The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1884-01-12
TIE LATEST HORROR.


vile, lllinois--A Frightfui Holocaust
dwsniy-eight Human Lives Sacrificed
The search for the Victims-Full List
of the Lost and Sayed-The Death Roll
Includes Twenty-three Students and
Five Sisters, Among Them the Mother
Superior.
Sr. LOUIS, Mo-. Jan. Z.
Among the many calamities which have
made memorable the first week of 1884 in
the United States, none comes with such
crushing force or appeals more directly to
our sympathies than the terrible disaster
which overlook the Convent of the Sisters
Of the Immaculate Conception at Belleville,
H., on Saturday night the 9th inst, by
which twenty of the young lady stu
dents and five of the Sisters, including the
Mother Superior lost their lives. At a
quarter before eleven ON the night in ques-
ton, as nearly as can be ascertained, a fire
started IN the basement, and before the in
mates, who had for the most part retired
for the night, were aware of the danger
which menaced them, the building was en-
veloped in flames and nearly every avenue
of escape cut off. The fire department was
summoned by telephone as quickly as pos
sible and responded with three engines,
but when they arrived were unable to do
anything toward saving the building, and
all that could be done was to endeavor TO
rescue the unfortunate inmates, in which
work, horrible to relate, but little suct ess
was met with.
Mr.. James Stout, of the City Foundry,
who early discovered the fire, lost no
time in repairing to the scene,
He says on reaching the building, the
windows Of the third story presented a
spectacle calculated to send thrill of hor-
ror through the stoutest heart. In their
night clothes, about the windows stood a
large number of the inmates of the con.
vent, with faces white as snow, screaming
for help and wringing their hands in ago.
nizing despair. They had already been
aroused from their slumbers, and in their
fright and desperation ran to the first point
which offered the least possible means. of
escape. But the building had already be-
come pretty thoroughly wrapped in flames,
and t4ere was nothing left but TO jump, and
some OF them accepted the dreadful alterna-
tive. Soon afterward there was a heavy
explosion and almost instantly the upper
portion OF the building was wrapped in a
dense volume of smoke. The explosion was
supposed to have been caused by coal gas.
Most of the white faces at the window dis
appeared with the explosion and were not
seen again.
A few of the girls, however, remained at
the windows, apparently determined to try
the ordeal of leaping for life. The first to
try the experiment was Miss Mary Camp
bell, of East st. Louis. She threw herself
out of the window, but caught hold of the
casing as she passed through In the mean
time the brave tiremen had thrown lad
der up against the building Immediately
under her, and for an instant it seemed
that she would be saved. The lad
der unfortunately proved too short, and
she hung ty her hands, her feet almost
reaching IT'S top. Suddenly she released
her grasp of the window-sill, and falling
down struck the ladder about four feet from
the top and bounded off to the hard, frozen
pavement below. She was hurriedly
picked up and borne off to the Office OF the
Harrison Machine Works, where, after
few gasps, she expired. Her back and neck
were both broken in the fan.
Soon after this fearful scene Sister Mo-
drata was found in the open court on the
south side of the building, silent and still
in death. IL is not known how she died,
but it is supposed that she leaped from the
porch of the second story. Some of her
limbs were broken and her body presented
sickening evidences of the fall. This court
was paved with brick, which of course add
ed to the chances of death in reaching it,
At the same time two of the girls were
saved from the top of the veranda of the
second floor. They had evidently leaped
out of a window above and in striking the
roof were stunned. Being in their night
clothes they were very cold, but having
been rescued were borne off TO place of
safety and through restoratives were soon
resuscitated. To Mr.. John Schumacher and
George w. Merker belongs the credit of
saving them. They saw them in their per-
ilous position and procuring ladder res
cued them.
At this time the flames were fast envel-
opng the building. All the engines had
been placed in position and were fighting
the fire with an energy and determination
that reflected the highest praise upon tie
firemen. But Notwithstanding their super
human efforts, the Inside of the building
began to surrender to the flames, and the
fire, having originated in the basement in
the west end, all the floors in that depart
ment seemed to give way at once Gnd com
menoed to fall. The firemen saw that all
efforts to stop the flames and save the
building were futile, and they turned their
attention to saving the walls. The walls on
the west were the first to fall, and as they
went down they carried with them the tink
bers and flooring of the dffeTenJ stories
and also the precious lives of the poor girls
who had sought safety in the rooms of that
part of the building. 1t is believed, how
ever, that many of the inmates had met
death before the falling of the walls in this
wing of the building. 1t is thought that
they were suifocatsd in the first explosion
OF coal gas, as the smoke was seen TO SHOOT
up the stairs leading from below.
When the walls of the wing of the struc
ture gave way all hope of rescung the chill
dren was abandoned. The fire then spread
out through the halls and doors of the cas-
wing and seemed to embrace its work o
destruction as if it had a duty 10 perform
and desired to show the wonder-stricker
spectators how we'll it could be done. TIL,
flames reached out through the windows
insinuated themselves through the crevice'
of the eorniceS and shot their red tongues
up through the shingles OF the robson
gliding the entire structure in a dress o
lurid fire. Soon the fire burned grea
holes in the roof, which began to fall il
sections. As these portions of the roo
went down large portions of the floors be
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