Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1889-12-05

ON the Seventh Floor Seven MangIed
Bodies Recovered and Others Supposed
to Have Perlshed.
minneapolis telegram.1
About an hour before midnight fire
broke out in the third floor of the Tribune
newspaper building in this city and the
building is total loss, with a loss of life
Of fifteen or twenty and possibly more.
The fire, which started on the third floor
at about 1890, made such rapid head way
that in very few moments the sixty five
men working on the seventh floor found
that escape was being cut off and made a
dash in body for the stairway. Forty
made the run safely and got out. The
rest made a frantic effort to get through
the binding smoke. Five OF these were
cut of at the fourth floor and jumped to
the pavement Three of them were badly
hurt and the other two killed, being man
gled frightfully.
The fire broke out in the third floor and
soon the upper stories were cut or from
the street. The building was on the COR
ner and the only adjoining buildings were
only one story in height, so that no means
of escape was afforded in that direction.
The flames cut off the escape of the Pion-
eer Press force on the sixth floor as we'll as
the Tribune folks on the seventh and
Press had a narrow escape from the build :
ing and left behind him Milton Pickett,
the assistant city editor and one Of the old
est men in the service of the paper Pick
eett was lost in the burning building.
But the Tribune force suffered most.
They were located higher in the building
and had less warning of their danger.
John Olsen, the president of a Dakota
college, was in the composing rooms at
the time the flames broke out looking af-
ter an advertisement to be inserted in the
morning paper. He jumped from one of
the windows to escape the flames and met
with ON even moro horrible ueaJn from
shattered limbs and body.
James r.. Igoe, the night operator OF the
Associated Press, met with a sad death as
the result OF his faithfulness to his employ
ers He was at work on the seventh floor
when the report OF the fire was first re-
ceived, and Immediately opened his key,
stating the fact to the head Office at Chi
cago and asking for a minutes time to
investigate Soon he returned to
his instrument, apparently thinking he
was safe, and told the sending operator to
continue. In u moment he said he would
have to "skip," and found too late that
escape was cut off. He jumped from the
seventh story window, and was so badly
injured that he died before reaching the
hospital He leaves family. An old
man named Pierce, a printer, was also
killed.
The following is complete list of the
dead and injured so far as has been ascer-
tanned:
MILTON PICKETT, assistant city editor
OF the Pioneer Press, dead.
JAMES +. IGoE, Associated Press oper-
ator, dead.
DDWnnD ULEoUN, presIuenU or the Uni
versity OF South Dakota at Vermillion, dead.
JERRY JENKINsON, a printer, dead.
ROBERT MCCUTCHEON, a printer, dead.
w. II. MlLLMAN, commercial editor of the
Tribune dead.
WALTER f. MILES, operator and agent of
the Associated Press, dead.
WILLIAM LowN printer; burned on hands
and face.
f. C. ANDREWS, printer; badly burned on
hands and face.
GEORGE E. woRDEN printers burned on
hands and face
FRANK GERBER, dear-mute printer; hands
and face burned.
ADAM WEINsHEMER, printer; hurt about
the hips.
CHARLES ALF WILLIAMS, managing editor
of the Tribune, badly burned about the head
and face.
w. II. WILLIAMS, foreman of the composing
room, badly burned about the face and
hands.
S. II. JONES, Pioneer Press reporter, hands
and face slightly burned.
FRANK HOOVER, printer; burned about the
neck
From twenty to twenty five persons in ad-
dition to those whose names are given
above have perished. The fro was
so sudden, the means Of escape so crimi-
nally inadequate, the panic so great, tho
advance OF the flames so rapid, that many
of the men on the upper floors must have
perished, but their number cannot be
known until the work of excavation has
ended, if indeed the exact record of fatal
tiles can be learned even then; for in q
heat so intense as that which DESTROYED
the great building it is probable that the
bones of some Of the victims were con-
sumed as completely as the woodwork of
the ill-fated structure. The body of a
man, caught IN the ruins is in plain sight
of the crowd on Fourth street.
Charles A. Smith, the elevator man,
did very creditable work. After the fire
broke out he made five trips the last
when the shaft was actually on fire. and
saved number of people. Smith says he
smelled fire for three-quarters of an hour
before he could find its location. Smith
is sure that more people were burned than
have been reported. He says that about
nYe minutes DeIOro the nre was d1ScOvere1
he carried two ladies to the sixth floor.
They asked for the editorial rooms of the
Fioneer Press He did not take
them back in the elevator and
he is sure they could not have gone down
the stairway. Smith also says that
a tall young man with q black mustache
shot himself on the seventh floor near the
room door. He seemed dazed
by the heat ana smoke and deliberately
drew revolver and fired into his own
head, falling dead. Just before he fred
the shot he exclaimed: ''My God My
wifeW and then the bullet did its work.
Assistant Foreman Kinney also saw the
man shoot himself to escape the torture Of
the fire.
Smith is badly burned as the result of
his bravery in running the elevator at the
risk of his life. He saved at least twenty
five persons.
A. Frank Regensdorf, a stenographer |
employed at St Paul, is reported missing. |
He left home Saturday evening to visit |
friends in this city, and it is feared that |
he is one Of the unfortunate victims Of the |
Tribune fire.
The following Is a revised estimate Of |
the losses and insurance:
Losses. Insurance. |
Evening Journal. ........S 5000 Q 10000 |
1 Job 6 b, PPrinting Co.. 5000 900
Other offices in building. 10000 1900 |
Tribune newspaper....... 5000 21OO0 |
A