Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1889-03-01
THE HOTEL HORROR.
Terrific Explosion and Heavy
Loss of Life in Hartford.
yae Ruins Of the Hotel Catch Fire
After the Explosion.

fore five O'Clock, burylng In the oeOrls at
least fifty people
Every window in the Earl House. right !
across Allyn street, was broken and the walls
were smashed IN many places The noise |
Of the fail aroused the whole city, and in a
very few minutes a large crowd surrounded
the scene 1t was sight of horror, and one
that Will never be forgotten by the specta-
tors.
Flames completely enveloped the ruins,
AMI the sbrieks of the wounded and dying
foso high above the hoarse notes OF the fire.
men and police, who had been summoned by
an alarm from the fire department.
The first TO arrive on the scene found this
bpilding a heap of ruins, from which issued
snIoke and steam in dense clouds The
spectators were appalled, by the shrieks and
grOans of many human beings who were I'M
prlSoned in the mass of timber and masonry
from which flames were already bursting.
general alarm summoned the entire fire
department. and an immense crowd, at-
tracted by the explosion and fire alarm, soon
packed the streets. The flames prevented
any attempt az rescue. The ruins w're
flooded with water before any work could be
prosecuted A few dead or dying persons
were taken from the edge of the debris, how
ever within an hour after the explosion.
The force of the explosion threw a bed
with a sleeping woman upon it far into the
street. while one of the heavy doors landed a
block away By o'clock A. NJ. the flames
were so far subdued that the rescuers were
enabled to get at the victims. Some were
pinned beneath heavy timbers upon which
rested masses Of masonry, rendering the Work
of rescue extremely hazardous.
The explosion was simply terrific. No
words can describe the powerfully destruc-
tive nature of the explosion. A substan-
TALLY built brick block five stories high was
lifted bodily and crushed like an egg she'll,
falling in a tangled mass of human beings,
broken timber, bricks mortar, bed ding and
the like
Incredible as it seems, the whole structure
when it fell occupied scarcely more space on
the ground than it did originally. The first
warning of any danger which the fifty or 100
guests had was feeling of being lifted, then
they experienced sinking sensation, and
they remember no more. Then there was
terrible crash, and for an instant everything
was STILL Then came another smaller eX-
plosiOn and another crash.
The first outsiders who arrived on the
scene heard few means and saw three or
four persons clambering out of the ruins,
and then all was still. The ruins, dotted
thick with crushed and struggling human
beings, very soon began to smoke, and in a
short time, before the fremen could get to
work, the bright flames began to show their
forked tongues, and the horrors of fire
seemed about to be added to the other ter
rible sight.
Only the northeast corner of the hotel re-
manned standing The rest in twinkling
had been laid low, leaving bare the i've
story interior of that portion. This corner
of the hotel was occupied by the servants
and other employees.
They suddenly found one side of their
rooms gone the stairs blown away, and the
only means of escape was by jumping into
the smoking ruins or leaping out upon the
sidewalk on the Allyn street side.
Two or three in their fright did jump, and
escaped with severe injuries, but the aerial
ladder was soon on the spot, and the tiremen
quickly ran the life saving apparatus to the
windows of the different stories, and the i'm
prisOned servants were safely rescued.
The southeast corner OF the hotel fell soon
aft the SecOn6 aYnlOSiOn CARRYING with 1t
the sleeping guests in that portion OF the
building The west and south sides OF the
hotel were blown out bodily, settling down
into level or nearly level mass
of broken timbers, stone, brick and
mortar. As the daylight gradually came on,
and the horrible sight was plainly brought to
view, the fast increasing crowd, heretofore
scarcely able to believe their senses, now be-
gan to realize what had occurred, and went
to work with will to rescue those still alive:
Governor Buckley, Mayor Root Chief
Packard, Captain Bell, the Street commas,
sioners, the Fire Commissioners and al
whose help authority was needed, were
on hand giving orders and personally di-
recting the work of rescue. The entire
police force was ordered duty, and
the entire fire department was already
there, the patrol wagon in readiness, waiting
for its burden of bruised or dying humanity
and many went TO work unasked, scores Oh
willing hands tore out the broken tlmberS
threw aside the hot bricks, and, with bleed
ing fingers, worked for the lives imprisoned
beneath
President Smith of the Board of Fire Com
missioners finally succeeded i'll getting Sec
ton Master Lane of the Consolidated road
with his gang of men, used to work of the hard
est kind, and when about o'clock these fifty
Italians with picks and shOvels, hurried down
into the alleyway, back Of the hotel, anC
went to work at the southeast corner OF the
ruins, where they were heaped up the high
est the anxious crowd spontaneously broke
out into cheers
Hurry up with that line of hose" crieC
some one further up on the ruins, ''tnt
flames are within eight feet of them
his wife and their dead child, and two
others, all lying beneath the brick anc
timber all alive but the child.
One by one the suffering ones were dug
out first an arm. then the upper portion O
the body, and at last the crushed remains
but still breathing bodies of the unfortunate
ones were tenderly carried down over TIT
broken timbers and heaps of brick TO tn
stretchers in waiting at the foot of the ruins
Once in care of the physicians in waitin:
the bleeding bodies, if there was still life re
manning. were carried into the adjoining
houses or taken to the hospital IN the patr0
wagon or if dead the remains were conveyed
to the Morgue. So the work Of rescue wen
on and body after body was carried ava,
from beneath the tottering walls OF the re
manning upright portion of the hotel.
''That wall is liable to fall at any minute
was repeated from many mouths. OuC SUI
the men worked without hesitation unde
the cracked and crumbled walls hoVerln
forty feet above them. No one seemed q
think of any but the ones buried In the ruins
The finding of Louis II. Bronson ana al
wife was attended with the most pathetl
surroundings. The father of the untortunat