Evening journal., 1890-05-09
ANOTHER ASYLUM FIRE
Ten Idiotic Women Roasted il
Their Cells.
NO ESCAPE FROM THE FLAMES

NJ ESCAbE hhUM IhE FLARES
The Poorhouso and Asylum at Preston
n. ", Destroyed scenes Of Horror
in Quebec Repeated = Biackened and
Unrecognirahle Bodies in the Ruins.
NORWICH, n. ~, May 0.-Another asylum
horror similar TO the holocaust at Tongue
| pointe, Quebec, and entailing the loss OF
ten or more lives, occurred yesterday AZ
| Preston, Chenango county The county
| poorhouse az. that place was fred by q
spark from the pipe Of old Deborah Dlbblt
-an idiotic woman-and the scenes oi
horror at the Quebec fire were ia a measure
duplicated About midnight screams Of
mortal agony issuing from the idiot ward
quickly brought the terrified keepers tothe
scene. They found old Deborah Dibble
/ lying on the bare floor, with the hungry
flames feeding on her clothing and wrap
| ping themselves around her like a winding
sheet Of fire, while other poor idiots ran K
and fro trying TO escape the flames which
were licking the bed clothing and curling
about the few bits Of furniture in the
apartment
Rapid Spread Of the Flames.
So fierce was the heat, and so rapidly had
the ere, which was started by the embers
Of old Deborah Dibhle's pipe, spread that
the keepers were compelled TO retreat to
save themselves. A few Of the idiots
babhling and jabbering, ran with the
Keepers who cried the alarm as they went
Presently, when all in the place were
aroused, the whole idiot ward was in flames
The Lunatics Run for the Woods.
The lunatics were released from the diff
ferent wards as soon as possible. In the
violent ward the crazy inmates acted as II
they would tear each other TO pieces In
their efforts to escape. They shrieked,
cursed and prayed As soon as the doors
were opened they scampered out OF the
building Some were laughing as only
maniacs can, and all attempts TO restrain
them were in vain. Altogether there were
about twenty, and il was feared that II
they mingled with the more tractable pa,
sients there would be general stampede.
The majority Of the violent ones, however,
made directly for the woods and for hours
afterward they could be heard screaming
and yelling in the adjacent forests.
A Bucket Brigade Formed
The bell on the building used to alarm
the neighboring villages when an inmate
escaped was rung, and the people who heard
it responded quickly until q bucket brigade
one hundred strong was formed bat the
fire was under such headway that nothing
could be done except TO save the outhonses
Attention was given to the saving Of life
and the nurses and keepers worked with
will 70 get the poor wretchcs out. Ia thei
wild efforts To escape some Of the patient
were badly burned. Those in the poo
q wards were all saved without trouble,
II Was an Awful Night.
Il was an awful night for the nurses ant
attendants. They hardly knew what TO dt
T or which way TO turn, until finally som,
/, half dozen Of the good hearted farmers Of
fered their houses and barns as places o.
refuge for the imbeciles.
The doors Of the two little churches wer,
thrown wide open and temporary hospita
quarters arranged. The keeper OF the soil
i, tary hotel Of which the town boasts Offered
: food and shelter for those who were still
y unprovided for.
The Keepers Story.
K Keeper E. U, Mainwarring repudiates tn
r. pipe story as the origin Of the fire, an,
said: II awoke with a start about mid
: night, trembling aSd covered with perspira
e tion. An inborn instinct told me that some
thing was wrong. Without waiting I,
dress myself, l bounded down stairs an,
on opening the door Of the idiot depart
ment / was thunderstruck TO see that tn
interior was all ablaze; in fact, il was on
* mass Of fame and the smoke was over
4 powering. attempted 10 open the doc
I and rescue the poor inmates who were al
y securely shut in their cells as usual, bu
n was driven back by the heat and saoke.
s Locked in the Cells and Doomed.
81 saw that the poor idiots were doome,
and that nothing could save them. then
!. aroused the paupers telling them, "a
} plainly as / could, what had happened. Ii
some instances the poor people were daze'
q and 1t was necessary 10 carry them bodil.
q from the house and turn them loose in tn
yard and fields There were twelve in
|, mates in the idiot asylum and they mus
e have been overcome by the heat before
awakened, for heard nothing from them
+ and they must have roasted like pigs in
! hole. How the fire originated is a myster
IS TO myself as well as every one else Il mus
; have been a case OF spontaneous combus
! ton"
Eight Blaekened Bodies visible.
During the day thousands visited til
scene and gazed curiously into the ruins
where eight bodies could he counted, dis
figured and charred There was little I
show that they were the bones Of huma
beings. It was utterly impossible to iden
4 tify any Of them.
The Names OF the Dead.
y The names Of the idiots who perishe
were
Atwood, Arvilla, Norwich.
y Austin, Ameda, county.
n Bailey Sarah, Columbus.
o Benedict, Adela, county
n Dbble Deborah Bainbrsdge.
y Gallagher. Sarah, Norwich.
Gray, Laura Greene.
Mills, Sarah, Alton.
ODanels, Preston.
Warren Lucy. county.
The loss to the county on buildings an
contents will probably reach S27, ,OOO insul
arce, $4,000
The Male Inmates Escaped.
The male inmates all escaped. Their
were about eighty inmates in the paupe
and idiot department, which were in th
u main building. The buildings occupied b
B, the pauper and insane inmates were botl
e completely destroyed, only the foundation
Il walls remaining. Three chimneys stan,
IT as monuments in the midst of the scene.
:. The insane department was in a separate
! building to the south of the poorhouse an'
t divided by a driveway. There were forty
three inmates, and as soon as the keeper
William Hall, was acquainted with thei