Year: 1874

ANOTHER HORROR.


Burning of a Cotton Mill at Fall


River, Mass.-Twenty Lives Lost and


Many Other Persons Injured, Some


Fatally.


BosToN, Sept. 10.


The following account of the fire in
Fall River to-day is taken from dis
patch to the Boston Journal:


Mills Nos and 2 of the Granite Works
had been running about twenty minutes when
the operatives in No. were startled with a
cry of fire and the escape of smoke from the
fourth story. In this, next to the upper
floor, was the mule-warp spinning depart
ment, and there were nearly 100 girls at work
under male overseer On the upper floor,
the fifth, about thirty girls were employed,
spooling and warping cotton. These were
the youngest of the operatives. With
the alarm the flames seemed to leap to this
attic, coming from the windows below and
up the great tower in the center of the build
ing, in which were all the stairs communicat-
ing with each story. The fire caught in the
mule spinning room, in the northwest end of
the mill, from friction in a mule-head, and
spreading, by means of oil on the floor and
about the machinery, with great quickness,
rushed toward the center tower, the only
means of escape for those in the fourth and





each gable end Once getting into the tower,
the flames ran up to and through the single
entrance to the fifth story, then springing to
the roof timbers filled two great rooms, 450x
90 feet, with dense black smoke and
flame. While the flames were making
such terrible headway the operatives
became fairly wild. The overseers saw there
was no way possible to check the fire, and
gave their sole attention to those whom they
had at work They called to them to save
themselves, and pointed out ways of escape,
principally fire-ladders. The Overseer of the
spooling room, who remained till nearly suffo-
Gated, states that .he scene in his room-and
it must have been worse in the room below
cannot be depicted. Children ran about
crying and begging piteously to be saved, yet
wrenching themselves away when taken fore
IDLY to the tower while yet Aere was some
chance, or to the iron ladder Chat reached two
of the scuttle- windows of the south end,
opening upon the roof of the balcony
at the head of the Twelfth street fire.
great majority to take this method
to save their lives. Some wanted
clothing, others something else AS the fire
frightened them away from these ladders,
they rushed to the windows at the south
gable end, nearly sixty feet from the ground,
but dared not jump down. Cotton ropes were
put out for them to slide down by, but no
sooner would rope be lowered than there
was a rush for it from below. Too many
would take hold, when it would break, and all
clinging to it would come down in bunch.
Similar scenes were going on in the mule,
spinnin groom. The flames had assembled
rapidly to the entrance of the tower on the
fourth floor, cutting off their means of escape,
but the operatives had two ladders of the
south gable directly before them, and were
urged by the overseers and citizens below to
take them. Some did, but others rushed
headlong upon the balcony and dropped or
threw themselves from the guards. There
was ample time for every one to have been
saved had the girls taken the course directed d


The Superintendent, as soon as the alarm
was given, rushed to the upper story, and,
with the overseers, did all possible to save life.
When the means provided for escape in the
mill were rendered unavailable by heat, flames
and smoke the people procured beds and mat
tresses for The poor unfortunates to jump
upon, and many did throw themselves from
windows, to, in almost every case, receive
fatal or terrible injuries.


The firemen worked to keep the flames out
of the south end, whittier many operatives
had fled. Ladders, long as at command, were
used to rescue the girls, and it is said that
four firemen lost their lives while thus en-
gagged. One fireman was lowered from the
roof by brother firemen into the building, and
remained so long trying to drive girls forth
that he had to be letgo by those who held his
rope, driven away by the smoke, and he was
lost.


Morgues and hospitals were speedily i'm
proyised, the Mission Chapel being taken for
the latter, and as fast as the girls could be
picked from under the windows of the mill
stretchers were ready to carry them to either
chapel or Central Station. At the latter place
twenty five bodies were soon lying, and other
unfortunates have been taken to stations or to
homes. In a number of instances bodies
could not be recognized, they were so dis
figured, begrimed and dirt-cOvered. In
Mission Chapel were those whose sufferings
were intense.


Julia Coffee states that when she first heard
the alarm of fire heavy columns of smoke
burst through the spool-room floor. The
crowd of little children surrounded the over
seer and with him rushed for the staircase,
but they were forced back by the flames.
Then all made for the elevator, but it
would not work. At this juncture the
leaping from the windows commenced.
number of men in this room be-
gan uncoiling long rope to let the opera
tiyes to the ground Several were landed in
safety. when it was burned off twenty five feet
from the ground. The smoke had become so
dense that those who remained crowded to
the windows for air. Some, leapmg head
foremost, were killed. Others, suffocated,
ALL UsiSh dtlu lSliSa IL 49, SS'


The Boston Herdld's account says:


AS far as can be learned under the present
excitement and turmoil, the fire originated at
the tower in the fourth story, and an attempt
was made to extinguish itwIth pals of water,
but Intellectually. During the endeavor a
door leading to the spool-room, which opens
south ON the tower staircase, had to be closed
to keep the help back and prevent a
panic; but when the flames had gained such
Strength that it was found impossible to
auench them the escape of the girls had
been cut off. The frightened. and terrified
creatures, with the roaring flames on the
lower staircase, rushed in a body for the fire.
escape, but the dense volume me OF smoke that
poured into the room, and the biting flames,
forced them to the northeast end of the de-
partment, at which end, unfortunately, there
were no means of escape.


Many, in the meantime, had become suffo-
Gated. Others, preferring death by falling to
the ground, sprang recklessly from the win
dows, and were picked up mangled, bleeding,
dead and dying.


Fall River dispatches OF the Goth place
the number of killed at twenty missing
three, and injured-many probably
fatally-at thirty-six.