Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-02-18
YANkToN HAS A
DISASTROUS FIRE
Seventeen Insane Asylum Patients
Burned to Death Sunday
Morning,
ALL THE VICTIMS ARE WOMEN
Were 40 Women Patients and IA
Attendants I'm the Building, %
OF the Former anu All the
Latter Escaping.

~ b', ND' ~ -
disastrous fire in the history Of South
Dakota, in the number Of lives lost,
occurred here about 2 o'clock Sunday
morning, when one of the cottages id
connection with the insaie ASYLUM
was destroyed and seventeen patients
burned TO death. All the victims were
WOMEN. On account of the overcrowd-
ed condition of the main structure the
cottage in question, a three story
building, was occupied by female pa
tients, forty of these unfortunates be-
ing at the cottage at the time of the
fire, along with twelve attendants. All
of the latter escaped, though not one
Of them saved anything except the
clothes they wore. OF the insane pa
tients seventeen are missing, and they
undoubtedly persisted. They are:
AUGUSTA BOERSE, Lake county.
JULIA ERICKSON, Meade county,
ELLA IOKKEN, Codington county.
MARGARET LYNCH, Union county.
JOSINA OLSON, Hamlin county.
MARTENIA TENNISON, Penning-
ton county.
ELIZABETH sToLPHE, Dawson
8ounty.
MRS. RAMPANT, Brown county.
MAGGIE FLYNN, Hamlin county.
LUCINA GOSSAGE, Hamlin county.
ADELINA HULEY, Potter county.
CHRISTINA JOHNSON, Codington
county.
JENNIE KRoNING, Pennington
county.
LOUISA KEENE, Codington county.
CAROLINE LlNDBERG, Brown
county.
KATIE PLAvITz, Bon Hommc
county.
GAiN1 swENsoN, Kingsbury couu-
ty.
The basement was used az d laun.
dry, and il was In the dry room of the
laundry that the fire is supposed to
have started. In this room, filed ito
it's uttermost with drying clothes, ac-
.cumulates a great deal of fine parti-
cles similar to lint. A coil OF pipe is
heated with steam, and the theory is
that either these fine particles were
ignited by coming in contact with the
hot pipes, or else some of the clothing
dropped upon the pipes.
There is possibility that n later care
full investigation will develop the eX-
act cause. The walls of the building
are of stone and granite, the interior
mostly of wood, and as the fire gained
Roadway 1t was impossible to check
il. The cottage stands about 300 feet
in the rear of the main building, with
a large water tank for fire protection
standing still another 100 feet back
of it.
The fighting of the fire was serious
ly handicapped by the reason that the
steam pipes from the boiler OF the
main building passed through the cot
tage for heating purposes, n then
on TO the water tank. As the fire pro-.
crossed these pipes were burst from
the terrible heat, thus cutting of the
pumping power and leaving only di-,
rect pressure from the tank, which was
in no way sufficient. Two treams or
water were turned upon the burning
building, but to no avail.
Strenuous efforts were made to save
all the inmates. All that could be
done was done, but the fire had the
advantage and kept it. Those who did
escape came down the narrow pas
sageway i'm their night clothes and
bare feet into the bitter cold, and had
III nOI DOGIl tIbul IL INV w.
were so near ut hand the result, terri
bic as il was, would have been far
worse. All that remains OF the once
handsome three-story structure Is the
bare. gaunt walls. The interior is gut
ted most completely. Hardly a 6-inch
piece Of wood remains at the bottom
of the basement, and in the debris can
be seen portions of the charred re-
mains of the unfortunates. These APP
pear to be in one spot, showing hat
they had crowded together either on
the first or second floors, perhaps
both at that point, and the floors CIV
ing way had thrown them in this
seeming pile. {,
A coroner's inquest was held at the
asylum to ascertain, If possible, the
exact cause of the fire, but up to Z.
late hour il had not cured all the
evidence.
1t is not probable that any II will
be implicated or charged with gross
carelessness.
Superintendent Mead, when asked
i'm what condition the loss of this
building would leave the asylum,
said:
"The new cottage, but just COM
pleted, fortunately is ready for imme-
date use, and we would have been
using it within n few days. Now we
shall move in at once We are left
practically as we were before build
ing the new cottage, minus the ac-
commodations for one ward and a
laundry. The cottage was never con-
sidered as fire proof"
AS n rough estimate he places tho
loss of building and machinery at $751;
900. No insurance whatever is carried
on any Of the buildings. The only
public building in the state on which
there is insurance is the capitol at
Pierre.
The fire OF 1882, which destroyed
the building of the asylum here, which
was frame. although destroying o
property, was not a circumstance to
yesterday mornings fire in fatality,
- T. H. -. l>aa NJ Ahnf fInNn