Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-02-11
CORPSES IN PILES.
Terrible Details of the Insane
Asylum Horror.
NIGHT WATOHMAN's FATAL ERROR.

He Leaves the Fire to Burn While He Gives
the Alarm Instead of Trying to Put 1t
Out-DreadfuI Sights at the Windows
of the Burning Building-Mad Antics of
the Demented Victims of the Flames
Slight Decrease I'm the Death Roll,
Which Foots Up Forty-One.
DOVER, N. H. Feb l1-Last night In the
chapel of the county farm building on the
settees which have heretofore held devout
worshippers lay what could be found of
thirty -four fearfully burned and charred
bodies The others who are known to have
persisted in the flames of the insane asy-
ium fire Thursday night have not yet
been found, for the cellar is full of water
and the debris has not yet been removed.
Coroner j. II. Dashiel, of Rochester, called
together jury, and after being sworn they
visited the cellar of the destroyed build
ing where they could see many bodies ly-
ing. Undertaken Ward then ordered them
removed to the chapel, The bodies taken
out were horribly burned and large por-
ton entirely unrecognizable.
Mistake of the Night watchman.
Details OF the disaster add new horrors
A little before 10 o'clock Waterman Ches-
ley discovered the fire while going through
the corridor on the second floor. The
flames were bursting from the cell of Mary
La Fountain. The Waterman made no at
tempt to at once extinguish the fire.
which he admits he could probably have
done, but he rushed to the apartments of
Keeper Wilson P. Driscoll, shouting fire"
and arousing the inmates who were asleep
Driscoll hurried out in his night clothes
and rushed down the corridor of the first
floor, unlocked the cells and shouted to the
terrified people to save themselves.
Flames Spread Like Lightning.
The flames spread through the building,
which was as dry as Undertook, with
ightning-like rapidity. After unlocking
fifteen cells Driscoll was driven back. The
flames had cut off his exit by the door
however, and it was only by smashing a
window in his own room that he could,
with his wife, escape, and Mrs. Driscoll
was dragged through the window nearly
suffocated. By this time the flames had
spread over the entire building. The cries
OF the doomed prisoners were heard-cry-
ing and curses and hideous laughter
mingled with prayers and appeals for help.
Every available man on the farm was put
into service by Superintendent De Merrett
and an ATTEMPT made to rescue some of the
doomed people.
Tortnred Bhces at the windows.
The burning building presented sight
never to be forgotten. At the windows
could be seen the tortured faces of the de-
mented inmates, now raging and bowling
fiends. Their cries and shouts for help
were heartrendiug as one by one they sank
out of sight, firm In the folds of the devour-
ing and unrelenting flames 1t was per-
feet hell of fire. The dry timbers and the
boards Of the building cracked and burned
like paper.
THREE LESS ON THE DEATH ROLL.
Forty-one in all Cremated-Probabis
Cause of the Fire.
Superintendent Driscoll yesterday said:
II know of three who escaped and there
were fourty-four in the building when the
fire broke out The fire originated in the
cell occupied by crazy French woman,
but from what cause can not be definitely
stated. The woman was a great smoker
and it is probable that she had in some
way got hold of some matches and set her
bunk on fire. Other suggestions are ad-
vanced, but this appears to be the most
reasonable
Scenes During the Holocaust
During the progress of the fire there were
many heartrending scenes. The blaze
seemed to fill many of the demented people
with ghoulish ideas; the women were seen
to stand before the windows and make the
most hideous faces, even while the flames
Tapped their cheeks. Some, with brute in
stinct, rushed back into the flames after
their cells had been opened. AS the fire
died down and only Pickering flames illu-
mined the scene a most sickening sight was
disclosed. The charred and blackcned
skeletons of the cremated unfortunates
stood out in bold relief, CHASTITY reminders
OF the terrible slaughter wrought by the
fire.
The Victims Lay in Heaps.
At the back of the burned building and
lying against the high board fence Law the
partly burned remains OF what what was
apparently woman. She had evidently
been caught by the flames while irving to
escape over the fence. Others were in
heaps, seemingly meeting in last en-
brace. The commissioners of the ASYLUM
met after having viewed the scene of the
disaster and they assert their belief that Mt
least dozen of the maniacs are liberty
in the adjacent forests. James Daley an
inmate who escaped, has become sane, an.
parently by the excitement.
Methodist Book Committee Adiourns.
CHICAGO, Feb. 1.-THE book committee
of the Methodist church of the United
States finished its labors in a short session
yesterday and adjourned to meet a year
hence in Cincinnati. DR.. Whitlock re-
signed his position as chairman of the
western section of the committee and Gle