The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 6, 1897, Page 1

VOLUME LXXXL—NO. 157. NS s N PRIC}Z;\XQ £ = VE CENTS. DEEP SORROW SETTLES UPON ALL EUROPE Victims of the Paris Fire Mourned in Many Coutts SCORES OF BODIES YEiF UNIDENTIFIED. Full Extent of the Horror Will Probably Never Be Known. B UT ONE AMERICAN AMONG THE| UNFORTUNATES. Madame Porgas, a Philadelphia Heiress, Lost Her Life in the Flames-—-The Countess de Castellane Not One of the Missing. ning | of the Grand rite yesterday y catastrophe was more te has occurred o this mo: ven victims been tak clsimed a Margaret Mayor was one of four | g the Duchesse all at the baz She ¥ one of the four who escaped. o the farther ena of thecry of oth- | pt be-| ) beneath a y in front of completely bers lost their lives. | Miss Hogan's mother arrived a few minutes before the catastrophe. Seeing the crowds awaiting admission she left, intending to return later. Mrs. F. B. Gilmore of New York had a narrow escape. She was a saleswoman Mme. Costa Beauregard. servant cried: ‘“Madame Voila le feul” (Madam, save yourselfl Fire!) Mrs. Gilmore preserved her cool- ness and hastened to the main entrance, where the peovle were already falling in the crush. She saw the danger of being trampled and quickly rushed to the rear and escaped to the street with others through a window. Otner Americans had marvelous escapes. Several Brazilians and Mexicans are in- jured or missing. More than 140 of the dead had been ac- counted for up to evening. Dr. Nachtel, director of ambulances, says that this gives a very inexact idea of the total who He declares that dozens THE DUCHESSE D’ALENCON, a Victims of the Paris Fire. [Beproduced from a picture taken just after her marriage.] | | | 0 AR QR W\ W\ \\\\\“\\\\‘\ ; i e T Wz 2 it [ Intetior of the Building in Which the Bazaar Was Held. It AL ! i Represented a Street in Medieval Paris. of persons were completely calcined. Workingmen in large numbers are busy searching the ruins, being protected from danger by portions of the fallen metal roof, which has been shoved up. The Duc d’Alencon, who was himself injured in getting out of the burning building, remained near the scene all night waiting ior some definite informa- tion with regard to the Duchesse, who is numbered among the missing. The Duc was finally persuaded to leave this morn- ing, the search for the body of the Duchesse baving proved so far fruitless. A wedding-ring was found in the ruins this morning. It bears this insciption: “September 28, 1868. Ferdinand d'Or- leans to Sophie Charlotte de Bavaria.”” Immediately after the finding of the wedding-ring a silver ring and a watch with a gold ornament were picked up, and these were identified by a servant as having been worn by the Duchesse vester- d’Alencon was recovered. The maid ex- amined the body carefully. The head was burned to a cinder and most of the clothing was gone. The maid identified the lady by a fragment of stocking. To make the identification more absolute the dentist of the Duchesse was summoned. fillings 1n the teeth and other signs. When it was established beyond doubt that the body was that of the Duchess it was placed upon s bier, around which the family domestics fell on their knees and offered prayers for the dead. - The scene was very impressive and the attendant priests were moved to tears. Throughout the night immense crowds surrounded the Palace d’Industrie where the recovered bodies were deposited, ana the numbers increased as the night wore on. Very few of the friends of the miss- ing ones were admitted until 6 o’ciock this morning. A strong cordon of police kept order. General Munier, who was badly injured, died in the hospital last night. He suc- ceeded in fighting his way out of the burning building with his clothing afire. a watering trough in the stable yard op- posite, but he was so badly burned that he could not survive the shock. President Faure visited the injured this morning and redered every assistance possible. Mme. Flores, wife of the Minister from Ecuador, who died in the hospital last night, expired just as ker husband reached ber bedside. The following description of the conduct of the Sisters of Mercy who perished in the Hames is given by one of their num- ber who succeeded in getting out of the burning building: “The last Isaw of my companions they ‘were clinging together and crossing them- selves, making no effort to escape. As I day. Soon after the body of the Duchesse | He finally identified the body by gold | On getting outside he threw himself into | was trying to make my way to an exit a lady whose veil was in flames clasped me in her arms and kissed me, saying: ‘Come, sister, we will go to heaverftogether.’ I got away from her and escaped. She re- mained in the building and was burned to death.” | The identification of the victims of the | bazaar disasier proceeded throughout the | afternoon and late to-night. Thirty bodies lying in the Palais d’Industrie are as yet unidentified. No Americans have been | fourd among the victims thus far except those who had been living in France for many years and regarded France as their country. Mme. Theodore Forges, one of the victims, was formerly Miss Weiss- weiller of the United States. The report that Monsignor Clari, Papal Nuncio, perished in the fire turns out to have been incorrect. The Nuncio to-day sent a long dispatch to the Pope, inform- ing him of the details of the catastrophe, and in reply received a message stating that his Holiness was profoundly affected. | Cardinal Richard, Archbishop of Paris, who has been visiting Rome, left that | city and is returning to Paris. | At a special meeting of the Cabinet this | evening, attended by President Faure, all | of the Ministers in the City were present. The President read telegrams of sympathy which had been received from foreign rulers. The message from Emperor Wil- liam began, “‘Allow me to share in the mourning into which Paris and the whole f France have been plunged.” It concluded, **May God comfort all un- happy ones now weeping for lives dear to them.” Minister Hanotaux of Foreign Affairs announced that all of the diplomats in Paris had visited the Foreign Office to offer condolences. The Government has decided to hold a memorial service in the Cathedral of Notre Dame for the unknown dead and for any of the victims whose relatives de- site to share therein. President Faure will attend the services, at which Cardi- nal Richard will officiate. The Govern- ment will ask Parliament togrant a credit for the relief of any necessitous relatives of the dead. Dlresident Faure has canceled all social engagements for the week. Several Min- isters who were in the country returned to the city as soon as they heard the news of the disaster. The Minister of Justice communicated to his colleagues to-night the first results of the inquiry Into the causes of the fire. The investigating macistrate, M. Bertolu, reports that there was great carelessness and imprudence in the principal arrange- ments for the bazaar. Mgr. Clari, the Papal Nuncio, who had attended to pronounce his blessing upon the bazasr, says he was talking to Duchesse d’Alencon at 3:50 o’clock. He adds: “Around me was a group of blind children. Several of these must have perished. My heart is bleeding to think of all these poor creatures. It is too hor- rible to speak of. My nerves are in a ter- rible state.” Vicomte Damas identified his wife's body by a piece of hair cloth, which she | wore next to her skin as a member of the Third Order of St. Frances. Former Consul-General S. E. Morris, who 18 awaiting the arrival of his suc- | cessor, has been unremitting in his en- daavors to learn if there were any Ameri- cans in the fire. He made searches in the American colony and inquiries elsewhere, and said in an interview to-day: “It was singularly fortunate that there was only one American victim. This was, indeed, remarkable, because just now there is an unusually larze number of Americans in Paris. They are generous supporters of such fetes as the grand Bazaar de Chsrite; and, moreover, it gave them a favorable opportunity for getting into close quarters with the aristocracy and many. of the celebrities of Paris. “Mme. Porges was the only American victim. She was Miss Weisweiller. Her daughter accompanied her to the bazaar and escaped uninjured. .The Porges fam- ily reside at Vienna. The rumor that Comtesse Castellane was among the miss- ing is untrue.” M. Jean Raffaelli, the painter, says: “My daughter had the mark of heels stamped into her back. Bhe was trampied in a heap at the door near the main en- trance. Her mother tried to pull her from the blszing fire; but she said, ‘It is useless. Save yourself, as I shall die in AIS DE INLUSTRIF, Where Her mother replied, ‘I shall I will take you or stay Both escaped, though any case.’ not leave you. and die with you.’ severely injured.’” The motber of the four-year-old child, Alfred David, one of the victims, arrived during the day for the purpose of taking the body away with her. Itwas decided, however, that it was impossible to show her the ghastly remains of her child. When this news was communicated to the unfortunate mother, in ajpasoxysm of grief she tried to force her way into the mortuary hall, screaming, **I will see my chla ! Eventually it was found necessary to forcibly removs the poor woman. Mme. Devid lost her husband a month ago and her only other child died two weeks ago. Priests uary hall was relieved of its ghastly con- tents. The resources of pombes funebres bave been taxed to their utmost, all accompanied each group of | mourners and very gradually the mort-; I hearses and carriages being in constant | nse. The fact that the faces and heads of the victims were so horribly charred and dis- figured is explained by the fact that the capes worn were generally of flimsy ma- terial and were the first articles of apparel to catch fire. An eye-witness describes the scene as follows: “The women mosily wore light cos- tumes and those who escaped from the | furnace were screaming ‘Firel Help!’ The faces of many of them were covered with blood. From time to time children ran out of the burning building crying fox their mothers. A number of women of the poorer classes standing in the crowd at the risk of burning themselves tore flaming clothing from the persons of the tadies as the latter dashed in terrex through the streets. “The bazaar at that moment was noth- ing more or less than a huge br.zier. as the heat was unbearable we made our way to some vacant ground between the bazaar and Convent of Rue Bayard and joined a nandful of workmen who were trying to rescue people from the flames by means of a ladder too short to avail much. While the work of rescue was in- progress, heartrending cries from the rear attracted vs. Two women who had just escaped from the flames were lying writhing on the ground just beyond the margin of fire. ‘We darted in that direction, and as we neared them pieces of burning debris fell in showers upon our heads and we were unable to reach these unfortunates, who were then burning like torches. They had ceased to stir and they soon entirely the: Bodies: of the Dead ‘Awa't. Lientiication.