Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1895-12-18
ORPHAN ASYLUM BURNS.
Two Hundred Children Rescued by
Brave Nuns-Money Loss
Heavy.

Milwaukee, Wis, Dec. 12.-St Acme
lianus Orphan asylum and the Boys In
dustrial school az St. Francis, six miles
south of this city, was last night burned
to the ground. The building was 9 four
story brick structure. $50 feet long and
80 feet in width, and in it. when the fire
started shortly after 6 o'clock, were 200
children and seventeen sisters of the
Catholic order of St. James Most of
the children were very small, some being
in arms. but they were all taken from
the building and removed to place of
safety without the loss of life or a
broken limb.
The property loss will exceed $780,
600, which is covered to the extent of
SOL 900 by insurance. The building was
made with solid brick walls and was in
teriorly of slow combustible construction
so that it burned from shortly after 6
o'clock until after midnight. The reason
that it was not eXtinguished was be-
cause there was no fire apparatus which
could be used, and when engines arrived
from this city it was found that the wa
ter supply was hardly sufficient to sprin-
kle the walls for ten minutes. The fact
that the building was isolated, alone
prevented general confagration, which
would have destroyed $1,OO0,OOO worth
of property had the other Catholic insti-
tutionS, college and a convent, caught
fire.
Upset a Kerosene Lamp.
In many respects the fire was exciting,
picturesque and grand. The asylum was
built on a high piece of ground near the
lake shore, and from off the lake came
bowling gale bearing a blizZard-like
shower of snow. At 3 o'clock the storm
was raging outside and the 200 children
had just listened to evening prayer and
were seated at the supper table when Il
81
over a kerosene lamp. This was III q
small building south of the main struct-
ure, but close to it, which was the orig
inal asylum building occupied in 1850.
The flames spread rapidly and it so hap
pened that the fire apparatus was stored
there so that the attendants could not
make use of all of it being driven back
by the fast advancing flames.
Rescue of the Children.
In very few minutes Sister NIichela
saw that the first thing to do was 70
remove the children and she so issued
orders. SOft-yoiced nuns repreated the
orders and the well-driled youngsters
quietly arose from their chairs and
marched in single file to the north end
of the big building. The sisters took the
small children in their arms as the oil
house caught fire and several tanks eX-
ploded the little army led by Sister
Michela marched down the big stone
steps and out into the blizzard and the
drifted snow.
Across a deep gully, some 800 feet to
the northwest, is the st. James college,
in which there were 500 students. When
the sisters and their 200 little refugees
marched out into the storm they were
met by the students rushing to the res
cue Most of them hurried past to fight
the flames as best they could, while 9TH
ers picked up the children and helped
the homeless children to make their way
through the storm around the big ra-
vine, a march of n quarter of a mile,
with snowdrifts four feet high blocking
the way 1t was a toilsome little march
and many of the children suffered from
the cold, but they were well cared for
when they finally reached the big col
lege building.