The daily gazette., 1880-11-17
SECOND EDITION
A TERRIBLE FIRE.
BURNING OF THE CROWDED IN
SANE ASYLUM AT ST. PETER,
MINI.
GREAT LOSS oF LIFE FEAHnD.
DgMBNTED AND SUFFERING PATIENTS
FORCED THROUGH FLAMES AND
SNOW.
CHICAGO, ILL.,, Nov. 10, 1880.

CHICAGO, ILL.,, Nov. 16, 1880.
The burning of the State Insane
Asylum at st. Peter, Nina, last nigh
proves to have been terrible disaster,
attended by loss Of life, the particulars
of which have not yet reached here.
Only one wing of the building was
burned. The structure occupied ten
years in building and was completed
TIN ee years ago at cost Of $500, 900.
The loss from the Ere will be from
$500, 900 TO $250,000, on which there is
no insurance. The cause Of the fire is
unknown. 1t originated in the base
me Mt Of the north wing, which was des-
troyed. Different reports state the loss
reports necessarily partake Of the nature
of guesswork. When the danger be-
came imminent the superintendent Or
dered the release of all the patients, and
| it is probable that some were overlooked
in the confusion and burned, especially
as some rooms quickly filled with smoke
and could not be entered BY the res
cuers. There were $50 patients in the
hospital last year, but the number had
decreased somewhat when the fire oc-
Cured. The liberated ones were cared
fol by citizens. Probably some Of the
insane took advantage of the opportun-
ity to run away and others wandered
of aimlessly.
SAD CONDITION OF MANY OF THE RES
CUED.
ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 16, 1880.
A bulletin from st. Peter says:-"The
number of lives lost by burning and
freezing at the Insane Asylum is various
ly estimated at from twenty 10 fifty"
A special despatch, dated four O'Clock
A. M, says :-"The scenes at the burn
ing of the poorainmates In the hospital
were heartrending in the extreme. So
appalling sight has rarely been wit
messed, and trust in God may never
be again. The patients in the annex
wing were males. Many of them re-
fused to leave the building at all. They
ran up and down the halls, screaming
and crying. Ofcourse, those who could
not be eoaxed or forced ont of the build
ing became the unhappy victims of the
flames, and were suffocated OF suffered a
horrible death in the pit of the flames.
The others were saved, some by ladders
and some by leaping from the windows,
Some were nearly nude, some shOeless
and hatless, and all were exposed to the
exceeding cold of the night. Many o.
the poor demented and crazed inmates
fed as If for their lives, and could not
be overtaken or confined. Their suffer-
ings in this frightful condition can bet
ter be imagined than described. The
whole catastrophe is hear.rending one
The poor dazed inmates of the asylum
who had escaped the flames were al
large bali clothed. and were 10 be seer
In all directions flying in wild fright
The air was bitterly cold and the poor
wretehes with half naked bodies and
bleeding feet we're rushing about, hid
ing in alleys and dark corners for some
time. The capacity OF the building has
been tried to its utmost. There were
about six hundred patients and every
inch OF space was utilized. What will
be done wi these poor creatures, turn
ed ont in the cold and their malady in
creased by the excitement of the occca-
sion, is a serious question. There are
two other buildings situated In the towr
which are used, but they are already
crowded to their full capacity. The asy-
lum at Rochester Is full and will doubt
less be unable to provide accommoda.
tions for any of the inmates at st. Peter
turned out in the cold by the terrible
catastrophe.
DIFFICULTY IN CLEARING TIE BUILD
ING.
Aneth special says :-"While the
flames were slowly progressing the
matron of the female department made
all haste to get the inmates out, anC
many of them ran shrieking into the
snowdrifts in their night clothes, ever
burying themselves in the snow, anC
had to be dragged into the barns ant
sheds, while those near by wrapped
blankets and shawls around them.-
Hence intense suffering could not bt
avoided, as they had to be taken about
fifteen or twenty rods through the
snow to the nearest shelter, which was
on hill Immediately in the rear Of
the south wing. The actual number
of burned cannot be got at in any way
at the present time, as many are know
to have wandered away in the intense
excitement that prevailed throughout
the premises. Several ladies were
taken out of some of the rooms anC
halls, and several persons were GO
out into The halls, when they seemed
determined to return to tn Q f1ames.-
One room, occupied by two men, wal
broken into, and while one of the oc-
cupants had to be dragged out, the
other was determined to remain in hi
warm bed, and, when dragged out, he
insisted on waiting to be dressed.
An old man named Adams, brough
here from Minneapolis, was taken out
dead.
IMPORTATION OF CATTLE INTO