The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-09-12
GONE UP.
The OLD. Kafns House. alias the w. u.
Telegraph Office, alias the Logan
House-Yesterday's Fire
Incidents, Losses, Etc.

In 1868, or about nine years ago,
Mrs. NJ. X. Harms erected what was
then a most imposing two-story frame
building on O'Neil street, and clubbing
it the Harms house, opened a hotel and
did a very good business. A year or
two later the building was moved to
18th street and placed alongside the old
Eagle hotel, where Mrs. Harms still a
a hotel in it. In 1870 the building was
purchased by J. II. Nichols and re-
moved to the corner of 10th and Hill
streets, being soon after occupied by
the Western Union Telegraph o.,
and used as Il telegraph office
until May last, when the office was re-
moved. Last year d. d. Dare opened
o photograph gallery in the upper story,
which had heretofore been divided into
sleeping rooms and leased out. When
Dare left it one Logan rented the upper
story and opened a cheap lodging house.
When the telegraph office was removed
a saloon was opened on the first floor
front and a restaurant in the rear of
that.
Yesterday, about 4:30 p. ~, some
gentlemen standing on the sidewalk in
front of the Inter-Ocean heard a noise
resembling a pistol shot, and looking
across the street saw issuing from an
upper window Of the building under
notice a huge volume of flame and
smoke. a moment later a man, very
lightly clad, rushed out Of the window,
his hair ablaze and eyes glaring. Brush
ing the fire out of his hair he turned
and sprang back into the flames, terri
flying the spectators, who were certain
that he had gone to his death. And
right here we wish to award full need
of praise to this man. His name is
Daniel Finn, and he is ''only a barten-
der" When he first escaped from the
flames, which had reused him from
his slumber, he could easily have de-
scended from the portico and attained
n safe place, but he remembered that
"Old Mac" IN employee of the estab-
lishment, was asleep in a real room,
and he turned back to hurry through
those hellish flames and awaken ''Mac."
He succeeded but ut what fearful cost
his Scared and blistered body to-day
shows. q,
Quite a large crowd had gathered at
the spot before the alarm bell was
sounded, and nearly ten minutes
elapsed before the Durant reached the
scene Then followed an aggravating
and wholly inexcusable delay of eighteen
minutes before water was thrown, and
even then the stream was not strong
enough to do any good until another
precious ten minutes had gone by. BY
this time the fire had consumed the
lighter woodwork of the building,
leaped across to the small millinery es-
Enlistment of Mrs. Bates adjoining
and nearly finished that, so that all
that remained for the engine to do was
the extinguishment Of the embers. AT
this juncture Captains Gillis and Fitz-
gerald arrived from Camp Carlin with
the Babcock, and Messrs. Appel and
Murray seized the nozzle thereof and
did splendid work with it.
The heat was intense throughout,
and the 1nter-Ocean and other build
ings were in great danger. About
thirty lights Of glass were broken in
the Inter-Oce front, Mr.. Ford esti-
mating the damage at $500.
Converse & Warren report Il loss of
5000 from the breaking of plate glass
in their store front. Mr.. Fisk's front
was damaged to the extent of 500.
The main building burned cost origi-
nally, s4,7O0. Mr.. Nichols estimates
his loss at $500; insurance, $4,000.
Lew Nolan, proprietor of the saloon,
lost $500 in stock and fixtures. Logan's
loss is S400, and John Czeckert, of the
lost $500.
E. p. Shows building was not in-
Loss about $500. Mrs. Bates
saved all her stock and fixtures, and we
are pleased to chronicle her good for
tune.