Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-01-11
Burning of a Convent at Belle
vile, Illinois.

1. ST. LOUIS, Jan. 7.-Sunday morn
ing was ushered in with tidings of a
disaster which has few equals in late
records The Institute of the I'm
maculate Conception Sisters of Notre
Dame, at Belleville, H., fifteen miles
from this city, was destroyed by fire
about midnight. About sixty pupils
were in the school, ranging from 10
years to full grown, all girls, and
several teachers and other inmates of
the building OF these, twenty-one
perished miserably in the flames or
were killed in jumping from the win
dows. Five of the teachers and the
sister superior also perished.
The fire was discovered when it
BURST OUT THROUGH THE ROOF
Soon the forms of women and chll-
dren, clad in their night dresses, be-
gan to appear at tie windows, their
shrieks and piteous pleadings for help
being heard above the roaring of the
flames and the falling of timbers
One by one and in groups they disap
peared, and again came back to the
windows ard began throwing them
selves from third story windows. Sew
! eral were assisted down short ladder
from a second story window by by
ISLANDERS. Sister Gilacia, who taught
the boys day school, with great pres
enee of mind, led several girls down
from the second story to the basement
and escaped by the rear of the build
ing. A party of men picked up the
dead and wounded sisters and carried
them to the morgue and the orphan
asylum. At the latter place DIR. Kohl
and other physicians were in attend
ance, and as soon as the injured sis
ters were brought in, dressed their
wounds and placed them in bed in one
of the dOrmltorles.
| WHERE THE RUINS HAD COOLED
sufficiently to permit of it, force of
men went in behind the tottering
walls, and at no inconsiderable risk
began tearing aside the accumulations
of rubbish in search of the remains of
the lost. Soon three bodies were re-
covered, and then backbone was
thrown out; next the horribly dis
tOrted body of young person. The
body of Sister Mary Jerome was found
near the bodies of the unfortunate
girls she vainly essayed to save. An
ugly blow in the back of the head had
barred the skEll, but when the body
was brought out into the light the as
sociates of the deceased promptly
identified it. partially by the gold fill
ing of the teeth and also the wooden
garments which clung around her
form.
The bodies, or portions of different
bodies, were loaded on shutters and
carried through the streets exposed to
public gaze AS the la5ors cf the
searchers met with success, an express
wagon was procured and dccency was
respected by covering the repulsiye
figures with tarpaulins. A one-story
brick cottage on Race street was
CONVERTED INTO A MORGUE,
with the rudest class of accommoda,
tions. AS the mournful cortege halt
| ed in front of the house every half
| hour the remains would be carried in
piecemeal and arranged in satisfactory
order on the improvised tables. Rela-
tlveS and parents looked for rings as
the best means of Identification, and
where these ornameNtS were not found
the task of identifying the remains
was absolutely SlcKellng.
The InstitEte of the Immaculate
CoAception was a three story brick
building with a mansard roof, and had
a frontage Of $50 feet and depth of
100 feet. in the basement of the east
wing was placed the gas generator,
and in the west wing the furnace was
situated. On the first floor were To-
Gated the reception rooms, parlors,
school rooms, dining room, etc, and
in the rear was the kitchen. The
second floor was also used partly
for school purposes, and as a dor
mitory for candidates and lay sis
ters. The story above this was
used for general purposes. A
veranda occupied the space below
the two wings in the rear, this
veranda being at the first floor, the
reof extending to a level with the
third floor. Leading upstairs from
the main entrance was broad stair
case On top of the main building
was situated a cupola containing the
convent bell.
The buildings and contents were
valued at S15, 200, insured as follows:
German of Freeport .....................S2, s., 500
I
Buffalo German. .................... :, 500
Phoenix Assurance. London. :, 500
London Assurance ........ ...... ,, 900
North America. D. 600
Home New York ....... Observation-Disclosures. :, 500
| ST. LOUIS, Jan. THE reportesr
who returned from Belleville tonight
state that search was resumed in
! the ruins of the convent between 10
and / o'clock this morning and con-
| tinued till about o'clock this after
noon, and that what was supposed to
be the remains of six additional bodies
have been recovered, but the rem
nants are so indefinite in character as
TO be difficult, if not impossible, to
determine whether they represented
six or some other number of persons.
One of these is believed to be Sister
Agneiia another Emma Stolk,
of Carbondale, Ill. There is still an
other, Minnie Bailey or Mary Bartels.
Two more of those found yesterday
were identified as Laura Thompson
and Amelia Leonard. 1t is not defn-
itely known how many more are
missing. but search will be continued
tomorrow and kept up till the ruins
have been dug over. The inquest will