Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-07

Tie insane hospital at ST. Jean De Dieu, at
Tongue Pointe, seven miles from Montreal
was totally destroyed by fire yesterday, and IN
the flames persisted at least 100 of the unfor-
tuuate patients. Just the exact number that
have lost their lives will probably never be
known. Press dispatches to The STAR as late
as 800 pm. yesterday stated positively that
there had been no loss OF life, all the 1000 in
mates having been gotten out.
All the unfortunates were females and three
of the faithful nurses, Sisters OF Providence,
died with them, laying down their lives, a
noble sacrifice rather than save themselves by
deserving those whom they had promised to
care for.
Shortly after II o'clock fire was dis
covered in a cupboard on the sixth fiat OF
the main asylum building. The alarm was
promptly sounded. The only means at hand
for extinguishing an outbreak of fire was a
! small. old-fGshiOned hand-pump and n hall
dozen lengths of leather hose. The men in the
employ OF the asylum promptly got this crude
apparatus to work, but it not only failed to
have any effect on the flames but the hose even
| failed to reach the fiat Of the building OH which
| the first outbreak occurred. With awful rapid
| ity the flames spread from the center
building TO the western wings. i'll which were
| situated the female wards, and in less time
| than it takes to describe it, the whole block of
/ buildings were wrapped in flames Among the
I first to arrive at the scene after the alarm had
| been sounded in Montreal were the Chief of
Police Col. Hughes, Chief Benoit of the fire
/ brigade and Charles Champagne. the city boiler
| Inspector. At the time of their arrival the
/ sisters III charge of the women's asylum seemed
| to have lost their heads. While III the portion
| OF the asylum devoted to the male wards the
! men were being taken out with order and reg
uIarity. not TIE slightest effort seemed to be
/ directed toward saving the unfortunate
J women.
| THE REsCCERS IMPRISONED.
The Montreal officials dashed through fame
| and smoke into the female wards. Unfortu-
nately the doors leading into these wards shut
| with spring locks and on the inside the men
| found themselves prisoners without any knowl-
edge of the building whatever. From the first
| the task appeared almost hopeless one.
Beset on all sides by the crazed inmates, with
| all avenues OF escape cut off, with frantic
| women begging for help the two chiefs fought
vallantly and well for life. BY main strength
| they broke the iron bars from some of the
| windows and then. while scream after scream
| arose, they forced the unfortunates from the
| windows.
1--WE tried to save all we could" said Chief
/ Benoit. but at last we were compelled to give
| up and flee from the same windows or else our
own lives would have been sacrificed"
| Continuing, he said that Sister Mary Mag
! dalene, Sister Rose and Sister Francois abso-
lutely refused to accept life at the price of
| leaving their unfortunate patients. At the last
| moment. when all hope had been abandoned
! Chiefs Hughes and Benoit and MIR. Cham
| payne flung themselves from the windows. and
! coming down hand by hand from the balconies
reached the ground in safety.
| CRIME ADDED TO DISASTER.
| Room after room. ward after ward in the
wings of the building situated farthest from
the original scene of the first outrush were
emptied of their inmates. Gray-haired danes,
/ mlddle-aged women and golden-haired chill
| dren. whom it was almost impossible to believe
| were insane. ran across the well-kept lawns and
| fled to the neghboring woods. Horrible incl
| dents occurred which mark this calamity with
\ out a parallel i'll the history of Canadian
| ruffianism. AS these unfortunate women fed
| from the flames they were followed to the
| woods by men, some insane, but some, alas,
without this excuse for the crimes which fol-
| lowed upon the defenseless creatures.
All hopes of saving the doomed building was
| soon given up. The city engines had been set
/ to work by this time and three streams were
| was heartrending. The rescued insane people,
their nakedness only hidden by blankets or
shawls, wandered aimlessly about the grounds,
while the terrific heat from the burning build
| ing kept all from its vicinity. Explosion of
| gas followed explosion and the runs crumbled
| and went down.
| Archbishop Fabvre and his clergy were early
| at the scene, aiding the sisters with their ad-
vice. At O'Clock the roof of the main build
| ing fell IL.
| MANAGES HORRIBLE DEED.
| AT this instance a painful scene was wit
messed. When the fire broke out there were
seven dead bodies in the asylum These were
hurriedly laid out in a row in the front of the
| ground. When the roof fell in one of the in
| sane men rushed toward the cOffins with a
| frantic cry and the next instant ne had torn a
| shrouded female form from the box. With a
| scream scarcely human he rushed toward the
burning building with his CHASTITY burden. 1T
| Is my wife, he cried, land We will be happy
| together" The next instant he flung the
| corpse into the flames. He was about to fol-
| low when he was caught by policeman and
dragged, struggling and fighting, back to the
| stricken crowd.
| What to the spectators was a scene of hor-
| ror was to many of the lunatics a moment OF
| supreme gee, and in their delight they dis
ported themselves i'll the flames and waved
| their arms in turbulent satisfaction at the
| ruin that was about them. and not until the
| walls tumbled over their heads were their man
| lacal screams silenced.
! THE WORK OF AN ISCENpIARY
The fire was no doubt kindled in the cupboard
by one of the patients. From the construction
of the building there is doubt in some mind.
| as to whether 1t was intended for an asylum OF
| blast furnace; in any case it served the latter
| purpose admirably. 1t was constructed OF
! brick and was GOO feet long running back from
| the river half that distance. The main building
| occupied the center and on each side extended
four wings six stories in height. To the east
were the mems wards and to the west the
women's, sixty in ali. The fire was carried NJ
| by the veutilatinS shaft connected with the
! towers and the roof was soon a roof of fire.
As the heat increased the statues fell from
| inches to the ground, and then the habitants
Frustrated themselves. crying aloud that the
saints had deserted them indeed. Meantime
| the beds, furniture ana utensils of every de
scription were being showered from the win
dows, and a stream of ill-clad men poured out
! OF the eastern wing.
The less hopeless cases were placed in the
lower wards, and they were removed without
difficulty. but FROM the upper wards, where the
widest screams as they resisted the nuns, who
were beseechlng them to make their escape. A
the windows maI.iac would be seen peering
through the bars, grinnjng and jabbering al
the bright flame that went up TO the sky A,
| the heat became more intense she would gras,
the bars and remain there until the flames en-
| velopedher.
The inhabitants had come from all parts
attracted by the blaze, and in hour the littlt
village was one surging mass of the spoutng
voclferatnG people, recounting the strange
scenes they had beheld. When the frcmeI
found they were powerless 10 save the buildin,
[ they turned their attention to the inmates ant
burst IN the doors with axes.
SCENE OF AWFUL HORROR.
Inside Chief Benoit says, it was such sigh