Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-01-18

the new hrn, hlc6 q ANDREWS, COntIn-
ued till 1866. At that time Messrs.
Nash & Wells became the owners of the
property and bought the furniture of
Rice & Andrews. They were succeed
ed by Kingsbury & Johnson. who kept
the house during the year 1868. Croft
& Hamlin were the landlords in 1868.
In 1869, Chas. Andrews again leased
the hotel, and remained till April so,
1871. Lansing Bonnen
SUCCEEDED HIM,
running the house till May, 1874, at
which time J. F. Antisdel, the present
lessee, took possession. The house
had been furnished with all modern
convenience, as they have come into
vogue since it was built, and still holds
its frst-class rank among the best
hotels in the country.
About twenty Of the rescued were
taken to
THE KIRBY HOUSE
where comfortable quarters were pro.
vided for them and Drs. Fox and
Brown attended them. Among them
were Theodore B. Elliot, of the law
firm of Jenkins, Elliot & Winkler, leg
and arm broken; w. r. Busenbark,
general passenger agent of the NGchl-
gan Central railway, slightly injured
6. II. Lee, general agent of the Chi
cago & Rock Island railway, received
slight injuries; Jas. w. Marshall, OF
Chicago, unipiured; Katie Bailey, q
domestic, rescued by a police officer,
uninj Julia Burn, who was visit
ing her sister at the honse, unirjured
G. Tarmel, a railroad man from Chi
cago, slightly injured; S. W. Brown,
general yard master Of the Chicago &
Northwestern railway slightly injured.
GREAT INDIGNATION
was exp essed on all sides because the
network of telegraph and telephone
wires made it impossible for many to
escape. A movement will be started at
once to compel the companies inte-
rested to place their wires underground.
A regular mob gathernd at the corner
of Broadway and Michigan streets, and
it locked at one time as if they would
tear down the poles.
There are
ANGRY MUTTERINGS
concerning the condition of the hotel,
and some hot headed persons proposed
that a call be made upon the owners
and demand To know why they had
permitted the house to be so utterly
unprotected against fire. There was
little chance of escape, and it is alleged
that the usual apparatus was wanting.
An investigation will be demanded, and
the responsibility for neglect, if any
there has been, which cost so many hui
man lives, will be fixed.
JAMES MAXWELL
arrived at the hotel last night at mid
night from Chicago. He remarked to
the clerk that, as that was an unlucky
corner, Friend Brothers having burned
out across the street lately, he had bet
ter not send him up too high. 81 was
given a room on the court" said Mr.
Maxwell, ''and was soon fast asleep.
When [ akoke my room was full of
smoke, and could hear the
THE CRACKING OF THE FLAMES
in the hallway. I put my key in the
door, and at the first turn it broke off
short. [ was SO weak and nearly suffo-
Gated with the smoke that 1 could not
break down the door, SO [ made my
way to the window, broke it,and jump
ed,regardless of consequences. [ struck
on building in a court a few feet be-
low. [ could not see any way of es-
cape, and as [ could hear the people
snoring in their rooms within my
reach, | began breaking in windows
and giving them the alarm. | then en-
tered one of the rooms, passed through
it and into the hall, but
THE SMOKE WAS so DENSE
that [ had to crowd along with my face
close to the door. [ went up flight of
stairs and down again, when [ met a
man and asked him to show me the
way out. He replied, "Follow me-"
and was soon out of sight. I crawled
about until [ struck current Of air,
which l followed, and finally gained
one of the parlors on the Office floor.
There were
A NUMBER OF PERSONS
lying around and standing about in the
room, apparently, dazed. A man then
came to the door and shouted, You
want to get out of here as quick as God
will let you l then grabbed bed
spread near by and started out. [ had
nothing but my shirt on and the bed
spread to cover my nakedness. On
gaining the street [ proceeded north,
and finding 8 stairway lighted up in a
building, l think it was the next to the
hotel, attempted to go up but was
STOPPED BY HACKMAN,
who told me 1 could not gou up. Ithen
tried to engage him to take me to no.
tel, but he would not do so. While we
were parleying 8 woman came down
the stairs and said my poor man you
shall come up stairs and l will give you
a pair of my husbands pants, and
these are the garments have on" said
Mr.. Maxwell, as tears gathered in his
eyes and rolled down his cheeks.
When the fire was at its height Chief
Lippert sent
DISPATCHES To CHICAGO AND RACINE
for aid. Three engines from the former
and one from the latter were immedi-
att ly loaded on cars and started for
Milwaukee. Half an houI later. how
ever, the fire was under control and q
dispatch intercepted the relief trains
and they turned back. Business in the
city is
ENTIRELY SUSPENDED,
and merchants and mechanics are
gathered in the neighborhood of the
smouldering ruins, or are discussing
the horrors in the offices, stores and sa-
looms in the neighborhood. The chief