Ellsworth American., 1874-09-24
The Granite Mill Horror.
4 Terrible Disaster.
Great Loss OF Life.

ihc latest accounts OF the burning Of the
Granite Mil At Fail River, Mass, place
the number OF deaths at twen;y-three, and
OF the wounded at thirty-siy. The Gran
lie mills have been for some time in opera
ton. and were running full capacity,
which i five thousand pieces Of print cloth
per week, and Il Is supposed that con-
siderable stock Is ruined either by the lire
or the water and smoke. The loss was
about $4,000, which Is amply covered by
Insurance.
The fire caught in the mule spinning
room In the northwest end OF the mill
from friction IN a mule head isniting the
OIL waste about it, and spreading by means
OF oil on the door. and aud about each piece
Of machinery directly aud with great
quichnes- towards the center tower, the
only source OF escape for those Oh ;he
fourth aud iilth stories besides the nre es-
capes, two on the sides OF each gable
end. As IL rushed over the fDorin. il
instantly found substance In woodwork
and once getting into the tower ran up
q and through the single entrance 10 the
nth story, then springins 10 the root
aud timbers and SLING TWO great looms
ijx91 feet, with dense black smoke and
hame. While the flames were making
such terrible headway, the operatives be-
tAlHt itI VIII ne ONtTsttFs NJ
glance saw that there was no way posi-
bic 10 check the lire aud gave their whole
attention To those over whom they had
charge at worh. ihey called to them to
save themselves and pointed ont ways Of
escape. These were principally hre lad
der-. Tor the tInld creatures dared not run
the lire gauntlet of the tower.
Children ran about without any knowl-
edge of what they were doing. crying ana
bs-.lng plteou-ly To be saved, yet wrench
lng themselves away when taken foIcibly
aud carried To the tower while yet there
was some chance. or to the iron ladder To
the two scuttle windows of the south end
which opened upon the roof balcony at the
head OF 18th street ire ladders. II was
Impossible TO get great majority To take
even this method in order TO save their
lives. some wanted clothing aud from
others this or that thing, they knew not
what.
As the fire fri9 htened them away from
their deliberations at the foot of tie roof
ladders they rushed to the windows at the
south gable cad. They were nearly sixty
feet from the ground and dared not lump
Cotton ropes were put out for them to
slide down by and some took this means,
but IN the effort several met with death or
injury to body and limbs. for hardly would
q iVtN ot p"Cltu OlHtTs WOutu
TO get one from the story below and this
would cause swapping of the straods and
the pairing OF the rope sending all down to-
gether.
While such scenes were being enacted
here similar ones were going on in the
mule spinning room. The flames had as
cended with the quickness of thought and
with like rapidty did they work tor the
entrance OF the tower TO the fourth hoor
where the filling spinning was done. there
Dy cutting OIL this means OF escape; but
they had the two ladders OF the south ga
BILE directly before them were urged by the
overseers and populace on the ground be-
low to take them. Some did and others
rushed upon the balconies and like mad
girls dropped or threw themselves from
the balcony guards with hardly look at
the iron ladders. There was plenty of
time for every human being to have saved
itself had the right course in each instance
been observed. aud it is not from the lack
Of direction that the girls lost their lives.
FIRE ESCAPES UNAVAILABLE
The superintendent, as soon as the alarm
was given, rushed to the upper story and
with the oyerseers did all that was possi-
BILE. When the means provided In con-
struction OF the mill were rendered una
valuable through the heat. flames and
smoke. the people on the ground provided
beds and mattresses for the poor unfOrtu-
mates to jump upon, and many did throw
themselves from windows and in almost
| every instance receive fatal or severe In.
juries, for the distance was nearly fifty
feet TO the pavement.
HEROIsM OF THE FIRENEN.
The greatest CONSERVATION was felt by
people on the streets, who had assembled
in immense numbers. and their cries and
acts did not help greatly to compose the
mule hands, but the disciplined fremen
| and policemen arrived In sufficient num-