The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1879-04-17
BURNED TO DEATH.

which five persons lost their lives:
In the stiffness of early morning, at
Just one o'clock, the inmates of the Ire
mont House, in this town, were startled
by an alarm of fire, which was sent
through the house with lightning ra-
pidity, as quickly followed by dense
volumes of smoke. There were forty
persons in the house at the time, and
Mr.. Deming, who discovered the fire, at
once realized the terrible situation of
affairs. On through the corridors he
rushed, while the sitting smoke almost
choked his utterance. He forced in
doors unceremoniously where no re.
Spouse came to his loud and hurried
knocks, passed on to the next, and
called on all who could come forth to
act as volunteers in rousing the Sleep
ing inmates, who slumbered on, uncon-
scious Of the horrible death which
lowered around their pillows. Half .
dozen Joined Mr.. Deming and pro-
ceeded to the second and third floors,
to give the alarm and then flee for
their lives. The hotel was q wooden
building, and old, so that the flames
had plenty of material to feed on, and
but few moments were left to escape.
TerrOr-stricken men, women and chill
dren rushed frantically through the
binding smoke, half asleep and ccm-
pletely bewildered by the sudden
alarm and the frightful scene which
met them as they emerged from their
rooms.
There was no time to spare, how
ever. and the instinct of self-preserva-
ton was at work promptly to suggest
. means Of escape. There was only
one stairway, and that was marrow
and full of smoke and flame after five
minutes, 80 that it was useless as an
avenue of egress. Windows were
thrown up only to increase the draft
and stimulate the flames, which were
now furiously Kissing through the
frail structure. Mem and women
| jumped to the yard below in q nude or
partly-dressed condition; others APP
peared at the upper windows uttering
the most piercing shrieks for aid in
their terrible extremity. It was an
awful spectacle, and one which will
never be forgotten by those who wit
messed it. The two lower floors were
soon cleared of their occupants, but
the upper stories still contained human
beings whose chances of escape from a
fiery death were decreasing rapidly,
The town had become alarmed, and
from all sections men and women
poured in to render what assistance
they could or to gaze on the terrible
scene which was being enacted. Lad
ders were promptly put up against the
walls for the purpose of extricating the
poor people who were housed in by
flame and smoke. One man, whose
room was in an upper story, crawled
out through the window, seized light
ming rod and coolly climbed down to
the ground with only blistered hands
and bruised limbs. He was loudly
cheered as he slowly crept down, while
men and women held their breath
lest the rod would give way and
throw him heavily to the frozen
ground, when his death would
have been as certain as if he had re-
manned in the burning building. Mr..
F. H. Gibson, one of the proprietors
OF the house, with his wife and child,
escaped from q window of the second
story, the plucky little woman holding
the child and clinging to the blind
while he obtained a board upon which
mother and child slid to the ground in
perfect safety, followed by Mr.. Gibson,
who promptly re-entered the building
to lend what aid he could in rescuing
the others.
Owing to some repairs, Mrs. Glib
son, mother of the same gentleman,
had been placed temporarily in q
spare room, and the son rushed franti-
cally in search of her. but was unable
to reach her in time and she persisted
in the flames.
Anna johnson, a chamber girl. whose
room was on the third floor, tried to
escape from the hall through the stairs,
but found q solid wall of fire obstruct-
ing her passage. She ran back to her
room, raised the window and hung out
as far as possible without falling, and
screamed frantically for assistance.
She was soon enveloped in huge cloud
of smoke, which was occasionally lit
up by flashes of flame as the fire
worked its way upward. Half q dozen
hands Immediately seized q ladder and
ran it up against the wall. A man
volunteered to climb up to the poor
girls aid, but he came back blinded
with smoke and almost insensible. An
other volunteer stepped into his place
and toiled up the ladder, but he, too,
came down without the prize 80 much
coveted. Another man stepped from
the crowd, and amid the cheers of the
assemblage ran up step after step until
he was lost in the clouds of smoke
which rolled out in dense masses from
the doomed building. He reached the
poor, helpless girl, but could not pull
her out, as she had tainted, and must
have been caught by something on the
inside, from which he was unable tode-
liver her. He came back without &C.
complishing his mission, and no one
else would venture. There she re-
manned until the wall fell in, and she
became q charred mass amid the burn
ing ruins.
About the same time Mrs. s. A.
Chase, a pastry cook in the establish
ment; Lydia Merrill, table girl, and
Charles Morgan, q guest at the house,
went down with the tumbling walls,
mingling their shrieks with the horrible
din and crash which prevailed within
and without.
The clerk, Fred Marvin. and his wife
occupied room on the third floor. As
soon as the alarm reached them they
rushed out, and finding the corridor
blocked by flame and smoke, closed the
door and waited for assistance. None
came, and the terrible alternative pre-
sented itself of perishing in the flames
or jumping to the ground. The latter
was decided on, and Mr.. Marvin
sprang from the window, alighting on
his feet. He escaped with some
bruises. His wife followed, and al
though the stunned husband and others
tried to break the fall, she sustained
severe internal injuries which may
prove fatal.
How q Purchasing Agent was Ruined.
The managers of a certain large cor
poration in this city, considering that
it was possible to make considerable
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