The herald., 1897-05-07

platforms of boards taken from any
where about the place. The bodies
were charred beyond recognition AL
most all the bodies were burned about
the head and feet, while the middle OF
the body remained comparatively in
tact Ambulances kept coming up in
stream, bringing more and more OF the
unfortunate victims, the crowd outside
giving way in awe-stricken silence. The
Rue Jean Goujon was almost impass-
able. OF the bazar building, which
only a few hours before had been fair
and beautiful, there remained only a
| few charred poles. Inside the wrecked
building there was nothing but pieces
of rags, wood and human remains. The
| firemen were digging among the debris
| in search of the bodies. There were not
enough ambulances and the bodies had
| to be placed in wraps. Then came SOL
oilers, police and firemen to carry away
the dead, and they worked in silence
| and with will. The soldiers carried
sheets in which to wrap UP and trans
port bodies. There were women nurses
| from PHospital Beaujon also, with
| sheets, waiting to cover up the dead be-
| fore they were taken away in the ambu-
lances. Near the western wall, which
bounded what had been the bazar.
bodies were literally found piled in
heaps, and their position seemed to in
dicate that terror stricken rush had
taken place or VIZ it an instructive
budding together in the face. of death
There were pieces of underskirts all
over the ruins, and fragments of woolen
garments and corset covers. Tiny little
slippers were everywhere to be seen,
crisp and charred by the heat.
| On one side was a pile Of valuable
jewels. etc., guarded by policemen.
There were bracelets and rings, COM
petely free from flesh, showing how ter
rible had been the flames in their fury.
| I spoke to two women who were
standing near the ruins. The elder one
was Nine. Rochezautier and the young
er a servant.
I'VE were attracted by the cries of the
ladies'" said Nine. Rochezautier. "Oh,
such cries. We called to the men in the
Hotel de Palais, which fronts ON 27
Cours de la Refine. 1t was the work OF
moment to tear down the iron bars Of
the windows and to throw out a chair
We hauled the poor women in there.
They were SO frightened that they did
not stay here long. They were so ter
ror-s stricken that many could not cry
But many were lost, and I saw sew
eral rush out from the flames and fall
dead We saved at least one hundred"
Mile. lie Comte Of 20 Rue Jean, Goujon
said: "The fire broke out at 4:3O o'clock.
1t was terribly sudden. The heat was
worse than the smoke. You could not go
out into the street for fear of the heat.
ha hov l>,,r 10 -,
had been soaked with kerosene. should
think there were $500 people there, be-
cause, you know, the nuncio wac there
during the afternoon, and that made
an extra attraction. He had hardly left
when the flames broke out. They SEEM
ed to spring up all over.
$50 fierce was the heat that all the
windows and shop fronts opposite were
cracked or burst open. Birds in the WIN
dows dropped dead from their perches,
as if struck by lightning, and many of
the neighbors were so paralyzed with
fear that they did not know what to do
The fire lasted only twenty minutes, but
that twenty minutes I shall never for
get.
Women ran shrieking into the street
and fell dead in the roadway, overcome
with the heat, burning from head to
foot"
A big Frenchman, wine merchant
named Corbet, said: "All l could think
of doing avs to get hammer and rush
to the burning building and break down
the sides, for you know, no one could
get out of the main entrance, or no one
seemed to be able to get out.
1--WE hammered away and smashed
INx. - L A.
side the building and saved people as
best we could. They were all rich peo-
pie. Some had their clothes literally in
flames Others were burning about the
breast and neck, but the greater num-
Der that I saw had their hats in flames
We tore their hats off, pulled the burning
hair from their heads, and all the time
they cried: oh, mon Dieu! mon Dieun
cav one young and beautiful girl rush
into the middle of the street. Her hair
and hat were in flames. She fell, stricken
by the terrible heat. We could scarcely
stand the heat"
A cab driver said: II stopped to take
two ladies' from near the Louvre. They
were middle aged and richly dressed.
They told me to drive to the bazar
This did. and I was waiting for them
when the fire broke out. I have not seen
them since"
Various theories were advanced by the
police and people who were eye-wlt-
nesses. Some said the fire was caused
by a spark from klnematograph ma
chine. Others said it was caused by the
explosion of gas from a stove. Others
again said that lamp, which was smok-
ing, burst and set the place on fire. But
what struck me was the unanimity of all
as to the suddenness of the conflagra-
tion and the way in which the flames
epread. In the extemporized morgue at
the Palais de PIndustre there are
crowds trying to identify the remains of
victims of the great fire. 1t was diff
cult task. A terrible looking corpse was
brought to the door, so as to have as
much light upon it as possible. The po-
lice suddenly became more stringent
than ever, and no one was allowed to
enter the building. From mouth to
mouth passed the word: "It is the
Duchess d'Alencon.'
But how to recognize such charred
mass? In the face of such a difficult
problem the family and friends of the
bereaved family had recourse to the fam
lily dentist. The latter remembered GER
tain filings of the teeth and could recog-
nize his handiwork even under such aw-
ful circumstances. In a short time 1t
was established that the remains were
those of the unfortunate Duchess and