The Portland daily press., 1892-02-09
In THE RUINS.
Fragments Of Human Bodies Fonnd
Among the Blackened Debris.
SOME EXCITING INCIDENTS OF
NEW YORK'S HORROR.

MI. ThompIkins Stopped while Sliding
Down Rope to Adjust His Silk Hat
One Man Saved by Standing ON a Shut.
ter-"It Will Be All Right in the
Morning''-Strange Words from the
Flames.
NEW YORK, February Slate this
afternoon, workmen found foot and a
part of a leg in the ruins of the Hotel
Royal. At $50 body was found, but it
was SO badly burned as to be unrecogni-
zable and was sent to the morgue. At
9.45, the eleventh body was brought to
view. The legs were almost gone, the
arms burned Off and the head crushed
almost to jelly. In the upper jaw
set of false teeth was found which looked
like those of woman. The work of
clearing away the debris will be kept
going night and day, and probably take
about three days. The general descrip-
ton of body No. 8, tallies with Julia
Martin. Charles Blake, from Stamford,
Conn, came to the morgue with friend
Blake, aged 40 years, who registered at
the hotel Saturday. He was of the opin-
ion that No. 6 corresponded with the
body of his sister, but did not positively
identify it.
A middle aged man
With Tears in His Eyes,
came to the morgue in quest of Mrs.
Rogers of Brooklyn, woman of
doubtful reputation, afriend of his, who
told him she should be at Hotel Royal
for Saturday and Sunday night He
failed to identify any one. Police Cap
tain Cross was among the visitors to the
morgue. He recognized the face of No.
and promised to send an officer who
would be likely to know whether it was
the person he suspected.
Samuel Cherley, bell boy at the Hotel
Royal, looked at the bodies and thought
the one in box No. was Mrs. Lewis a
booEmaker's wife. He believed No. 4
to be her husband. He asserted posi-
lively that he met Mrs. Cora Henderson
of Denver, Col, Sunday night in a drug
stole few blocks further up the avenue
from the hotel. Mrs. Henderson had
been reported missing.
OfiO OI tllc ulOSb TGlHdIkdDlo luCIIolluo
at the fire was the escape of H. @.
Thompkins of this city. He had room
on the third floor. The cry of fire made
him Jump from his bed in a hurry. He
went out into the hall, saw that the
whole building was ablaze, and saw a
lot of guests rushing about. He went
back into his room and shut thex10or.
Then
He Deliberately Dressed
and began to pack his valise. The
flames were eating their way through
the floor of his room, but Mr.. Thomp-
kins put everything into his valise, even
to his tooth brush. He appeared at the
window fully dressed, even to his silk
hat and his cravat. In one hand he had
the valise and in the other the rope fire
escape that had been placed in his room.
He shouted to man in the street ''Catch
this,'' and down went the valise. Then
he threw the rope fire escape out and be-
gan to descend. He actually stopped in
the middle
To Adjust His Silk Hat
which had become displaced. Mr..
Thompkins reached the ground with his
hands blistered and burned, got his va
lise and remarked calmly to the men
who gathered around him. ''Whew!
That place burned so quick hardly had
time to get OUT Then he walked off.
Another person who had narrow es-
cape was a guest, Clarence w. Kline, of
Hazelton, Penn. He had room ON the
top floor of the hotel, at the extreme
southeast corner of the building, and
| when the fire broke out he climbed out
on window shutter, and
Stood in this Dizzy Position,
holding to the roof, until he was rescued.
He was badly cut and burned, but es-
capped with his life.
The flames were bursting fercely out
| of most of the windows at the Sixth ave-
nue. and Fortieth street corner of the
| building. At one of them in the third
story appeared a middle aged man of fine
appearance, shouting at the top of his
lungs for help. The walls around him
| were
Cracking with the Heat
and threatened to give way at any min
ute. The flames were all about him
"Jump for your life! 1t is your only
chancer' yelled policeman who saw
him.
"Good bye all! 1t will be all right il
the morning. was the strange answer
that he yelled back. A cloud of smoke
then enveloped him, and he was seen NJ
more by those in the street.
Mrs. Harry J. Van Norden, who per
ished in the fire, in belt around hel
body carried jewels worth $4,000.
| Wacbiuet0u Notes.