Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1872-12-26
THE LAST HORROR.
Burning of a Portion of the New YerI
Fifth Avenue HOtel-Eleven Servant Girl
Burned to Death.

Burning of a Portion of the New Ysrk
Fifth Avenue Hotel-Eleven Servant Girls
Burned to Death.
The list of horrors that are harged to the
account of the closing wear has had most
deplorable addition In the fire at the Fifth
Avenue Hotel. in New York. Eleven human
cinders, and pecuniary dam &c to the amount
Of $4,000, are the net results of the
calamity. New York paper gives the fol-
lowing particulars of the terrible affair:
The fire originated in the Twenty-third
street wing, occupied by the 500 servants en-
ployed in the hotel, through which wooden
spiral stairway runs from top to BOTTOM and
also the laundry elevator. The smoke was
first detected by q gentleman boarder about
retiring to bed, who informed the clerk. The
alarm was given, and when the employees Of
the house reached the upper stories, occupied
by the servants, the flames had gained fuious
Roadway on the top floor where the spiral
staircase was ablaze. The servants in the fifth
and sixth stories were reused with difficulty,
and escaped hurriedly in their night dresses
BY this time CONSERVATION had spread among
the guests, nearly all OF whom vacated the
premises more or less panic-stricken.
Inc scruD-Women, occupying two rooms in
the seventh story, we're completely cut off
from escape by the STAIRWAY A window
opened on the roof, few feet below, but it
was barred up by strong iron grating, in
tended to prevent any ingress from the quar-
ters of the late servents. 1t is said this graf
ing could have b3en readily wrenchsd loose
but the women who persisted had doubtless
lost all presence of mind, for their roasted
bodies were found huddled together IN the
center of the room.
The fire originated probably through the
carelessness of some of the female servants,
and crept rapidly upward between the lath
partition to the wooden cockloft, covered with
tarred roof, where the unfortunate women
persisted 1t must have been burning some
time before the alarm was given.
The bodies of the victims were taken in am
balances to the Morgue. The scene at the
| Morgue w4s truly heartrending. From 8
O'Clock until 5 constant stream of men and
| women viewed the bodies of the unfortunate
women who were burned or scalded to death
In the fire-trap attic. 1t is estimated that
| over 25,O00 persons viewed the charred re-
! mains, most of whom were attracted by NOR
bid curiosity, though many were searching for
relatives and friends who had been EMPLOYED
in the hotel. The police had great difficulty
in restraining women, thousands of whom
| clamored for admission. When many of them
confronted the terrible sight, they began a
terrible weeping, praying, and deported them
selves extravagantly. Several were led off in
fainting condition, and one young woman,
who was accompanied by her mother, fell in a
fit and was removed by force
The bodies were ranged side by side, in
rough pine collins, in the yard at the western
end of the Morgue. Several among the de-
ceased had been burned almost to cinders.
while others had been literally roasted In
some instances the flesh vas scalded from the
bones.
The Herald editorially says it is stated that
gross carelessness was apparent in the condi-
tion of the warming apparatus, and that there
was too much anxiety to keep the fire a secret,
and too little effort made to save the unfortu-
nate girls. The whole subject will no doubt
be thoroughly investigated.
The losses are estimated at from $3.50, 900
to $3.50, O0O