Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-10-28
Five Women Burned to Death.

CINCINNATI, October 20.
/ FIRE resulting in the loss of five lives oc.
| Cured about eleven O'Clock To-day in the
shoddy factory of benjamin. Hay, corner of
Second and broadway. The fire caught from
81 eased rag falling upon the bales, and before
the engines could he brought to the spot the
whole building, owing to the iniiammaDle
character of its contents, was i'll flames.
Twenty girls and women, under the super
vision of Mary Forcn, the forcwoman of the
sorting Department. were at work i'll the sort
ing ind storage ooms3 On the third floor.
These omen knew nothing of the presence of
the fire until one OF them saw sInohe coming
|; through the, cracks in the floors. She ut
once called " Fire!" and started for the stair
case III the storage-room. Most of the women
at this time We're in the sterage-rJOn, only
eight then being in the sorting-room. The
forewOman ran to the door between the two
rooms and told them the building was on fire,
and to hurry out Two Of the eight immedi-
atciy followed her, but the other six, anxious
to save their Clothing, stopped ioIake OF their
working DIRE sseS and put On those tney wore
going TO and from work. Inc consequence
awas7w en- they .urned to go down tie stair
case the stur;tge-rOum they found
the flames Lai cut them off in that
direction. Then turning toward the
u yIug room, ali there Was found to be i'll
flames. Their only chance was the win lows.
Two, atterward identified as Mrs. Rachel Dog
gett and Mrs. Catherine Jack,on, -sttfo-
catedf by the smoke, anu fell almost at the
threshold OF the door through which they had
in vain cndeavored to escape. Two others,
Miss Margaret Welsh and Miss Curran, feel.
not more than ten feet IRON the WINDOW
which Mrs. Eliza BarraciS and Mrs. Mary Lyon
reaciIed alive. No soohcr were their agon-
lied taccS seen at the window Than cry
Of horror went up from the thousands
attracted to the vicinity by the fire. y num-
Der of citizens hastily rolled under the window
anumber Of bales OF rags, and called upon the
women to jump. Mrs. Barrack, after turning
her head and looking back at the flames rap
idly increasing in volume, stepped upon the
windOw-sill and feaped down the forty Or fifty
feet, lighting on the bales, and III striking
broke her Ieft ankle. She was immediately
picked up and carried to a neighboring store,
whence she sent to the hospital.
Mrs. Lyon, after seeing the accIuent
which had befalien Mrs. Barrack, stood
still in the window-sill, and, in response
to a cry from Officer Burke to Jump, for
Gods sake" was heard to say something
which sounded like No; no; | cannot"
Then, turning, she rushed back into he flames,
and was seen no more until her dead and
charred body was found lying near those of
her companions.
- The general, opinionsis that the unfortunate
victims to blame for the terrible tragedy,
dhc statcLlshts of the forewomen, many fire.
men and the girl, Annie Madden twho first gave
the alarm on this floor, being the effect that
they had ample time to escape after the alarm
was srrsvens Z Liz
Edwin Booth has presented to DR..
Ghislani Durant, of New York, very