of the cotton mills there the alarm of fire
was given, and the mill was discovered to be
on fire in one of the upper stories, So rapid
ly did the flames spread that several hundred
operatives were hemmed in before thew had
time to escape. Some managed to escape by
leaping from windows. and others by climbing
on the roofs of adjoining buildings, but
Notwithstanding that every effort was
made about forty, mostly girls were
burned to death or suffocated. The
following account of the heartrending disas-
ter is furnished to the Western Associated
Press @arrs
Mills Nos. and 2, of the Granite Works.
had been running about twenty minutes when
the operatives in No. were startled with a
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 100 girls at work under
a male overseer On the upper floor. the
fifth, about thirty girls we're employed, spool
ing and Wrapping cotton. These were the
youngest of the operatives. With the alarm
the flames seemed to leap to this attic COM
ing from the windows below and up the great
tower III the center of the building, in which
were all the stairs communicating with each
story. The fire caught in the mule-spinning-
room, in the northwest end of the mill, from
friction in mule-head, and spreading, by
means of oil on the floor and about the ma
chinery, with great quickness, rushed toward
the. center tower, the only means of escape for
those in the fourth and fifth STORIES besides
four fre-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 roof timbers,
filed the two great rooms, 450x90 feet, with
dense black smoke and flame While the
flames were making such terrible Roadway,
the operatives became fairly wild. The over
.seers saw there was no way possible to check
the fire, and gave their sole attention to those
whom they had at work. They called to them
to save themselves, and pointed out ways Of
| escape, principally fire-ladders. The oVerseer
of the spooling-room, who remained till near
ly suffocated, states that the scene in his
room-and it must have been worse in the
room below-cannot be depicted. Children
ran about crying and begging piteously to be
saved, yet Wrenching themselves away
when taken forcibly to the tower while
yet there was some chance. or to the
iron ladder that reached two of the scuttle
windows Of the south end, opening upon the
roof of the balcony at the head of the Twelfth
street fire-ladders. It was impossible to get
the great majority to take this method to save
their lives. Some wanted clothing 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. Cotton ropes we're put out for them to
slide down by, but no sooner would rope be
| Lowered than there was a rush for 1t from
| below. Too many would take hold, when it
would break and all clinging 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
| their means of escape, but the operatives
had two ladders Of the south gable directly
| before them and were urged by the Overseers
| and citizens below 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 taken the
course directed.
The Superintendent, as soon as the alarm
| was given, rushed to the upper story, and,
with the overseers, did all possible tosave life.
When the means provided for escape in the
mill were rendered unavailable by heat, flames,
and smoke, the people procured beds and mat
| tresses for the poor unfortunates to jump
upon, and many did throw themselves from
windows to- in almost every case, receive fatal
or terrible injuries.
The fremen worked to keep the flames out
! of the south end, whittier many operatives had
| 1ed. Ladders, long as at command, were
used to rescue the girls, and it is said that
| four fremen lost their lives while thus en-
gagged. One fireman was lowered from the
roof by brother fremen into the building, and
remained SO long trying to drive girls forth
that he had to be let go by those who held his
rope, driven away by the smoke, and he was
lost. Morgues and hospitals were. speedily
improVised, the Mission Chapel being taken
for the latter, and as fast as the girls could
be picked from under the windows of the mill
stretchers were ready to carry them to either
Chapel or Central Station. At the latter
place twenty-five bodies were lying, and other
unfortunates had been taken TO stations or
/ to homes. In a number of instances bodies
could not be recognized-they were so dis
| figured, begrimed and dirt-coverod. In Mis-
| sion Chapel were many of the wounded whose
sufferings were intense. q le#
The Granite Mills were Incorporated in
1868 with capital of 81 GOO, 900, and employed
about 440 males and females in this-No. l.
mill. Insurance $3.50, 900; distributed among
| Boston, Providence, and other Eastern COM
panies. The Insurance agents estimate the
loss at 60 per cent. of the amount, and that
the value of the portion of the mill not burnt
Els $4,000 -a ga s-e. aka
i --latest dispatches place the total of killed
at 90; wounded, SO, of which number 2 are
fatally injured, and 81 will recover; miss
ing, 8. FL teaf