The Portland daily press., 1899-08-29
-FOUR VICTIMS.
Fire Sweeps Through New
York Convent.
Heroic Deeds of Little
Inmates.
Fifteen Tear Old Boys Rescue Of
a Baby.
Two Deaths Were From
Fright.
Only One Person Was Burned
to Death.

Sparkhill, N. Y, August 2s.-A fierce
fire swept through the group Of buildings
Of st. Agnes convent this morning and
left in Its wake the hodies Ct four victims.
It destroyed nine cut Of the ten build
ines in the group and that IL did not claim
more victims is due to the bravery OF the
Sisters of Charity, who conducted the
convent and orphauage and Of some of
the older inmates. The fire occurred
about ] o'clock and found the 400 tenants
Of the institution asleep. Hundreds were
gotten out in almost perfect order, but
score who risked their lives to save
others, were finally forced to either jump
from the upper stories or maka desperate
dashes through stairways and corridors
fillad with flame ard smoke. 1t Is charged
thatgthe buildings we're Tired By an ineandi-
ary, but it seems hardly credible. for
there is apparently an entire abence of
motive
The known dead are:
Helen Brown. six years old.
Emma Mackin, years old.
Jane ------, aged 70 years.
Mary Kate Mccarthy, aged 2s years.
The missing and unacrounted for are:
Therese Murphy, aged 16 years.
Mary Brown, aged years.
The seriously injured are:
Sister Sienna. shock and collapse. seri-
ous.
Sister Marie, burns and concussion,
moderate.
Sister Bertrand, concussion of spine
and shock, serious.
Sister Katherine, broken arm.
Sister Ignatius, slightly injured by fall.
Sister Liguri, shook and hurt BY fall,
slight.
Hanna Shea, leg broken.
twenty-five inmates were injured by
falls, jumps and burns. none very serious
ly.
The fire was discovered in the lavatory,
a separate building, which stood in a
corner of the square formed by the tsn
buildings. The laystory adjoined the No.
dormitory inEwhich over 200 boys slept
and was connected with IL and with the
other buildings by an enclosed archway
or corridor that ran clear across the
grounds and tapped the rear of every
structore. The clang of the electric gong
and the cries of the watchman had hard
ly begun to ring through the convent be-
fore the fire had attacked the archway
and was eating Its way into the first
dormitory. The nr,hway acted as great
fiue that gave furious draught that
grew in intenaity at every corridor that
opened into it. Flames shot down this
horizontal chimney and the convent
proper and chapel at the extreme eastern
end of the grounds were ailre before the
first dormitory was fairly ablaze. The
boys In ths first dormitory got the first
warning. Sister Reginald. who had
trained the lads In the fire drill, rushed
down the line of white beds and arous-
ing the sleepers clappsd her shands... The
boys turned out with rush and while
some waited to hustle into clothes, the
majority hastened to the front Of the
building and gained the lawn in their
night clothes. BY that time the second
dormitory where the little boys slept,
was ablaze.
The older lads made q dash for the
building ana were soon carrying the
small fellows out. The buildings were
all finished with Georgia pine which
burned rapidly.
FORKS of flame gained the roof of the
second dormitory and great blasts of FIRE
swept through the windows. doors aud
halls. But the sisters stood at their posts
and little quads of heroes rushed In,
bundled up the sleepy WAITS and dashed
out with tham. The convent and chapel
made great stack of flame and between
them and the second dormitory the girls
dormisory blazsd and cracked as the fire
leaped up its wooden walls.
| A dozen sisters were cut OF In the u.
per stories OF the convent huildl-. Ths,
were forced to the wir lows and Win,