St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-05-07

WEARY lrapp0O TO DeaCn.
Z They entered, and the door. which had
IA spring lock, closed behind them. AS
is customary, there was no handle on
the inside. The door resisted their
axes and they rushed to the windows,
but were driven back by the flames.
The chief, suspecting their peril, sent
aid to the other side and the men were
carried down OH ladders. The engineer
Oft the building did good work in saving
nine patients and every fireman made
a record of which he may feel proud.
On the first alarm the engineer turned
on the hose, but it was utterly useless,
as the fire leaped along the ventilating
shaft to the towers and burned in
dozen places at once. And here mel
ancholy event occurred. One of the
nuns, Soeur Marie, lay sick in the in
Urinary on the fifth floor, and to her
rescue came three others. They seized
their companion and bore her in
a blanket to the staircase. but
they were met by sheet Of fame.
and all persisted. Let their names be
bert and Lumiere. None of them were
: here from Paris. The sisters like hero
ines by turns implored. beseeched and
commanded the patients, and finally
saved very large number, In view of
the inadequate facilities at hand. Sister
Theresa, the superioress, is broken
hearted, and being at present in ILL
. health, her name may be added to the
already long list of victims. Drs.
Bourque and Baralet were carried from
the building unconscious, and whatever
must be said of the management as
whole, individuals exercised every
power to lessen the calamity they had
neglected to avert. A loud explosion
was followed by crash of beams. The
interior was giving way. Wild faces
sank from the windows, and
The Shrieks of Maniacs
were lost in the general uproar, one by
one the walls toppled inward, and a
fierce blaze burst up from the newly
added fuel that rose to the dark sky and
shot its glare over the st. Lawrence to
the southern shore. and even tinged the
crest Of Mount Royal, ten miles distant.
Then it died down into hlackness, and
nothing but few broken towers re-
manned bounding the seething mass of
metal and debris, under which are not
the bodies, but the ashes of hundred
victims. By this time it was growing
dark and very cold. The spring rains
had converted the place into Quagmire
and only horSemen could get from
place to place. The poor sisters, most
of them young and delicate, stood ankle
deep in mud, securing and superintend-
ing the removal of such furniture as
has been saved. Patients wandered
about aimlessly, clad III scant gar
ments. many of them veritable
Ophelias in their fantastic dress. When
released many of them leaped for joy
aud bounded like deer across the fields
to the woods. Patients of both sexes
escaped. and, though Gordon of police
was thrown round, not all were inclad-
ed, and horribly SuE gestlve tale was
borne in by habitant who was conf
ing through the woods to the scene
of the disaster. A new dread
has come upon the inhabitants from
the scene of some Of the escaped
lunatics and they would count them
selves fortunate if they are not visited
by series of such crimes as only mad
men can devise. All the time the fire
was burning every high housetop in
Montreal had its curious sighG- seerS, for
the news seemed to spread In some myS-
terious way. that the disaster which
had been foretold for many years
had come to pass. The Tongue road
was thronged with carriages. The
mayor drove out and laddermen drove
out in pairs. Ladies were there in their
dog carts and few rode on horseback.
1t was strange procession they met.
The transport service of Montreal was
pressed into service, and cabs, omnl-
buses and hacks were returning filled
with
Vaoant-Eyed Women
wearing blankets over their shoulders,
and in front of them pair of weeping
nuns, clad in their black robes. Many
were taken to the neighboring converts
of st. IsidOre, st. Joseph de BenOit, St.
Laurent and Point Aux Trembles. Pre-
mier Mercier has placed the Montreal
exhibition building at the disposal of
the nuns, and tomorrow morning the
building will be stocked with pro-
visions. The strangest wonder
an absence of fire-fighting facilities
could exist. Although appliances were
there, they were utterly useless. The
institution had excellent engines, but
no connection existed between the
pumps and the boilers. The st. Jean
de Dleu asylum, commonly called
"Longue Pointe." was founded in 1878.
The government being DESTROYS of
closing the St. Jean de Ibervile
asylum and relieving the Beau
port asylum. at Quebec, which was
overcroWded, came to an understanding
with the Sisters of Providence with the
view of establishing an asylum for
idiots and for insane. The erection of
the edifice was commenced the follow
ing year, and on July 16, 1875. this
asylum received its. first patients. The
buildings consisted Of main building
and of four other smaller build
ings, connected by wings, and
had frontage of $50 feet.
These edifices were OF brick, with
frieses and ground floors in cut stone.
The principal building was six stories
high. and the other portions
of the buildings five stories
high. The Sisters of Providence
spent in founding and organizing this
institution 81. 1872. 1892 of which 100000
was spent on the buildings. The build.
ing was insured by the government
for $500, 900 in the Royal Insurance conf
pany. This sum had been Teinsured in
eighteen local companies in sums vary
ing from $1,000 to $4,000. The Sister
hood of Providence. who owned the
building and under whose management
the Institution has always been, is the
largest of the many large Canadian
religious communities, although only
established fifty years ago. Its
Founder Was Madame Gameiin,
the widow of a wealthy Montreal mer-
chant, who endowed the new sister
| hood. Sympathy is felt for Sister
| rrl,o,oeo tho anaruntic ladv suOariOr