Los Angeles herald., 1892-02-08
AFURNACE OF DEATH
Details of the New York
Holocaust.
The Hotel Royal Burned to
the Ground.
No Time for the Guests to Make
Their Escape.
Some Leaped From Windows
and Were Dashed to Pieces.
Five Dead Bodies RecOvered--Many
Others Buried in the Ruins.
A Hundred of the Inmates Unaccounted
,For-Thrilling Experiences and Hair
breadth Escapes = The Financial
Loss a Quarter of a Million.
Associated Press Dispatches.

Associated Press Dispatches.
NEW YORK, Feb. IA disaster, ap-
palling in horror, bringing TO mind the
terrible occurrence in Park Place, still
fresh in the public mind, occurred in
this city early this morning. The Hotel
Royal, that well-known landmark which
had stood for more than quarter OF a
century at the southeast corner of Sixth
avenue and Fortieth street, was burned
to the ground and large number OF
people burned, suffocated and crushed
in the ruins.
At the time of the disaster there were
nearly 150 guests in the house. The
hotel employees, all told, numbered
fifty-fve. OF this number OF people five
have thus far been found dead, six are
in the hospital and sixty-three have
been reported alive. One hundred are
still missing. The number of dead will
probably not exceed thirty.
HEARTRENDNa SCENES.
The scenes were heartrending and ap-
palled even the firemen and policemen,
who are used to terrible sights.
Soon after the fire broke out ambu-
lances arrived from various hospitals.
Many physicians whose residences were
in the neighborhood were quickly on the
scene and did all they could to relieve
the injured.
Nearly every one of the 124 rooms
which the hotel had on its five floors
was occupied last night by guests, many
Of them transient. In fact, all the rooms,
save four, had been taken at l O'Clock
this morning, when Richard Meares, the
proprietor, went to bed.
When the flames burst forth from
some unknown origin near the elevator
shaft the entire building was instantly
inveloped in flames.
The dead, missing and injured are re-
ported as follows:
a DEAD.
An unknown woman, 40 years old !;
fractured skull and burned about the
body.
An unknown woman. about 2S, good
looking, light complexion, abundance
Of jewelry.
An unknown man, about So years old,
dark brown hair; jumped from window,
head smashed in pieces.
An unknown man, good looking,
about AZ years old, evidently Hebrew.
Henry G. Levy of New York.
INJURED.
Clarence w. Klein, 80 years old, law
yer, Hazleton, Pa.
Walter L. Yates, 60 years old, cloth
ier, Philadelphia.
Mrs. Isabella Meares, wife of the pro-
prietor.
Herbert Harding, engineer of the ho-
tel; fatally burned while trying to res
cue woman.
William. E. Armstrong.
Thomas Kennedy.
Charles Close.
THE RESCUEDs
w. G. Buchanan, G. S. Soney, Rupert
Lamont, G. Krames, E. B. Reynolds and
wife, @. G. Cockburh, o. Sepler, @.
White, E. G.. Harding, w. H. Scott and
wife, Langdon Smith, q. S. MCGEE,
James E. Corey, Mrs. j. Titus, Mrs. S.
Krap OF Chicago. All of these escaped
from the burning building and were
taken to the Gedney house.
P. Taylor, H. P. Tompkins and w. G.
Pearce were rescued and taken to the
Hotel Metropoe.
THE LANDLORDS ESCAPE.
At 800 O'Clock Mrs. Isabella Meares,
wife of the proprietor of the hotel,
awakened her husband, telling him the
house was on fire. She heard the
cracking of the flames and saw smoke
coming through the crevices of the
bedroom door. Meares had only re-
tired at | O'Clock and was awakened
with difficulty. He sprang out of bed
and ran into the hallway. Volumes of
smoke filed the halls and flames were
making their way rapidly up the ele-
vator shaft. Their apartments were on
the third floor and forty feet from the
stairway. One glance at the situation
was enough to tell him all. He ran
back to his wife's room and shouted:
"Now you follow me;" snatched up
coat and again ran into the hallway.
He fought his way straight to
the staircase, supposing his wife close
behind him. The passageway was
choked with dense smoke, which almost
strangled him. Then, throwing his
overcat over his head to prevent his
suffocation, bent his head low and
CROPPED his way to the balusters, on
which he placed his left hand. Flames
were shooting up from below. His