The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1892-02-13
OVER SIXTY DEAD.
Fatalities in the New York Hotel Firc-
Three Score Roasted in Their Beds as
They Slep.-Search Of the Ruins Begun
in Earnest-Origin of the Fire and Is
cape of the Survivors.


sixty-one missing, with strong proba-
accounted for perished, is the result of
the destruction by fire of the Hotel
Royal early yesterday morning. The
register shows that there were 152 per
sons in the house when the flames
broke out at O'Clock. The fire spread
rapidly, climbing the elevator shaft and
communicating from floor to floor and
room to room, and the building was re-
duced to ruins in an hour. How many
perished in the fire will probably never
be known.
The hotel was brick structure, four
stories high, standing on the southeast
corner of Sixth Avenue and Fortieth
Street. 1t WAS extensively frequented
by transients, and many who registered
late last night doubtless gave other than
their own names. The fire started in
the basement near the elevator shaft,
which was located in the middle of the
building. The flames weTs first seen
pouring out of the cupola on the roof,
directly over the elevator shaft, by an
engineer of Sixth Avenue elevated
train, who stopped his engine directly
in front of the hotel anu blew the To-
coMotive's s whistle loud and continuous
ly. This unusual sound awoke many Of
the sleeping people in the hotel aud
brought policemen to the scene, who at
once sent out fire alarm. Meanwhile,
the employees of the hotel on night duty
sought 10 arouse the guests. The first
apparatus ratified up to the scene within
a few minutes after the alarm was sent
in. The desperate character of the fire
became at once apparent 10 the fire
men, who promptly rang three more
alarms in quick succession.
The scenes at the fire before the fire
companies arrived were hea.trending
One man whose name is not known
sprang from third-story window and
was dashed to death on the ground be-
low. This was on the Sixth Avenue
side of the building. A moment later
another man leaped from a window
on the Fortleth Street side
and WAS instantly killed. Shortly
atterward two women jumped from
windows on the Sixth Avenue side and
were dead when picked up. The bodies
were taken to the Thirtieth Street sta
ton house, and afterward, unidentified,
removed to the morgue. At that hour
the known dead numbered four. Sew
eral others had dropped from windows
or slid down ropes, with which every
room in the hotel was provided, and
escaped with severe burns. while many
more had been injured i'll the same
way, making their escape by the es
capes, and were III the hauds of ambu
lance surgeons who had been sum
moned from Bellevue Hospital ana New
York Hospital. The surgeons had their
hands full in taking care of the injured
and manned. All this time the fire was
raging tiercely, and it was plain to see
that the building was doomed. The
structure burned like SO much kindling
wood. The work of rescuing the guests
still went on, and many were taken
from the windows by firemen and po-
licemen.
Despite the fact that work of digging
out the bodies was stopped temporarily
at an early nour last evening, crowds
fingered about the place during the
night and hung on the outskirts OF the
fire lines, gazing at the biackened and
tottering walls. At : O'Clock
this morning the ghastly search
was resumed, the crowd of the
night was swelled to five times its size.
The tiremen at 8 O'Clock this morning
found the body of woman in room
on the fifth floor of that portion OF the
building still standing on Fortieth
Street 4 few minutes later the body
of man was found between a pile of
debris under the site of the dining
room.
The work of clearing away the ruins
is being carried on by l25 Italians IN
charge of Contractor Galligan. Seven
bodies had been found at half-pasI 8.
but how many charred and mangled
bodies are still buried beneath the
ruins Of the hotel is a question of hor
rible uncertainty. The bodies of many
others may lie hidden in the mass of
steaming wreckage which chokes up
the wide space between the blackened
and distigured walls.
Among those who were rescued from
the flaming building are twenty-four
who are more or less seriously burned
and bruised Three of these are at
Bellevue Hospital, and there is one
each at the New York and Presbyterian
hospitals The others have been cared
for BY their friends at neighboring
hotels or at houses. 1t is not improb
able that number of those who are
still among the missing this morning,
may have escaped the frightful fate
which SO many others are known to
have met, but the thought of the pos
sible loss of life is appalling. Until the
great heap of bricks and mortar and
half-consumed beams and rafters, which
are packed tightly into the death pit,
have been removed. no one can tell
" hat the awful grave will disclose.
In taking out the seventh body quite
pit had to be dug under where the
dining-room was, and a number of 9TH
er bodies were brought to View. Every
effort was being made to recover these,
when it WAS discovered that the wall on
the Fortieth Street side was tottering
and threatening the lives of all the
workmen, and SO the search had to be
suspended for time in order that the
wall may he torn down. AS soon as
this was done work was once more re-
sumed.
At Ii so O'Clock the eighth body was
found ten feet from the spot where the
seventh body had been discovered. 1t
was that of woman without clothing
about 25 wears old, and feet inches
in height. Beneath the body was
found black cambria skirt. a bunch OF
KEYS aud a check book on which was
written the name &C. A. Hutfy, Phila-
delph!a."
Victor Follerin, a waiter who worked
IN the hotel some time ago, gave IN an
interview this morning some interest
ing facts that may throw some light on
the origin of the fire. He said that
while he was working there it was the
habit for rubbish to accumulate in cor
ner of the kitchen. This pile of rub
bish on three different oc casions caught
fire, but was quickly eNtlngulshed h:
pals of water. Nothing was thought OF
it at the time, but Follerin now
believes that II was here that the
fire originated. This morning it is also
learned cn good authority that Herbert
Harding, the fireman of the hotel, who
first discovered the fire. fought the
flames for fifteen minutes before he sent
out al alarm. This was the general be-
lief among people who saw the nature
and swiftness of the fire. but Harding
denied it. 1t is now said that he has
confded this fact to friend, and by the
friends indiscretion some OF Inspector
Bvrnes' men have learned the facts and