Huntsville gazette., 1885-03-28
A "FlRE TRAP" BURNED.

- INT OOhING0s
The Lansham Hotel At Chicago Totally
Destroyed BY Fire-Several Lives Lost
Miraculous Escapes of Some of the
Guests-The Dead and Missing.
CHICAGO, ILL, March 22.-The Lang
ham Hotel, formerly the Burdick House,
located at the corner Of Wabash avenue
and Jackson streets, was entirely de-
stroyed by fire last evening, notwith-
standing the persistent efforts of eleven
fire steamers, whose many streams of
water seemed but to make the flames,
which extended from cellar to garret, burn
fercer and brighter. The fire originated
in one of the lower rooms from kero-
sene lamp, which was accidentally over
turned. At the time the restaurant of
the house contained 100 guests at supper,
and as many more were in their rooms.
The people in the restaurant had no
trouble in getting out, but several per-
sons in the upper rooms had very mar
row escape.
Mrs. Belknap, an elderly lady, was
killed jumping from the fourth story
into the alley. Subsequently the cry
was raised that the walls were falling,
and that Bulwinkle's fire ins urance pa
trolmen were inside the building. A por-
tion of the south wall was seen to to tier
and then it came down with a
crash. Two members of the fire insur-
ance patrol barely escaped the tumbling
bricks Iand timbers. Two others were
pinned fast, but after long efforts were
finally extricated. The legs of both
were severely bruised. Patrolmen A.
Jones and John Walsh are believed to
The firemen never ceased tn cir efforts to
secure the two missing patrolmen and
about four hours afterward they were
found in the basement of the building
next to the hotel, buried under broken
flooring and fragments of the falling wall.
They were taken out alive, and will prob
ably survive their injuries.
The escape of Mrs. j. A. Murray and
child was marvellous. The lady occupied
a room on the fifth floor, and was un-
aware Of danger till it was too late to at
tempt to descend the stairways. She
reached the fire-escape, but at each floor
found the hole in the grating too small
to admit the passage of herself and in
faEt, and she was therefore compelled
four times, with the flames bursting
around her, to seat the child upon the
platform, lower herself over the edge and
reach up for the little one. Mrs. Murray
and quarter of an hour afterward had
xuho1ly racnyarad from tho affactc nf hor
terrible experience.
Policeman Marks saw two domestics at
one of the second-story windows after it
was supposed all the inmates had been
rescued. He rushed up the burning
staircase, and a few moments later ap-
peared, dragging out both women, who
had been rendered unconscious by smoke.
The hotel, which is a total loss, was
erected Immediately after the great fire.
While substantial looking outside, it was
called fire-trap. 1twas formerly known
as the Burdick House, then as the Craw-
ford, and, recently, as the Langham.
Cummings & Howard, owners. Shaw &
Son leased the establishment. The lat
ter's loss is $4,000; insurance, $4,000.
The building was valued at $4,000 and
insured for half. Kietz & Son, picture
trainers, and Harden'S hand-grenade
agency suffer total loss; insurance un-
known.
CHICAGO, ILL, March 22.-Another
victim is added to the list of fatalities
connected with the burning of the Lang
ham House last night. The body of John
Hennessey, an employe of Faxon & Co.,
was recovered from the ruins this after
noon. He was among the party buried
beneath the falling wall, and was found
crushed beneath heavy piano. The
dead are:
John Hennessey; single, twenty-eight;
Winthrop Place.
William Bean; married, seventy-two;
Van Buren street.
Mrs. Belknap. !,
Fire Insurance Patrolmen John Walsh
and Edward Jones; both single.
Mrs. Belknap might have been saved,
but became wild with fright and leaped
from fifth story window to the street
while ladder was being raised for her
rescue. Nothing is known of her identity
further than that she came from Alabama,
and had only been at the hotel few
DAYS. Her neck was broken by the fall.
A blind man named Thompson, an en-
ploye of the hotel, is missing. Also a
travelling salesman from New York, name
unknown. The travelling mans baggage
was saved from the hotel office, bears the
initials ssD. r. B." which is all that is
known of him. He was seen to enter the
building when the alarm sounded, and
has not yet appeared to claim the bag
gage.
Mr.. and Mrs. Hooly, OF Cincinnati had
a miraculous escape. Both are cripples,
and unable to walk. Mr.. Hooly is a
member of the firm of Snyder & Hooly, OF
this city, When the fire broke out Mr..
Martindale, cashier of the firm, was on
business visit to their room on the fourth
floor. He caught the invalids, one under
each arm, and, carrying them to the ele-
vator, started downward. They rushed
into the very heart of the fire, however,
and the car became as hot as an oven.
Reversing the motion, they tried the third
floor, but found the door locked. Mar
tfndale threw himself against it, broke it
open and dragged the couple down three
flights of stairs and into the street.
Mr.. and Mrs. Sears, of Salt Lake City,
were hemmed in by the flames and
thought death certain. They were about
to administer laudanum, when the fire.
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