Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1883-02-23
Sixteen School Children are
Crushed to Death Dur
ing a Panic.
An Incipient; Fire the Cause of the
F'earfnlly Fatal Disaster.
A Sickening Story.
A Panic in School Building.
A LARGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN CRUSHED
ID DEATH


of the school house attached to the Ger
man Catholic Church of the Most Holy
Redeemer in Fourth street, between
Avenue "a" and First avenue, at q
quarter past this afternoon, was the
cause of terrible calamity. No less
than fifteen children lost their lives
Over seven hundred scholars, mostly
children of the poorer classes, ranging
from six to eleven years of age, at
tended the school and were in thei,
class rooms when the alarm of fire
was raised.
A FEARFUL PANIC
soon followed. The removal of the
children from the fourth floor began
quietly enough, and was progressing
rapidly, when the sister of charity in
charge of the class of girls tainted. I'm.
mediately the alarmed class became
panic stricken, and rush was made
for the hallway. On the stairs, already
crowded, deadly crush took place.
The railing of the stairs broke, and a
mass of struggling children were pre-
precipitated to the floor below, falling
In packed mass one upon another
from four to five deep. The police and
firemen already summoned arrived,
but their work of rescue was much
hampered by the
FRIGHTENED CHILDREN
continuing to fall or leap from the
stairway, those in froat being crowded
over the broken balustrade by children
behind still struggling 20 reach the
exits. Six children were taken ou.
dead from the bottom. Eight more
died Immediately after the rescue,
making total of IA. A large number
of others who were carried to neigh
boring tenements were reported dying.
The excitement when news of the
catastrophe spread was fearful and
great throngs of people blocked the
streets surrounding the school. Many
children lost in the excitement were re-
ported missing.
The following is
LIST OF THE DEAD
as far as police returns now show:
Minnie lister years.
Mary Hobernecht, years.
Mary Ann Happ, Syears.
Minnis Trube, 10 years.
Josephine Marr, years.
Mary Brecht, years.
Lena Becker, 9 years.
Lizzie Mcfetycki, years.
Theresa Katzner, III years.
Barbara PregeDzes, 9 years.
Louisa Florence, years.
The latter was taken out alive and
died in st. Frances hospital. A girl ap-
parently Z, unidentified; girl about 9,
unidentified, were also taken out dead.
A SISTERS STORY.
Sister Afromia. who had charge of SO
girls, said: 81 was in charge of my
class when the fire first broke out in
the hallway adjoining my room.
heard commotion outside and great
confusion and hubbub of voices. Al
once turned toward the room door,
and then for the first time discovered
smoke coming through the wainscot-
ting. / Immediately went to the door,
and as / opened it to learn the cause
of the excitement, the flames rushed
at me. at once closed the door, and
was about to warn the children to keep
calm, when some men burst into the
room. In moment the children ran
out at the bidding of the men, and ]
followed seeing all were escaping,
Many of them, however, went to the
stairs at the west of the building and
were injured by falling over a stairs
where they had broken down the bal
listers before them. There were about
hundred girls in my class"
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
Sister Iva in charge of the first di.
vision, girls'tdepartment, fourth. floor,
said: 81 was not aware of what was
going on until looked out and saw
boys on my floor running over to the
west side stairs and going wildly down.
l heard the balusters give way and
then was about to turn to look to my
charges when they all arose and, as il
seized with one fright, dashed past and
recklessly ran down the stairs and hall.
ways. l saw none of my girls injured
and they disappeared so quickly from
my sight, | hoped they had all escaped
IN safety"
Tho sister appeared calm and com.
posed and seemed to have retained hel
self-possession during the trying mo-
ment of her narrowing experience.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
The fire from which the smoke
spread through the building, bringing
such terrible results to the innocent
pupils. was of the most triflipg chaIac-
ter. 1t started among q mass of sweep
ings in the closet beneath the stairs
leading from, the second TO the third
foor, on the east side of the building.
It had been smclderiDg for come time,
and had eaten its way through to the
centre of the partition wall dividing
the hall from the class room In front,
and crept up toward the third floor ere
it was discovered. At this moment q
visitor called at the school to see
one of the pupils In the fifth class,
which is on tne second floor, and the
door which opens almost opposite and
within Eve feet of the cleset In which
the sweepings were burning. The
visitor knocked at the door, which was
opened BY one of the Sisters of Notre
Dame, Dy WnOm inc sCHOh u CO0QucL-
ed. Scarcely had the door swung
back on lis hinges when the flames
burst out from under the stairway.
The sister hastily shut the door but no.
until some of the children in her care
had caught sight of the fire. All efforts
to quiet them were in vain and they
rushed madly fIom the class room.
Smoke now rolled out of tine closet in
great columns and In few seconds
spread to all parts Of the building, and
a scene of the widest confusion en-
sued. ISM
THE SCHOOL BUILDING
il five stories high, and has nine class
rooms, seven for girls and two for boys.
The rear of the school abuis on the
rear of the church Of the holy Re-
deemer, which fronts on Third street.
There are two stairWays, one on the
east and the other ON the west end Of
the building. These stairways were
about three and half feet wide, and
opened almost at the doom Of the class
rooms, but from the play room IN the