Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1883-01-17
Appalling Calamity.

The Newhall House, a large hotel In the city
Of Milwaukee was destroyed by FIRE early Wed.
nesday morning the 10th inst In the confagra-
tion scores OF human beings Of every rank in life
from the humble servant up to the wealthy man
OF business or OF pleasure, persisted The FIRE
was discovered at four o'clock In tho morning
1t originated In the basement near the elevator
and shot up the shaft to the roof with the speed
OF lightning. Thus the flames made their APP
pearance on every floor almost simultaneously
The elevator shaft was near one OF the two stair
ways leading up from the Office so that this was
speedily In blaze, cutting off retreat In this
direction for half the occupants Of the house.
For short time the other stairway avaed as
a means OF exit. Means OF exit also existed at
the north end Of the hall on the fourth floor,
through window protected by iron shutters, and
leading to the roof OF the building adjoining on
the north. A covered passageway westward
across the alley from the fourth floor and an un-
covered passage way from the fifth floor In the
same direction also afforded means OF escape;
but, unfortunately but few OF the panic.stricken
occupants OF the building bethought themselves
OF these. In fact, those who had been aroused
from deep slumber were awakened to find
their rooms filed with smoke, and were at once
driven to the windows for relief from suffocation
On partially recovering, the flames had so far
spread through the Railways that only one of two
things remained to stay In their rooms and be
burned to death or to jump to the pavement be-
low and meet certain, perhaps instantaneous,
death. By the time the fire department reached
the scene In response to the alarms, the different
floors OF the huge structure were sea OF roaring
and cracking flames. The guests and servants
Of the hotel rent the air with their heartrending
cries and appeals for help which those in the fast
increasing multitude In tho streets below were
powerless to render. Mes who In the daily walks
| OF life have been accounted heartless and I'M
| feeling wrung their hands In despair, running
about utterly bewildered, exclaiming: "My God
| my Cod This Is horriblep' Then q black OBJ
| ject would appear on the outside Of the window,
| driven out by the smoke and flame. A piercing
scream would rend the air and heavy crash
would announce that human being had dropped
from the dizzy height to meet death on the pave
ment below. At one time there were six persons
| hanging from the window stills OF the fifth story
crying In agonizing tones for help, and one after
another loosed his grp and met his fate; One
man by letting himself down at arms length
from a tifth-story window, put his foot through
the window below and reached the fourth floor
| In safety. This operation was repeated until the
perilous descent being greeted with encouraging
cheers from the bystanders. As he was putting
his feet through the top OF the second-story winf
dow his hand slipped from the sill above, and
| with a wild shrek of despair he fell backward,
turning over several times, and striking the pave
ment. He was picked up and borne off mangled
| corpse Men and women jumping from the up
| per stories caught on telegraph wires, bounded
| up and came down masses OF flesh and bones.
Others were caught on canvas stretched to re-
ceive them only TO have 1t forced from the strong
hands which held it and perish by contact with
| the sidewalk. While these terrible scenes were
Denk enacted AT the fronts OF the lll-fated build
ing, in the narrow alley in the rear still greater
horrors were witnessed. The servants quarters
were In the northwest part of the building re-
mote from the place in which the fire was raging,
cut off by the flames As the terrible roar
ing and cracking OF the flames struck upon
their ears they became panic-strcken, and
eight of them followed each other In leap
ing from the dizzy height to the ground In
the alley. The jumping canvas was on hand,
but It was powerless In the conflict with death.
| At this juncture heroic fireman appeared on the
top OF the building directly opposite the servants
quarters with ladder In his hand. For a mo-
ment the long, unwiedy thing poised in mid-air
ard then descended with crash through the
window Of the hotel. 1t formed a bridge across
the alley and before 1t became steady In its posi-
ton the man had crossed over into the burning
building. Then, amid the cheers of the multi
tude below, the man dragged the helpless crea-
lures across the slender bridge until seven or
eight were rescued. They were all in their night
clothes. woman In dead faint, unable to
help herself in any particular was dragged across
in safety, but one time the whole Of her body was
hanging over clear of the ladder, while the brave
man held her by one Of her ankles The crowd
| below held their breath in suspense, expecting
every moment to see the ladder fall over OF
break beneath the terrible strain. The man, how
ever, was equal to the emergency, and, by her.
culean effort, pulled her through the slender
bridge and finally placed her out of danger, while
the crowd, which had endured the most painful sus-
pense for ten minutes, burst forth in applause.
few escaped by means OF ropes made of sheets.
One poor woman, surrounded by flames, appeared
| at window In one OF the upper stories looked
imploringly down upon the throng below, and
then fell back into the vortex OF fire and perished
There was fire escape within her reach, but she
was so overcome by the horror Of her situation
| that she was powerless to act. Many harbreadth
escapes are recorded, and many acts of heroism
| by the rescuers. Within half an hour from the
time the fire was first discovered the flames had
| completed their terrible work. OF three hundred
fated walls when ne alarm was given, one hum
dred are believed TO have persisted either in the
flames or by leap ~ from the windows. Suffoca-
| ton mercifully relieved many from the terrors
and sufferings of their fiery fate. Workmen are
now engaged in exhnming the remains of those
| who persisted in the fire. As the men opened up
the ruins the odor of burning flesh became more
and more apparent. Up to the evening of the
18TH five little heaps of charred human flesh were
| found. The remains of man lying upon mat
tress were found. They were burned beyond all
| recognition. Here part OF human trunk, there
part OF a foot, were discovered. Indeed the de-
tails OF the terrible scenes during the fire and OF
the subsequent explorations, filling many columns
OF the daily papers, are shocking beyond the
power OF language to portray The hotel has
been the repeated object of incendiary attempts.
Two years ago a man was discovered in the act of
firing the building in the partition near the ele-
vator. The timely appearance OF the Waterman
averted the final disaster, for this appalling
| calamity is attributed to the incendary's torch,
ST. Louis, the burning of the Southern Hotel.
Many lives were lost, but the Milwaukee horror
overshadows any disaster Of the kind in this
country. This repeated warning should lead to a
thorough investigation in every state by compe-
tent commissioners of the character OF the build
ings in which hundreds of travellers nightly lie
down to sleep The precautions for safety should
not be left to the irresponsible care OF landlords
The rigid exSctons imposed upon railways for
the protection of human life should BIO no less
forcibly laid upon hotel keepers. They should be
kept alive by vgant supervision and, II need be,
rendered more binding by the requirement Of am
pie bonds. misunderstanding to later reports,
Tice, the head clerk OF the Newhall House, says
that near the foot Of the stairs leading from the
inside Of the hotel to the barber shop was a closet
used for kindlings, separated by wooden parti.
ton from the shaft Of the elevator. The fire was
set in that closet. The flames fed on the wood In
the hatchway, soaked with oil by the machinery
and rushed up the shaft bursting ont In the third
and fourth stories, where 1t was first seen from
the outside. Fifty-one bodies, so far, have beer