Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-02-13

Yankton, S. D., February Zone
of the most horrifying fires in the his
tory of Yankton occurred this morn
ing at O'Clock at the State Insane
Asylum, when one of the cottages took
fire in the basement, completely gut
ting the building and causing the loss
of lives of seventeen inmates confined
there. The names of those missing
and the counties from where they
came are: Augusta Boerse, Lake
county, Julia Erickson, Meade, Ella
Lokken, Colington, Maria Lynch, I'm
ion, Josiana Olson, Hamlin, Martenia
Tennyson, Pennington, Elizabeth Sto-
lpe, Dawson, Mrs. KampaniS Brown
Maggie Flynn, Hamlin, Lucina Goss
age, Hamlin, Adelina Hurley, Potter.
Christina Johnston, Coddington, Jen-
ME Kronig, Pennington Lusia Keene,
Coddington, Caroline Lindberg, Brown,
Katie Plavitz, Bon Homme, Gaini
Swanson, Kingsbury.
The cottage was erected of stone
and granite walls with wooden interior
and intended for laundry purposes,
but owing to the crowded condition Of
the main building forty of the female
patients were placed here with the
laundry in the basement. The exact
cause of the fire is not known except
that it originated in the dry room of
the laundry. Here there is a coil of
steam pipes and the theory is that
either fine particles similar to lint set
tied on the pipes which ignited, or
that clothes which were thickiy hung
here, dropped on the pipes and were
fired
The lack of water greatly hindered
the work of the firemen. The burned
cottage stands some three hundred feet
in the rear of the main building, the
water tank for fire protection standing
one hundred feet in the rear or the
cottage. The steam pipes used for
pumping ran from the boiler room OF
the main building through the cottage
for heating and then the artesian we'll
or tank. The intense heat in the
burning building caused the pipes to
burst shortly after the fire began, leay-
ing the fire hose without power except
direct pressure from the tank, which
was in no way sufficient to quench the
flames Two streams of water were
thrown on the building, but did little
good With the thermometer standing
at % below zero, the inmates who
could escape came down the narrow
flight of stairs in their night clothing
and bare feet into the bitter cold, and
had it not been for the nearneSs OF
shelter, the suffering and probable loss
of life from freezing would have been
terrible The building was three
stories high with an attic, and two en-
frances, one east and one west There
was one stairway from the second and
third floors which led into the main
halls to these entrances, thus giving
but one egress to those on the second
and third floors and attic.
Fifty-two persons were in the burn
ing building, forty patients and twelve
female attendants. The attendants es-
capped, is did the others who were
saved, with none of their personal eff
fects, many losing all that they pos
sessed.
An inquest is now in progress at the
asylum which may develop the exact
cause of the fire. 1t is not thought
blame will be attached to any of the
attendants. Portions of charred re-
mains can be seen in the debris at the
bottom of the basement. The work of
removing the remains and debris will
begin in the morning.
The four walls Of huge stone still
stand and will make the work of re-
moval dangerous, as collapse is liable
to occur without a moments warning.
In 1882 the asylum, them a frame
building, was destroyed by fire and six
lives were lost
The loss on the building and machin-
cry in to-day's fire is estimated to be
$4,000; uninsured.