Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1890-10-23
BURNING OF a HOTEL
IN WHO'S MANY oNs LOSE
THEIR LIVES.

4 q u A@AN -
| A Panic Ensues Among the Guests anu
Many Sickenlng sights Are Witnessed
About Thirty Persons Severely Injured :
| Some Marrow Escapes. ~
SYRACUSE, Oct. 16.--What proved W be
| the most disastrous fire that has Vlslteu
| syracuse for many years was discoveries AZ
| ;he Leland hotel at 1890 o'clock this morn
ing IT is now 2 o'clock and the hre is sun
burning iercely, although the entire hro
| department., consisting of nine engines, arg
| working hard to save further loss OF lie
| and limb. An eye witness of the hre says
| that at least twenty five persons have ios'
| their lives and as many more were lnJureu.
| So great Is the confusion and excitement
| that the identity of those killed and injured
| is wholly unknown. Undertakes and am
balances are flying In all directions, and the
streets In the neighborhood of the ill-fated
| hotel are thronged with excited crowds OF
| people.
Frank Carey, Of Glenn Falls, N. Y, has
| been identified as one of those burned to
death. Many people, crazed with fright
Vague Rumors Afioat.
"A M-The hotel is still burning. vague
rumors are afoat that the list OF killed Will
number fifty persons, but this fact cannon
be substantiated, and it is believed the
| number will bel less than twenty-five, the
| first estimate. The guard lines stretched
| across the streets are inadequate to keep
back the surging crowds of people that are
packed in the streets leading to the hotel,
and police are stationed all around the
| building. The scenes and incidents con-
nected with the rescue of the inmates are
heartrending In the extrome. The cries OF
women standing In the upper windows, and
of the excited crowd below were deafening,
and added to this the constant roar of many
fire engines, created a babel of confusion
and panicky excitement in and around the
hotel The newspaper representatives are
endeavoring, with all the energy at their
command, to obtain substantial lists OF
those who have lost their lives, but have
met with little success.
Lost Their Lives BY jumping From the
windows.
One man says he saw six people jump
from different windows on the Fayette street
side Of the building within q space of four
minutes and the sight sickened him so with
its horrors that he was compelled to leave
the spot. The building was provided with
both iron fire escapes on the outside and
ropes on the inside, which were the means
of saving many lives.
Burnett Forbes, a stock breeder of this city,
escaped into the street almost entirely
naked. He was slightly injured about the
hands. One woman was found with babe
in her arms, crouched in stairway, where
she had been overcome by the smoke. She
was removed by the firemen, but has not yet
regained consciousness and it is impossible
to say what her name or experience was.
The fire is said to have started in the
kitchen The building will be a total loss.
1t was built two years ago at a cost Of $3.50,
600. 1t is six stories high and contained
400 rooms. 1t is impossible to learn how
many guests were in the hotel at the time
the fire brook out. The total loss will not
fall short of $500,00O.
Among the injured Is Cora Tanner, the
actress, who is severely burned about the
head and feet. She was playing an engage
ment at the Grand opera house and had a
room at the hotel. Every physician in SYRIA
cuse is on the ground. Most of those killed
were on the fourth and fifth floors.
Stckening Sights.
At Zig a. m. a man and woman were seen
ocked in each others arms In a window on
the fifth floor at the northeast corner Of the
building. Below them was perfect sea OF
flames. No possibility of escape except by
the window was open to them, and that
seemed inevitable death. No assistance
could reach them. The woman seemed to
be anxious to jump, but her husband was
earnestly entreating her to desist. The
crowd below waited with bated breath. The
woman made one last effort to jump, but
was restrained by her husband, and the
cry Of the crowd signalled the awful end
that must have befallen them as they fell
backward into the room into a mass
Of flames. At a window on the fourth
floor, almost directly under this,
woman was surrounded on all sides
from the interior of the room by fierce
flames. She seemed irresolute whether to
jump to the pavement or to face the fiery
foe that was fast encroaching on her lib
erty and life. She stepped upon the win
dow sill and placed her hands above her
head. People in the street below shuddered
and turned their faces to shut out the hor-
rible sight that must meet their gaze should
the woman jump to the ground. The woman
did not jump, but seemed to be withheld by
fear or feeling that escape would come
from some other source. She stepped down
from the sill into the room, but remained
whole room became enveloped in the flames
and the woman sank back from view.
But Eight Persons Incinerated-The FL
nsnoial Losses.
By the burning OF the Leland hotel early
this morning the total loss exceeds S125, 900,
of which $50, 900 is ON the hotel and the re-
mainder on furniture. There was consid-
cradle loss sustained by the American Ex-
press company, whose building adjoined
the hotel, and individual inmates of the ho-
tel lost heavily in personal effects. The
hotel was owned by Warren ].
Leland and Van Buren, Leland, who
are the proprietors of various large hos
telries in different cities of the United
States. 1t is probable the losses will not
exceed eight persons-three guests and Ave
servants. About thirty persons were
severely injured. The fire was discovered
at 1880 a. M, and In half an hour the hotel
was burned to the ground. At 4:25, al
though the fire was still burning, the de-
partment had the flames under control.
Scenes Never to BE Forgotten.
When the flames began to sweep the hotel
the night clerk set the automatic fire alarm
bell to ringing, and before the rudely
awakened guests could realize what was tho
matter the flames and smoke rushed through
the halls, cutting off the usual means OF
exit. Each room was provided with COM
mon rope fire escape, and by means Of these
many lives were saved. The burning of the
hotel as viewed from the streets presented
scene which will never be forgotten. 1t
was agonizing in the extreme. At many win
dows OF the Ave stories of the hotel could be