The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-05-28
A FEARFUL CATASTROPHE,
Burning of q Catholic Church in
HOlyOke, Mass.
The Building Takes Fire When Filled
With WOrshippers.
sixty-six Persons Perish Ousris Int.
MANY MORE FATALLY INJURED
TEE NAMES OF THE DEAD.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass, May 27-The most ter
rible disaster in the history of Holyoke occur
red tonight in the burning ot the French Cath
oc church al South Hoyoke during the even
ing service The catastrophe includes the loss
Of sixty six men, women and children. The
exercises had nearly closed, vesper service be-
ing sung, when candle caught on the altar
and the wall being low it streamed up and
caught the building. The mass of the people
in the body of the church escaped, the total
audience being 700, but on the stairway lead
Jog from the gallery the people were packed in
q dense mass struggling for escape. Flames
rushed towards them and many leaped to the
floor beneath and were trampled to DEATH The
gallery skirted both sides of the building with
one entrance from the front. The scene was
| fearful in the extreme during the little while it
| lasted, for the whole was over in twenty min
| uteS.
Besides &C dead there are enough fatally
| wounded to carry the total loss up to rs. The
recognized dead, up to this hour, are as follows:
Mrs; Burgess, Mrs Victor Morris. Mr.. Car
vile and four children, Isaac Norm, Fabier
Moreau, Misses Exidee LaFrance, Justine Bris-
| san, Alphonsene Moreau Mary Daucette, Eta
| Wenener, daughter of Augustus Coache, and
AlZene Newton.
| The priests house, which joined the church
| in the rear, was also burned.
| The bodies were taken to Peter Manatt's, on
! Main street, and the Park street school house
| for temporary storage. The inquest will be
| held tomorrow at a. m. Loss on church is
| total, but is small it being an old structure,
while there is $1400 insurance on it, with $1,000
| on the priests house. The gallery skirted both
| sides OF the building, with an entrance from
| the front on the stairway leading from the gal
| lery. The people were packed in solid mass
struggling to clear themselves As the flames
| rushed towards them this soon became blocked
| rend ring exit impossible, and many jumped
over the sides of the galleries on the crowd be
| low, and many were trampled on and killed.
| The priests residence joins the church on the
rear and many escaped through an entrance
| leading to the house back of the altar. The
| priests exertions to keep order were frultess.
| The screams of the living and the means of
| tho dying made deafening tumut above the
orders of the pastor, who worked most herOi-
| cally and was personally instrumental in saw
| ing many lives.
| One family of four were in the church, and
| all were killed. Many wers pulled out by the
| arms and feet so badly burned that they lived
| but a few hours, the flesh peeling off on being
| touched. Some were taken out with scarcely
| any flesh remaining on their bones. The Sis
| tiers of Mercy from the convent were soon on
| hand caring for the wounded and holding SER
| vices over the dying, while Father Dufresne
also held many services over the dying. His
| mother was among those terribly burned.
| Father Dufresne lost most everything in his
residence, so rapidly was the building con-
'sumed, it being as dry as finder The large
| WOOueu teu6I1oul DlOCh VI JOS. ITGW, uedE GuC
burned church, was thrown open for the rucep-
| ton of the dead and wounded. and several
| deaths occurred in this building during the
night Several were also taken to the New
| York mills boarding house, and the physicians
| gave the wounded the best of medical care.
| Those who were too badly burned to recover
were put under the effects of morphine and
passed away without struggle.
While the exercises were being held over the
! dying the most intense quiet prevailed and the
| i, Joho L. noyt ba yUtt II
| cred heads, but about the morgues and in the
| streets the waiting of the multItudes was pittl-
full to hear. Thrilling scenes and incidents
! were numerous. The following are selected
| from large number collected by reporters OF
| the Springfield Republican:
One girl escaped from the gallery by jumping
upon the back of man who carried her out
while her sister, who was with her, was burned.
| The scenes at the doors are described as very
| fearful. Thep were blocked with the struggling
| people seeking exit.
| Outside people cleared the way several times,
| but as often it would blocked up again. Win
| dows were broken out and some escaped in that
| way, Tue last tie get out of the church are
said to have been man, his wife and little
| girl The father took up his daughter and
rushed with her to place OF safety.
Louis LangOrs OF Riverside Mill, went in to
render assistance, when little girl came
| tumblng down before the door, under the feet
| of the tbrong Though he burned his hands
but little injured. A young woman beat ont
one of the window frames and jumped to the
| ground in safety. An old woman of go went
| TO the same opeuing and hestated to jump and
| was pulled inside by her hair by brutal fell
low. He inmped clear, but she foil and was
OF a family of five, four got out alive, one
| little girl of dozen years being burned, and it
moved many persons when her little brother
tearfully sought her and at last discovered her
| dead on neighboring bank.
John Lynch, mason, finding the people
pressed in at the bottom Of the church door,
pulled them down as the top thus saving doz-
en- lives. AT DR.. Smiths office on Dwight
street woman who was crazy from her burns,
was sore aiming so as to attract street full in
the early evening.
Ex-Constable Casey describes the scene as he
| saw it with glass from the top of the Hutch
| ing House block. The whole thing was over
| in Is minutes. He could plainly see through the
rafters and frame, the poor people running
about. Large black spots could be seen. These
spots went out in a brilliant light succeeded by
| O. dark flame.