River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-01-13

ceive them As their little heads look
cd over the window sill, beside their
brother the mother appealed to him
to throw the children to her. and to
Jump himself, while the baby, frighten-
e by the cries Of the others. who
were alarmed at the smoke which
was fast filling the room. constantly
cried, with its arms outstretched
Mamma, Mamma The boy quickly
measured the distance to the ground
from the third story porch, and taking
the baby first,
TOSSED IT OUT,
and il fell INTO the arms of It's mother.
who caught it and the other children as
they were sent to her one by one, and
finally broke the fall of Charles, as he
leaped, and all escaped unhurt.
On the fourth floor lived Cassidy, and
another family by the name of EgBn,
on the fifth floor, and at the topmost
stairway, Mrs. Ellen Sheridan was
eating breakfast with four children.
The men of these families, as of all
others in the house, had gone too work
Mrs Sheridan at the first alarm, gath
cred together her children and sought
to escape by the stairs, but the fire had
possessed them. There was no other
way to the street, and she sought the
scuttle in the roof, but it wasimmovable;
she shrank back from the leap to the
yard, five stories below, and clos
ing the door of the apartment
to keep out the rapidly advancing
flames, herself and her children were
suffocated by smoke rapidly filling the
room. The Cassiday family, unable to
escape to the roof, flung themselves
from the windows; two of the children,
Charles and Thomas, aged six and
eight, remained in the room and burn
ed to death. The Eagan family also
leaped to the yard, except child two
years of age, that was suffocated.
Mary Egan, in her fall, was badly in
jured. Officer Thos. Barrett took two
children from the second story by
means of the fire escape, but the flames
soon sent him to the ground, with burn
ed hands, demolished beard and
scorched face.
THE CALAMITY WAS COMPLETE
within half hour. In a short time,
the nine bodies of the dead were re-
moved to the police station, and the
saloon, now with pipes entirely thawed,
has resumed business.
The bodies presented horrid spec
tacle, the flames evidently, in some
cases, having anticipated the smoke in
the work of death. Young McKenna
wrapped his little brothers ana sisters
in sheets and blankets before dropping
them to his mother and firemen in the
yard. He saved himself by Selling a
clothes line stretched between two
houses, and going hand-over- hand be-
yond the line of the flames, he dropped
into the arms of those waiting to re-
ceive him.
A youth named Donegan through
the adjoining house had reached the
roof of the burning building and with
an axe demolished the scuttle. Katy
Sheridan. with a child in her arms,
endeavored to escape. Her clothin
was ablaze. AS the girl nearly reached
| the top she extended her arm to Done
gan, who grasped it, but the flesh peel
from the bone and the girl and child
fell back into the flames, a piece of the
charred flesh remaining in the hands OF
Donegan. Three children of the Egan
family may recover John Reagan
was saved by leaping from the window
70 his room to the window of a house
opposite.
New YORK, Jan. Another victim
of the fire was found this afternoon,
making total dead ten. This addition
to the number is the babe of Mrs
Cassidy which was discovered wrapped
in blanket and clasped to the breast
of the dead mother.
Timothy Harrington, the plummer,
is arrested. His hands are burned; he
charges the whole disaster to the care
lessness of a boy helper named
MCLEAN, who has disappeared. Then
employer, Mr.. Patten, is also arrested
An inquest will be held next week