Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-03-23


Missing and Relieved 10 Have Per
fShed in the Flames.
CHICAGO, March 23.-It seems to be the gen.
eral impression this morning that not all the
horrible details of the Langham hotel fire have
yet been made public. There are many who
believe that when the WORK of clearing away
the debris in the interior of the building is be-
gun III VIII be aScertained that more than five
persons lost their lives. Ii is said that some of
the guests and servants were asleep at the time
the flre occurred. The hotel register was burned
up ana those inmates OF the hotel who escaped
scattered To various other hotels and went to
dl1ferent parts OF the city. 1t is now considered
more than probable that when the south wall
above the second story fell, n few moments after
the fire started in the laundry and crept up
through the elevator shaft 10 the roof, IL carried
with 1T sections of the two three upper floors.
III TINS supposition is true and any of the guests
or the help were upon those floors at the time
escape was impossible, and they must have met
a lrlght1ul ana speedy death with the Railways
hlled with dense black smoke and the gas
shut OF by the explosion of the meters: as is
claimed by some of the guests, II must have
been almost miraculous if those occupying
rooms distant from the stairways or fire-escape
succeeded in getting ont OF the building alive.
The case OF Mrs. Belknap is cited 10 confirm
this opinion. She evidently found all the pas
sageways SO filled with flame and smoke that
she dared not undertake 10 go through them.
Seeing herself in imminent danger of death il
she remained in the building, she hurled her.
self from "A window in an upper story, and
falling upon the Hilger building, broke her
dangerous predicament until il was too late
even to jump to the street.
Rumor has it that at least three guests not
heretofore mentioned perished in the flames.
Z. NJ. Shaw, the manager of the hotel. and Mr..
Gerrett, his cashier. state that two miGdle-aged
men, whose names they do not remember came
TO the motel at a:3O p. IN. and We're assigned to
room No. 10. They We're both intoxicated. and
said they wanted 10 go to bed and sleep until
they got sober. 81 have not seen or heard of
them SINCE said Mr.. shaw, ''and should not be
greatly surprised to hear that they did not get
out OF the building alive. although they might
easily have done If they were awake at
the time. They are the only persons that / am
in doubt Of The servants, believe, all got out.
L nave made inquiries for them and for all the
guests thatI could think of, and have heard OF
none being missing Another man supposed
to have perished is named Joseph Rice. He
was about fifty years of age. and was n travel
house, 1T is said. John Hallowell. who runs a
saloon just across the street from the Langham
hotel, says: about seven O'Clock Rice was in
my place told him that the hotel was on fire.
Rice jumped up and said he must get his trunk
out. He asked Mr.. Hughes, OF the firm of
Beaver, Hughes & Wetmore, TO 60 with him.
Ihey both rushed across the street and into the
building. A few moments later Hughes came
back with a trunk. i asked him where Rice
was, and he said he guessed he was all right:
that he got separated from him because the
smoke was SO thick in the building they could
not see each other. We all expected Rice to
turn up, but he has not been seen yet.'
Mr. Shaw, manager of the hotel, says that he
does not believe that Rice was caught in the
building. "He paid his bill,'' Mr. Shaw says,
land LETT the house at 5 o'clock with his trunk
de took 1t to depot to get it checked for the
east He may have come back. however, after
his hand satchel which he left in his room" A
longtime guest of the hotel was man named
Thompson, who was blind. He has not been
seen since the fire, and it is feared that he also
became victim. There are rumors of several
others being missing and burned, but they are
too vague to merit mention.