The Red Cloud chief., 1877-05-10
Johanna Halpin's Escape from the
Southern Hotel Fire.

One of the narrowest escapes made
at the fire was reported as follows to a
Times reporter, yesterday, by Miss Jo-
hanna Halpin. a girl employed in the
store-room of the hotel, and now at her
home, 1900 North Seventh street:
Julia Burke and i were asleep in a
room opposite Frankie McClellan's on
the sixth floor, when the fire first broke
out, and knew nothing OF it until the
whole house was in flames. 1t was the
screaming of d colored nurse girl that
woke us up. ] got up and opened the
door, and the room Immediately filled
with smoke. Julia and / jerked up our
shoes and dresses and ran into the hall
way. Julia said: Lets make for the
stairway" and SO we CROPPED along in
the dark and through the smoke as fast
as We could. j thought i knew every
foot of the Railways, and 8 70 did Julia,
but, some way or other, we couldn't find
the stairway, and l guess now it was a
good thing we didn't, for i know we
couldn't have stood the smoke long
enough to have gone all the way down
stairs. After going a considerable dis
lance, we concluded that We must have
passed the stairway. and then We deci-
ded to make for the big hallway. and
then 60 over to the Fifth street side of
the building. but pretty soon we ran up
against a door. and the next moment
Professor Reese opened it, and took us
in his room. His wife and child, a little
girl seven years old. were in there. and
both badly frightened, of course. We
locked out of the window, and saw the
street below crowded with people, and
the hotel porch, also. The windows were
also full of people, and some OF
them were screaming terribly. / never
thought we would get out of the building
alive, for it seemed impossible for help to
reach us in time to do any good. ]
wasn't excited a bit, and neither was
Julia, and Mr.. Reese was just as cool as
man could be. He kept cheering us
up, and telling rs to wait and be patient,
that it wouldn't help the matter to fret
about it We waved a sheet out of our
4 window to attract attention, but didn't
indulge in much screaming. There was
enough of that already without our join.
ing in. 1t seemed a terrible long while
before the firemen pointed their ladde,
at us, and then it took them so long t.
get it up to any of the windows. Fl
nally the top of it was showed upagains'
he wall, between the fifth and sixth
Aories, but nearly twenty feet from oul
window. They We're going to take ou-
a lot of other people in the window.
adjoining ours, and in the window jus
below that one. 1t didn't take the fire
men very long, l suppose, to empty thes,
rooms of the people in them, but i
seemed a good while to US. The fire
AAan at the top of the ladder told us t.
keep quiet and he would save us al
He was just as cool and unconcerned a
if he were a carpenter building a house
He climbed into the windows and GU
again. and everybody did just what b
. told them to. and if they hesitated, the,
he'd get mad about it and swear at then
After ne got all the people out there, b
asked Mr. Reese if he thought the shee
that we had swung to him would hol
us. If it would he said then he coul
save us right there without any troubl,
don't know how he expected to saw
us with that sheet, but Mr.. Rees
wouldn't give him a chance to try. Il
told the fireman that the sheet wouldn
hold up, and that it was useless to a
tempt a rescue in that way. well
said the fireman, cant you get into TIL
\ other room somehow 7" INC" answere
MI. Reese, ~it is impossible. The Ia
is already on fire" well, then sal
the fireman, you'll have to wait he,
till 1 60 down and have the laad,
, moved over to your window" THEIR
man then left us, and We waited the
as patiently as We could until the fir
man visited us again. This time Il
ladder came up to q window, and Il
fireman stepped in among us. He VI