The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-03-05
BELIEVED VICTIMS
WILL NUMBER 1870
One Great Funeral in the
Open Air will be Held For
the Victims Of the Fire
Of Yesterday Heroic At
tempts at Rescue.


Cleveland, March 5.-The horror o.
the North Collinwood school fire is grow
ing. This morning $50 bodies were ii
the Lake Shore morgue. OF these 81
had been identified In addition ths
school authorities believe that 2l bodies
burned to ashes are in the ruins, max
ing B possible total Of 1870 dead.
1t il announced that several mothers
have lost their reason. One Of them
Mrs Bertha Robinson, attempted to XIII
herself early to-day, her two little girls
were burned to DEATH She will re-
cover.
Mayor Westropp of Collinwood an
nounces that a public funeral probably
will be held Friday in the open, because
no church could accommodate the mourn
ers. Firemen assisted BY volunteers
were called out by the ringing Of fire
bells this morning. are now searching
the ruins for more bodies. All business
in Collinwood Is suspended to-day.
Grape was hung in many store windows
and flags were at half-mast.
The sehoolhouse was Of brick, two
stories and an attic in height. The num-
her of pupils was more than normally
large, and the smaller children had been
placed in the upper part Of the building
There was but one fire escape and thai
in the rear Of the building. There were
two stairways, one leading to door
in front and the other to door in the
rear. Both Of these doors opened IN.
ward, and 1T is claimed the rear door
was locked as well.
The Scene Most Terrible.
When the flames were discovered the
teachers, who throughout seem to have
acted with courage and self-possession
and to have struggled heroieally for tile
safety Of their pupils marshalled the
little ones into column for the fire drill''
which they had often practieed.
Unfortunately, the line Of march in
this exercise had always led to the front
door and the children had not been
trained to seek any other exit The fire
yesterday came from a furnace situated
directly under this part Of the build
ing
When the children reached the foot of
the stairs they found the flames close
upon them and so swift rush was made
for the door that ia an instant a tightly
packed mass was piled up against it.
From that second none of those who
were upon any portion Of The first flight
of stairs had chance for their lives
The children at the foot OF the satirs
attempted to fight their way back to the
floor above, while those who were COM
ing down showed them merciiessly back
into the flames below In an instant
there was a frightftll panic with 200
of the pupils fighting for their lives
Most Of those who were killed died here.
The greater part of those who escaped
managed 3o turn back and reached the
fire escape, and the windows in the rear.
What happened at the foot Of that first
flight Of stairs will never be known, for
all Of those who were caught in the full
fury of the panic were killed After
the flames had died away, however.
huge heap Of little bodies, burned by
the fire and trampled into shapeless
masses, told the tale as well as anybody
need to know it.
,Ianitor Herter could remember little
of what happened after the fire started.
r was sweeping in the basemen.s he
said, swhen / looked up and saw
wisp Of smoke curling out from beneath
the front stairway / ran to The fire
alarm and pulled the gong that sounded
throughout the building Then I ran
first to the front and then to the rear
doors. | can't remember what happened
next. except that 7 saw flames shooting
all about and the little children running
down through them screaming Some
fell at the rear entrance and others
stumbled over them. ! saw my little
Helen among them. ] tried to pub her
out. but the flames drove me back and
had to leave my little child to die"
Herter was badly burned about the
head
Teachers Heroic Work.
Miss Catherine Weller one Of the nine
teachers in the school. lost her life IN
a vain attempt to marshal the pupils
Of her class and lead them TO safety.
She died in the crush at the door Her
room was on the secoud floor and when
the firm alarm sounded she marched her
pupils ont into the hall. thinking Il was
oniy z fire drill There the truth davned
npon both teacher aud pupils ard control
vas lost The children in their frenzy
pluneed into the struggling mass ahead
sl them. Miss Weller attempted to