The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-02-09

NEW YORK. Feb. s-The Hotel Royal
at the southeast corner of Sixth avenue
and Fortieth street, burned early yesleI
day morning and a number oi peopie
were burned, suffocated and crushed III
the ruins At the time OF the disaster
there were nearly one hundred ana MY
guests in the house. The hotel empioges
numbered, all told, fiftyive The names
originated in the basement, near an Gle
vator shaft, and before warning could DE
given to the sleeping occupants OF the
hotel the whole building was mass OF
flames, The night clerk was asleep ut the
time, and there was 10 Watchman en-
ployed about the place. The scenes dur-
ing the fire were appalling. A correct
list Of the killed and injured cannot DC
made until the ruins have been thoroughly
searched. but the best estimate that can
now be made indicates five deaths, twenty
four injured, siXty-nine missing and
eighty-One saved.
Despite the fact that the work of digging
out the bodies Of the unfortunateS VINO
lost their lives in the hotel was stopped
temporarily at an early hour last evening
n crowd fingered about the place during
the night. hung on the outskirts OF the
fire lines and gaZed at the totterIng walls
At O'Clock this morning, when the
chastity search was resumed, the crowd OF
the night was swelled to five times It's
size The fremen at 3 O'Clock this morn
ing found the body Of woman IN a room
on the fifth floor in that portion OF the
building still standing on EOrtleth street.
A few minutes later the body of man
was found beneath pile OF debris under
the site OF the dining room.
The work Of clearing away the ruins is
being carried on by 125 Italians in charge
of Contractor Galligan. Seven bodies had
been found at $50 O'Clock, but how
1nany charred and mang!ed bodies are
still buried beneath the ruins of the hotel
is a question of horrible uncertainty. The
bodies of many others may liesbidden in the
mass of steaming wreckage " hich chokes
I'M the wide SPACE between the bIHckened
and disfigured walls A careful eXamlna-
tion of the hotel register and Journal
shows that the number of persons in the
building when the fire broke out was 10.
OF these eight are known TO be dead,
eightv-one were rescued by the flremen,
assisted by citizens, before the walls fell,
gnd siXty-one are missing Among those
who were rescued from the burning build
inc are tWenty-four VINO were more or less
seriously burned and bruised. These are
Rt Bellvue hospital, and there is one each
at the New York and Presbyterian hospit-
ais. The others have been cared for by
friends, at neighboring hotels or at houses.
Its not improbable that ii number of those
morning may have escaped the frlghtful
fate which so many others are known 10
have met, but the thought of the possible
loss of life is appalling. | Dtil the great
heap of bricks and mortar and half con
bumed beams and rafers, which are packed
tightly into the death pit, has been re-
moved. no one can tell what the awful
grave will disclose.
In taking out the seventh body pit had
10 be dug under where the dining room
was, and a number of other bodies were
brought into view. Every effort was being
made to recover these, when 1t was dis
covered that the wall on kortieth street
was tottering and threatening the lives ol
all the workmen. The search had TO he
suspended for a time, in order that the
wall might be torn down. As soon as this
was done work was once more resumed
At 1880 o'clock the eighth body was found
about ten feet from the spot where the
seventh body had been discovered. II was
that of a woman without clothing, about
p5 years old, , feet . inches in height. BE
meath the body were found a black cam
brio skirt. a bunch of KEYS and chech
book, on which WAS written the name &C
a. Huffy, Philadelphia.
This morning il was learned on gOoC
authority that Herbert Harding, the fire
man OF the hotel who first discovered the
lire. fought the flames for fifteen minute:
before he raised an alarm. Harding, WhC
was accused OF this last night, denied it
1t is now said that he has contded this FACT
10 "a friend. Inspector Byrnes' men are in
VestIsatlDG
At noon the ninth body was found in thu
immediate vicinity of the spot where tn,
eighth body WAS discovered. 1t was ais,
that Of Il woman about 81 years old. 1t j.
thought that she was an employe of TIA,
hotel. The bodies recovered today are al
terribly burned, and Identification is mad,
almost impossible. The sixth body founl
Is thought TO be that of Fanny Clark o
this city. Walter Yates of Philadelphia
a clothier. who Is at the Bellevue, is in
critical condition. and the surgeons dC
not expect him TO recover.
A MILLION DOLLAR FIRE.
MEMPHIS. Feb S-About 10 o'clock thi.
ornI,.tn q ti--A nrnLA nmr In tnn k1,iI-,.r IN.