The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1875-06-02

highest Wlnd0W down upon the iron
steps, breaking her arm. \ mai
with two children in his arms, jump.
ed from a window and escaped. 0ne
poor woman, enveloped in flames.
shrieked out For God sake save
me-" and she vas dragged out
Some Of the poor creatures fell
fainting on the long fight of wooden
stairs leading down to the street
and few were able to walk. BY this
time the entire fire department had
arrived, and worked with such ener-
gy and will that when the Gre was
extinguished, the charred wooden
walls ofthe structure were standing,
and were pulled down by the hook
and ladder men in order that search
for the bodies might be made. Only
a yeryfew moments comparatively
elapsed after water struck TIE build
ing before the fire was out, but the
destruction to life during that brief
period was terrible.
Hundreds of men went to the
wreck as soon as opportunity offered
to search for the bodies, and a force
of police was organized to keep back
the large crowd which had gathered.
A grea number of the bodies were
found burned in the fatal entry way,
some of them to q crisp. The body
Of one woman was found in the seat
she had occupied. Her clothing was
entirely burned of. 4 woman,
weighing $50 pounds, was dragged
screaming from the mass. She was
carried a short distance from the
church and placed on the grass,
while the flesh actually peeled OIL
her back, and in a moment she fell
over dead. The scenes last night
and to-day in the school house base
ment, where the bodies were carried,
were heartrendiug in the extreme.
Ia some instances the features were
distorted as though extreme agony
had been suffered before death, but
many looked calm as though smoth-
cred; all were blackened with smoke
aad some were burned beyond posi-
bility Of Identification, nothing re-
naming but the trunk. The cOro-
ner's jury was summoned to-day 6ut
the excitement continues so intense
that it was judged best not to at
tempt the taking Of evidence, and
the inquest was adjourned until
Monday.
The hero Of the disaster was John
Lynch, a brave fireman, who was
first to respond to the alarm He
describes the scene when he reached
the burning church IS appalling
They were wedged tight and almost
immovable in the doCrways, and it
was a dense mass of humanity from
six to eight feet in height, none Of
them being able to stand upright
from the terrible pressure Of the
crowd behind. Without a moments
pause to consider their danger
Lynch and Chief Engineer Mullin
rushed into the flames, spurred on by
piteous cries OF For Gods sake, come
and help u.s." and began pulling out
bodies. 4 moment later and a vel
directed hydrant stream from tht
Mt. Holyoke hose struck the brave
~rescuers and undoubtedly saved
their lives, while upon and over then
a sheet of fire rolled Ike a wave
streaming far out into the open air
Bodies of fifty persons burned {,
death at Holyoke, last night, havl
been identified, in addition to thos.
Of fifteen or twenty who were at one
removed to their homes by tbei
friends. Nearly seventy have died
and some forty more are more or les
burned, or otherwise injured. Tht
latest dispatch to the Republican
from Holyoke, says: 1T is not quit
certain that all the dead bodies hav,
been taken from the ruins. In thl
haste to get as many as pOssibl,
from the building before it fell, sever
al were taken but a short distance
and it is possible a few more may
be taken from the debris.n
The church society was establish
ed about seven years ago, and Father
DufresGe had been the only pastor
The parish included all the French
Catholics Of the city, whose number
is estimated at from two thousand to
twenty-five hundred persons. The
church was erected in 1870, entirely
of pine, and was about n hundred
feet by sixty, two stories, with gal.
leries en- the sides and north end,
about twenty-five feet wide. There
were two doors in the north end and
vestibule. At the rear end was
another door by which q few persons
escaped immediate death, upon the
breaking out of the flames.
Louis Desgerdin, aged iifty-f0ur
years, whose wife and daughter were
both burned to death, became insane
to-day from grief, and cried contin-
ually in an agonizing tone, 80 my
Julie! my juliet" Some people were
taken out alive, who wers under the
others who were Geld, and owed 10
this fact their own salvation.
One of the most protraeted cases
Of suffering was that of Mary
Desjardin who, burned past all recog-
milton and blind, somehow found her
way to the hill north of the church
and wandered around there about
twenty minutes before she was found
and taken 20 her home, where she
died about eleven O'Clock this morn
ing having fingered fifteen hours in
fearful agony. The fate of Aminanie
Miner and her lover was a touching
event of the FIRE. She was the or
ganist for the evening in the absence
of the regular one, and was cut of
from escape when the church vas
burned. Her lover escaped, but
finding that she was still within,
turned to rescue her, was overcome
with the flames, and persisted With
her.
The latest revised figures concern
ing the losses by the Holyoke disas-
ter are as follows: Dead IL, fatally
burned %, other wise burned and
wounded q; of the Il dead, So were
females and Is males.
BOSTON.