The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-01-15
Continuation Of the Search f
Bodies at Milwaukee.
The Total Known to Be Lost Brought "a
to ty-Three-Dest7uctive Fires
at Other Points.
THE PLANTERS HOUSE FIRE.
Three Hundred Panic Stricken Guests--Ts,
Servants Suffocated.

CINE room of the Planters House discovered
live Goals dropping on the paved alley just
ontside the window. Going out, he found
the alley so densely filled with smoke that it
was impossible to distinguish the locality Of
the fire which caused it. The Goals, how.
ever, evidently came from the store-room Of
the hotel, which is part of frame structure
extending out across the alley at the second
floor, and butting on the large furniture
warerooms of the auction house of Block,
Tyler & Co. The fireman ran to the end Of
the alley, where high gates enclose it, max
ing, with the frame structure, long, mar
row room in which the smoke
had accumulated. He succeeded ia
getting the gates open, thus creating
a current which carried of some of the
smoke, and then returned to try to extin-
guish the fire. He found. however, that il
had a strong hold in the storeroom and in
the kitchen, which is Immediately over the
boiler room where he was at work. He gave
an alarm, and in three minutes the hotel
was bedlam. Nearly 800 people filled with
the horrible recolections of the AIlwaukea
holocaust, were dashing hither and thither
through the main corridors and down tho
several stairways into the Office and street.
The hotel employees acted with good sense
and promptness, rappng long and loud on
every door in the house, and five minutes
later making a second trip to insure that
everybody was up and advised of the danger.
Very few waited to dress, as the smoke from
the rear building where the fire was located,
hoA al DIV inn lao md
making its way slowly into the
rooms. Stopping only to grab few
articles of clothing, men, women and chill
dren fled in dismay, and would not halt, even
in the commodious main office, where there
was light comfort and little smoke.
AS the engines the first of which arrived
within fifty seconds OF the sounding Of the
alarm, dashed up to the hotel the stream Of
fugtives began to pour from the doors.
There were men in naught but their under
clothes, women with but a nightdress ami
possibly a shawl or cloak over their should
ers, and little children hastily bundled in
blankets or other wraps; few with shoes
while a great many were in their bare feet
The lights of the Republican and the Globe
Democrat offices and of gambling-house all
OF which were within distance OF block,
led the half-crazed people % q temporary
refuge of warmth, whence carriages ia
few moments removed them 10
other hotels. Some of the scenes
incident to this hegira were quite thrilling,
their effect being intensified by the rattle,
cang and shrek of the engines and the
shouts of the fremen. Soon the main body
of the hotel was cleared of guests and the
building was in possession of the lremen,
who, within twenty minutes, as a result of a
second alarm, had thirteen engines at work
EVENTS IN THE REAR OF THE HOTEL
Meantime events in the rear of the build
ing we're OF far more ugly character. The
hotel, which is six stories in height, fronts
on the west side of Fourth street, from Chest
nut to Pine, while a wing runs back on both
Chestnut and Pine streets to the depth of
half block. Thus the main building forms
three sides of a rectangle. The fourth
side is formed by a four-story building,
forty years old, midway on which, on the
ground floor, is the boiIerroom above re-
ferred to, and the kitchen on the floor above
it. The two upper floors are occupied by
the help of the house, some seventy-tive in
number Alongside the boier-room
narrow stairway rises and winds to the roof
The fire, which started very close to this
stairway was carried up to the roof by the
draft in the stairway, and thus not only cut
off escape by that means, but also formed a
barrier which prevented the men sleeping
in the south hall of the building from
reaching another stairway at the
north end; hence these unfortunatcs
almost smothered by smoke were compelled
to climb out on the roof of the frame struc-
ture which abutted over the alley and
thence either jump or lower themselves by
means of pulley rugged there for hoistng
supplies. One poor fellow was seen to start
down the stairway before the fire reached
the third floor, and an hour later his crisped
corpse was found in the Kitchen near the
foot of the stairs. Another employee who,
although answering to a call, seems to have
been too much stupetied by smoke to get uD,
for two hours afterward his dead body was
| found on a smoking mattress.
| The female help escaped by the stairway at
the north end save one, who broke her ankle
in jumping to the root
THE WORK OF THE FlREMEN
The fremen made a grand fight, and noz.
zles were carried through the walls of smoke
right to where the flames were raging and,
Notwithstanding the infammable nature of
the building, they succeeded iu preventing
the fire from extending beyond distance OF
twenty feet from the point of its origin but
in that space it burned through the roof, de-
! sroying about ten rooms The remainder Of