Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-05-29
barrow Escapes and Heroic Efforts
Fer Gods Sake Come and Help
us"-And the Firemsn No.
bly, Did their Duty.
The Explosion at BOstOn-AfIeeting
Incidents Of the Sinking OF the
Schiller-Ihe Loss Of the
Steamer CadiZ,

] the CHURCH aL WHO. tDe tl5aSlEOuS IRE
occurred, and at various points TO which
the burned were carried. Wild efforts
were made 10y the people to rush pell-
nell into the burning building to rescue
| friends, and it was with difficulty they
were kept back. This was particularly
the case with parents who had on first
impulse rushed from the church to save
their own lives, but remembering they
had left their chilCren behind to perish,
| returned impetuOusly. Actual personal
| violence I'D TO he I ssd in several cases
| to keep women bsck. All about the
streets men, women and children were
| watching and piteGi 3iy iuquiTing If
! their friends had beea saved. One
woman was positive that her husband
had perished, and could only be quieted
! by assn 2nce fJRl fi.enGs that lie mad
! just been walk ug with them. One of
! the most touching eases was that Of two
! little girls about twelve years Of age
/ who TushedfOT the entrances of the build
| ing while tue fire w2s at its hight,
thinking to find their father and
| mother, VINO were within. They
could only be detaiued by an
officer, WIO toOE them iu his arms
1t is q dlsuIted question as TO whether
! both fro ll zoos were available for es-
| cape. There are fhC3e who state posi-
lively thGt ole OF the doors was closed,
and that IL WI imI 5ib e 10 open it on
! account Of The crush. OIe man went to
! the closed dCDr, aud, fiOUrshing a club,
| threatened VOlerce to az one who
| came near, IL oder to get the crowd
| away, but w.thOuy success. Others state
| positively that both Dolls were open.
| The chUcch society was established
q fnT rTsAr H'af flafavr In
| Gggne had been the only pgstOr The
| p-~ish included all the French Catholics
ct the city, whose Number is GItimated
at nom two thousand to twenty-five
hundred persons. The church was
erected in 1870 ep, rely OF pine, and
YVES about one ar dred feet by sixty,
two stories higI, win galleries on the
sides and north erd sb, 1t twenty-five
feet wide. The weie two doors in the
north end ald vestibu'e from which
Two doors opened into the body
OF the church. The galleries
opened into Vestibule. At
the rear end was another door 10y which
a few persons escaped. Immediately
uDOn the breaking out Of tie flames all
the Occuplu Of the galleries rushed to
the east dOor, and, falling upon one an
Oyher- chOked U, the dOOrWays with
theiT bodies, Dlleu IN ali way ), seven OF
eight deep. Here most of the lives were
lost. From this n"ss Chief Muller res
cued one young wOn21, after having
taken off two Gead bottles from above
her. The chief and others had their
clothes almost burned ON them, and
were badly burned about the hP ids. In
rear OF the chG~ch was the priests rcJi-
delce, which was also destroyed. The
walls were pulled down alter the fire w9s
nearly puo out. Ore woman jumpI
from the hi, lest " 9dOw down upon
the frOJt -ef 3, br ng her arm. A
man with two Chi!G~~ in his arms
jumped fGOm " GOV 9nd escaped.
One poor Wo nan, eIvelOped in flames,
shriekCd out " For Gods sake, save
mel" and she was DRAGGED odt. The
latest dispatch t. the hCpU6Ljc0n, from
Holyoke, says Il is not quiue certain
that all the bodies bave been taken from
the ruins. In the ha3te to get as many
% pO ole from the building before it
fell, several were taken but a short dis.
tance, ard it is possible few more may
be taken from the debris.
NOOl-The bodies Of fifty persons |
buried to death at HOlyOke last night |
have been identified, in addition to |
those Of one hunG ed and fifty and |
twenty, who were at once removed to |
tn homo by the friends. Nearly |
seventy have died, and one hundred |
and forty more are more or leE9 burned |
ard otherwise injured. The nero OF the !
diclster was John Lynch, brave fire.
MAJ who was the tirs5 TO resp Ond to the !
ala.m. He desCibc I the scene when |
he .ched tine burning church as ap-
palling, wedge ight and immovable. |
In the dOOrways Wss a dense mass OF
humanity from six 10 eight feet in hight;
none of hem were able to stand upright
1fO n the terrible pressure OF the crowd
beAind, while upon and over them
sheet of fire rolled like q wave, stream
ing far out into the open air. Without
q moments pause to consider the
danger, LyncH and Chief-Engineer
Muller rushed into the flames, spurred
on by the piteOus cries, "FOT Gods sake
come and help usW and began pulling
out the bodies. A moment later and
well-directed hydTsnt stream from
Mount HolyOke struck he brave rescuers
and undoubtedly saved them from being
burned alive. Tie first persons drawn
out were burning, but they passed directly
through stream OF water and the flames
were eXJinguished. Some of the poor
fell faiuting Oh q long flight of
wooden stairs leading down to the street,
aud few Were able to walk. By this
time the fire department had arrived,
and worked with such energy anu will
that when the fire WgS eXtinguiShed the |
charred wooden walls of the structure
were standing, and were pulled down by
the hook and ladder men in order that
search for The bodies might be made.
Only very Few moments elapsed after
the water struck the building before the
fire was out, but the destruction TO life
during that brief period was terrible.
Some spTang from the gallery and were
injured, and one person ap-
peared at the window completely
wrapped in flames.
Hundreds Of men went to work as soon
as opportunity offered, TO search for
bodies, and force Of police was organ
lied to keep back the large crowd which
had gathered. The greatest number Of
bodies were found IN the fatal entryway,
some Of them burned 10 g crisp. The
body Of one woman was found on the
seat she had occupied, her clothing en-
tirely burned of A fieshy woman,
some one hundred and eighty
pounds, was dragged screaming from
the mass. She was carried q short dis
lance from LnS CuuTCn ana piaCSu on !
the grass, while the flesh actually peeled
off Of her back in a moment she fell
over dead. The scenes last night and
to-day in the schOOlhOuse basement,
where the bodies of the dead were car
ried, were hesrtrendIng in the extreme.
IN some instances the features were dis
tOTted as though extreme agony had
been suffered before death, tut many
looked calm rs though smOthered. All
were blackened with smoke, and some
were bgrnej beyond the possibility of
nothing remaining but
the trunk. A cOroHer's jury was sum-
mOned to-day, but the excitement con-
Times so intense that it was judged best
not to attempt the taking Of evidence,
and the inquest was adjourned till Mon
day Louis Desperdine, fifty-four years
old, whose wife and daughter were both
burned to death, became insane to-day
iIUm grief, and cries continually, in ago.
10 ziuG tones, ooh, my JuI.eW Some
We're taken cut alive vine were under