The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-01-08
BNVELOPED IN FLAMES.
Fearful Scenes in a Detroit
Public School.
Fire From a Candle Sets Chill
dren's Costumes Ablaze.

A singular and shocking accident has oc-
Cured in one Of the large public schools in the
northwestern part of Detroit, Mich, which
had resulted when this report was written,
in the loss of three lives and in the injury
more or less serious of score Of children.
The scholars in one of the higher grade
rooms had been practicing after school hours
for the past two weeks on Christmas can
tata which was to have been given that day,
and to which the whole school was looking
forward with great eagerness.
After school was dismissed final dress
rehearsal was held under the supervision OF
the teacher, Miss Hattie G. Saunders, who
had been drilling the children. She was as
sisted by two other teachers, Misses Dora
Wadsworth and Lucy Priest. Shortly after
o'clock nearly one hundred children, clothed
in fieecy garments trimmed with cotton bat
ting to initiate snow, and headed by Edward
Wheeler as Santa Claus, with flowing beard
and great coat of cotton, gathered around
the piano to sing the opening carol.
AS they were about to commence the last
song the room became so dark that Miss
Saunders sent one of the children for tallow
candle. This was procured and placed upon
closely about the instrument as possible in
order to see the score. They were SO intent
upon their music that no one noticed
little Edna Holland, one of their number,
crowding up toward the lighted candle
until the trimming of her dress caught
fire. In a second the child was
enveloped in flames. Before any one could
touch her. with wonderful presence OF mlnd,
she dashed through the crowd and, making
straight for the sink at the end OF the room,
Jumped into it and turned on the water, ex-
after
severely burned about the head and shoulders.
As she hurriedly pushed her way through
the packed crowd of children her burning
garments necessarily communicated the hre
to the equally inf]ammable clothing. OF all
with whom she came in contact, and IN an
instant the children standing most closely
in front around the piano, and all OF whom
were dressed to represent snow falrles, were
ablaze
Seeing the danger young Wheeler. the sew
enteen-year-old son Of Captain James Y;
Wheeler, Chief Deputy Collector OF Internal
Revenue, with great presence OF mind threw
off his false beard and coat, rushed to the
other side of the room, tore down the flags
with which the wall was draped, and catch
ing several children one after another smoth-
cred the flames by throwing the flags around
them. In this he was nobly assisted by Al
exander Mcmillan, another lad Of about the
same age who speedily followed his exam
pie. Both were badly burned about the
hands and face.
In the meantime scene of the widest con-
fusion prevailed. A general stampede was
made for the stairs, and several cnnoren
were severely injured by being trampleo
upon. AS soon as the first of the children
reached the street they screamed Fire"
and an alarm was at once turned IN.
Following closely behind those who escaped
catching fire, three children, with their
dresses ablaze, rushed into the street. For
tunately two men were passing by VINO
stripped off their coats and, enveloping the
terrified children in their ample folds, sue
ceeded in quickly smothering the flames. A
police patrol wagon and the nearest fire
engine were quickly on the ground, and
their men went at once to work relieving
such of the children as stood in need OF their
help.
But by this time the worst had already
occurred. The three lady teachers mean
while. with another who was called from her
room by the shrieks of the half-crazed chill
dren, were hard at word, at imminent per-
sonsl risk, in tearing off the clothing from
the burning pupils and rendering invaluable
service All of them were severely burned
about the face and hands.
Jennie Lankshear, girl Of sixteen, who
was standing near the piano at the time OF
the accident clothed in dress covered with
cotton batting, did not even have time to
move, and was found sitting on the piano
stool with scarcely shred of clothing left
upon her body, which was terribly burned
from head to foot. She was SO dazed that she
could not tell her name or where she lived.
She fingered in terrible agony until midnight,
when death ended her suffering.
parfbo tho fffoap -uoar-0Id daupltpr OF
the Rev. E. B. Moody, a Baptist clergyman,
was so terribly burned from her waist up
ward that she died next morning. Edith
Wheeler, seventeen years old, and daugh-
ter of Roscoe B. Wheeler, patent lawyer, was
the one who ran into the streets In blaze.
She died from her injuries in the afternoon.
The scene around the school house at the
time of the panic bafied description. A
throng of children came tumbling down the
stairs pell-mell, while number put their
heads out Of the windows and screamed for
help An excited crowd quickly gathered,
adding to the terror and confusion by their
shouts and cries, until they were finally dis