News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1883-01-18

NeWhall Hotel, large SIX story build
ing, was burned and many lives lost
The fire started apparently on the
third floor of the doomed building.
and before the fire department got &c
work the whole building was enyelop-
ed in flames.
PARALYZED WITH FEAR.
Every window in the huge building
was lined with shrieking humanity
! The multitude, which by this time had
swelled TO thousands, stood in perfect
awe, but few having self-possession
and resolution enough to lend help
| ing hand. At first there were only q
| half dozen men stretching the heavy
canvas, which required fully thirty
strong men to handle successfully. A
poor fellow stood on the cornice of
the fifth story corner window for twen
ty long minutes, not daring to attempt
the fearful leap. Finally he became
bewildered and slid off his perch to
the canvas below and to death.
TERRIBLE SPECTACLE.
In the sixth story window, right
over this unfortunate, sat man
crouched upon the window sill, gazing
like one absent-minded into the fiery
abyss below, motionless, but from time
to time sending up a heart-rending
shrek. Steadily the flames approach
ed him. He did not seem to mind it.
Then the flames singed his hair, licked
his night clothes. One despairing look
he gave to the crowd below and then
tumbled back into the sea of fire. A
man and woman appeared at a win
dow of the third story. \ canvas
was stretched below the windows of
their apartment, and n thousand voices
called, beseeching him to jump. He
kissed his wife, leaped into the air and
shot downward into the canvas, but
his weight pulled the canvas out of.
the hands of the few who held it, and
he alighted on the ground with death
ly force. His wife followed. Her
body struck the varanda and fell to
the ground lifeless.
About a dozen jumped from the
Michigan street front. Each leap
meant death or shattered limbs, and |
not less than four unfortunates at one
time lay upon the icy sidewalk in front |
of the Chamber of Commerce clad |
only in night shirts, and blood oozing
from wounds through which the bones
protruded. The scene in the alley
west of the burning building was sicN-
ening. As early as six o'clock the
bodies of seven unfortunate waiter
girls were stretched upon the snow
and ice, with broken limbs, writing
in agony until death ended their suf-
ferings.
EFFORTS TO RESCUE THE UNFORTUNATEs.
After almost superhuman efforts,
ladders were stretched from the roof
Of the bank building across the alley
to the sixth story of the hotel, and
The brave fremen carried ten girls
across the frail bridge, four of them
lead. The maze of telegraph wire
the building played sad
havoc with the unfortunates who made
he frightful leap for life. Several of
he bodies were cut deeply by the
wires, and then the torn and bleeding
orms dropped to the ground. Others
lit the wires crosswise, rebounded and
we're hurled to the ground with a
dreadful crash. The waiter girls all
edged in the sixth story and attic.
Of the 60 young girls only II were
heard from alive.
81 DEAD AND 80 OTHERS MISSING.
There were 10 guests and 67 en-
ployes in the building. 81 have
SO far been identified among the dead.
80 are missing and 81 are known to
be saved
A FIEND's PERSISTENT ATTEMPT.
There seems no doubt that the fire
vas incendiary. A gentleman who
quarters in the house said
he building had been set afre at least
our times the past two years. Once
he the fire was set on chair placed ;
n the hall in contact with the eleva-
or. On the chair had been piled oil {
ID kindling. The fire got a good start. l
The next time the fire started in q bar
eel of finder which stood in the hall |
# the first floor against the elevator.
This time also the house had a narrow 4:
scape. The next time a hole was '
orn through the plaster in a wall at 5
he bottom of the elevator and a mass |
# infammable stuff was inserted and 5
red. 1t was extinguished with the /
.reatest difficulty. Another time the {
ire started near the bar room on the {
rst floor next to the west side Of the i
levator shaft. All these had I'M {
been of incendiary origin, {
nd near the elevator, so as to pre- l
lude the idea of saving the house. :
This time the fiend was successful. {
ANOTHER DISASTER. I
St. Louis, Mo-, Jan. 1.-THE
Planters Hotel one of the largest in
he city, took fire this morning short
Y before five o'clock and burned SO /
apidly that four persons lost their =
ives. The greatest confusion pre-
allied when the alarm was given, and !
early all the guests escaped in their /
light clothes.
80 PERSONS PERISH IN A BURNING =
BUILDING. /
st. Petersburg, Jan. 14.-During G
he performance yesterday of a circus a
4 Berditscheff, in Russian Poland, a c
re broke out in the building, and be- d
pre- the spectators could escape, the p
hole building was ablaze. One hun Q
red and fifty persons persisted in the a
ames. Fl
Politics in Connecticut. p
LETTER FROM AN OLD VERMONTER