Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-01-18

Z
brought, the widest prophets who have
pointed to the Newhall house and pro
claimed that it would some day go
down as
A FUNERAL EYRE,
carrying with it scores Of Human be-
ings. Since the Inflated steamer Lady
Elgin carried its hundreds Of citizens
down to graves beneath the still waters
of Lake Michigan, nothing like the
scene of
EXCITEMENT
has presented itself upon the streets Of
Milwaukee. At 4:05 o'clock this morn
ing a telephone message WAS received
at the FIRE department headquarters
that the Newhall house WAS on fire.
Three minutes later an alarm was
turned in from box Is, and four min
utes after the entire depart.c emit was
summoned to the
SCENE OF DESTRUCTION.
The fire caught in the basement, and
shot with.lightning like rapidity mp the
elevator shaft and burst forth in ter
| rife volume from the roof The
flames spread out in the different
stories as they were reached, and In q
| few minutes after the first alarm, the
floor on the south end Of the building
was a sea of fire, all burning at once.
Then began
THE TERRIBLE TRAGEDY.
Guests awakened from their sleep by
the terrible heat or the bursting of the
flames into their rooms, were forced to
the windows, where their heartrending
cries rang in the cars of the vast con-
course of people gathered in the
street, powerless to render aid. Men
who in the daily walks of life have
been accounted heartless and unfeel-
ing, wrung their hands in despair, run
ming about
UTTERLY BEWILDERED,
exclaiming, My God My God 1! This
is horrible" Then black object would
appear on the outside Of the window,
driven out by the smoke and flame, a
piercing scream rend the air, q heavy
thud, would announce that n human
being had dropped from q dizzy height
to meet death ON the pavement below,
! AT one time there were six persons
! HANGING FROM ONE WINDOW
sills at the fifth story at the same time
crying in agonizing tones for the help
that could not be rendered them, and
one after another loscd their grip and
met thei- fate. One man by letting
himself down at arms length from
fifth story window, put his feet through
the window below and reached the
fourth floor IN safety. The operation
was repeated until the third floor was
reached, each point gained in
HIS PERILOUs DESCENT
being greeted with encouraging cheers
from the bystanders. As he was put
ting his feet through the top of the sec
ond story window his hands slipped
from the sill above and with a wild
shrek of despair he fell backwards
turning over sever.l times and striking
the pavement on his head, was man.
gled beyond recognition. Another
man Jumped from the fifth story win,
dow, struck the telegram wires on Mich
gan street, bounded up and came down
a maugled mass of
FLESH AND BONES.
A number of people dropped out Of
the different stories on to the jumping
canvass, but in a majority of cases they
were killed outright or sustained iniur
les from which there Is little hope o.
recovery. During the progress of the
fire, two men appeared at window IL
E an upper story, and rs they loOkeC
down upen the scene below, the foo
of the room gave way and with Al
agonz ng shrek they fcll backward
81 into the vortex of flame MIR. Ailel
: johnson and
HIS WIFE srRANG
from a fifth story window. lie va
caught in the jumping canvas, hu
sustained injuries from which he die,
= 1T SIX O'Clock this morning Ills wifi
s struck ON the telegraph wires, bOunie,
, over and was also caught, but was 81
badly injured that she only survive,
9 her husband about an nour. Will
r. these scenes were being enacted ON tn
g Broadway and the Michigan side of th
Inflated building, one of still create
horror was being enacted in the allie
j at the rear. The servants quarter
e were in the north west quarter of tn
6 building, remote from the place i
which
, THE FIRE WAS RAGING,
but all means of escape 10y the stall
ways were cut of by the flames. a
I the terrible roaring and cracking {
a the flames struc6 upon their ears, the
became panic stricken ard eight (
them followed each other in leapiu
from the dizzy height to the ground j
= the alley.
The jumping canvas WAS ON hauC
4 but il was powerless in the corti,
with death, and was clotted over wit
the victims blood At this junctur
Co0I.HEADED HERO
r. Of the day appeared upon the top /
t the building, directly opposite tie SCI
3 wants quarters, with ladder in h
Land. For moment the long, N
, wieldly thing poised IN mid-air an
q then descended with crash throuc
It the window of the hotel II forme
\ a bridge across the alley, however. an