The Portland daily press., 1883-01-12
THE MILWAUKEE, FIRE.
Further Details of the Terrible
Catastrophe.
NO BODIES YET FOUND IN THE RUINS.
Disgraceful Squabbling in the City
Council.

j. W.. Maxwell, of Chicago, escaped by let
ting himself down by knotted bedding from a
thiry story window to the glass roof of the
office, on which he found ademented man,
naked, who fell through and perished.
Detective Riener, one of the first officers to
arrive on the spot, says:-"We held the can
vas, but what good was it for people falling SO
| high? The poor girls came down thud, thud,
and as each would fall we would try to catch
her only to have the corners pulled from our
| hands in spite of u.s. At one time the back
alley was mass of gore and seven girls were
piled there dead, while a number groaned in
the agonies of death. Our men report that
they could hear the cries of the dying as far as
the corner OF Fourth and Chestnut streets.
One poor fellow crawled from window to win
| dow down three stories and then gave out, fell
and was killed. His hands were torn in shreds
| from falling and catching"
| AT O'Clock this morning streams of water
| were still playing on the ruins. The walls of
the southeast corner of the building are all that
! remain standing.
Miss Libbie Chellis, for ten years In charge
Of the dressmaking department of A. T. Chap
| mans store, occupied room in one OF the up-
4 per stories, fronting Michigan street. Sur
rounded by flames, she appeared at one of the
| windows and for an instant looked imploringly
| down at the throng below and then fell back
into the flames and perished. There was fire
escape within her reach but the poor woman
| was so completely overcome by the horror of
the situation that she was powerless to act.
Judson ]. Hough, of PEORIA ILL.,, who had
both legs broken and received internal injuries
by jumping from fifth story window into
| canvas, died at the Central police station
| Hough was special agent of the Northwestern
National Fire Insurance Company of Milwaut
| kee, and leaves wife and four children. He
was about 40 years old. There was touching
scene when he tried to tell the bystanders
where he lived. He spelled out the words
-wife-baby," and died.
Several others relate details of exceedingly
| narrow escapes from death.
Chief Klinsteuber, of the police patrol saved
four men and three women by ascending fire
| escape to the fourth story, awakening them and
conducting them out to the fire escape.
Edward Pollock, of Lancaster, Wisconsin.
was guest at the house. He occupied room
| on the fourth floor of the Broadway 'front.'
nearly over the balcony. He was awakened by
the breaking of glass In the transom over the
| door and the fierce flames through the opening
| He Immediately gathered up his clothes as
t4r as possible and stepped out on the balcony.
| He put on his clothes and swung to the balcony
| beneath, where half dozen other guests were
| gathered. Here sheets and bedclothes were
| tied together and the ground was reached by
| this rope. He said to q reporter that the fire
seemed all about him when he first awakened,
and an instant after the flames had eDgulfed
| everything. He left his vest behind him in
which was gold watch and $50 in money.
1t was rumored at the morgue this morning
that the inquest on the bodies found will prob
ably be held Friday. The Morgue, with its
white walls and marble floor, ordinarily neat
and clean, looks like butchar-shop. Men are
engaged in washing half-nude bodies, and
buckets Of blood are being taken from the
place and emptied. Near the door lies the
the nude form of woman, with her
body otherwise mangled. On her bare breast
is laid piece of with the simple word "Flana-
gan" The body OF woman 40 years old, still
unidentified, lies near it. The body is literally
cut in two, having been impailed on a tele-
graph pole and mutiated by the wires in her
mad leap from the fifth story of the hotel
There was strange scene when Mrs. Gilbert's
body reached the morgue. Her husband was
native of Massachusetts She was formerly
before she became the wife of John Gilbert a
Miss Gertie Sutton of Blooms Depot, Sieuben
county, N Y. When the body was laid on the
floor man professed to idenify it as that of his
daughter, and began stripping her fingers of
the sparkling rings and tearing the iewelry
from her ears. At that moment Mrs. Gilbert's
mother reached the spot and recognized her
daughters body. The grief-srickened old lady
and the thief confronted each other and the
painful scene amid the awful surroundings
caused the greatest excitement. Mrs Gil
bert's remains will be removed to New York
at once.
