The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-01-11

of Medford, Wis; Carl Briggs, of Grand Rap,
ids Mich; John c. Clark, Of Wausean; ]. r.
Dewal, of the Great Western Dispatch and
South Shore line; George F. Lee, northwest
travelling and passenger agent of the Chicago,
Rock Island q Pacific; j, w. Maxwell, of
Cincinnati; K. Kahn of New York; NJ.
Weber of Laporte; James S. Wardrobe, Of
New York.
The scenes at the morgue where now
thirty-two bodies are lying in CHASTITY heap
on the floor of small room, are
heartrending beyond human power
of description. A stong police
force is necessary to keep anxious
inquirers in line. Nineteen bodies have
been identified and eight bodies are beyond
recognition. Mrs. John Gilbert's body is
positively identified. 1t wss touching
scene to see the bride of a night upon the
cold marble charred, and burned, and the an
guish depicted on the delicate features. It'is
said that she was Miss Sutton, of Chicago, pre-
vious to marrying Gilbert, who is maddened
beyond control. The fire department called
for help from the Soldiers Home, but Cen
eral Sharpe refused to send the steamer at
which Indignation Is great The firemen made
sUPERHUMAN EFFORTS
Eleven waiter-girls were brought safely
across frail ladders stretched over an alley
from the sixth story of the hotel to the roof
of the adjoining bank building. Jumping
unfortunates tried to jump, but rebounded
on the telegraph wires, a perfect maze Of
which surrounded two fronts of the build
ing. Appeals for aid were piteous, but little
could be done. Shortly before the Newhall
House alarm part of the department was
called to small fire about three miles dis
tant, and before the department was in work.
ing order the hotel was one blazing fire.
Tom Thumb got out of the front entrance
and his wife was taken down fre-escape by
fireman. S. w. Champion, Misses Herbert
and Dunlap, and w. A. Lavelle,
of the Madison Square company, arrived on
the midnight express, and the whole party
were saved by the fre-escape, only partially
dressed.
The following dispatch is received just
now:
"The Board of Trade of Chicago tender sincere
great calamity which has betallen them. If
we can do anything to assist you or mitigate the
| suffering let it be known. r. W. DUNHAM."
HISTORY OF THE HOUSE.
The hotel was built by Daniel NewhalI and
associates in 1857 at an original cost of $685.
0OO Total cost including furnishing, $277. 900.
William E. Cramer, of the Evening Wis
consin, was saved through the heroic eff
forts of Charlie Gressing q Sentinel typo.
Chief Clerk Tice, who had narrow escape.
says there were ITO boarders and ninety en-
| ployes III the hotel. So far fifty-six are un-
| accounted for
DETAILED DESCRIPTION.
Twenty-four hours have elapsed since the
most terrible catastrophe befell Milwaukee,
and the immensity of the dreadful disaster
seems to increase, instead of wane, with
feeting time and a dread seems to creep
over every one passing the huge pile of
smoldering ruins. that mark the place where
only two days ago, the palatial Newhall
| House stood, with 200 inmates, who awoke,
yesterday morning, from their slumbers to
stand face to face with the grim reaper. The
snow had been falling all night, silently
weaving shroud for many; how many, no.
body can ask without shudder on behold
ing what is left of one of the largest hostel
ries in the Northwest Eearly in the morn
| ing, at 3:40 o'clock, an alarm of
fire was turned in from box No. 439,
corner Welt and Eighteenth streets, and
many good citizen, counting the strokes of
| the alarm, aScertaining the location and cast
ing look at the black sky hanging heavily
| over the housetops went to rest again with
relieved feeling that the alarm did not de-
| note dangerous box, and that Mllwaukee's
tried fire department would do its duty.
Abou half an hour later, at 4:05 A. NJ, the
two ominous strokes of a telephone alarm
called the rest OF the department, not en-
gagged at the Welt street fire, up again, and
| three minutes later, at 4:0S an alarm from
box 15 corner of Michigan and Broadway,
rang out, and Chief Lippert hurried from
Eighteenth street to the scene as fast
as his trotter would carry him, and
he made such good time that he could turn
in a second alarm four minutes later. At
/ 4,1D L. H. Ill
to the scene, leaving the chemical engine to
| battle with the blaze in the remote part of
the city. The operators in the train-dispatch-
| ers office of the Chicago Milwaukee & st.
Paul railroad, in the Mitchell building, had
| seen from their quarters light smoke issuing
| from the attics of the Newhall House. 1t
was scarcely noticed until the general alarm
was turned in, when they saw to their horror
that almost the entire south front of the New
| hall House was one sea of flames. There were
| but few people on the scene, the police and
| night reporters, and some belated stragglers
| for home. but the scene developing before
the horror-stricken few was one which none
| of the eye-wltnesses will ever forget In a
moment every window of the large six-story
| hotel structure was filled with struggling
guests, frantically and piteously beseeching
| the few below for aid which it was impOssi-
BILE TO render but to the few of unfortunate
inmates who gained the front entrance on
| Michigan street. although many might have
been saved if an immediate attempt atsome
systematic effort had been made. The halls
OF the hotel were the scene of the widest
confusion, and men, women and
| children rushed up and down the halls
in the dense, suffocating smoke, avoiding the
binding flames and roaring blaze. and in
their frantic efforts rushing by the stair
ways and windows leading to the frees
caDes stumbling over bodies lying uncon-
scious on the carpeted walks only to join
ho afnH vrh
kind fate had touched with the dark wing Of
that messenger of ath-unconsciousness
THE FIRE STARTED,
apparently, on the third floor of the doomed
building, over the side entrance on Michigan