The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-02-21

ing and terrible sight met my eyes.
Packed into g narrow hallway on the
floor were from fifty TO sixty little girls.
The poor things were screaming and strug.
Cling with all their might. BY this time the
other police and citizens arrived and we
began pulling the poor children out OF the
hallway. The cries OF some OF the children
at the bottom OF the pile grew fainter and
fainter, and then ceased altogether.
Detective Robinson said tho fire broke
out under the staircase on the second floor
and was easily extinguished. 81 examined
the place." said he, "and it seems 10 me
that some matches must have been swept
with papers under the stairway and been
ignited by friction with the floor"
A TOUCHING TALE.
Policeman Reid said that on the floor
behind the staircase lay mass OF strug-
Cling screaming children. Theywere piled
on top Of each other. AS quickly as possible
we pulled them out and passed them one
byone through the window. Those on the
top were still alive. When We reached
the bottom we came upon ten dead ones.
II was an awful sight TO see them lying
there with their blanched faces, mouth and
eyes wide open, and their dresses all in dis.
order. One little girl, Minnie Tushe, was
still alive. She died, however, on the way
to the station house. 1t was the most
awful scene ever passed through. The
dead were removed to the police station,
where they were laid in row on the floor
in the back room.
A soRRowFuJ SCENE. liH4 Y
They were all quickly identified by
sorrow-siricken mothers and little brothers
and sisters, and their removal to the Of:
tlicted homes Of the family was promptly
permitted by the authorities. The scene
in class rooms and in halls after the panic
was almost indescribable. Torn books,
and broken school apparatus and frag-
ments oftorn clothing were scattered upon
the floors, the terrible evidence OF the wild
struggle Of the children to escape from the
building. ..'l.I .
5L TALE REToLD. "-.
A survey Of the school shows that every
route and precaution for safety in the
school had been disregarded. On the four
floors there are nine class.rooms opening
into two Railways, with stairs running east
and west, reaching either end OF the build
ing, through the class rooms across egress
can be had TO either stairway, but the halls
and stairs are separated. In nearly every
room the doors open inward and there
is only one door in the room for egress
for thirty to eighty children, mostly young
girls, and the doors only two and half
feet wide. The stairways likewise are mar.
row; and at the top OF the highest fight
there is a stout wooden gate, not easy
moved. The actual measurement showed
that the inward opening Of the door came
within eleven inches OF and nearest the
benches, With hardly room to squeeze
through. The backs OF the benches were
within twenty.four inches Of the rear wall
and the stove blocked all progress at the
junction OF the passageway aud center
aisle between the row oil benches.
Promptly upon the alarm offire being given
the Sisters marshalled the children and
before halfa minute elapsed half OF them
were in the street by one stairway, the
other being useless by reason OF fire and
smoke. The other half would have quickly
marched out unharmed but that sister in
care Of number five class, overcome by the
peril OF her charge swooned away. This
class Immediately became panic stricken,
broke away from all restraint and threw
the other rapidly marching classes into
confusion and all rushed for the stairway
with the sad result already told. From
the heap Of children in the west hall, six
dead girls, from seven to ten years Of age,
were taken out and carried into the church,
where they were laid in front Of the sane.
tuary and an attempt to recusitate them
was made.