The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-11-19
SCENTS OF HORROR.
r,r,ner Facts About the B"r"'"s "
the yunastc Asylum.

9. PETER, MINI. November IT, Tue
generally accepted Is that the ln,aue-
',.'nm fire started In the basement III tue
AN w.os, corner OF the building, some
u,sso,, that IL was caused from the Suo OF
ho," or or fire from the pipe OF an attend
Avn n,hers that IL caught from the burst-
sns ,,s.oline.pipe, and still others from
luS ~ u'osne.coiI hre. IL must have been
.nv some time before us discovery,
uui ..h look place before s O'Clock, when
WI, the attendants observed smoke
,,,ng through tue registers. ine H.
.',,,.q,iop that followed disclosed tne
',.,,Iing fact that the basement OF me whoIe
s 'S'I ,,ine was IN flames. The ilrst most
,rnor,an, part OF the structure was The
NIL huiIding. four stores, 6ONi2o icet.
-, Ibis the noltn aud east wings extend
EN- With returns end sub'~ings. lhe
~" wing. where the nre started, was
w. w., ,bree stories In height. and 100 feet
49,. Urh Two returns. 4ON'O ana 3ON6O.
~, T"-' oirg was used Tor the male patients.
~ ,be nme OF the fire 21O patients were
."n6ned there. Through tnls wing ana re-
en-. the Il mes spread rap'dIy' ana scene
y, c,n,r,ion and wild terror ensued, oe-
yond mower 81 zen adeqna'cN TO u'sctloe'
Aon" =, The citizens II st. Peter, who
,n;i5ing. >ajd: "OA, cannot describe TIE
horrible scene. There were men Il. tue
audows IN The third StOry-S0me LOOKING
cslmy at death, others making gtluiaces dc
uS-and the screams OF The dying were ter
,;hle went IN with an attendant, aud we
not one man. just as We were leaving
ssw another. and was about 10 giab nlm.
wben he rushed back into the midst Of the
danes and smoke To his doom. | was
nearly sufiocaled. | went around with the
e,t,ndant To auothcr room, and we got one
man. bali dead. and another dead-sutio-
rsied. went around 10 the north
.ide Of the building and saw five or
xix humping up ciore the windows in tue
huiiIiug. Two OF Denni>'s men and got
.,sxe This was in the first story. We
succeeded IN breaking through two SETS OF
h,,s and Te.cucd two more men. ! then
ascepded a ladder To the second story, and.
after working twenty minutes, got bole
throush. TpI> room contained French
man Heworked like giant in helping ne
IN Lresk in the windows. These open, |
On, him ont. and then | aud two or three
others went into The BAH and found one man
dead We beard man crOaU, ana went
,brnuch considerable smoke and dust, and
IN, room aLoui l0Xl2 we found a CRIB, on
which Law a man. his hands and feet tied,
whom We rescued. II was scenes like this
that We encountered everywhere
This mans story is but reflex OF hun
drcds Of orher.. Efforts TO remove patients,
e.p,ciajly the more vIOleui. we've thwarted
bv their mad Ohsiinacy, and the lives lost
were mainly due 10 this. y few IN their
removal succeeded ia escaping, carrying
CONSERVATION TO the people OF the town,
hui most were safely housed IN barus ana
other vacant buildings. or those VINO
,scaped II is believed all have been recap
iured. several were found badly frozen,
and the amuutatlOn Of limbs will probably
be nect> sary M ore or TWO cases.
The fate Of one poor man, who was lite
rally roasted ahye, fairly illustrates the ter
ror Of the scene. lie occupied room IN
the third story of TIE wing where the 1re
started. As the flames ere pt up towards his
living grave be stood peering through me
bars OF his window, with the seeming CAIN
ness aud foriitudc Of martyr. Shafts OF
IRE dared upward and almost licked hls
facp. sill be was unimpa>sioned, merely
lodging the flames as they leaped towards
him, rs if anXlOu. to wrap him IN lhelr ntry
embrace. At lat his cell was filed with
flames, transforming II into fiery furnace.
lie was seen no more.
The total population OF the asylum was
$50. of whom 243 were males and $40 fe-
males. The part OF the building destroyed
was occupied exclusively by males, ana Tue
portion saved included the domestic de-
parment. heating apparatus, etc. With the
exception Of few patients. who VIII De
returned to their county pOOr-bOuses, and
ten. who will be sent 10 Rochester, the pa
tieni, will al be clred for here by system
Of crow ding. The loss TO the State on the
building is about 100000, upon which
there j. no insurance.
NV 1eesrapb.l
II. PA,I. MINI, Mover Der 1S.-An Gnu
mesaion Of The patients at the burning Of
St. Peters Insane Asy lum completed shows
thirty missing and only six known to be
dead.