The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-01-11
BURNED To DEATH.
4 Terrible Disaster in Mil
Waukep.
HOTEL FULL OF GUESTS
BURNED AT NIGHT.
Imprisoned Inmates Perish by
Scores.
A Hundred Lives Probably Lost,
Perhaps More.
The Building Long Regarded as
IA Death-Trap.

MILWAUKEE, Jan. 10,-The Newhall house
in his city was burned at an early hour this
morning, and seventy-five gersons, principally
guests were lost. The Newhall house was
six story brick building at the corner Of Michi-
gan street and Broadway. The fire was discov-
cred at a. m. In less than half an hour the
whole building long designated as death
trap" was enveloped in flames. Scenes Of the
utmost terror prevailed. Inmates jumped by
dozens from the upper stories to the stone side
walk, covering it with lifeess bodies The
shrieks Of the unfortunates filled the air. Peo-
pie below were unable to render any aid.
Quite number of terrified guests and employ
es OF che hotel appeared at the windows and
seeing the distence to the ground fell back to
perish in the flames. The employees of the
hotel, which accommodated 800 guests, num-
bered Sc and mostly lodged in the sixth story.
Their exit by way OF the roof cut off By
fire, and two stand pipes with the fire ladders
were not available for the same reason. A
very few were saved by jumping on canvas.
The s,Ores and offices on the ground floor
were entirely destroyed. They were on the
Michigan street side and somprise6 the offices
of the Mutual Union Telegraph company, II.
j. Baumgartner, sign painting shop, Galtz,
barber shop and Barnack & Armitage, Job
printers. On the Broadway front were the
Manufacturers bank. Metropolitan Plate Glass
Insurance company, the insurance agencies of
Charles Il Lewis, William T, Durand G. p
Hewitt, G. G. Hubbard & Co.. B. NJ Well,
West & Myers, L. FL. Wheeler. s. FL Watson,
agent of the Canada Southern r,ilroad, the
office of Nelson's coal yard and the office OF
the Merchants Despatch line. A number Of
Wholesale establishments on Water street were
damaged by fire and water and falling walls.
Among them were William G. Ames, banker,
the Goodyear rubber company, Louis Schodegg
q Co., wholesale Wine merchants, James Nor
gan, dry goods, Simmerman Bros, clothing.
William Candee, cashier of the Msnufac-
frrra rcf han rsaA . he
tuition containing money aud papers amount
ing to 5000 900 out of the flames
The insu anceS agencies and general offices
on the first floor scarcely saved anv papers.
The insurances on the hotels is S125, 900 all
held In Cincinnati agencies. The loss is about
S5OOOOO Fifty telegraph wires are down.
Comparatively few guests were in the hotel.
The oiel register is burned, and no exact
loss of life can be determined, but il will reach
90 or 60 dead and 20 or so wounded. So far %
bodies have been placed in the morgue, and 9
more are at places near the ruins. Identifca-
tion is slow.
So far as known the following are dead: AL
lenJohnsOn, commission merchant of Milwau-
kee, and wife; KITTY Bailey and Mary Burns,
servants; w. A Hall, miller of L4Porte; Ben
VanHooage, fireman. struck by falling tele.
graph pole; Lizzie Kelley, Magg Ovens, j.
Hall, Annie and Bessie Brown, Kate Stone.
ham, Maggie Sullivan, August Giess, Mary
McLade. all servants; Thomas e. VaDHourn,
Abbott, n. X; j. J Haugh, Marco, H.; ID.
q. Powers, Mrs. Brown, Mary Burke, Mary
Anderson, Mary Miller, Mary M. Mahon,
Mary Conroy, servants.
The following are missing: w. L. Durand,
insurance agent; Geo. g. Smith, passenger
agent the the Lake Shore and Michigan South
ern road; Mrs. l.. w. Brown; Miss Challie,
dressmaker; and Walter and William Gille-
lane.
