The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-02-02
A Night Of Horror.

Cases are of rare occurrence in which.
- inByron's Prisoner of Chillon."
ones hairs grow white
In a single night
As mems have grown from sudden fears,
but there Is a well-authenticated in
stance of this kind in the person OF
Charles b. Wardrop, of No. 218 North
Fourth street. This Newhall House
fire in Milwaukee wildly recalls an in
cident in my early life," remarked Mr..
Wardrop to GlO6e-DeDsocrat reporter
who dropped into his store Yesterday
afternoon. '.My white hairs date from
February 20, 1858. and if you care to
hear the story 1 will tell it to you. The
old Pacific Hotel in this city was opened
for the reception of guests on Seventh
and Poplar streets on june %, 1857.
The hotel was three stories high, the
first being occupied by stores. and it
was a very good hotel for those days. ]
was about twenty-five years old at that
time, and after serving while as clerk
changed for the position of head porter.
The house had been opened less than a
year when, on February 20, 1858, twas
swept by such a fatal FIRE as this city
has never seen before or since. That
night thirty occupants of the house per-
ished in the flames, and it was by the
merest chance that was not included
in the number. had given up my room
for that night. and was sleeping with
eight others, mostly railroad men, in
the same room on the third floor of the
house. About two o. clock i'm the morn
ing was awakened by the fierce crack
ling of the flames, and was conscious of
sheet of fire rolling through the cham
Der in which we were sleeping. rolled
out on the floor and crawled along on
my hands and knees under the flames.
which filled all the upper part of the
room. The stencil from the roast NO
bodies of my dead companions was
fearful, and l expected to meet
the same fate. Although badly
scorched l kept my presence Of
mind and crawled along out of the
room, through the hall, and to the
stairways leading to the second floor.
On attempting to descend them 1 fell
through the fire which had destroyed
them, setting my shirt on fire and strik-
ing on the banisters leading from the
first to tho second story, and breaking
two ribs. From this place gained the
street and was saved. Of the other eight
men in the room not one escaped.
Among the dead was Mr.. Gerry, q
newspaper man. In making my escape
my hair was singed off my head, and
when it grew out it was as white as
snow. The terrible experience of that
night whitened it completely, and
although succeeding growths have had
some dark hairs mingled with them, my
head is still very white, as you see. A
long investigation was conducted after
the fire. but its cause never fully explain
ed. 1t was proved that the Waterman.
who persisted in the flames, was drunk
that night, and. although some thought
the fire incendiary. l always charged it
to some swinging lamps in the back
part of the house. The night was bitter
cold and the wind blew fiercely The
fire department, which had recently
been organized. was hindered by frozen
fire-plugs. From that day to this 1 have
never slept in room that was not with
in jumping distance of the ground, al
though / have travelled a great deal and
stopped in many hotels. Whenever
could not get a room suiting me in that
particular 1 have frequently spent the
night in chair in hotel office. From
my experience have a good opportun-
ity to Judge of what the poor people in
the Milwaukee fire suffered, and / can
tell you that it must have been some
thing terrible. 81 Louis GlObe-Demo-
cr1t