The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-09-21
MASSACHUSETTS,.
TERRIBLE!
Burning of a Cotton
Mill at Fall River.
Twenty Victims Lose
their Lives.
sc Manned and Mangled.
Full Particulars of the Terrible
Catastrophe.
Sc Manned and Mangled.
Full Particulars Of the Terrible
Catastrophe.

Boston, Sept. 19.-The following is the full
account of the Fall River fire from the Boston
Journal special:
Mills No. ! and No. 2 of granite had been
running about twenty minutes when operatives
in No. 1, which is an old mill built in 1868 and
is situated on 18th street with ends on Pleasant
and Bedford streets, were startled with cry OF
fire and escape of smoke from the fourth story.
In this, next to the upper room, which was the
mule warp spinning department, there were
nearly hundred girls at work under a male
overseer. On the upper floor, the fifth, about
twenty-five or thirty girls were employed
spooing, warping and slashing, and there were
the youngest of all the operatives. With the
alarm, flames seemed to leap up to this attic
coming from the windows below, and toterror of
all, up the great tower in the centre of the
nicatlng with each story.
The fire caught as stated in the mule SPIN
ming room in the northwest end of the mill and
it is stated from friction in a mule head
at once ignting the oil waste about it, and
spreading by means of oil on the floor and
about each piece of machinery directly and
with great quickness toward the centre tower,
the only source :of escape for those on the
fourth and fifth stories besides the fire escapes
two on the sides of each gable end. As 1T
rushed over the flooring it instantly found SUBJ
sistance in wood work, and once getting into the
tower ran up to and through the single en-
trance to the fifth story, then sprnging to the
roof tim5ers and filling two freat rooms, 45Ox
95 feet, with dense black smoke and flame.
While the flames were making such terrible
Roadway, the operatives became fairly wild.
Ihe overseers at glance saw that there was
no way. possible to check the fire and gave
their whole attention to those over whom they
mad charge at work. They called to them to
save themselves and pointed out ways of es-
cape. These were principally fire ladders, for
the timid creatures dared not run the fire
gauntlet OF the tower.
The oYerseer of the spoolng room, who him.
self remained till he had nearly suffOcated in
smoke, states that the scene in his room and it
must have been worse in that nextlbelow stairs,
Cannot he DeDicted.
Cb;,dro, ron oho,t ,,;+ho,,. g. ,u,o,o
of nhnt tha Iam s auodo m.'nuu; any khSwleuse
1;."a,sy o1eJ meio uois' otylns auu pessIns
s pSoouSy w Ie s.Veu, yee MIoncn,ng enem
81 800 "a uon .anen ioIoioly anu Carrieu u
w tnt ~ @ "ntS ~. 'nele was soue cnauce VI
the nomt d 70 5ne Two scusoe Wlndows
Ino ., onu nioe up9ueu uPeu 'he rooi
"a az Sno leu VI Ia.n s'reee nre !auuers.
NV ~ was ,.nPos~lpie 70 get great majority 70
, I'm o'Sn Snio e.n1u ~ oluel ~ save Ihelr
th; H tI4 olotihs anu run o'heiS
A. tho fre fn;Gitamoyd A NV Luz u 81 at;
daiiborat;nns - tto go e a~"y I'm, S sieII
tbar, r,,shoa =. ~ .no noHo VI .ie iool iaoue,s
onj IT. w .1 ,oi, g" s az SUI saul5
aud darad WEI meaiiy ~ ee' iro 'ne grouna
ont for tha no ~ sidn 1917 p top 5 were pIC
v tta; ioi Snont W snug uo9u ~ auu solhe tooh
Inls means: put IN tns eHort several met with
would rone Se Iowersd hafora otb ~. nuiS
try to get on from the story below and this
would cause Swapping of the strands and the
narting of the rona sand;ng ali dawn +oaatbar
Wb;ie Sncb scanaS 1yero ha;nn onao,n5 hara
similar ones were ooin@ On in The muIe snin0
nino room. The flames had ascended With
the ouickness of thonght and with like rsnidi-
tv did thew work for the entrance of the tawer
was done tberebv emitting off this means of az.
cane: but thew had the Two ladders of the sontt
oable direct,y before them and wera nroed bv
the overseers and populace on the ground he
low to take them. Some did and others rushed
one Isos frora ~ nay Ea,s
with hordin a IooL a. tba ;rnn 1odSorsy sThara
w.s niantv Of tina for ovarv hnman ho;ns 70
have 60 ved ;tseif had tho rigbt course in asch
inst ,nce haan ohsnrveJ and IL 10 not fron, tha
Lax Of 5;rsct;on that tho ariS Lost tba,r Ives
The OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES ' aS Son IS" the oiorr,
,,o s;na rs1nd - ;bo ,for sto,, uo I'D e.,;tL
H. aTorsaors d;d az tbat p SS;hJ wiz
the mans nrov;ded in constrrction Of the Mil
WE'VE ron5arod nnoyo;Johl,, +hronrh +ho boot
Hen,os anJ ST,oha tha y,aonia ~ +ha no ,rround
,,ro,,;dod haJs nS or n1
fnrtnuotas 49, ~, Lieu, ond o IA thrnn
tIa~anoIv,as So. nu a, a,,on',
;s. ,ion anu ~ ainoSo esety
distance was nearly fiftv feet TO the nave
ment.
The Greatest CONSERVATION
was fa,t nv naon,e on tho streats who had a.
semlieJ IN i poup o nmmhers and their cras
and cots d;d not haIy nraatiu 70 con,nnso tha
muIe hands. but the discinIined firemeu and
policemen arrived in sufficient numbers worked
with will and to advantage. The firemen in
every way worked to stop the spread of the fire
and especial ly to keep it out of the south end,
whittier the operatives had fled. Ladders as long
as they had at command were used. In their
efforts to rescue the girls, some very brave acts
were performed, and it is said that several
tiremen. the number is given as four, gave
their lives in their human endeavor.
u,.v. Act.
brave act was that OF the superintendent
and other ofhcers OF the corporation, VINO went
TO the upper stories and, by WORD and example,
told the people how to save themselves, But a
PRAYER one is related OF fireman VINO was
lowered from the roof by brother fireman
INTO the building and remained SO lopg trying