The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-12-12

ANOTHER TERRIBLE HOLOCAUST
Rallrsld LabOrsrl Awakened frOn SlunheF 4
Fall Alls'p Ia DsaIh-TAs sieksalnE slEAtl
atths Scene Ofths DiSastsr-RuaSrll
Of the VlstInI-Ths surTIIOrI.

sion occurred ~ the heyhtoue EolIlH
I mills, in the Fourteenth ward, but tn
morning comes another which exceeds !
, horror anything which has occurred !
! this vicinity since the terrible destructio
8 OF life caused by the collision at Twenty
: eighth street. Between two and thre
o'clock this morning o frame boardin
house, located on the line Of the Pitt
. burgh and Lake Erie Railroad, some seye
miles below the city, was set on fire by th
explosion Of lamp, and of forty person
known to be sleeping only twenty-tour Cd
capped alive, and even they were all NOR
or less burned, and not one OF them sue
ceeded in securing their clothes, so rapiC
was the progress Of the flames, The 9th
es were literally roasted to death, withou
the possibility Of an effort being made Il
rescue them.
The building in which the fire occurred
as stated above, was located about seven
miles from the city, at place called Gu
Rock, and was owned by Martin Joyce, {
contractor, but was under themanagemen
OF u Mr., MCCune as a boarding house. Il
was about thirty feet wide and fifty feet ir
length, and constructed OF sixteen-teeI
boards placed on end, II had board roof
with very steep pitch, and loft formed by
the soping roof In which the laborers were
huddled for the night, In the lOwer.story
was q dining room, and at one end OF the
building was kitchen, The stairs leading
10 the loft were little better than o ladder
oO1 ,vara 1nOaIaJ inSk NJ Hha oida NJ khl
door leading from the dining room to the
kitchen. In the loft hunks were arranged
but the only light which penetrated were
two openings without glass, but which were
closed at night with sliding doois 80 as "a
keep out the chill night air. In this dark
loft some forty.three men were supposed Ia
have slept last night, At least that num-
Der were at supper last evening, and none
were reported away when the hour for re-
firing crme.
The origin OF the flames which wrought
such terrible destruction to human life
and which caused such agony to thoSe who
escaped from the deAth.tlap, was an explo'
sion OF kerosene oil lamp
The story as told by an eyewitness OIL
the fire was substantially as follows: De.
tween two and three o'clock this morning
Mr.. McCune, the boarding.houBo keeper
arose and kindled fire In the kitchen
stove. He left q lighted lamp on table
near the door leading to the dini,ng'room,
and went 70 arouse his vile and servant
girls. While he was gone an explosion oc-
CURED, and IN an instant the dining'room
was filled with flames, Mr.. McCune sue
ceeded in escaping with his wife and girls,
but could not do more than call upon those
upstairs TO escape for their lives. In an:
other moment the flames had enyeloped
the stairway, thus cutting oil the means oil
escape Tor the doomed men above, except
through the small openings at either end,
and from those tho sliding doors had To be
removed:
The loft was q lied with straw and com.
bustible material used In the bedulng, and
1t was only those who were nearest to g
opening who could make their e*!:.
Twenty.three OI the occupants OF the Lot
succeeded in squeezing through the olt /
ines, some with under.clothes on fire. lie
others rushed irantically about the room,
first to one end, and then the other, their
location being known BY their, crleo until
the smoke suilocated them, and their voices
were stitled In les time than 1t takes to
tell 1t. The building was wrapped In
sheets Of fire, and the survivors could only
writhe in pain and shiver in the frosty air
OF the early morning. AS soon as possible
word was sent to the other boarding
houses along the line OF the work in pro;
grecs, and physicians were summoned
from the neighborhood and city. Special
engines were sent down the Pittsburgh &
Lake Erie Road, and IN the meanwhile the
shiyering creatures were provided with
such clothes as could be obtained.
The seriously injured were brought to
the depot on the south side, and thence re-
moved to the West Pennsylvania Hospital,
while those who were less seriously burn.
ed were removed TO the hotel oil Martin
Joyce, on Pennsylvania avenne.
The scenes this morning at the site OF the
ill'fated building were of o sickening
character. In heap 10 one corner OF the
ruins were the charred remains OF six men,
element while endesvoring 70 escape
through the opening In the rooL Among
these was the body Of Patrick Foley, one
OF The foremen.
From the best sources ot information,
the following is q list OF those known 10 be
missing or dead. There are otheS yet 10
be added TO the list:
Patrick Foley, Michael Donohue, Thom.
as Foster, James Curran, John Kelley,
John Kennedy, Jerry Ilanlon, John Con.
nOrs, John Cohley and John Duffy.
Among those sent to the hospital are
John Connolly, Martin. Tatey, Michael
Morgan, Michael Leonard, Hugh MCkeon
and William Barr.
After the excitement had subsided a list
Of those known TO have been sleeping In
the building last night was made out, and
II was found that nine men had perished
in the flames, as follows:
Pat. Foley, station boss, aged 50 years, q
native OF County Galway, Ireland, single (;
Michael Donohue, aged 80, single Michael
Doyle, aged 3S, single; John Connors,
aged 80, single; Jerry Hanlon, aged 3S, sin.
LIZ ntE -. ~