Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-01-17
TERRIBLE FIRE.
Total Destruction of the NewhaII House,
Milwaukee, Wis, with Great
Loss of Life.
LISTS OF THE DEAD AND MISSING.
/ From the Evening wisconsin, January 1911

Inc NeWuaH house To-Day Is q mOul-
derIug mass of ruins. A few minutes
after o'clock this morning the opera
tors IN the st. Paul train dispatcher's
office IN the Mitchell building, across
Michigan Street from the Newhall
House, saw smoke issuing from the
building, but scarcely noticed it, think
ing that 1t was from some of the chin
neys. They looked out to see where the
lire was, an alarm having just been
turned IN from box 439, corner of Vliet
and Eighteenth Streets, where there was
an incipient fire of some kind. They
were greatly astounded a few minutes
later to hear general alarm and al
most at tbs same time see flames
issuing from the Newhall windows,
apparently about half way up.
The alarm was turned in from box
Is, and people who are posted about
the fire alarm system knew that it meant
the Newhall was on fire. The fire
spread with such rapidity that by 5
o'clock the whole interior of the build
ing was one mass of kissing flames.
The flames burst from the windows on
all sides of the house and the water
thrown on the burning mass seemed
only to add fuel to the flames. About
) o'clock part of the west wall tottered
and fell with crash. A few minutes
later the whole front and the greater
part of the wall on Michigan Street,
tumbled to the ground, making a terri
fc noise. A vast cloud OF red hot ashes,
burning brands, cinders and smoke
arose, completely hiding from view the
ruins for a period of four or five min
71fpS TThoT1 f1,iC cloud no ,>ocooI
away, there was nothing left of the hand
some Newhall except the north wall,
portions of the west and one corner of
the south wall.
The scene was an awful one. The mad
flames were leaping from the windows
and spread with most wonderful rapid
ity. There was crash and Jam IN the
streets instantly, putting engines arriv-
ing, horses wildly prancing as the hose
cars and supply wagons drew up in the
vicinity, and above all could be heard
the screams of the frightened guests
who were making their appearance in
their night clothes at the windows on all
Of the floors. In the building every
body seemed frantic with horror. Ago
nized shrieks of women and children
fairly rent the air. People were madly
rushing toward the exits, dense smoke
that soon filed the house from top to
bottom rendering it almost impos-
sible to see what was going on.
The fire burned so rapidly that
III three quarters of an hour after
the alarm was turned in, the whole
building appeared to be enveloped in
flames. Such guests as were awakened
as soon as the fire was discovered, were
hurried out of the main entrance on
Broadway, and the side entrance on
Michigan Street. They were placed in
hacks, sIeighs and other vehicles that
CHANGED to be handy and removed to diff
ferent places of safety. Many were taken
direct to the Plankinton House. Those
who were killed outright by jumping
from the building were taken to stores
near by, to the American Express office,
Mitchell Building, Stanley & Camps
store, the old dime museum building on
East Water Street, and several of the
bodies were early removed to the
morgue.
On the south side of the building and
in the alley on the west side, there were
the most heartrending scenes. Men,
women and children appeared at the
windows, Vainly beseeching aid from the
crowd below. The waiter girls jumped
from the upper floor, the most of them
landing In the alley. Seven bodies were
taken out of the alley at one time. A
rescue party held sheets of canvas and
many jumped from the windows and
were thus saved. A number missed the
outst1 etched canvas and were dashed to
death on the pavement. A number of
people were seen to tumble out of the
windows IN an apparently insensible con-
dItlon. Many women and children
tainted as they were being removed.
A scene of terror reigned during the
whole time the building was burning.
The wild heartrending shrieks of women
and the means of men were heard as
they were taken from different portions
of the building. The servant girls were
cut off from all escape when they dis
covered that the house was in flames.
Their screams could plainly be heard by
the people on Michigan Street and the
scene when they began leaping from the
top windows, about one hundred feet
from the ground, was terrible. Fathers
Keogh, McGill and Smith, and many
other of the city clergy, arrived on the
scene at any early hour and busted
themselves administering words of com
fort to the dying and manned and doing
all that they could to alleviate their suf-
fering.
THE LAST EARTHLY CARESs.
One of the saddest cases is that of
Allen johnson and wife They had
rooms on the third floor and like the
rest were driven to the windows. The
men below who held the canvas at the
southeast corner of the building, includ-
ing Detectives Riemer and McManus,
Lieut.. lockwood, Officer Paikowski.
Roundsman Sullivan, and others,
shouted for him to jump. Mr.. john
son kissed his wife, then leaped into the
air, shot downward into the canvas,
but his weight was such that the
canvas was pulled out of the mems
hands and he alghted on the ground
with fearful force. His wife fol-
lowed and struck the veranda. Both
were carried into the American Express
office. Mrs. johnson was dead and Mr..