, 1885-01-20
MANIACS IN TERRI Or.
Dragged From a Burning Asy-
lum Into Open Air.
A Dreadful Heap of Charred
Human Remains.
Senator Coke Wants a North
ern Cattle Trail.
Terrible Catastrophe.

Terrible Catastrophe.
KANKAKEE, Ills, Jan. 9.-The South
ern inirmary of Illinois and East
ern hospital for the insane burned this
morning at 4:30. The fire originated in
the furnace room and had got a good
Roadway before it was discovered. The
woodwork of the building being pine it
burned very rapidly. The building was
occupied by forty-fve patients and one
night watchman. All the patients were
infrm. The bed ridden were rescued
first, but those able to assist themselves
did not realize the danger and many of
them persisted. The attendants lost all
their effects and many had very narrow
escapes. One of them had to tie his bed
clothes together and let himself down
from the top window. The building was
a new n and cost $4,000 but was not
yet provided with water works.
The building was a two story stone
and brick, and with no wood about ex-
cept the floor and stairways. 1t was
completed last August 1t was used as
an infrmary, with forty-fve insane in
mates, twenty-three on the first floor and
twenty-five on the second. Attendants
Brown, Rose and wife we're sleeping on
the second floor. Attendants Reid, Will
Jams and Fireman Labarge slept on the
first floor. The building was heated by
hot air furnaces. 1t was 100 below zero
when. the watchman, named Cobb, dis
covered smoke issuing from the floor i'm
mediately above the furnaces. He awoke
the attendants. The smoke at once be-
came drawn through the hot air hues and
along the halls and stairways to all parts
of the building. The fire spread so rap
idly that all efforts { o save the building in
the absence of a fire alarm to summon
help and for want Of facilities to quench
the flames. were found to be in vain. At
tendant W. A. Reid began dragging and
carrying out patients. Many patients,
clad in night clothing only, rushed from
the bitter cold air back into the building.
Reid, at the risk of his W life, strug-
gled on until twenty-one of his twenty
three patients were rescued, when he be-
cam exhausted, and was carried away.
On the second floor attendants Rose
and wife heard the alarm and escaped
down the stairway just before it fell. At
tendant Brown. sleeping on the same
floor, was awakened by the smoke and
attempted to save a patient in the adjoin-
ing room and failed, and sliding down by
means of sheet from his window jumped
to the ground. Supt R. S. Dewey
reached the scene and with ladders
climbed to the second story windows,
smashed them in and was able to rescue
some patients thereby. Almost all the
patients refused to cooperate in the eff
forts being made to save them and were
only rescued by being dragged from the
flames and forcibly prevented from re-
turning. A marvellous escape was that Of
an inmate who fell with the second floor,
struck the burning debris above the
furnace and bounded through the window
to the ground uniniured.
Supt. Dewey testified at the coroner
inquest hat he had asked the Legislature
two years ago for 80, 500 to protect these
detached wards from fire; that 81, 900 was
allowed, all of which was used on the
mains and hydrants; that the amount was
insufficient to answer the purpose. He
suggested that the floors above the fur
naces be changed, it being shown in the
evidence that it was but four inches from
the outside and ten inches from the inside
of the furnace to the pine joists. He gave
two reasons for the great number Of
deaths. First, the patients were almost
all suffocated by the smoke before they
could be reached; and second, the inability
or unwillingness of the insane patients tc
try and help themselves.
The remains of the bodies, with one
exception, did not aggregate each but q
little more than a handful of charrec
ashes. The entire remains of ten of the
victims were spread on a small table two
feet square. Friends are arriving il
search of lost ones. The scenes on thei
arrival and view of the remains is neces
sarily very heartrending. kilograms ar,
pouring in from all parts of the state from
parties asking as TO the safety of thei
friends among the 1,500 inmates of thu
hospital.
The bodies of five other victims of tn,
Kankakee hospital fire were rescued to
day. Trustee Donavin reached the cit.
to-day. Men have been placed at eacI
Of the twenty furnaces of the hospital da,
and night to prevent a recurrence of the
accident.