The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-01-12
DAY MORNING. JANUARY u 1889.

~SOA@ w WIZ HOOO -OOAAAg GIOOoB
o'clock, and in opening the door
leading to the bar room I
saw that the place was
still occupied. At a later hour
[ ran the elevator down to the
bottom landing to take up a gentle
man who came from the bar. Moth
ing like smoke was detected then.
At $50 in the morning, T. B. Eli
oft came on the late train. was in
the Office, and he asked me if the
elevator was running. l told him
| would take him up and did so,
letting him out at the third floor
then went up to the top floor, taking
a railway conductor up from the
third to that. looked around the
halls and got into the elevator to 90
down. This was a few minutes
past $50 o'clock. AS l got into the
elevator I noticed very little
smoke. l Immediately started
down to seea where it came
from, and by the time Il
reached the Office floor the smoke
was so dense | could go no further
in the elevator. Throwing open the
door [ rushed out, started for the
stairs, shouting to the night clerk
that there was fire down below and
l was going to see about it. By the
time / reached the BOTTOM of the
elevator shaft the smoke was so
dense and sitting knew something
must be done. l called to the en-
gineer, who was in the engine room,
and told him to arouse the servants.
Then l started back to awake the
people. By the time L reached the
first floor above the office and had
raped at Mr.. Cramer's door the
heat cracked the glass doors to the
elevator, and in moment after.
wards flames poured out. In the
meantime [ rushed into the bank
building and aroused as many
dodgers in that portion as
L could. Afterwards l rem
dered what help l could in rails
ing the people. l hardly know what
to say about the commencement Of
the fire; but l know that it caught
at the bottom of the elevator and
not on the uppers floors.
There was nothing anywhere
around the elevator that could burn
so quickly and at $50 o'clock there
was no smoke in the elevator for
either Elliot or myself would have
noticed it. After the smoke was OBJ
served there was scarcely time to
do anything before the whole thing
was ablaze. 1t might have caught
in some of the shops in the base
ment that back up to the elevator,
bnt on tho hnttOm floor of the hotel
part there was nothing That could
possibly that way, and that
could have been smonldering
throughout the night. This is shown
by the ,fact.of so,many around until
such short time before the actual
blaze occurred. I don't know that
the fire was inc 3ndiary but there is
a very queer look to it.
Tonight all is dark and dreary
at the scene of the holocaust. Not
a single body found, yet pieces Of
flesh discovered was examined again
by physicians and pronounced not
from a human body. Chief of the
| fire department, early in the fore
noon, had men at work with large
Iquantity of heavy rope and tackle
pulling down the jagged walls
which, in three instances, lowered
for 100 feet skyWard and quiYered
with the breeze, placing the work
men in imminent danger Of being
crushed to death. Several exciting
scenes occurred. but the walls were
taken down without the slightest
injury to a single soul. GA body"
"a bodyp shouted an excited
workmen at about o'clock this
morning thrilled thousands present
and a wild rush was made for the
source of the cry. The police re-
PEELED the onslaught as best they
could, but hundreds pressed by and
surrounded the corps of workmen
waiting with breathless anxiety
while the men carefully and ten
DERBY removed bricks and charreC
pieces from a cindered petticoat
The garment was finally uncovered
and drawn out, but it encased moth
ing of human form. The same eX
citing scene occurred when a ladies
fine leather satchel was Olsen
TERED. 1t contained a wallet
No one was allowed to touch Oh
examine it, so as to show to whom i
; belonged; then the crowd rushed
, forward as the Workmen delicately
removed an infants garb. It con
tanned no remains and was PLACED
with the other discoveries, and tn
, three formed a little mound on tn
! slab. The pulling down of tn
walls is attended with great danger
, In many instances buttresses ha,
to be showed over before the wal
could be shaken. Several times Il
doing this, the brave men narrowl
: escaped being caught by fallin
! bricks. Chief Lipper5 refused t
touch the north wall, as by pulling
Il down, he was afraid of hurtin
!, some of his men, and injnring tn
other building.
q Henry Grier, a big headed sailo
4 this morning rendered the most e.
= ficient service in assisting 10 tea
i down dangerous walls. He scale
q wavering columns and fastene
a ropes with cool intropidity who
= provoked volumes Of praise. Hel
~ - and there where density was not
% pronounced, smoke issued fro
= small assures curling up throua
= the air in graceful turns and pro
~ ING the assertions that a heat
10 i Inlnu- NNnv.kr ny