The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1876-01-21
THE LATEST DISASTER.
A Sckosl-HouSe in Ruins Seventy
Two Lives Lost.

The Journal des Debats publishes the
following particulars Of the frightfuI ac-
cident n Christmas festival in S=ilzer-
land. The scene of the catastrophe was
the school -house Of the village of Helli-
kIn, continuing ahant seven hundred in
habitaRt<, and one of the many villages
in the fruitful valley of Frickthai. Ia
the parish of Wags;etten, district of
Rheinf-lden. near tbs. Swiss salt pits. IT
has always been the custom in most Of
the Swiss villages to COLLECT subscriptions
among the wrll-to-do inhabitants for
distribution among the school children
as Christmas gifts Everything had
been prepared on this occasion in the
usual way, and the children had assem-
hled at 6 O'Clock in the evening Of
Christmas dav outside the school house,
in the company of their friends and par
ents. waiting impatienflv for admitfance
To- see the Christmas tree. in order that
they might receive their several gifts.
At litlle after o'clock the school mas
ter commenced lighting the Christn 5
tree. Having accomplished this, he OPP
ened the doors, when the crowd waiting
ont~ide rushed in one dense mass up the
staircase leading to the room prepared
up stairs for their reception. On their
reaching the top Of the second staircase,
the beams supporting the flooring snd-
denly gave way, precipitating every
thing below, and by the violence of the
shock causing the lower story TO break
down too. The interior of the edilice
presented horrible scene of confusion
human beings, beams, school desks,
chairs, mortar and stone being heaped
up together. 1t was nearly O'Clock
when this occurred, and everything was
in darkness. when the remaining popu-
lation of the village, hearing the cries Of
the unfortunate children and their
friends, hurried to the spot, some of
them subsequently running off for as
sistance to the neighboring villages of
Zusgen and Wagstetten, the women and
children of which were assembled for
similar purpose in their respective viii
lage school-houses. They set to work
bnsily 10 clear the interior as soon a.
assistance arrived, extracting from the
debris seventy-twO corpses-those of ff-
ty-six children, fourteen mothers of fam
Slies, and two besides about forty
injured persons and children, some OF
them very seriously hurt. 1t is said
that in many families only the father or
the grandparents are left alive. The
proprietor of the village inn lost his
wife and three daughters by the fright
ful disaster. Two little schoolboys, by
creeping along the wall after the acci-
dent, got hold Of the rope Of the school =
house bell, and. pulling it with all their
might, brought more neighbors to their
assistance. The schOol-master and the
wife of the President of the village com
mune, the latter holding a child tightly
in her arms, were discovered perched
upon the wall on the projecting remains
of the pulpit, and were rescued uninjnr-
ed after remaining three hours in their
perilOus position. The funeral of the
dead commenced on Monday, and pres
ented a scene of indesrriba BILE desolation
to the remaining members Of the grief
stricken population.