St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-12-21
THE BROOKLYN HORROR.
Eight More Victims Resurrected
From the Ruins of st. Johns
Asylum.
fhe Work of Clearing Away the Fro
zen Debris and the CHASTITY Sights
Being Unearthed.
all the Children Accounted For But Forty
Six-Several Fires Reported From
Other Places.

New YORK, Dec. 20.-Like the Brooklyn
theatre fire the Brooklyn Catholic orphan
asylum grows in horrors with the hours. Up
TO 30 p. m. to-day seven more bodies of
the missing children have been dug from
the ruins, also the body Of man. Contrac-
tor Mcdonald, with force of twelve men,
commenced work at six O'Clock and
their picks and crowbars made no
unnecessary disturbance of the piled
up mass of warped iron, charred
timber and frozen mud that lay on the floor.
At 9 o'clock the workmen, who had cleared
off the top Of the debris, noticed a section Of
thigh bone protruding from behind piece
OF iron. It was gently disengsged from its
holding in the frozen mass that surrounded
it, and the trunk and vertebra of q full
grown adult followed. Less feshy parts Of
the body were burnt to the bones, and the
intestines and spine were charred. The left
arm was deep in the frozen mass, and inyes-
tigation showed it still retained in all its dis
tortion bent form. The latter body, from
being smaller and not so well
clad, was burned to cinder. The
little trunk dropped from its resting
place and rolled until boulder stopped its
progress. The two remnants of humanity
were doubtless all that remained of the de-
voted father who perished in vain efforts to
save the life of the sick and maybe crippled
and therefore helpless son.
The workmen proceeded. Now they took
q heap of burnt ashes and sifted it carefully
only to discover a part of a shoe or some
other article Of wearing apparel that haG been
more fortunate than its owner. The half
square Of space that intervenes between the
boiler and the eastern wall of the basement
of the inirmary had been sifted at II O'Clock,
and the workmen proceeded in their task and
quickly came upon two little bodies
lying together against the iron
stauchion. The workmen now labored
on and by l O'Clock had unearthed two moro
bodies, and at 80 had exposed two more,
eight thus far to-day and eighteen all told up
10 the time stated.
The bodies recovered to-day are in better
condition than the ten discovered yesterday
The flesh of the latter had been completely
burned off, leaving nothing but cracked
splinters of the largest bones The bodies
recovered to-day, although burned beyond
Identification, are not cremated beyond
recognition as the remains Of human beings.
The trunks, with the tenders and muscles
torn and burned, were placed in baking pans
that had contained the daily bread of the
orphans. A heap of bread, baked beyond
any use, lay in the corner. The skulls had
been in most instances detached from the
bodies. The corners have not yet been ex-
amined, and unless all signs fail they are
likely to hold large contingent of charred
corpses. The remains of Sister Mary jose
phine were viewed by Coroner Hesse and
jury, and the inquest adjourned until such
time as shall be fixed to hold an investigation
upon all the bodies.
The body Of the sister was buried this
afternoon in st. Mary's cemetery, at Flush
ing. The corpse was followed to the grave
by the Mother Superior of st. Johns home,
several sisters and some relatives. Solemn
mass Of requiem was celebrated. Arrange
ments for the interment of the other bodies
mas not yet been made. The quarters in
st. Mary's hospital n ow being used for the
homeless children was built originally for a
stable.
The missing children are still being picked
up in the streets. Accounts differ as to the
number of children in the infirmary at the
time of the disaster. The mother superior
Insists that there we're but twenty, while
another claims that the infirmary had thirty
Eve suffering inmates.
There is no donbt as to where the fire
originated. Mary Feeney, who was in the
laundry, made statement in which she re-
terated what she had previously said, that
The smell of burning rags in the drying room
was the first indication of the fire.
Vice President Shannahan, of the Orphans
..fvr coid 70 4
ma building were not only supplied with
iron A"e escapes, but had galleries running
their whole length, and upon each floor, so
s>--pe in case of emergency was easy"
"But this new building where the laundry
md bakery was had no fire escapes.''
''No, it had not!'
"And this was where all the lives were
lost?"
Eyes, of course such calamity could not
have been anticipated. The gentlemen who
had control of the main building were very
rareful to adopt measures and plans that
would give the children an ample opportunity
to escape in case of an emergency, but when
the laundry building was put up it was not
intended at the time to use it as a hospital,
and consequently fire escapes were not
erected.''
''Can you tell how many children were in
Eyes; the books show there were 724, and
Of this number we have accounted for 663,
which leaves 81 missing. All the sisters are
accounted for and escaped uninjured. except
the unfortunate sister, Mary Josephine. In
addition to the sisters there were thirty-two
OF them) there were thirty attendants, all of
whom have been accounted for. The bodies
found leaves forty-six children yet to be ac-
counted for. We, of course, hope there are
no more children in the ruins, but we can
not tell until the basement has been
cleared"
M Rev. Eugene F. Mahoney, chaplain of the
institution, was asked by a reporter..if the
list OF children was in the possession OF
Mother Superior DeChontal He said it was,
and when asked if the reporter could obtain
Il, he answered it was not for the press, and
inquired of the reporter thought it had been
'ade out for the special benefit of the press
The sisters, acting under instructions
refuse any information to the reporters.
The total insurance is $685. and the
estimated loss $150,000. The Beach Racing
association makes contribution of 81, 346
of which sum George H. Engeman con
tributed $1,000. Colonel Sim, of the Parl
theater, and Mayor Low each give 500
Other contributions make the aggregate sun
already received 1871.
LATER.
The delivers in the debris continued thei
labors TO late hour into the night, and Sc
cured two more bodies, making an aggregate
of twenty bodies recovered. Twenty children
are still missing.
BURNING OIL.
New YORK, Dec. 20.-A fire broke GU
this afternoon in Weston s. Fisk's oil ware
house No. 81 Water street, six story build