The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1884-01-11
BURNED TO DEATH.

ulate Conception Institute at BelIeville,
Ill.-Twenty-Seven Young Girls and
Nuns Perish-The Death List-HeroisIn of
the Sister Superior.
BELLEvLLE, Ill, Jan. THE Convent
of the Immaculate Conception was totally
destroyed by fire at late hour Saturday
night Five sisters of Notre Dame, who were
teachers in the institute, and twenty-five
pupils, all of whom were girls ranging from
ten to twenty years of age, are kno wn to
have lost their lives in the flames. Many
others were injured more or less severely by
jumping from the windows of the third or
fourth story to the frozen ground beneath.
1t is not known exactly how the fire
started. The first report was that it origi-
mated in the third story, which was used as a
dOrmltory. An attempt was made by the
sisters to eXtingulsh it, but without success.
The latest and most probable theory Is that
1t broke out near the boiler in the basement
When it was first discovered the floor above
was ablaze and volumes of smoke were
rolling up and filling the stairways, halls
and corridors of the building. By
the time the sleeping inmates were
aroused all avenues of escape
seemed to be cut off by binding smoke and
flames. Then panic ensued attended by
scenes so heartrending that even the imagi-
nation can scarcely picture them. Forty or
more of the pupils and teachers in spite of
the terror and wild confusion, succeeded in
getting out of the building unframed, and
were given shelter from the icy wind in
neighboring houses. Their compan-
ions were far less fortunate. Many
remained in the dormitory, and rem
dered helpless by fright, persisted with
out making an attempt to escape. Others
rushed to the window, and. appalled,
at the prospect of leaping to an almost GER
tain death, drew back and were either suf-
located by the thick smoke or died in the
flames. Some, Drawer than the rest, jumped
from the upper windows and were either
killed or badly injured. Miss Mary Camp
bell, a teacher, of East st. Louis, leaped
from the third story and died in few
minutes. Another, whose name was not
ascertained, climbed to the roof and either
fell or was blown off. She was fatally in
jured.
The fire spread with great rapidity, and
the fire department was Of little avail. The
extreme cold retarded the work Of the fire.
men, and even if they could have reached
the scene without delay they could have
been Of but little service in rescuing the
victims. There are no ladders in the fire
department, and no provisions for such a
depl0rable emergency had been made by
the managers of the convent. The
unfortunate inmates were, therefore,
unable to help themselves. and those who
were witnesses of the horrible holocaust
were powerless to help them. The streets
in the vicinity were thronged with people
anxious to be of service. They could do
nothing but stand and look on or listen in
silence to the appeals of terror stricken
parents rushing frantically around looking
for their children or wailing over their sup
posed loss.
Within an hour from the time the fire was
discovered the famous convent Of the I'M
maculate Conception was reduced to ashes
and few charred and broken walls. AS
soon as possible the work of recovering the
remains of the victims was begun. The
firemen poured water on the ruins until day
break, so as to quench the embers and pre-
serve in recognizable shape the bodies of the
unfortunate women. Then volunteers were
called for, and during the day large force
OF men were at work in the ruins.
1t was terrible sight. AT times tina
searchers would find two or three charred
massed huddled together, seemingly seek
ing each others protection from the advanc-
ing flames. Two bodies were found in the
rear part OF the building, burned into an I'M
recognizable mass, but the major
ity were found beneath where the
dormitory was situated. They seemed
to have sought shelter in
the room when they recognized that escape
was impossible. The flames beneath, eat
ing away the supports, let down the floor
with those upon it into the seething vortex
of fire and smoke. The pupil boarders and
three sisters slept on the fourth floor; on
the third floor the remaining sisters slept,
and on the floor above the basement the
orphans and half-orphanS slept. Those on
this floor escaped.
The following is list of tn g killed, miss
ing and injured as far as is known:
Killed and missing-SisterS Superior, Mary
Jerome, born in Pittsburgh and known to
the world as Barbara He'll; Sister Modnida,
born near Milwaukee, and known as Jennie
Riley; Sister Edwina, born in Ireland and
known as Bridget Mccartney; Sister Agnelia,
born in New Orleans and known as Mar
garet Shanahan; Martha Mauntel, Caron-
delet, Mo-; Mary Bartells, Missouri; jose
phine Ploudre, daughter of County Commits
sioner Ploudre, of Centreville Station, Ill.
Lolita Pierson, St Louis; Susie Welmer, st.
Louis; Emma Stark, Carbondale ILL.,.
Mamie Sealing, St. Louis; Agnes Sealing,
st. Louis; Lizzie Isch, Centerville Station;
Laura Thompson, Chester, ILL.,. Mamie
Pulee, Columbia, Ill. Minnie Bailey, Belle
vile, ILL.,; Hilda Hammel, Trenton, ILL.,;
emily Lionhardt, Trenton; Virginia Helm
zelman, BellevilIe; Kittie Arbana, Van
dalia; Gertrude Strunck, Germany; Mary
Bien, Belleville; Mary Manning, St. Louis;
Delphia Schlermitzeur, Belleyille; Mary
Campbell, East St. Louis.
The injured-Daisy Eberman, Belleville,
slightly; Agnes Schneider, not dangerously;
Lou Lott, East ST. Louis, badly hurt; Fan
ny Renker, Washington, Mo-, seriously;
Sister Reparta, Sister Stylita, Sister Manus-
sa, Dena Horn, seriously hurt.
Among the saved were the following can
didates for the veil: Miss Josephine, Miss
Bridget, Miss Johanna, Miss Gretchen and
Miss Eliza; also the following pupils
Proxie Schlernitzer, Mamie Fitzgerald.
Anna frankie, Maggie Donohue, Ora
Montgomery and Emily Tournie.
At four O'Clock in the afternoon eleven
bodies had been recovered from the ruins,
and the sisters and friends of the unfortu-
mates had succeeded in Identifying the fol-
lowing: Miss Welmer, Miss Manning, Miss
Heinzelman, Miss Isch and Miss Pulee
The bodies could only be Identified by the
clothing, or, rather, by the shreds of cloth
ing, which, having been saturated with
water, had escaped the flames
Father Cough, of st. Peters Church, who
witnessed the dreadful holocaust, says:
THE one bright feature of the dark and
dreadful doom with which the convent was
visited is the heroism and martyrdom of the
Sister Superior. AS soon as the fire was
discovered she rushed through thick suffo-
eating smoke to the dormitories occupied by
the young ladies on the third floor and
awakened them. All were order ed to con-
gregate in room directly over the main en-
trance to the convent, and she informed the
frightened girls that ladders would be ele-
waited and they would be saved Through
the binding smoke the sister went down on
the second floor in search of more pupils,
and while there she had an excellent oppor-
tunity to escape, but rejected all requests,
and again picked her way amid the flames
and smoke back to the room on the third
floor where the pupils and sisters were con-
gregated. No ladders could be found that
could reach the third story. The longest
barely touched the sea0nd-storv window.
BY this time the fire and smoke had cut off
all retreat, and as there was nobody
around with presence of mind