The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1884-12-25

reports twelve bodies found up TO 8
o'clock this morning among the Tulns OF
burned st. Johns Home tor children.
The workmen are still searching the
pebrIs. The utmost excitement pre-
Yalls In the vicinity Of the asylum: Ine
bodies found are so cbarred sRd BLACK
ened that Identification is almost impos-
sible. II is believed most OF the chill
dren who perished were in the ul-fAteo
Josephineis ward. The men engaged
in excaVating the rnins OF the laundry
found the rem aims of nine boys and two
grown persons. Who the adults were
i was not ascertaIned- The sisters were
unwilling to be interviewed, but II u
plain to be seen their list OF inmates
rescued does not come up to the full
number. This Is explained bV the state
ment that the children may have been
cared for in private houses and viii
turn up. The fact Is that last night
only one child was admitted missing
and over a dozen bodies were found.
These facts tell their own CHASTITY story
with positiveness that is appalling.
The blackened walls and smoking
| ruins were ali that renamed this morn
ing of ST. Johns Home. The sisters IN
charge of the asylum were Of the opln-
ion last night that all the children had
/ OCCu KOlDcu ~ III - GIG III tAAG
outside and assisted in helping the little
ones to escape asserted there were many
lives lost. They said they saw lit
tie ones in q room on the third
floor oyer the laundry when
the flames made their way TO it and they
knew the avenues of escape had been
cut of. Two or three grown persons
also, it is believed, perished- The as
sertions CT these people are correct, tor
this morning the diggers came on the
| charred remains of little group Of four,
who appeared huddled together just be-
fore their cries for help had been stuffed
in death. In the dormitory directly over
the laundry were sixty sick boys.
It is not known whether
all W ere saved. At later hour this
| morning three more bodies were dis
covered near where the passage near the
main building we located. Some of the
| bodies appeared to be those of adults.
| Shortly after nine O'Clock two more
bodies were found burned to crisp and
their identity destroyed. The children
are scattered sll over the city and until
collected 1t will not be possible to
perished The police founo
| many orphans on the streets half frozen
and took them to the station house. Git
liens also took charge of some of them.
1t is thought other bodies WILL be recov-
cred. LOSE $25 600; building valued at
| $4,000. They had q nice chapel and q
small organ and it appears that little was
| saved.
BRooKLYN, Dec. 19.-Brooklyn's latest
| horror is another evidence OF the truth
that no amount of good intention can
atone for lack of proper precautlon land
| viGilnace. Hundreds OF children in the
] eandaHlu Vnrnfnrfah from oil
harm except that which could have been
most easily guarded sgainst-fire. There
was a very large water hydrant In the
| yard, with four butts, but there was no
hose IN or about the buildings, nor any
other means of extinguishing the fire, so
| what began as q TRIVIAL accident ended
| IN an awful tragedy The great trouble
the firemen had to encounter was the
mansard roof on the entire main strUc
ture. Built of wood and allowing free
access TO the flames il acted simply Is
tue. All efforts of the fremen TO
control the flames were futile. The
gates were also locked, and the young
men of the neighborhoOd who saw the
fire first had TO burst them open with
ramming iron before they could get in.
Chief Ed gineer Nevins urges that all
mansard roofs be condemned at once as
death traps. The upper floor of the asY.
lum was divided into dormitories by stud
and Iath partiuons. The walls, floor
ing and wainscoting were OF yellow pine
and the space between the ceiling and
slate roof was filed in so that the fire
rapidly made its way along toe upper
floor. There were no dividing walls Of
brick at any point on this floor. At the
time the fire begun the larger boys In
the institution were playing In the
courtyard making slides on the newly
fallen snow or snow-balling. 1t wal
vIsiting-day and many parents of child
rem had come to see them. About thir
ty five children were Ia the infrmary Oh
the second floor under the care OF Siste
Anthony. Their little wan faces wert
peerIng al the windows watching tn
larger boys play. On the floor allow
were twenty five more children suffer
ing from sore eyes under the charge o
Sister Mary Josephine, who was SINH
. Isrly affected. In the laundry be
low were Mrs. Feeney, the laundress
the assistant lsundress and Siste
, Eme'ent. Mrs. Feeney noticed smell
of rags in the drying room and on open
, ing its doors cloud of smoke poureI
out. The cry OF fire was raised. Tn
l boys in the yard took it up, and Siste
e Anthony, In charge of the sick ones L
the infirmary, heard the alarming vel
and soon saw black clouds OF slnOk
yelling from the windows beneath. 81
: Immediately signslled for attention frOI
II the little ones by clapplng her hands
!. 10 the room of which she had charg
y seven helpless cIipples were in beC
), These she caused the strongest of tn
boys to take in their arms, and havin
d made her charges form in line sh
< marched them safely out of the burnIn
| hY,,11tH- Pint tho Annr ahnua V1hpI
- half blind children to the number
twenty five were under charge of Sist'
Josephine, a scene of q most terrib
f panic ensued. The fear-strIcken chi
dren ran about the rooms calling f
help. Some rushed down stat
in the binding smoke. OF
e ers, in their frantic fear, huddled in Il
8 corners from which they were rescue
b and others fled to the roof. The unfC
tunate Sister josephine. having lost q
Is control of the children under her char
x in her semi blindness, intensified
d clouds OF smoke that filed the staIrw
and rooms, rushed for safety to the TO,
where she appeared in the midst
10 flame and smoke, calling loudly ON t
e. spectators for help, with the sad resi-
is already stated.
A fireman lying prone on the roof
- the main building attempted to swI
his overcoat to the imperiled sister.
Id first and second attempt were unsucces
full, and on the third Its edge j.
touched the roof. The sister sprang a
er grasDed it. For q moment it seemed
re- | if her life was saved, and the cro'
nd cheered Justify. For a moment &
-, swung in the air between the two bui
Oy ings. Then her grasp relaxed and {
lily fell to the ground dying soon aft
tn. wards.
=, A boy and woman were now seen
~ The roof of the burning building. Tb
me men placed a ladder against the W
She but the ladder did not reach within
obs feet of the roof One of the men moU
1u ed the ladder and the little fellow leaI
into his arms and WAS saved. The
3, man looked to the bottom of the lad
His and then to the flames gradually
pet croachiDg. The bystan0ers yelled
7 ner to keep her courage up. She lool
into the burning building as if fascil
ed by the fire and commenced edg
away from the ladder. Suddenly
ION flames shot up beneath her feet,
.ble with cry of agony she tell Oackws
into the blazing mass. With a CT
the roof fell afterwards, and soon
ass flames.
now Johnny Ryan, little fellow Sc
nsas years old, attempted to escape by eli
ing the water pipe The pipe gave
anne and he was borne TO the hospital
nsas skull fractured. It is yet absolu
or impossible TO tell where the inmate
now the instIutloh can oe Louno. In tne
houses they found shelter. Late this a
noon list of children was made
lder and 123 were accounted for. Will
. may turn out that not one of thes
- Oe among the ruins, the fact remains
sec tons OF burnt timber, warped iron
rs OF fallen brick bats that have not vet
state removed may entomb many Z
80 corpses than have been recovered.
trustees of the home have hired q
Ider of men TO continue the search unt,l
some settled beyond question that there al
rical more bodies In the wreck of the b
- 20 ing. In the room in the saved pc