The seriously injured are Orange Williams,
residence unknown: Ben Tice, clerk OF the
house; l.. W. Brown, train master of the
Northwestern Railroad; L. b. Elliot, lawyer
fatally; w R. Buezenbach. general western
passenger agent of the Michigan Central road;
Rose Burns. Mary Owens, Mamie McLaugh-
lin, KITTY Connors OF Doylestown, servants.
1t may safely be said that 90 persons are dead
and thirty seriously injured. The Mayor has
called meeting of the Chamber of Commerce
TO organize a salvage corps to search the ruins.
About week ago the secretary of the Local
Board OF Underwriters was applied to to make
rate on the building that the local agencies
might take the risks The building was con-
sdered death trap and risks were refused.
The Tom Thumb party and Madison Square
Company are all safe so far as learned Mrs.
John Gilbert of the Minnie Palmer Troupe,
who was married only two days ago was
burned to death in sight of the multitude.
The following guests are known to have
been saved or only slightly hurt: Edward Pol
lock of Lancaster, Wis; Rowell Sanford and
Rowel Medford of WIS; @. W. Briggs Of
Grand Rapids, Mich; John @. Clark of War
saw; Asa Jacobs and J. Il. Duval, agents Of
the CIR at Western Despatch and South Shore
Line; Geo. f. Lee North Western travelling
passenger agent of the Chicago, Rock Island
and Pacific Railroads; j W. Maxwell OF Gin
cinnati; X KOhn OF New York; NJ. Weber of
Laporte; and James WARDROBE OF New York.
The scenes at the morgue where 81 bodies
are lying, are heartrendering beyond descrip-
ton and a s'rong police force is necessary to
keep anxious enquiries in line.
Nineteen bodies havebeen identified, 3 bodies
are beyond recognition. The Fire Department
called for assistances from the Soldiers Home
but Geu Sharp refused to send their steamer
at which the indignation is great. The fire.
man made superhuman efforts. Eleven waiter
girls were brought safely across frail ladder
stretched over an alley from the sixth story of
the hotel to the roof of an adjoining bank
building. About a dozen untortunates at
tempted to jump but were rebounded oy tele-
graph wires, perfect mass of which surround
ed the two fronts of the building. Tom Thumb
escaped by the front entrance, and his wife
was saved by the tiremen through tire escape
as well as were w. II. Thompson, Messrs Her
bert and Dunlap, W. Q, Lavelle and others Of
Madison Square Company WHO arrived at mid
night. They we're only partially dressed. The
Chicago Board of Trade sent despatch prof.
fering assistance. Total value of the Newhall
House with furniture S277 600 Wm. e.
Cramer of the Evening Wisconsin,, was saved
through the heroic effortsof Charles Crossing,
a Sentinel typo. Chief clerk True who had q
narrow escape says 110 boarders and 90 en-
ployees were in the hotel. So far Sc are unac-
counted for.
The Latest Details.
OF 60 young waiter girls only eveyen were
heard from alive this evening 1t is feared
the estimate OF fifty lives lost formed the
morning is far too low and that fully double
that number were burned or smothered to
death in the blazing pyre. Police thiAk the
fire was of incendiarg origin but so far noshing
has been discovered to substsntiate theory.
1t is reported there were $50 guests in the
house last nigot. II this be true the horrors
that will be revealed by the removal of the de-
brias are too dreadful to contemplate. The
Newhall House wns enown to every traveller
in the northwest and to the people Of Milwau-
kee as a fire trap of the worss description and
while horror and sympathy are expressed on
all sides at the dreadful catastrophe. Wonder
also prevails to great extent that any travel
or resident could be found TO take up his abode
within its walls So far sixteen of the twenty
five bodies have been positively identified.
The fallen outside walls nearly all lump
ed over the partition wall from such an i'm
mepse heap of ruins il will be, impossible for
several days to begin the search, but nearly
hundred is generally accepted as the number
of lives lost. The list of wounded as complete
as can be given foots up sixteen names Forty
five persons are knswn to be dead or missing.