Omaha daily bee., 1889-08-20
HOLOCAUST IN A TENEMENT.
Nine Lives Sacrificed BY Fire in New
York City.
GALLANT SURGEON scHAEFEeR.
He Risks His Life to Carry Young
Nellie McGeoghan From tho
Flames But She Pcrishcd
In His Arms.
a Cook and Kerosene.

NEw YORK. August 19.-Early this morn.
ing fire broke out in the kitchen of n restau.
rant on the store floor of n big hve-story ten.
ement at 305 Seventh avenue, Nine OF the
sixty odd occupants OF the house lost their
lives and it is n great wonder that more did
not perish. The dead are:
WILLIAM GLENNoN, aged 60, burned to
death.
NELLIE MCGEoGuAN, age1 20, smothered
TO death.
MARY WELLS, aged 81, smothcred.
JANE WELLS, aged 4, smothered.
THOMAS WELLS, aged 9 smothered.
BERTHA LAsIrG, aged 40, burned 10 death.
WILLIAM MCKEE. aged 40, burned to death.
JANE JEFFREY, aged 65, smothered.
An unknown woman, aged As, smothered.
William and John Glennon are badly
burned and injured.
The building was occupied by thirty fami-
lies, who are made temporarily homeless by
the fire. The pecuniary loss will not amount
to more than $4,000.
The fire originated in the rear OF John
Snyder's restaurant at an hour when all the
people in the house were sleeping soundly.
Just the hour the fire started is "a mystery,
but as the restaurant cook is missing IL is
fair to presume that the accident oc-
Cured while making the fire in the big
range. The awful speed with which the
flames swept up through the building sug-
gest the use of kerosene by a careless cook.
Two police officers were a block away
when the fire started. They hurried to the
scene ana broke in the front door of the
building. There was no sign OF life in the
building and the officers hurried from one
door to another to arouse the inmates. Muir
.iro,o Hro ri ha IN, Of
many voices, which finally changed into q
wall of terror and agony from men, women
and children struggling for their lives. The
fire escapes leading from the burning build
ing to the tenement house next door were
soon filed with half.naked people, frantic to
reach the street
In che meantime the fire department had
arrived and had begun work on the flames
and were assisting in rescuing the fright
ened inmates. The flames were extinguished
easily and the people on the fire escapes
were all landed safely. Not one person
escaped down the stairway and the names
of the few who tried it are found in the list
of the dead
The search for the dead was begun as soon
as possible. The remains of old William
Cannon were discovered by the side of the
bed in his room the second floor. In the
rooms of the Wells family in the middle OF
the floor knelt the mother, Mary Wells, and
| in her dead embrace were her children, Jane
and Thomas. They had been smothered, and
not a burn or blister defaced their counue-
rances. The nine dead bodies were taken TO
the Thirtieth street station and later friends
| claimed the remains.
Snyder keeper of the restaurant in which
the fire broke out, has been arrested on sus-
picion Of being responsible for its origin An
insurance policy for 81, 900 on his stock was
found in his possession, and one of his en-
ployes states that he found fat scattered
over the floor of the restaurant
Snyder and William Brooks, his colored
cook were arraigned before the coroner this
evening. Snyder was committed to the
tombs without bail and Brooks was sent to
the house of detention as a witness. The
police say they have good case.
One Of the most notable incidents Of the
fire was the gallant efforts OF Ambulance
Surgeon Schaefer, of the New York hospital,
When he arrived on the scene all chance Of
| any one escaping by the stairway was cut
| off, as it was burning tiercely and
the halls We're filed with smoke.
On hearing that Nellie McGeoghan
| aged twenty, had been cut off from escaping
| to the top story, he boldly mounted a scaling
| ladder and got into the fifth story by smash
| ing window At last the doctor was seen
again at IL window carrying Nellie Nc
Geoghan'S inanimate form. He bore the
Girl to a store on the corner, but when he at
! tempted to revive her he found she had peri
| ished in his arms.
'.There was some terrible work done by the
police at that fire. 'sald DIR. Schuefer when seen
| subsequently Mt the hospital. "Why, vas
| the only doctor on the scene and mine was
| the only ambulance on hand and it was only
| by luck that got there at all. We only re-
| ceived the common hurry CALI to the Thir-
teth street police station, and when got
there found the body of the old man, Will
| liam Glennon. He had been suffocated, and
| after getting his name L jumped
into the ambulance to return to
the hospital. Not ward had been
said about any others, and out of curiosity
alone, told the driver to drive around to
Seventh avenue When we got to the house
stopped the ambulance ana got out ana
stood for moment talking to the policemen
and tiremen. II was there for the first time
that learned about the people up stairs.
Not one Of the dead were burned. All had
been suffocated -