The evening world., 1892-02-07


to the street and notified the policeman on
the Sixth avenue corner, who sent In an
alarm while the Janitor rushed back into the
building to arouse the sleeping guests.
The blaze had already shot up the elevator
shaft, finding kindling as innammable as TIM
der In the framework, and James T. Powers.
Of the "straisht Tip" company, smoking bis
goodnight cigar on the piazza of tho Gedney
House, at Broadway and Fortieth street, saw
the flames.
JAMES T. POWERS sESr IN Az ALAIn.
Mr.. Powers rushed to the nearest nre-alarm
box and sent In an alarm before the Sixth
avenue policeman could reach his nearest
box.
In rfteen minutes the whole Of the six.
story structure was ablaze. Flames shot out
at every window In the front half Of the big
hotel, and people in the street could see
persons rushing frantically to and fro on
every door OF the burning building.
THREE ALARMS SENT IN.
Ono, two, three alarms we're sent out In
rapid succession. and the streets and avenues
were soon flled with ilre-engines and trucks.
Other alarms brought ambulances from
every hospital in the city.
People leaped out Of the windows to the
sidewalks and were gathered up unconscious,
burned, MANNED and mangled, by the firemen.
and carried to places Of safety.
The most heroic efforts Of the firemen were
impotent against the devouring element, and
the whole middle portion Of the city was bril-.
liantly illuminated by the tremendous bon
f,re which the doomed Hotel Royal made.
Crowds gathered, and Capt. Reilly, with
the reserves from the Thirtieth street Sta
tion, had more than their hands full in con-
trolling the excited throng.
1t was known that the hotel was full Of
people, for 1t was a popular resort for thou
sands. and tho prospective loss Of Life was
appalling.
CRYING FOR AELr.
The windows were fllled with people in
their night clothing, making piteous appeals
for help. while behind them was a sea OF
flames. Indeed, they seemed to bo actually
in the IRE.
The firemen did wonderful work in their
efforts to rescue these people by carrying
them down the ladders, for entrance or exit
to the building BY the staircase was entirely
cut on.
LEAfKD FROM THE wINDows-
Two men and two women leaped from up
per windows and were dashed TO death on the
pavement below.
oricer Daniel Glenn clambered up ladder
to the windows OF the third floor and rescued
a woman who was at the window. AS he
was descending the ladder with his burden,
the crowd looking on breathlessiy, another
woman who had been crying In an agony Of
fear from tho window directly
above, clambered out Of the
window and hung with her hands to the sill
till, exhausted, she released her grip and fell,
striking Glenn and almost knocking him and
| his charge from the ladder.
The woman herself was killed by tho fail.
CLIMBED DOWN LIKE PLY.
A tall, handsome young man climbed down
the sixth avenue front from the very topmos,
window.
slowly he picked his way from sill to win.
dow chp, and from cap to sill, while the
crowd watched.
At last he reached the ground, seriously
burned and bruised, but alive, and the crowd
cheered him with wild enthusiasm while he
disappeared; unidentified, in the throng.
Policeman Callahan reports that he saw an
old man, woman and q little girl at win
dow on the third floor, Fortieth street side.
They gestured wildly, and he was pre-
pairing to 60 to their rescue when
there was crash, an upward rush Of flames
and sparks, and the trio disappeared from
view. The floor had fallen in, and these three
had gone down In the cauldron OF fire.
There were 175 persons In the building,
and more than 100 persons are still un.
accounted for.
III half an hour after the fire broke out, the
floors were all devoured and there was but
the shell OF brickwork with rs feet ront on
Sixth avenue and 100 feet on Fortleth street
left Of the Hotel Royal
Then at 4 o'clock the Sixth avenue wall for
sixty feet from Fortieth street fell outward
with a crash and deafening roar, and forty
i've minutes later more than half the Fortieth
street front wall collapsed and made tomb
OF brick, stone. mortar and timbers,
for the unfortunates who had been caught In
| the burning building.
/ The excitement OF the crowd at this time
was overpowering.
There were more than twenty thousand
people gathered as near to the burning
building as they could get.
Police Inspectors Williams and steers had