The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-11-01
BIG FIRE AND LOSS OF LIFE.
Destruction of One of Chicago's Huge
SiX-StOry Business Structures.
Under the Debris from the Falling Walls
One Man Killed and Others Hurt.

CHICAGO, Oct 31-A CONFEDERATION causing the
| loss of nearly quarter of million of dollars
and probably several lives occurred in the
knight & Leonard sixstory building, 100 and III
East Madison street between 4 and 5 o'clock
this morning. The inmates of the dozens of
gambling houses in the vicinity were unaware of
the fire at the outset, and it made such rapid
way that none had stirred from the tables until
the lives of most of them were imperiled. Then
wild stampede ensued. The propretors hur-
RED their gold and greenbacks into satches,
others shoveled ivory chips into bags, a few
rushed down stairs loaded with roulette wheels,
faro-tables and gambling paraphernaia ofall de-
scriptions. But these were the exceptions. The
majority-dealers, lookouts and players-rose
together and came tearing out of the buildings,
After an hours work by the firemen the flames
were under comparative control.
At this time six men of the insurance patrol
were in the building, singing tarparlins over
the stock of the Goodyear Rubber Company.
Suddenly there was a terrible crash, followed by
a dense wave of smoke and sparks, which
pushed out into the street. The roof and top
floor had fallen through to the basement, bury
ing the men of the insurance patrol in the ruins.
A moment after the crash detachment Of fire.
men and insurance patrolmen, led by Chief
Sweenie, rushed to the rescue. The cries of the
imprisoned men could be heard above the
din. Hardly were the rescuers at work
chopping and tearing away the fallen debris
when there was another crash, and a heavy
pilce of machinery fell from the third floor. 1t
far back in the building that no one was
hurt, and the rescuers continued manfully with
out a stop George Furnet was the first man
out. tie came up through a hole which had
been made in the sidewalk lights over the base
ment. He was only slightly injured. VIM.
Darby also managed to crawl out of the ruins
with only slight injuries. The rescuing party
found Captain Hume pinned down under a
fallen beam and wedged in between two boxes
Of goods. He was carried out with both legs
crushed and the left foot turned completely
around. p. L. Mullins was dragged from under
two heavy beams He fearfully cut
about the head and body Gus Bnrgemenke
being held down by heavy piece of printing
machinery, that all efforts to release him
seemed useless The imprisoned man clutched
convulslvely at the iron bars and wheels beg
ging his comrades to xiii him, they could not
get him out. The sewer of the basement had
become choked IN, and the immense amount of
water thrown into the building was rapidly ris-
ing under Borgemenke, while flames were
gradually eating their way toward him. Chief
Sweenie ordered an engine detached from fire
plug and set to work pumping the basement
of the foods from the other engines. whose eff
forts were redonbled against the fire. The waters
had just reached B9rgemenkes chin, when
they began to go down and the flames commenced
N Eecede. With the aid of Jackscrews the ma
chnery was at last raised, and B9rgemenke,
who for nearly three-quarters of hour had
given himself mp for lost, was carried to the hos
pital. One of his legs is broken and arm is
shattered, but it is thought he will live. G.
PapIneau, aged thirty, could not be found, and
after n long search was given up for lost. 1t was
not until eleven hours after that his body was
found. In the recovery or the corpse another
fireman was fatally injured and a patrolman seri-
ously wounded.
The fire and the fall of the roof damaged many
telephone and telegraph wires Gangs Of line
men were sent 10 the roofs of adjoining build
ines 20 straighten the tangled mass. They were
requested to wait until the fremen had found
Papineaus body, but the wire-workerS did not
comply. While pulling heavy cable over a
wall. piece of Jagged iron cornice was dislodged.
1t fell to the base mentand struck fireman Michael
McGovern. The sharp iron struck him in the
small of the back, and while his companions
picked him up policemen hurried to the roof
and intercepted the linemen. While helping to
carry out the wounded man, William Cornell. of
the insurance patrol, fell through hole in the
broken sidewalk, and was seriously injured
that he had to be taken to the hospital. Nc
Govern Was horribly mangled by the cornice,
and is dying Eighteen of the line-men were
put under arrest, but afterwards released, tele-
graph officials becoming their sureties.
The building was occupied by number of
large firms. The Goodyear Rubber Company
had the basement and first floor of Nos los
and 107. Their stocI was valued at 800, 900:
insured for $4,000. The company's loss is
$4,000 Salisbury & Cline, agents for the
Goodyear Manufacturing Company, Boston Belt
ing Company Gossamer Rubber Clothing Com
pany and James Davis & Co. had the basement
and first floor of No. 100 Their $l5O000 stock
is damaged $50. 600; insured for $50. 000 knight
81 Leonard. printers, the upper floors, lose
about $50 900; insurance, SAG. 0O0 VIM. Wilson
& Co. book binders and publishers. lose $780, 600,
and have but $4,000 insurance. G.. NJ. MagilIs
printing establishment is damaged $4, 900; fully
insured. r. G. Badeau & Co., publishers, and
the Derby Paper Company also have small loss
es. The building is owned by Judge L. G. P
Freer, whose loss is about $50, 900; believed to be
fully insured.