Nothing has BEEN heard of W. e. Wiley,
formerly passenger agent of the Michigan Cen
trail road at Detroit, and the fear grows stron-
ger that his burialis in common with that of
the other missing ones. Nothing can yet be
heard of W. G. Lewis, another well-known
rdllTOdu udU, iOIu06Fly passenger agent OIL the
Wabash road at Chicago.
The feeling here is intense, and those re-
sponsible for this great calamity receive un-
limited censure One gentleman in the Plank
ington House aid:-"I have had an insurance
office in that building for years and know it
well. The revenue from the rents amounted
to $4,000 year, and yet the management
would not employ night watchman. There
was one man who acted the part of night por-
ter and watchman, but he had to attend two
fpoi nd mot afoh fI h,,ilI
should have been a watchman on each floor
Again there were only two fire escapes. Think
of that for a building $50 by 160 feet in dmen-
sions. Three years ago repeated attempts at
incendiarism were made in the hotel Six
times in succession person, who was never
prosecuted for nis crime, set the place on fire."
The burned hotel had actually no dividing
walls of bricks. Mr.. Antisdel, who ran the
concern, was taken to the Plankington Hotel
in condition bordering on diocy. G. ID.
Nash, owner of the building, was overcome
with grief when he heard of the indiscriminate
slaughter Tom Thumb and wife were res
cued by policeman o. Brien, who took one un-
der each arm and carried them down stairs and
across the street to the American Express
office. They were in night clothes and Mrs.
Thumb suffered much from the cold The
General Immediately upon being planted in
the express office began mourning for the loss
of valuable diamonds and other iewelry be-
longing to himself and wife. The latter heard
him through and replied reprovingly. "What
if we have lost everything, Just look at those
people there" pointing to the mangled forms
OF the dead and dying men and women lying
upon the floor. The little woman then brayelY
began relieving the sufferings of those around
her by supplying them ith water aud display
ing other acts of kindness
At daylight large gang of laborers resumed
the work OF hunting for the dead in the ruins
of the Newhall House. The streets in the vi
cinity are blocked with people and the greatest
excitement prevails. The entire fire depart
ment is engaged in pulling down the remains
Of the walls. The police and firemen are con-
hdeDt that fully fifty people lie buried in the
ruins, including number of guests not men
toned in the list published. Crowds are ar
irving here on every train and the hotels are
filled with fearful, anxious. fpeople seeking
friends or relatives supposed TO have been in
the tre. All the sufferers at the Plankington
and Kirby houses are doing well. Portions of
the fallen wall are piled higher than the de-
bris at the main entrance to the hall, and
hope of finding bodies seems more forlorn than
ever. Business is all but suspended through
out the city, most of the inhabitants having
swarmed about the ruins.
The actor Gilbert, of the Miupie Palmer
Company, is in the agonies of death. Judge
Elliot's condition is still critical, and it is be-
lieved he cannot recover Every undertaken
In the city is busy ana preparations are going
on for twenty funerals.
There were ITO guests and 67 employees in the
building. of these 20 so far have been identi-
fed among the dead. Forty-eight are missing
and 81 known to have been saved. The 48
missing are mostly known to be in the
ruins which would make the total of lives lost
by the terrible calamity 68.
A force of 125 workmen has been employed
all day at the ruins searching for bodies, but
none had been found up TO this evening. To
night all is dark and dreary at the scene of the
olocaust The authorities have not provided
electric lights despite the popular ciamor on
the subject Not a single body has been
found yet-9 o'clock.
In the midst of the numerous expressions of
sympathy and offers of aid for the sufferers
from all parts of the Union, the common coun-
Gil this afternoon engaged in disgraceful
actions, squabbling over the expenses for the
recovery of the dead bodies, some members
even demanding to quit work if the stockhold-
ers of the Newhall House Association should
not be willing to reimburse the city. The
scene'has created Indignation amounting to
threats wherever it became known. The coun-
Gil, after two hours fighting, concluded to go
on with the work of recovering bodies, but no
appropriation for night work was made. The
board of supervisors acted hadsomely, appoint
ing committee with unlimited power to act.
Generous Gift to q Theological Seminary.
purr Ton 11-W,, D.ot--.t1