Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-10-08
PANIC IN A HOTEL.
A Frantic Rush at the Bates
House, indianapolis.
GUESTS sTAMPEDED FROM DINNER.

General Tumble or the Balcony-1n-
vaIids Taken from the Upper Floors by
Ladders-A Brief Season of Wild Fright
and Nobody Hurt-Ths Hotel Badly
Damaged-An Ungoverned Engine Fans
q Fire in Ptttsburg.
INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. S-The Bates house,
a four story brick hotel of 300 rooms, and
one of the most handsomely equipped in the
city, was the scene of a lively fire scare
shortly after noon yesterday. The blaze
originated in the basement. A large num-
Der Of the 200 guests were at dinner when
the first alarm sounded, and a stampede was
made for the Office stairway. Ths smoke
was so dense, however that they ret reated.
Turning to the front balcony they went pell-
nell through the halls the women being
hustled from 81 lie to side and forced against
the walls, while their screams added to the
confusion and increased the excitement
The Fugitives Escape.
Reaching the balcony nearly all the men
lesped over the railing and swung down &c
the pavement below. The firemen Their
placed ladder against the edge Of the bal
cony and the ladies and children were as
sisted to the pavement, all escaping unburt.
Second and third alarms were sounded,
greatly increasing the excitement, and final
ly the firemen cut holes in the tiled corridor
for the purpose Of getting water down on
the blaze When the holes were opened,
however, smoke and flames coming up drove
them away In few moments the entire
hotel was filed with smoke
A Sick Mans Peril.
II C. Parker, traffic manager of the Lake
Erie and Western road, was lying i'll in q
room ON the fourth floor, James A Young
being also there. Mr.. Parker was unable &c
heed the warning to get out, and an exten
sion ladder was raised to his window The
sick man was carried down the ladder in the
arms of a fireman, and Young followed. A
few people who yet remained ON the second
floor began to get frightened and crowded
out on the versnda- They were in no par.
tIcular danger, hut as the women were be
coming terribly excited all were brought
down on ladders, among them being the wife
of States Attorney Mitchell, who is an in
valid
Getting at the Fire.
Meanwhile the tile floor of the Office haC
been again broken open, and the whole fel
in, sending sparks and blazing pieces of tim
Der up to the second floor. Half doza
streams were soon brought to bear and in
thirty minutes the fire was subduei Tht
office and basement of the hotel are a com
pete wreck, and there is more or less dam
age all over the house from smoke Every
corridor and most of the rooms will hav,
to be repainted, and there is alsC
great deal of damage to furniture
There was over Sl0,o 600 worth OF machinery
in the basement, and it is all practically
ruined. Mr.. Reiboii, the proprietor, wa.
unable to approximate the loss y steriay aft
ernoon, but competent insurance men plac'
it at SIS, 600 or $50, 0o0 covered by insur
snce. The business places in the building
are also badly damaged. The guests speal
in high praise of Landlord Reibold's activity
in seeing that all were safely rescued
A Historic Structure.
The Bates house is historic structure
was erected in $50, and during the war wa
Republican headquarters. From its portic
Andrew johnson made one of the speeche
for the utterance of which the attempt wa
made to impeach him