The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1875-06-04
4 Terrible Calamity.
BURNING OF FRENCH CATHOLIC CHURCH
-sEvENTY-SIX LIVES LOST AND
LARGE NUMBER INJURED.


A terrible disaster occurred laSt inu'suay
night i'll the burning of the french Satio-
lie church at South Holyoke, Mass curing
the evening services, involving the loss Oh
sixtv-six men. women and children. The
exercises had nearly closed, and hymn
was being sung, when the draperIes on the
altar caught fire from candle, ana the
wall being low and the flames streaming
up. the building was set on nre. Inc au-
dieucc numbered about 700, and the people
IN the body Of the church escaped, out on
the stairway leading from the gallery, Eu-
man beings we've packed in dense mass,
struggling to escape. AS the flames rushed
towards them many leaped to the iloor be
meath and were trampled to death. he
gallery skirted both sides OF the building,
with only one entrance from me lfohe.
The -cane was fearful in .hc e&tfcine our
ING the lille while it lasted BESIDES the
sixty-six dead, there are enough TO carry
the total loss of life up to sey enty-tive.
The priests house which joins the chul ch
in the rear was also burned. The bodies
were taken to Peter Monetts store and
the Park street school house for temporary
deposit The church and pastors house
were totally destroyed. The priest exer-
tions to keep order were frultless j he
screams of the living and the means of the
diving made deafening tumult above the
orders Of the pastor, who worked most
heroically and was personally instrumental
in saving many lives. One family of four
were in the church and all were killed.
Many were pulled out by the arms and
feet so badly burned that they lived but
few hours. The flesh peeled oft on being
touched. Some were taken out with scarce
ly any flesh remaining on their bones. The
Sisters of Mercy from the convent We're
soon on hand, caring for the wounded,
with the priests holding services over the
dying. The mother of Father Dutrlsne
was among those terribly burned. The
large wooden tenement block of James
Prev, near the burned church, was thrown
open for the reception of the dead and
wounded, aud several deaths occurred III
this building during the night. Several
were also taken to the New York mills
boarding house.
Peter Monett, to whose store the dead
bodies were after wards taken, was in the
body of the church with three children
when the fire caught. He Immediately
ran toward the flames and attempted to
put them out with several pals of water
taken from the priests residence, adjoining
the church. Finding it useless he then
tried TO save some of the furniture, but
was quickly driven away. He and lis
children were all saved. One girl escaped
from the gallery by jumping OH the back of
a man, who carried her out.
LATER PARTICULARS.
SPRINGFIELD, May 2S.-The bodies of
fifty persons burned to death at Ilolyoke,
last night, have been identified, i'll addition
30 those of fifteen or twenty who were at
once removed TO their homes by their
friends. Nearly seventy have died, and
some forty more are more or less burned,
OF otherwise injured.
The hero of the disaster was John Lynch,
brave fireman, who was first to respond
to the alarm. He describes the scene
when he reached the burning church as APP
pallIng. People we've wedged tight and al
most immovable in the duOrways, making
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 moments
pause to consider their danger, Lynch and
Chief Engineer Mullin rushed into the
flames, spuTred on 10y piteouS cries of "For
Gods sake come aud help us - and began
pulling ont bodies. 4 moment later and a
well directed hydrant stream from Mt
Holyoke hose struck the brave rescuers and
undoubtedly saved their lives, while upon
aud over them sheet Of fire rolled like a
wave, streaming far out into the open air.
Hundreds of men went to the wreck as
soon as opportunity offered TO search for
the bodies, and police force was organized
to keep back the large crowd which had
gathered. The greater number of bodies
were found in the fatal entryway, burned.
some of them, to a crisp. The body of one
woman was found in the seat she had oc-
cupied. Her clothing was entirely burned
off a woman, weighing $50 pounds, was
dragged screaming from the mass She
was carried short distance from the
church and placed on the grass, while the
flesh actually peeled off her back and i'm n
moment she fell over dead.
The scenes last night and to-day in the
school house basement where the bodies
were carried, were hearth ending in the ex-
tieme. In some instances the features
were distorted as though extreme agony
had been suffered before oeath. But mapv
looked calm as though smothered all were
! blackened with smoke and some were
burned beyond possibility of Identification.
nothing remaining but the trunks.
lhe church society was established about
seven years ago, and Father Dufresne had
been the only pastor. The parish included;
all the Frnch Catholics of the citv. whose
number is estimated at from 3, 600 to 2, 500
persons. The church was erected in 1870.
entirely OF pine, and was abont one hundred
leet oy sixty, two stories, with galleries on
the sides and north end, about twenty five
feet wide. There were two doors in the
north end, and a vestibule, from which two
doors opened into the body Of the church
HE galleries opened into the vestibnle.
Al the rear end was another door, by which
lew persons escaped death upon the
breaking out of the flames
Louis DcSjardin, fifty four years old.
whose wife and daughter were both burned
to death became insane to day from grief.
and cried continually, go, my Julie nv
julie ~ Some were taken out alive who
were under Others who were dead. and
owed to this fact their own salvation
One OF the most protracted cases ofsuffer
ing was that of Mary IeSi
burned past all recognition and blind some.
how found her way to n hill north of the
church ana wandered around there about
twenty minutes before she was found and
taken to her home, where she died about
eleven O'Clock that morning, having inaer-
cd ffteen hours in fearful agony. The
sad fate OF Ida Meunier and her lover was
touching event of the fine. She was or
ganist for the evening in the absence Of Tho