St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-01-22
Seventeen Lunatics Burned.

| Seventeen LunaticS Burned.
The south iniiImarY of the Illinois
Eastern hospital for the insane at Kan
kakee, was burned ut 40 n. n. Sat
urday with II of the 10 patients. The
fire originated in the furnace room and
had obtained Il strong Roadway before
it was discovered. The wood work of
the building was Of southern pine and
burned very rapidly. Thirteen bodies
! have already been recovered. burned
beyond recognition. All OF the pa
tients were infrm aud incurable. The
bcdridden ones were rescued, hut those
who were able to- help themselves did
not seem to realize their danger in
ii me for safety They are Henry Brown
burg, George Bennett of Morris, 10
Seph Colbert of Chicago, Orlando Ellis
of Pontiac, J. w. galloway of Macon
pin. Thomas Hickey of Springfield,
Matthew Hague Of ClebonSe. Il. Hack
ner of Stevenson county, Thomas
Hereby of Chicago, John Johnson of
VermilIion, Michael JOrdun of Chicago.
J. Nathan OF Chicago, y. Runyard of
WinnehagO county, &. StrotZ OF Chica-
go, j. w. Tyler of Chicago aud +.
Weymouth of Putnam county. Thorn
as Hereby is the son of State senator
HEREBY. The attendants lost all their
personal effects and many narrowly as
capped with their lives, one OF them
having to tie bed clothes together To
escape by the window to the ground.
There We're no tacilitic> for puttiug
out the fire, rs the state had not made
any appropriation for the purpose.
The building was tWo-StnrY stone
and brick structure, with uo wood
about it except the floors and stair
ways. 1t was completed last August.
II was used as an intiTma.Y with ID in
sane inmates, % on the first floor aud
% Oh the second. The attendants,
Brown and Rose, and the lattcr'S wife,
were sleeping Oh the second ioor. At
PENDANTS Reid and Williams and Fire
man Labarge slept on the first floor.
The building was heated by hot air
furnaces. 1t was - below zero when
the Waterman Cobb discovered smoke
issuing from the floor immediately
above the furnaces. lie at once awokc
the attendants. Smoke WAS drawn
through the hot air tiucS and along the
halls and stairways to all parts Of the
building. Attendant Reid began drag
ging and carrying out the patients.
Many patients, clad in night clothes
only, rushed from the bitter cold air
back Into the building. Reid, at the
risk OF his own life, struggled ON until
81 of the % patients were secured
when he became exhausted and ,%.Ls
carried away.
On the second floor Attendant Rose
and his wife heard the alarm and es-
capped down the stairway Just before
it fell. Attendant Brown, sleeping on
the same floor, was awakened by the
smoke and attempted to save Il patient
in AN adjoining room, but failed, and
sliding down by the aid of sheet
from his window jumped tO the ground.
Superintendent X. ;. Dewey reached
the scene and with ladders climbed 10
the second story windows and rescued
some of the patients by this means.
Almost all the patients refused to CO.
operate in the efforts made to save
them, and were only rescued by being
dragged from the flames aud held
from returning. A marvellous escape
was that of an inmate who fell with
the second floor, striking the burning
debris above the furnace and bound
ing through window tO the ground
uninjured.
IL. w. Belden of Galesbarg, III. ID
years old, one Of the victims, and the 4
only one whose remains preserved even
the resen biance of a human being, was /
a prominent man in his section OF the |
state. He was on the second floor. was
an invalid and was unable to help J