The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-01-18
HOLOCAUST.
Milwaukee the Scene Of a Fire
Horror Never Equaled
in the West.
The Nowhall House, . six-story
Ho.el, Burns il thu Darkness.
Shocking Loss Of Life Thrilling Expert.
ences Of Some OF Those Who
Escaped.

About o'clock on the morning of the 10th
INST flames appeared in the basement Of the
Ncwhall House Mt Milwaukee, and with mar
velous rapidty made their way to the roof,
giving NEG ~ 700 people the choice Of roast
Ing nlive or leaping to the icy pavement
The sitting smoke drove many to the win
dow sills, where they clung desperately for
a time, but were soon compelled to let go
their hold and be crushed on the sidewalk.
Three fruitlcss attempts to save life by hold
ing a canvas beneath the imperiled
guests were made by firemen and
citizens The servants were cut off from
the stairways but Il fireman with q ladder
bridge rescued eight girls by taking them
across the alley. One man slid down rope
OF sheets tied to sewing machine. A din
Ing room girl rushed down the blazing staif-
ways to tho Office In ninety minutes the
walls fell in with deafening crash. The
loss of life will probably reach 100, while
there are twenty-five missing. The pecu1i-
iary loss will probably aggregate s5N,OA A
correspondent at the scene Of the holocaust
furnishes the following details Of the dread
ful calamity:
The fire was said to have caught in the
basement, shot with lightning rapidity up
the elevator shaft. and burst forth in
terrific volume from the roof The flames
spread ont In the different stories rs they
were reached, and, in a few minutes after
the first alarm, the floors un tho south
end Of the building were sea of fire, all
burning at once Quests, awakened from
their sleep by the heat or the bursting OF
the flames into their rooms were forced to
the windows. where their heartrending
cries rang in the cars Of the vast concourse
of people gathered in the street. powerless
fn al Nsy1,n in, hn oil
walks Of life have been accounted
heartless and unfeeling wr,,ng their
hands in despair. running about utterly be-
wildered, eXciaimng: My God! my God,
this is horrible." Then black object would
appear on the outside OF the window, driven
out by the smoke and flame, piercing
scream rend the morning air. and heavy
thud would announce that n human being
had dropped from the dizzy height to meet
death on the pavement below.
At one time there were six persons hang
ing from six window-sills at the fifth story
for the help that could not be rendered
them, and one after another loosened their
grip and met their fate.
One man, by letting himself down at arms
length from a fifth-story window, put his
feet through the window below and reached
the fourth tioor in safety. The operation
was repeated until the third fioor was
reached, each point in his perilous descent
being greeted with encouraging cheers from
the hyStandera As he was putting his feet
through tho top OF the second story window
his hand slipped from the sill above, and
with wild shrek of despair he fell back
ward. turning over several times and strik-
ing the pavement on his head, and was man
gled beyond recognition.
Another man jumped from the history
window, struck the telegraph wires on Mich
igan street, houndednp, and came down q
mang'ed mass OF flesh and bones
4 number Of people dropped out Of the
different stories on to the jumping canvas
but, in majority Of eases they We're killed
outright On sustained injuries from which
there Is little hope Of recovery
During the progress Of the ire two men
appeared AT II window in an upper story,
and, as they locked down upoii the scene
below, the lloar Of the room gave way. and
with an agonizing shriek. they fell back
ward into the .ortex of flames
Mr. Alien Johnson and his wife sprany
from n iifth-stery window. He was caught
in the jumping canvas but sustained in-
lurics from witch he died. His wife struck
on the telegraph wires. bounded over, and
was also caught. but was so badly injure |
that she only survived her husband about an
hour
In three quarters Of an hour after the dis
covery of the fire the building was n total
loss. At ,::;o o'clock the Broadway front Of
the building. unsupported by raftars from
within, gave out and came laundering to
the pavement shortly after that the tot
tering walls Of the southeast corner of tho
building followed, tearing a heavy telegraph
pole TO the ground. which fclled Hen Van
Haag, a truckman Of Hook and Ladder Com
pany No , beneath its weight Poor Ben,
a favorite in the department, received fatal
injuries He died in few hours later faith
full to his post unto death
While these scenes are being enacted on
the Broadway and Michigan sides of the ill.
fated building. one of still l-greater horror
was being enacted in tho alley In the rear.
The servants quarters were in the northwest
quarter of the building, remote from the
place in which the fire was raging. but all
means OF escape by the stairways was cut OF!
by the flames As the terrible roaring and
cracking of the flames struck upon thcil
ears they became nic-strickcn. and eight
Of them followed each other In leaping from
the dizzy height to the ground in the alley.
The jumping canvas was on hand. but 1t WA
powerless in tho conflict with death, and
was clotted over with the victims blood
At this juncture the cool headed hero Oi
the day appeared upon the top of the build
ing, opposite the servants quarters with |
ladder in his hand For moment the long
unwieldy thing poised in mid air and theI
descended, with crash, through the win
dow of the hotel 1t framed q bridge across
the alley, however, and before It becam,
steady In its position the man had crosset
over into the hotel Then, amid the cheer
of the multitude below, the man dragge,
the helpless creatures across the slende
bridge until fully dozen were rescued The,
were all OF them in their night clothes. an,
many were badly frozen before they coul,
! be taken To shelter. 4 woman in a dea,
faint. and unable tn help herself in any par
\ ticular. was dragged across in safety. but q
| one time the whole OF her body was hangin.
Ill
/ man held her by one of her ankles III
/ crowd below held their breath in suspense
| expecting every moment to see the latlde
! turn over or break beneath the terribl
strain The man, however was equal to til
emergency, and, by hcrculean eifor
| pulled her upon the slender bridge and fina
I IL placed her out Of danger. while tn
crowd, which had endured the most painft
suspense for fully ten minutes. burst fort
with round after round Of applause.
As early as . o'clock the bodies Of seve
unfortunate waiter girls, once blooming |
youth. were stretched upon the snow an
ice. with broken limbs, writhing In a.on
until death ended their sufferings Afte
almost superhnman efforts ladders wei
stretched from the roof Of the bank -buildin
across the alley to the sixth story of tn
hotel, and the brave fire-laddies carried t.
girls across the frail bridge. four OF thel
dead The maze OF telegraph wires ei
elrcllng the building on tke south an
east sides played ead havoc with II
unfortunates who made the frigh
full leap. Several of the bodies wei
fairly cut deep into by the wires, al
then the torn and bleeding forms woul
drop 10 the ground Others would hit tl
wires crossways. rebound, and be- hurled I
the ground with dreadful crash To Il
poor unfortunate waiter girls tall lodged
the sixth story and the attics) the saddles
lot had fallen. Or the sixty young CIR
only eleven were heard from rs alive rs lal
as evening
The dead and portion Of the wounds
We're conveyed To the American Expire
office. The wounded were cared for at Il
Kirby House and the stores on East Wat
street
John T. .Antisdel the principal proprieto
was driven crazy over the terrible atfai
He ran up and down Michigan street. moa
ing and CRYING: @Oh' Oh My tod, who y
that aiiress Over his head was a bla.
cloth. lie held his hands heayenward as
invoking divine aid When he came To Il
mangied body Of one of his guests his ra
ings We're iatiful i'm the extreme. All effor
to soothc him failed His son and partnt
James Antisdel, stood on tho street, sile
aud undemonstrative. rs IL paralyzed by Il
horror All OF the landlords family Q
capped