Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-01-26
A Story or Escape from the Milwaukee
Fire.

Mr.. Edward p. Half. Of New York.
who passed through terrible expert
ence at Milwaukee, on the occasion of
the burn NO OF the Newhall House was
one OF the first to leave tho hotel, yet
by the tine he had reached a place of
safety the house was so enveloped in
= oke and flames that it seemed i'm
possible for any one to be saved The
story as told by himself is briefly this:
II occupied room No. 2:8, on the
second floor, almost d rectly over the
office. and near the alley. A terrible
sensation of a crushing weight upon
my chest awoke me. and / lay for a
moment dazed and half-smothered and
heard clock strike four. The thick
smoke in the room was sitting, aud
cropping to the door I opened it. The
rush of flame and heated air not
smoke alone. but scorching. burning
air. met me, taking away my breath,
and well nigh my senses. A
Keeling form, with hair and whiskers
burned from the face and eve rows
gone. staggered toward me with wide
open mouth. gasping for breath From
the parched throat came inarticulate
means. / pulled him into the room,
closed the door. and tried to open the
window. 1t was locked. / broke a
pane of glass and caught a whiffof God
given air. BY the light of the burning
building / could see the telegraph wires
twenty feet away and half resolved to
jump. Nv companion in the room re-
vived little, and said he had come
from No. 22l, only four rooms distant.
and vet he had nearly persisted in max
ing the short journey. HIS name was
Maroney and he was from Rock Isl nd.
1t seemed ma mess to attempt to escaDe
through the scorching air that fill the
hallway, to essay again TO pass through
that fiery furnace, yet to jump
from the window was equally
hazardous, and to remain where
we were was certain death. The terri
BILE, voiceless silence added to the horror
of our situation. If there would only
come some cry, some human speech. to
relieve the pressing stiffness which
seemed to have enveloped the doomed
hotel, we would have taken fresh nope.
But all was still as that hell viii b
Dante pictures, save that the ap-
parently distant cracking of the flames
could be intly heard. 1t seemed as
though the sitting smoke had silenced
every voice. 1 felt as though we e
enduring some horr bic nightmare. ter
ribly real. The light in the room grew
brighter. and we hastily gathered up a
few articles and determined to
make break for lie through
the hall. Covering our faces so
as to breathe as little of the
tOrrid air as possible, we again
opened the door and ran along
the hallway toward the alley We met
young woman staggering through the
smoke and rop'ng along the walls, az
parently blinded or dazed. AS she was
almost naked. caught up n couple of
sheets. threw them around her. and
tried to lie d her wi h me- Sire was hope
lessly frightened. however. and could
only moan: MY Godi NV God! |
can'tr She finally fell into an open
doorway. and let her lying across the
threshold. Nv companion and crossed
the bridge into the hank bu lding and de.
scended to the ground. where we found
less than dozen guests. After nv
excitement had in some measu sub
sided, found m hand to he severely
cut from the pane of glass which had
broken. '-MitUdukee Special to Chica.
40 ines