Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-04-26
BETHEL BURNED.
A Tramps' Home on the Levee
at St. Louis Burned With
Loss
OF Three Lives-The Fire Supposed
TO be neutrality-suspicious. in
Wisconsin.
An Entire Family Drowned on the Upper
Wolf RiVer-0il on Firs-Railroad
Wreck.

ST. LOUIS. April ga thorough search
OF the ruins of the Bethel Home on the
levee, which burned last night, resulted
in the finding OF the bodies OF three
men. Their names are unknown. In the
hospital. burned and bruised. are George
Miller, hands burned; Frank Henken. legs
hurt; Alex. Webb, knee hurt; James
Smith. badly burned about the body. The
pecuniary loss TO the Bethel Home IS
s., 500; to Collier & Tate on the build
ing. IS 600; to others. 81 800; fully insured.
The fourth and fifth stories were occupied
by about seventy dodgers, forty OF whom
were colored, sleeping on the fifth floor.
Yesterday seems TO have been u day OF
debauch, for most of the men were aroused
from q drunken stupor with difficulty and
found their exit cut OF from the stairway.
Bill Anthony, a negro, found rope at the
fifth story hall window and gave tldings TO
others imprisoned as he slid out OF the win
dow to the pavement. There was general
scramble for the window and half a dozen
men at a time came down the rope hand
over hand while there was a general strug-
gle at the window OF frantic mon pursued
by smoke and fire. Andy White was
knocked down and trampled on in the rush
for the window and found others under
him. When he got out Of the window his
clothing was on fire.
The last man to come down the rope was
j. Malone, the night Waterman. who was
one of the first to learn OF the fire. He
through the building arousIng the men
and found his escape cut OF. Ia making for
the window he stumbled over Alex Webo,
a cripple, who was lying almost in the
flames, bruised and nearly suffocated Ma
lone was barned in taking up the man, but
he held bravely to his charge and came
safely down the rope with hun.
When The fire was at its herceSt man
was seen by the assembled crowd in the
fourth story to come toward the window.
In an instant he faltered, then fell back
into the flames. All the dodgers have been
accounted for.
Further investigation strengthens the
impression that the fire was lnccndiary
and not from the pipe of a boarder. Inc
fire started under the stairway of the
second floor and spread through the upper
floors, the only part OF the scent floor WIS.,
tied by the flames being the hall and STAIR
way.
FATAL FLOODS.
CHICAGO. April 2L-A dispatch from
Neenah, Wis, says: At Embarrass, on
the Upper Wolf river last night, an entire
family named Lathrop, comprising father
mother and three children, were drowned
in the flood. They lived in a small shanty
near the bank of the stream and, though
they had been warned to leave their
dangerous abode, they neglected to do so
and the floods swept the building and oc-
cupants down the stream.
A portion of the bank OF the Government
canal at aukauna, Wis, has been washed
away. A gang of men worked all night re-
pairing the hole, and to-day men are en-
gagged In raising the banks all along the
canal. The water carried away the rear
portion of the fume of the American Pulp
Company's mill which has been shut down
IN consequence. The Kaukauna lumber
and manufacturing works has also been
shut down.
The river is almost at a standstll at
Por, age, Wis, and there is no change in
the situation. A dispatch from Kilbourne
reports that the river is falling there.
Prairie Du Chen reports the river still
continuing to rise. The Fourth ward is all
under water and the people have to go
about in b. ats. The First ward is also
submerged and by night The railroad track
in that district was under water. Three
inches more rise in the Wisconsin will
float the track OF the Chicago, Milwaukee
& st. Paul road from Bridgeport to Wau-
kesha. No great damage has yet been
done The saw mill yards are all doomed
in and are safe.
OIL TANKS ON FIRE.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, April 21.-At Fort
w ayne yesterday afternoon sparks from
Wabash locomotive kindled fire IN a barn
at the storage depot OF the Standard Oil
Company and the flames spread TO a large
pile OF oil barrels and thence to six large |
oil tanks which successfully exploded, re-
leasing the burning oil and destroying the |
property. The agent OF the |
refuses to place estimate on |
the loss, but the tanks contained 1900 |
barrels Of oil and half as much gasoline.
TRAIN WRECKED.
WINFIELD, Kan, April 2l.-A freight and |
tram OF eighteen cars was |
by the falling Of brake on the |
Santa Fe and Walnut Valley route, two |
miles south of Augusta last evening, and |
fifteen cars heavily loaded with mixed |
freight were pitched into 4 shapeless mass. |
The rails were twisted IN all shapes and |
the track torn up for a hundred yards. /
None of the eleven passengers Were hurt,
the coach staying on the track